History & Politics Flashcards
What is the oldest city in Germany?
Trier
Where are these three famous people buried? The Three Wise Men, Händel, Karl der Große (Charlemagne)? (respectively)
Köln, Westminster Abbey, Aachen
When was the coronation of Karl der Große?
Dec. 25, 800
Who was crowned emperor of the Romans in 800 AD by the Pope after uniting a European empire?
Karl der Grosse (or Charlemagne)
In what city was Karl der Große born?
Aachen
Which political system became prominent in the Holy Roman Empire, creating classes of lords and less nobles?
Feudalism
Who was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor?
Otto I
Give the German name of Otto’s Holy Roman Empire.
Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation
When did das Heilige Römische Reich come to an end?
1806
The emperors (Kaiser) of which German nation had only a relatively small amount of power?
Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation
How long did the Heilige Römische Reich last?
nearly a 1000 years
A period of Civil War racked the Holy Roman Empire from the death of Emperor Fredrick II in 1250 until 1273 when a new Emperor was finally instated. What was this period called?
Great Interregnum
Which emperor died in a crusade in the Holy land?
Friederich Barbarossa
Which famous German King was the ideal Christian knight, who died on the way to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade?
Friederich Barbarossa
When was die Hanse established?
Twelfth Century (1100’s)
What was the league of Northern European nations in the 13th century?
Hanseatic League/Hanse
Which city is famous for the production of Marzipan?
Lübeck
In which castle did Martin Luther translate the bible into German?
die Wartburg
Who is known as the father of the German language for translating the Bible into German?
Martin Luther
In which city and in what year did Martin Luther tack up his 95 theses?
Wittenberg 1517
When did Luther nail his 95 Theses to the church wall?
1517
From 1524-1525, what broke out due to Luther’s ideas?
Deutscher Bauernkrieg/Peasant Revolt
When was the Thirty Years War?
1618-1648
Which war ocurred from 1618 to 1648 between Protestants and Catholics?
Thirty Years War
What were the two religious groups that formed in Germany in 1608-1609?
In the North- Protestant Union. South- Catholic League
Who were the Hohenzollern?
A ruling dynasty of Brandenburg, Prussia, and Germany from 1415-1918
What was the biggest German country in the 18th century?
Prussia
Who was the most powerful Prussian king of the 18th century?
Friedrich II. (der Große)
In 1785, which treaty was signed between the King of Prussia and the United States?
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
Which country emerged in the 18th century as the most prominent of several German states?
Prussia
Who became Prussian king in 1740? He was known as an enlightened despot, who supported arts and literature.
Friedrich II. (der Große)
Name the three most important rulers of Prussia.
Friedrich Wilhelm, Friedrich I, Friedrich II
Which German monarch was the first to conclude a treaty of commerce with the US?
Friedrich II. (der Große)
During the Reaction of the Princes issued laws in 1918 that suppressed freedom of the press and academic freedom. Name them.
Carlsbad Decrees
Name the four dates in which German people sought to join as a nation and to have a Parliament
1848- Failure of Parliament
1871- United Germany
1919/1933- Weimar republic with Democratic Constitution
Who applied Hegel’s philosophy to economics?
Karl Marx
Who concluded that communism is the economic synthesis that Hegel talked about?
Karl Marx
Who believed that management and labor were the thesis and antithesis in economics?
Karl Marx
Who wrote Das Kapital?
Karl Marx
Which philosopher lived from 1818-1883?
Karl Marx
According to Marx, what would be the ultimate result of the struggle between the entrepreneurs and the work force?
Victory of the proletariats
Name the three castles built by Ludwig II in Bavaria.
Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee
Name the three castles Ludwig II built and name the one he never completed.
Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee, Neuschwanstein (not completed)
Who became Wilhelm I’s chancellor?
Otto von Bismarck
Who was known as the Iron Chancellor?
Otto von Bismarck
What three wars led to the consolidation of the German states and the founding of the German Empire?
Danish War
Seven Weeks War/Austro-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
Which war lasted from 1870-1871, resulting in France’s defeat, consolidating the German states under the leadership of Wilhelm I?
Franco-Prussian War
In 1871, who became the German Kaiser of the German Reich?
Prussian King Wilhelm I
Who succeeded Wilhelm I in 1888? He played an active role in world affairs, and removed Bismarck in 1890
Wilhelm II
Installed as Emperor of Mexico by Napolean III in 1863, which Hapsburg was overthrown and executed by Mexican patriots?
