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Germany timeline - Coggle Diagram

- - - - 1848 first failed German Parliament
      - 1862 Bismarck appointed Minister-President
        
        Promotes nationalism without liberalism, allowing for a monarchic unified Germany
      - 1866 victory in the Austro-Prussian war, forming the North German Confederation
      - 1871 victory in Franco-Prussian war, south pushed to join confederation, Germany formed under Kaiser Wilhelm I
        
        Huge flood of nationalist sentiment
      - 1871 constitution
        
        Establishes the weak but democratic Reichstag
        
        Establishes the powerful but Prussian dominated Bundesrat
        
        17 seats, needing 14 to veto (Bav gets 6)
        
        Strong military and political Kaiser
        
        Controls mil and can declare war with Bundesrat consent, required signature for all leg
        
        Strong Chancellor (Bismarck)
        
        Solely responsible to the Kaiser, has seat in Bundesrat
        
        Only signatories are Prussia, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden and Hesse (the south)
        
        Reichstag
        
        NLs followed by Centre and conservatives
        
        Bismarck allies NLs
    - - 1864 Syllabus of Errors
        
        Denounced liberalism and secularisation
      - 1870 Declaration Papal Infallibility
        
        Pope as sole authority over Catholics
      - 1871 Pulpit Paragraph
        
        Forbode political expression and gov criticism in churches
      - 1872 School Inspection Law
        
        State sole right to inspect schools, including private and confessional
      - 1872 Jesuits banned from Germany
        
        Only about 200
      - 1873 Prussian May Laws
        
        Gave state power over appointment and education of priests
      - 1873 Relations with Vatican ended
      - 1874 Civil Marriages
        
        Only legal form of marriage, though could then marry in church after
      - 1874 Catholic Eduard Kullmann
        
        assassination attempt
      - 1875 Bread Basket Law
        
        Withdrew financial support for priests who did not publicly support the gov
      - 1876 State Supervision Act
        
        Gov supervision over all church assets in Catholic diocese in Prussia
      - 1879 over 1800 priests exiled
      - War in Sight Crisis 1875
        
        Increasing concern over the French
        
        1873 French Army Organisation Law increased French infantry battalions from 3 to 4
        
        1874 Bismarck warned France they would threaten the peace if they sided with the Vatican on the Kulturkampf
        
        Estimated that by 1878 they would have around 800,000 trained men, 80,000 more than at the time
        
        Helmuth Von Moltke considered French military growth cause for a preventative war
        
        1875
        
        April 5th newspaper Kolnishe Zeitung, supported by Bismarck, published an article depicting catholic conspiracy between France and Austria
        
        April 9th The Berliner Post asked 'Is War In Sight', making clear that they and many from government thought it was
        
        Some gov officials also made diplomatic action towards a preventative war
        
        Moltke reported on French military expansion to the Brits
        
        The German diplomat to Russia told the French ambassador in Berlin that the Reichstag was considering a preventative war
        
        All of Europe was concerned by this
        
        The Tsar of Russia, with support from Queen Victoria, visited Germany for private talks with the Kaiser
        
        After, Russian chancellor Gorchakov told the press he thought peace assured
        
        This infuriated Bismarck as meddling in his plans and humiliated because he was not involved in talks
        
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        The crisis further demonstrated the influence of the German mil on policy along with the press
  - - - Germany now led by Kaiser Wilhelm II
        
        Military was very important to him
        
        Little respect for the democracy and thus the Reichstag
        
        Little to no respect for the constitution, wanted absolute monarchy
        
        Relied on small groups of advisors and weak chancellors to promote his own power - becomes dominant political figure in Germany for 24 years until mil takes over 1914
        
        Strong Nationalist
        
        Weltpolitik - use enemies of the Reich to build German unity
        
        However, more ambitions than Bismarck's Realpolitik
        
        Easily manipulated despite his wish to dominate
        
        Oft mocked and ridiculed by other nations
        
        Withered left arm
        
        Cousin to George V and Tsar Nicholas II
      - August experience
        
        Kaiser used the euphoria of August to limit political parties by unifying them under the cause of war
        
        After the 1914 Enabling Act, the Kaiser theoretically had total control - ended democracy during the war
        
        Despite the Reichstag being predominantly anti-government, they vote through war credits, including the socialists
        
        Military gained 300,000 men and expenditure doubled
        
        Kaiser pushed for a larger navy to contest the British and have Germany as a world power, rather than a European one
      - 14-17
        