Emperor Maximillian of Mexico
Which Hapsburg was assassinated in Sarajavo, Bosnia, in 1914, precipitating WWI?
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Who was the last Habsburg ruler in Austria?
Emperor Charles I/Kaiser Karl I.
When did the United States enter World War I?
April 6, 1917
Who was the first chancellor of the Austrian Republic?
Karl Renner
In 1919, the National Assembly drew up a constitution for what nation?
Weimar Republic
After the first world war, what was the capital of the German republic?
Weimer
Who was the first president of the Weimar Republic?
Friedrich Ebert
In 1933, which important change in leadership occurred, causing emigration to the United States?
Hitler became chancellor
What was the year of the inflation and Hitler’s Putsch?
1923
When did Hitler become Chancellor?
January 1933
What was Hitler’s first attempt to take over the Bavarian government?
Munich Putsch 1923
Where did Hitler march on November 9, 1923?
Munich Rathaus
What was Hitler’s regime called?
Third Reich
In November 1923, right-wing extremists tried to topple the government of Bavaria and establish a new one. Name the event and the leader of these extremists.
Munich Putsch(Beer Hall Putsch)/ Adolf Hitler
What is the German name for NSDAP?
Nationalsozialistiche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
In 1936 German troops were sent into a European country to fight on the side of the fascists. Name this conflict.
Spanish Civil War
What was the main result of the Nuremberg Laws?
They deprived Jews of citizenship
Which action began World War II?
Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939
When did World War 2 begin?
September 1, 1939
When invading Poland, Germany combined massive airstrikes with fast moving mechanized ground forces to defeat the enemy in a short amount of time. What are these tactics called?
Blitzkrieg
At the end of WW2 what river and what city were near the meeting place for the Soviets coming from the east and the Americans coming from the west?
die Elbe, Torgau
Give the day, month, and year that world war II ended in Europe.
May 8, 1945
When did Germany surrender unconditionally in World War II?
May 8, 1945
Where did the Allied leaders determine Germany’s future after World War II?
July 1945 Potsdam Conference
What was die Mauer?
The berlin wall
When was the Berlin Wall built?
- August 1961
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
- November 1989
Give the year the Berlin wall went up and the year it went down.
1961 and 1989
What is der Eisene Vorhang?
The iron curtain
Name the historic border crossing point between Soviet and American sectors of Berlin.
Checkpoint Charlie
In the year 1949, the government in West Germany was called?
Bundesrepublik
In 1949, which document was created which established the German government?
The German Constitution (Proclomation of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany on May 23.)
When was the GDR (German Democratic Republic) established?
October 7, 1949
In what year was the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany signed?
1949
What party controlled East Germany before reunification?
SED - Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
Who was the initial leader of East Germany?
Walter Ulbricht
When did the Berlin blockade begin?
June of 1948
During the blockade, how did goods come into Germany?
Die Luftbrücke (airlift)
In 1948, Americans used airlifts to break the Soviet blockade of which German city?
West Berlin
What is die Blockade?
Soviet stoppage of surface transporation between West Germany and Berlin
What was die Luftbrucke?
Transportation of goods into Berlin during the blockade
In 1948, what plan did the US enact to help Germany out of its economic crisis?
Marshall Plan
What took place in Germany with the help of the Marshall Plan?
Die Wiederaufbau (reconstruction)
Which currency reform was born in 1948, along with the Marshall Plan?
Birth of the D-mark
What was the economic miracle that was accomplished in the decades following 1948 spurred by United States aid via the Marshall plan?
Wirtschaftswunder
What was the Marshall Plan?
A European recovery program in which the US would spend billions of dollars to help rebuild Western Europe after WWII
What was the West Germany period of reconstruction called?
Wiederaufbau
What was the currency reform of June 1948?
Währungsreform
Who was elected chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in September 1949?
Konrad Adenauer
Who was the first chancellor of Germany?
Konrad Adenauer (1949-1963)
Who is known as the father of the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) after World War II?
Ludwig Erhard
Who was the second and third chancellor of Germany that were from the CDU party, respectively?
Ludwig Erhard (1963) Kurt Kiesinger (1966)
Who was the mayor of Berlin who later became Chancellor?
Willy Brandt
Who was the first chancellor from the SPD?
Willy Brandt
Who succeeded Willy Brandt?
Helmut Kohl
Who was the unified nation’s first chancellor?
Helmut Kohl
Who created the ten point program leading to German unity?
Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany
Who is the chancellor of Germany?
Angela Merkel
On October 9, 1989, which famous protest occured in Leipzig?
Wir sind das Volk
Which treaty was signed on May 18, 1990?
The Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic Establishing a Monetary Economic and Social Union
When was the Unification Treaty signed?
August 31, 1990
When was German reunification?
October 3, 1990
In what year did Switzerland unite?
1291
What German aquired Manhattan Island from the Indians and later established it as New Amsterdam (now NYC)?
Peter Minuit
What German immigrant paid the Indians 60 guilders for Manhattan Island?
Peter Minuit
On October 6, 1683, which settlement was founded?
Germantown
What Frankfurt lawyer founded Germantown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, in 1683?
Franz Daniel Pastorius
Which area near Philadelphia was founded by Germans?
Germantown
How many families came from Krefeld to America?
13
How long was the voyage from Krefeld to America?
75 days
In which American city did the settlers from Krefeld live?
Philadelphia/Germantown
Who established freedom of the press in the US?
John Peter Zenger
What was Maria Ludwig Haye’s nickname in the colonies?
Molly Pitcher
Who helped train American troops in the Revolutionary War in 1778?
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
He trained the revolutionary troops for Washington at Valley Forge. He was the first Inspector General of the US Army. Who was he?
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
What German-American was a wealthy businessman and built a famous chain of hotels?
John Jacob Astor
Which German-born politician played an important role (Secretary of the Interior) in America during the time of Lincoln?
Karl Schurz
What German-American came to America as a lawyer and a farmer, supported Lincoln, served as Ambassador to Spain, as a major-general in the Union army, as a senator from Missouri, and as Secretary of the Interior?
Karl Schurz
Name the founder of a colony in the Sacramento Valley where gold was discovered in 1848.
Johann Sutter
This native of Bavaria came to California in the Gold Rush, but became rich for producing denim workpants. Name him.
Levi Strauss
Who made the first pair of blue jeans?
Levi Strauss
Among German-Texans are a 5-Star general and a 5-star admiral. Name them.
General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower; Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz
Who was known as the “home run king”?
George Hermann (Babe) Ruth
Who founded the first German town in Texas, Industry, in 1831?
Johann Friedrich Ernst
What was the Adelsverein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer in Texas?
The Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas
In which year was the Adelsverein organized?
1842
Name the land grant that the Adelsverein owned in West-Central Texas.
Fischer-Miller Grant
Who was the first commissioner-general of the Adelsverein?
Prince Solms von Braunfels
Who succeeded Prince Solms von Braunfels?
Baron Johann von Meusebach
In order for the German settler to remain safe in Fredericksburg, Meusebach signed a peace treaty with what Native American tribe? In what year?
Comanche, 1847
Which German community was founded in 1846 under the leadership of Baron Johann von Meusebach?
Fredericksburg
Through which port did most Germans enter Texas?
Indianola
What German-Texan manufactured the first canned chili con carne and tamales?
William Gebhart
In what hotel and in what city did Teddy Roosevelt recruit his Rough Riders?
The Menger hotel Bar in San Antonio
What was the name of the first German-language newspaper in Texas?
Galveston Zeitung
In what year and in what city was the Order of the Sons of Hermann formed for the first time in Texas?
1861, San Antonio
Which Texas city’s voting population was 1/3 German in the 1850’s?
San Antonio
Which German Texas settlement was founded on Good Friday, 1845?
New Braunfels
Who was the Cat Spring descendant of the famous King Ranch?
Robert J. Kleberg
In what year and in what town did Jacob Brodbeck fly the first airplane?
1865; Luckenbach, Texas
Where did the 1848 refugees from the German Revolution settle in Texas? They were well-educated and prominent Germans, often called “Latin farmers”.
Sisterdale
What Germans loyal to the North tried to reach the Union by Mexico, they were massacred by Confederate forces. Name the battle.
Battle of the Nueces
Who is the prince of Liechtenstein?
Hans-Adam II
Who is the chancellor of Austria?
Sebastian Kurz
Who is the crown prince of Liechtenstein?
Alois
Who is the head of government of Liechtenstein?