        SPD and poles, despite being definitively anti-government, supported the war
        
        German High Command kept support high for 2 years by limiting bad news feeding back to Germany, allowing the Burgfriede to carry
        
        Winter of 1916 saw food shortages due to blockades - gov deigns to kill 35% of pigs to save grain
        
        Following 'Turnip Winter' saw potato crops fail, which combined with the meat shortage to create terrible rations
        
        750,000 died of disease or starvation
        
        shortages led to discontent - urban workers thought rural folk were hoarding grain, rural folk wanted more labour from the urban workers, working and middle class thought the upper had better access to the black market for food
        
        Inaction and growing demand further angered urban workers, price controls angered rurals, small businesses were threatened by industrialisation and everyone resented the Prussian elite who were exempt from some taxes until 1916 and could acquire food that most could not
        
        By 1917 many Germans questioned whether the war was worthwhile
        
        Casualties 2.5m
        
        By August 1916, gov was essentially a military dictatorship due to pressure on the chancellor and the Kaiser's ineptitude
        
        Fragmentation of the SPD 14-17
        
        Response in 1917
        
        April 200,000 workers strike in Berlin
        
        Real wages had fallen by 44% for men, 39% for women (Britain only fell 15%)
        
        Military take over of the government - silent dictatorship of Ludendorff and Hindenburg from 1916
        
        Refused peace until Germany won a siegfrieden - victorious peace
        
        Aimed to triple artillery and machine gun output through total war
        
        Ludendorff initiates unrestricted warfare despite (accurate) fears of this leading to US involvement - many Germans looked up to the US as an ideal government, particularly the SPD
        
        H pushed for total war in terms of domestic industry, creating an auxiliary service that would reallocate work, leading to greater food shortages
        
        By Spring 1917 workers doing 7 day weeks, 15 hour days with minimal food, leading to extensive rioting
        
        July Crisis
        
        Reichstag discussing the extension of war credits
        
        19th Reichstag breaks from gov and vote through a peace resolution with 86 votes in the majority
        
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        In response, H and L simply use it as an excuse to remove Bethmann-Hollweg and replace him with the far weaker Michaelis
        
        Then persuade chancellor and Kaiser to ignore the Reichstag and continue the war
        
        Leads to the establishment of Ludendorff's Fatherland Party - 1918 has >1 million members
        
        Pushes Ludendorff's 'stab in the back', heavily blaming Erzberger for the failures of the war
        
        August 1914 on paper supports the war but many such as Haase and Liebknecht have reservations
        
        Party voted 96-14 in favour of war credits
        
        December 1915 20 SPD members vote against war credits
        
        March 1916 Haase and 18 others vote against an emergency budget
        
        He was summarily forced to resign from his position as chairman and his followers joined him in creating a new 'Social Democratic Working Group', though still part of the SPD
        
        This became known as the Labour Fellowship
        
        June 1916 Liebknecht and Luxembourg imprisoned for trying to spread opposition against the government
        
        January 1917 labour fellowship kicked out of the SPD due to concerns of them dividing it
        
        On the 6th April these members led by Haase form the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), with loose affiliations with the Spartacist league
        
        Jan 1918 USPD had c. 120,000 members and implemented strikes throughout the month
        
        c. 1 million workers went on strike before the end of the war
        
        The SPD would label them unpatriotic and later the military targeted them with their 'Stab in the Back' myth
    - - 1918 Revolution from above
        
        March 3 Brest Litovsk signed
        
        Russia leaves the war, Germany gains land in Eastern Europe and heavy reparations, only voted against by the USPD
        
        8 August 'black day of the German army'
        
        Brits overrun German positions, taking 16,000 as POWs
        
        29th Sept Bulgaria leaves the war
        
        Same day Ludendorff tells the Kaiser the war is lost and to make political changes to preserve the old regime
        
        3rd October Prince Max of Baden (liberal) appointed chancellor
        
        Against sub warfare, worked with POWS, had a broad coalition supported by Ludendorff
        
        Wrote to Wilson seeking armistice and enacted constitutional reforms
        
        Abolished Prussian three class franchise, Army and navy responsible to the Reichstag, not Kaiser, Chancellor and gov responsible to Reichstag
        
        passed 28th oct
        
        Ludendorff sacked 26th Oct
        
        appears to switch position, calling for Germany to 'fight to the bitter end'
        
        At Wilsons request, unrestricted sub warfare ends
        
        9th November, Max announces the Kaiser's abdication
      - Revolution from below 1918-19
        
        28th Oct 1918 - German fleet at Kiel ordered to engage in a final suicidal attack against the British
        