Adrian Hasler
Who is the federal president of Germany?
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Who is the federal president of Austria?
Alexander Van der Bellen
After the Second World War, what fraction of Germany was removed from its territory?
One-fourth (A quarter of it’s territory was lost)
How many parts was Germany divided into after the Second World War and who controlled each of those parts?
4 parts; US, USSR, France, Great Britain
How many members are in the Bundesrat?
69
How many members are in the Bundestag?
622
What are the four official languages of Switzerland?
Romansch, Italian, French, German
When did Switzerland adopt a policy of neutrality?
1815
After the world wars, where did the German people buy all of their goods from?
The Black Market
What was the name of the government in East Germany?
die Deutsche Demokratische Republik
Who led the French imperial armies to overrun Germany, defeating the Holy Roman Empire in 1806?
Napoleon
What are the two houses that compose the German parliament?
Bundesrat and Bundestag
Which two political parties emerged in West Germany?
CDU und SPD
In what year did the two Germanies become members of the UN?
1973
Give the official name for Germany
Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland
How many members are there in the Federal Council?
41
What kind of government does the DDR have in contrast to the BRD?
A central government
Of the 15 administrative districts, how many deputies are there?
500
What is the term of office for the Federal President of Germany?
5 years
In 485 the Franks conquered the last bastion of Rome in Germanic lands. Name this city.
Cologne
When day did World War I begin?
July 28, 1914
What day did World War I end?
November 11, 1918
Allies in World War I?
Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States
Central Powers in WW1?
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
What American passenger ship did the Germans sink?
Lusitania
What battle did the Allies beat the Germans?
Argonne Forest Battle
Axis Powers in WW2?
Germany, Italy, Japan
A series of air battles fought over Britain during August–October 1940, in which the RAF successfully resisted raids by the numerically superior German air force. This led Hitler to abandon plans to invade Britain, although the Germans continued to bomb British cities by night for several months afterwards.
Battle of Britain
November 9, 1938, when mobs throughout Germany destroyed Jewish property and terrorized Jews.
Kristallnacht
After the death of Charles VI, Austria was attacked by Prussia, Bavaria and France. During this war which lasted from 1740-1748 Prussia seized and held Silesia. Name this war.
War of Austrian Succession
What agreement issued in 1122 ended the investiture dispute between Henry III and the pope over the selection of bishops?
Concordat of Worms
The first all-German elections to the German Bundestag were held on what date?
Dec. 2, 1990
Which Roman historian is notable for his accounts of the German tribes?
Tacitus
Who is the supreme god and creator, god of victory and the dead?
Wotan (called Odin in Norse mythology)
Who is the goddess of love and of the night, sister of Frey?
Freya
A palace in which heroes killed in battle were believed to feast with Wotan for eternity.
Valhalla
A letter of an ancient Germanic alphabet, related to the Roman alphabet.
runes
Roman emperor 161–80;. He was occupied for much of his reign with wars against invading Germanic tribes.
Marcus Aurelius
Roman emperor 306–37; He was the first Roman emperor to be converted to Christianity and in 324 made Christianity a state religion. In 330 he moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinopolis (Constantinople).
Constantine
A migration of peoples, especially that of Germanic and Slavic peoples into Europe from the 2nd to the 11th centuries.
Völkerwanderung
Who was the king of the Ostrogoths 471–526. At its greatest extent his empire included Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, and parts of Germany.
Theodoric the Great
A member of the eastern branch of the Goths, who conquered Italy in the 5th–6th centuries AD.
Ostrogoths
A member of the branch of the Goths who invaded the Roman Empire between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD and ruled much of Spain until overthrown by the Moors in 711.
Visigoths
A member of a warlike Asiatic nomadic people who invaded and ravaged Europe in the 4th–5th centuries.
the Huns
Who was a bishop and translator? Believed to be of Cappadocian descent, he became bishop of the Visigoths in 341. His translation of the Bible from Greek into Gothic (of which fragments survive) is the earliest known translation of the Bible into a Germanic language. Ulfilas is traditionally held to have invented the Gothic alphabet, based on Latin and Greek characters.
Bishop Wulfila
A member of a people that inhabited parts of central and northern Germany from Roman times, many of whom conquered and settled in much of southern England in the 5th–6th centuries.
Saxons
A member of a Germanic people that conquered Gaul in the 6th century and controlled much of western Europe for several centuries afterwards.
Franks
What is the Frankish dynasty founded by Clovis and reigning in Gaul and Germany c.500–750?
Merovingians
Who was king of the Franks 481–511. He extended Merovingian rule to Gaul and Germany, making Paris his capital. After his conversion to Christianity he championed orthodoxy against the Arian Visigoths, finally defeating them in the battle of Poitiers (507).
Clovis/Chlodwig
Who was the Frankish ruler of the eastern part of the Frankish kingdom from 715 and the whole kingdom from 719, grandfather of Charlemagne. His rule marked the beginning of Carolingian power.
Charles Martel
What was the Frankish dynasty, founded by Charlemagne’s father (Pepin III), that ruled in western Europe from 750 to 987?
Carolingians
Who was king of the Franks 751–768; father of Charlemagne. He founded the Carolingian dynasty in 751.
Pepin
Who was the Anglo-Saxon missionary; born Wynfrith ; known as the Apostle of Germany. He was sent to Frisia and Germany to spread the Christian faith and was appointed primate of Germany in 732.
Saint Boniface
Any of the Scandinavian seafaring pirates and traders who raided and settled in many parts of northwestern Europe in the 8th–11th centuries.
Vikings
The German Emperor, the Emperor of Austria, or the head of the Holy Roman Empire.
Kaiser
A member of a people who originated in the Urals and migrated westwards to settle in what is now Hungary in the 9th century AD.
Magyars
A German dynastic family, some of whom ruled as Holy Roman emperors between 1138 and 1254, among them Frederick I (Barbarossa).
Hohenstaufen
One of the principal dynasties of central Europe from medieval to modern times.
The family established a hereditary monarchy in Austria in 1282 and secured the title of Holy Roman emperor from 1452.
Habsburgs
A member of a class of mercenary soldiers in the German and other continental armies in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Landsknecht
Swiss religious reformer, the principal figure of the Swiss Reformation. He rejected papal authority and many orthodox doctrines and, although he had strong local support in Zurich, his ideas met with fierce resistance in some regions.
Ulrich Zwingli
German reformer. He succeeded Luther as leader of the Reformation movement in Germany in 1521 and drew up the Augsburg Confession in 1530.
Philipp Melanchthon
A meeting of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V’s imperial diet at Worms in 1521, at which Martin Luther was summoned to appear. Luther committed himself there to the cause of Protestant reform, and his teaching was formally condemned in the Edict of Worms.
Diet of Worms
Who reigned Holy Roman emperor from 1519–56. His reign was characterized by the struggle against Protestantism in Germany, rebellion in Castile, and war with France (1521–44).
Charles V
A European war of 1618–48 which broke out between the Catholic Holy Roman emperor and some of his German Protestant states and developed into a struggle for continental hegemony with France, Sweden, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire as the major protagonists. It was ended by the Treaty of Westphalia.
Thirty Years War
Who was the king of Sweden 1611–32. His repeated victories in battle made Sweden a European power, and in 1630 he intervened on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years War.
Gustavus Adolphus
The peace accord (1648) which ended the Thirty Years War, signed simultaneously in Osnabrück and Münster.
Peace of Westphalia
Who was known as the Sun King. His reign represented the high point of the Bourbon dynasty and of French power in Europe, and in this period French art and literature flourished. His almost constant wars of expansion united Europe against him, however, and gravely weakened France’s financial position.
Louis XIV
A European war (1701–14), provoked by the death without issue of the Spanish king Charles II. The Grand Alliance of Britain, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman emperor threw back a French invasion of the Low Countries, and, although the Peace of Utrecht confirmed the accession of a Bourbon king in Spain, prevented Spain and France from being united under one crown.
War of Spanish Succession
Who was the archduchess of Austria; queen of Hungary and Bohemia 1740–80. The daughter of Emperor Charles VI, she succeeded to the Habsburg dominions in 1740 by virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction. Her accession triggered the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), which led in turn to the Seven Years War (1756–63).
Maria Theresa
Who was a French queen; wife of Louis XVI. A daughter of Maria Theresa, she married the future Louis XVI of France in 1770. Her extravagant lifestyle led to widespread unpopularity and, like her husband, she was executed during the French Revolution.
Marie Antoinette
A group of several related conflicts (1740–48), involving most of the states of Europe, that were triggered by the death of the Emperor Charles VI and the accession of his daughter Maria Theresa in 1740 to the Austrian throne.