        29th those soldiers mutiny and demonstrations begin in Kiel
        
        29th-6th Sept protests spread along the rail network, forming revolutionary councils to negotiate
        
        7th November Kurt Eisner seizes Bavaria, forming the independent Bavarian Republic
        
        9th November huge strike in Berlin
        
        Ebert tells Max the only way to stop rev is democracy - he announces the Kaiser's abdication
        
        Kaiser tries to stop this but fails, Ebert takes power
        
        Secretary of State Scheidemann announces a German Republic, against Ebert's wishes
        
        Ebert-Groener pact secures army support in exchange for unreformed civil service, judiciary and army
        
        10th November Ebert forms a coalition with the USPD
        
        11 November armistice day, under command of Erzberger
        
        12th November Council of People's Deputies release a statement to end censorship, siege, granted amnesty to political prisoners, universal suffrage, 8 hour work day and benefits
        
        15th November Stinnes-Legien Agreement - trade-unions respect private property ownership, industrialists recognise trade-unions as sole representatives of the workers
        
        December/January Liebknecht and Luxembourg break from USPD to form KPD
        
        5th Jan Liebknecht, against Luxembourg's will, pushes for revolution after taking SPD printers and form the Revolutionary Committee
        
        7th-12th Jan general strike, supported by hundreds of thousands but unorganised, Ebert calls in Freikorps and crushes them
        
        15th Jan Liebknecht and Luxembourg shot
        
        4th Jan riots against the removal of left wing Berlin chief of police
        
        Early March more communists in Berlin crushed by Freikorps, 1000 dead
        
        April Freikorps crush Bavarian Soviet Republic
      - 1989-90
        
        Migration
        
        1987-88 East Germans travelling west increased to 6.2 million
        
        By 1988, hundreds of thousands of applications from skilled workers to emigrate west
        
        Number allowed in 88 increased by 18,500 to 30,000
        
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        By 7th October 1989 40,000 crossed to Austria via Hungary
        
        3rd November 89 45,000 camped outside the FRG embassy grounds in Prague
        
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        Aug - Nov 89, c. 200,000 left
        
        1.3 million possibly wished to join
        
        Economy
        
        83/84 loans from West Germany for loosened travel restrictions
        
        Western boycott post Polish Crisis 1980-81 on the East crippled the price of soviet oil, reducing soviet support to the East
        
        Caused a noticeable dip in living standards
        
        Diplomacy
        
        GDR visit West for the first time in 87 thanks to Kohl
        
        Hungary opened borders 2nd May 1989, legalising East German travel in August
        
        35,000 East Germans cross into Austria and the West in September
        
        16th September, GDR agree with Poland to allow their East German refugees to leave west
        
        Followed by agreement with the Czech's to allow 4,000 camped in the West German embassy to go west
        
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        August-Nov timeline
        
        21st August Honecker falls ill and withdraws till late September
        
        4th September Monday demonstrations begin
        
        Mass protests against the Communist system in Leipzig despite police presence
        
        25th September Honecker returns and disregards the protests and emigration crisis
        
        Early October
        
        10,000 in Dresden engage in a 3 hour riot
        
        East Germans attempt to board a sealed train taking others out of the country from Czechoslovakia after Honecker permits those outside the Prague FRG embassy to migrate
        
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        7th October 40 year anniversary celebrations and Czech border closed
        
        15,000 in Plauen start a protest the conditions in the GDR, scuffling with police
        
        Gorbachev publicly endorses political and economic reform and confirmed the end of military and financial assistance
        
        9th October 70,000 protest in Leipzig
        
        16th October 120,000 attend Christian Fuhrer's church service
        
        17th October 100,000 protest in Leipzig
        
        18th October Honecker is removed, replaced by Krenz
        
        Announced the beginning of reforms to make East Germans want to stay
        
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        4th November 500,000 protest in East Berlin for political reforms
        
        Wanted political freedom, legalisation of opposition and freedom of unrestricted travel
        
        9th November, in a hastily arranged press conference, Schabowski (spokesperson of the GDR) announces greater rights for travel for those with passports
        
        On questioning he declares them to be in effect immediately, without authorisation
        
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        11:20 border guards at Bornholmer Bridge lift the East/West barrier
        
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        13th November opposition parties legalised
        
        28th November Kohl announces TPP to the Bundestag, hoping for reunification in 5-10 years
        
        16th December SED move from Marxist-Leninism to being the 'Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)
        
        13th October 1990 Germany reunifies