War of Austrian Succession/ Silesian Wars
Who was the Austrian archduchess who became Empress of the French as the second wife of Napoleon I.
Marie-Louise von Habsburg
A battle in 1805 near the town of Austerlitz (now in the Czech Republic), in which Napoleon defeated the Austrians and Russians.
Battle of Austerlitz
A battle fought on June 18, 1815, near the village of Waterloo (in what is now Belgium), in which Napoleon’s army was defeated by the British (under the Duke of Wellington) and Prussians. The allied pursuit caused Napoleon’s army to disintegrate entirely, ending his bid to return to power.
Waterloo
Austrian statesman. As foreign minister (1809–48), he was one of the organizers of the Congress of Vienna (1814–15), which determined the settlement of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars.
Prince Metternich
An international conference held 1814–15 to agree the settlement of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. The guiding principle of the settlement was the restoration and strengthening of hereditary and sometimes despotic rulers; the result was a political stability that lasted for three or four decades.
Congress of Vienna
King of Bavaria. A patron of the arts, he became a recluse and built a series of elaborate castles. He was declared insane and deposed in 1886.
Ludwig II
A conflict from 1872 to 1887 between the German government (headed by Bismarck) and the papacy for the control of schools and Church appointments, in which Bismarck was forced to concede to the Catholic Church.
Kulturkampf
The war of 1870–1 between France (under Napoleon III) and Prussia, in which Prussian troops advanced into France and decisively defeated the French at Sedan. The defeat marked the end of the French Second Empire. For Prussia, the proclamation of the new German Empire at Versailles was the climax of Bismarck’s ambitions to unite Germany.
Franco-Prussian War
A battle fought in 1870 near the town of Sedan in north-eastern France, in which the Prussian army defeated a smaller French army under Napoleon III, opening the way for a Prussian advance on Paris and marking the end of the French Second Empire.
Battle of Sedan
Who was the king of Prussia 1861–88 and emperor of Germany 1871–88. He became the first emperor of Germany after Prussia’s victory against France in 1871. The latter part of his reign was marked by the rise of German socialism, to which he responded with harsh, repressive measures.
Wilhelm I
Who was the emperor of Germany 1888–1918, grandson of Wilhelm I and also of Queen Victoria; known as Kaiser Wilhelm. After forcing Bismarck to resign in 1890 he proved unable to exercise a strong or consistent influence over German policies. He was vilified by Allied propaganda as the author of the First World War. In 1918 he abdicated and went into exile.
Wilhelm II
A small island in the North Sea off the coast of Germany, one of the North Frisian Islands. The island was Danish from 1714 until seized by the British navy in 1807 and later ceded officially to Britain. In 1890 it was returned to Germany.
Helgoland
A former German protectorate in East Africa (1891–1918), corresponding to present-day Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.
German East Africa/ Deutsch-Ostafrika
A former German protectorate in south-western Africa (1884–1918), corresponding to present-day Namibia.
German Southwest Africa (Namibia)
Who was the emperor of Austria 1848–1916 and king of Hungary 1867–1916. He gave Hungary equal status with Austria in 1867. His annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1908) contributed to European political tensions, and the assassination in Sarajevo of his heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, precipitated the First World War.
Emperor Franz Josef
The name of the British royal family since 1917. Previously Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, it was changed in response to anti-German feeling in the First World War.
The House of Windsor
A former region of Poland that extended north to the Baltic coast and separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany, granted to Poland after World War I to ensure Polish access to the coast. Its annexation by Germany in 1939, with the German occupation of the rest of Poland, precipitated World War II. After the war, the area was restored to Poland.
Polish Corridor
An association of countries established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles to promote international cooperation and achieve international peace and security. It was powerless to stop Italian, German, and Japanese expansionism leading to World War II and was replaced by the United Nations in 1945.
League of Nations
German field marshal and statesman; president of the Weimar Republic 1925–34;
General Paul von Hindenburg
The Nazi regime, 1933–45.
Third Reich
An agreement between Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, signed at Munich on September 29, 1938, under which the Sudetenland was ceded to Nazi Germany, often cited as an example of misjudged or dishonorable appeasement.
Munich Agreement
An area in the northwestern part of the Czech Republic, on the border with Germany. Allocated to Czechoslovakia after World War I, it became an object of Nazi expansionist policies and was ceded to Germany as a result of the Munich Agreement of September 1938.
Sudetenland
Austrian statesman, Chancellor of Austria 1932–4. From 1933 he attempted to block Austrian Nazi plans to force the Anschluss by governing without Parliament. He was assassinated by Austrian Nazis.
Engelbert Dollfuss
The annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. Hitler had forced the resignation of the Austrian Chancellor by demanding that he admit Nazis into his cabinet. The new Chancellor, a pro-Nazi, invited German troops to enter the country on the pretext of restoring law and order.
Anschluss
The basic monetary unit of the former German Democratic Republic, equal to 100 pfennig.
Ostmark
A long and bitterly fought battle of the Second World War, in which the German advance into the Soviet Union was turned back at Stalingrad in 1942–3. The Germans surrendered after suffering more than 300,000 casualties.
Battle of Stalingrad
(in the Second World War) a German counteroffensive in the Ardennes aimed at preventing an Allied invasion of Germany, in late 1944–early 1945. The Germans drove a ‘bulge’ about 60 miles (110 km) deep in the front line, but were later forced to retreat.
Battle of the Bulge
A meeting between the Allied leaders Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin in February 1945 at Yalta, a Crimean port on the Black Sea. The leaders planned the final stages of the Second World War and agreed the subsequent territorial division of Europe.
Yalta Conference
Series of trials of former Nazi leaders for alleged war crimes, presided over by an International Military Tribunal representing the victorious Allied Powers and held in Nuremberg in 1945–6;
Nuremberg Trials
A treaty of mutual defence and military aid signed at Warsaw on 14 May 1955 by Communist states of Europe under Soviet influence, in response to the admission of West Germany to NATO. The Pact was dissolved in 1991.
Warsaw Pact
An economic association of east European countries founded in 1949 and analogous to the European Economic Community. With the collapse of communism in eastern Europe, the association was dissolved in 1991.
COMECON
The internal security force of the former German Democratic Republic, abolished in 1989.
Stasi
Year Saarland became the 10th German state
1957
The foreign policy of western European countries of detente with reference to the former communist bloc, especially the opening of relations with the Eastern bloc by the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in the 1960s.
Ostpolitik
(in Germany) citizens of the former German Democratic Republic.
Ossis
A citizen of West Germany.
Wessis
The group of European Union nations whose national currency is the euro.
Eurozone
(born 1927), German cleric, pope 2005–13; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger. He was the first pope to resign from office since Gregory XII in 1415.
Pope Benedict XVI
An extreme right-wing political movement in Germany formed in 2014 and aiming to resist what it perceives as the increasing influence of Islam in western Europe.
PEGIDA
A canton in northeastern Switzerland, one of the three original cantons of the Swiss Confederation, to which it gave its name.
Schwyz
French theologian and reformer. On becoming a Protestant, he fled to Switzerland, where he attempted to reorder society on reformed Christian principles. His Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) was the first systematic account of reformed Christian doctrine.
John Calvin
Swiss mercenaries employed as a special guard, formerly by sovereigns of France, now only at the Vatican.
Swiss guard
American cavalry general. He served with distinction in the American Civil War but led his men to their deaths in a clash (popularly known as Custer’s Last Stand) with the Sioux at Little Bighorn in Montana.
George Armstrong Custer
German piano-maker; resident in the US from 1849; He founded his piano-making firm in New York City in 1853.
Heinrich Steinway
US journalist and author;His many children’s books include Father Goose: His Book (1899), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), and other Oz books.
L. Frank Baum
US newspaper publisher and editor, born in Hungary. A pioneer of popular journalism, he owned a number of newspapers, including the New York World. He made provisions in his will for the establishment of the annual Pulitzer Prizes.
Joseph Pulitzer
US writer and illustrator; known as Dr. Seuss . His numerous children’s books include (1937), Horton Hatches the Egg (1940), The Cat in the Hat (1957), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990).
Theodore Geisel
US industrialist. He organized the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in 1900 and was its president 1903–32 and chairman 1932–38.
Harvey Firestone
US army officer; known as Black Jack. His early military years included active duty in Cuba, the Philippines, and Mexico before he became commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Force 1917–19 in World War I. His Meuse-Argonne offensive 1918 led to the final collapse of the German Army. He served as US Army chief of staff 1921–24.
General John Pershing
US baseball player and coach; known as the Flying Dutchman. Joining the National League in 1897 and playing shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates 1900–1917, he was noted for his hitting and base stealing. Baseball Hall of Fame (1936).
Honus Wagner
US baseball player; known as the Iron Horse. He played a then-record 2,130 consecutive major league games for the New York Yankees from 1925 to 1939; his stamina earned him his nickname.
Lou Gehrig
US statesman and diplomat; born in Germany; secretary of state 1973–77; . In 1973, he helped to negotiate the withdrawal of US troops from South Vietnam, and later headed the commission investigating the attacks of September 11. His numerous trips to foster Middle East negotiations led to the term “shuttle diplomacy.” Nobel Peace Prize (1973).
Henry Kissinger
US industrialist and philanthropist; f. He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and, by 1880, exercised a virtual monopoly over oil refining in the US.
John D. Rockefeller
US industrialist; . In 1927, he founded United Aircraft and Transport, which, in 1934, was divided into Boeing Aircraft, United Aircraft, and United Airlines.
William Boeing
US automobile manufacturer; . He was president and general manager of Buick Motor Company 1916–21 and introduced the Chrysler automobile in 1924.
Walter Chrysler
US businessman; . After buying up different hotels during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, he formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1946 and Hilton International in 1948.
Conrad Hilton
US librettist;. He collaborated with various composers, including Jerome Kern, with whom he wrote Showboat (1927), and most notably Richard Rodgers, with whom he wrote Oklahoma! (1943), South Pacific (1949), and The Sound of Music (1959).
Oscar Hammerstein II
US food manufacturer. In 1869 he established a family firm for the manufacture and sale of processed foods.
Henry Heinz
US actor; . He was noted for movies such as It Happened One Night (1934) and Gone with the Wind (1939).
Clark Gable
US dancer, singer, and actor; He starred in a number of movie musicals, including Top Hat (1935) and Shall We Dance? (1937) with Ginger Rogers and Easter Parade (1948) with Judy Garland.
Fred Astaire
US actor and politician, born in Austria. He is noted for his action roles in movies such as Conan The Barbarian (1982) and The Terminator (1984). He was governor of California from 2003–2011.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
US naval officer. Chief of the Bureau of Navigation (1939–41), he became commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. A noted strategist, he introduced the practice of island hopping, which contributed to many victories. Nimitz accepted the Japanese surrender for the US in 1945 aboard his flagship, the USS Missouri, and after World War II served as chief of naval operations 1945–47.
Admiral Chester Nimitz
king of the Huns 434–53. He ravaged vast areas between the Rhine and the Caspian Sea before being defeated by the joint forces of the Roman army and the Visigoths at Châlons in 451.
Atilla
Each of Wotan’s twelve handmaids who conducted the slain warriors of their choice from the battlefield to Valhalla.
Die Walküre
Roman historian; . His Annals (covering the years 14–68) and Histories (69–96) are major works on the history of the Roman Empire.
Tacitus
king of the Franks 768–814 and Holy Roman emperor 800–14; As the first Holy Roman he promoted the arts and education, and his court became the cultural centre of the Carolingian Renaissance, the influence of which outlasted his empire.
Karl der Große
The period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (5th century) to the fall of Constantinople (1453), or, more narrowly, from c.1000 to 1453.
Mittelalter
king of the Germans 936–73, Holy Roman emperor 962–73; As king of the Germans he carried out a policy of eastward expansion and as Holy Roman emperor he established a presence in Italy to rival that of the papacy.
Otto I
son of Henry III, reigned 1056–1105, Holy Roman emperor 1084–1105. Increasing conflict with Pope Gregory VII led him to call a council in 1076 to depose the Pope, who excommunicated him. He obtained absolution by doing penance before Gregory in 1077 but managed to depose him in 1084.
Henry IV/Heinrich IV.
A medieval association of north German cities, formed in 1241 and surviving until the 19th century. In the later Middle Ages it included over 100 towns and functioned as an independent political power.
Hanseatic League/Hanse
A 16th-century movement for the reform of abuses in the Roman Church ending in the establishment of the Reformed and Protestant Churches.
Reformation
In 1618 Protestant citizens threw Catholic officials from the windows of Hradčany Castle, which contributed to the outbreak of the Thirty Years War
Defenestration of Prague
