German history timeline
This chart puts 11 German states and empires on one timeline in order, from East Francia (843 to 962 CE) to Germany (1990 CE to the present). On these dates, Holy Roman Empire lasted longest, about 844 years.
See it on the interactive chart
- East Francia843 to 962 CE
- Holy Roman Empire962 to 1806 CE
- Kingdom of Prussia1701 to 1918 CE
- Confederation of the Rhine1806 to 1813 CE
- German Confederation1815 to 1866 CE
- German Empire1871 to 1918 CE
- Weimar Republic1918 to 1933 CE
- Nazi Germany1933 to 1945 CE
- West Germany1949 to 1990 CE
- East Germany1949 to 1990 CE
- Germany1990 CE to the present
- Germanic
In order
East Francia
The eastern share of the Carolingian empire under the Treaty of Verdun. When the Carolingian line died out in 911, Conrad of Franconia and then the Saxon dukes became kings, and Otto I crushed the Magyars at Lechfeld in 955.
Holy Roman Empire
Dated from Otto I's imperial coronation in 962 (some date it from 800), a decentralised empire of German, Italian and Burgundian lands under an elected emperor. The Thirty Years' War devastated it, and Francis II dissolved it in 1806.
Kingdom of Prussia
Frederick the Great seized Silesia, and Prussia shared in the partitions of Poland. Under Bismarck it beat Austria and France and united Germany around itself.
Confederation of the Rhine
Napoleon's league of German client states, whose secession forced the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. It collapsed after the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.
German Confederation
A league of 39 German states set up at the Congress of Vienna under Austrian presidency. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 broke it up.
German Empire
Proclaimed at Versailles in 1871 under the Prussian king, it became the largest economy in continental Europe and gained colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Defeat in 1918 ended the monarchy.
Weimar Republic
Germany's first democracy, burdened by the Versailles treaty, the hyperinflation of 1923 and the Depression. Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933.
Nazi Germany
Hitler's dictatorship rearmed Germany, started the Second World War in 1939 and murdered about six million Jews in the Holocaust. Its armed forces surrendered unconditionally in May 1945.
West Germany
The Federal Republic, formed from the American, British and French zones. Its economic miracle of the 1950s made it the world's second-largest economy, and it belonged to NATO and the European Economic Community.
East Germany
The German Democratic Republic, a Soviet-bloc state that built the Berlin Wall in 1961. Mass protests opened the Wall in 1989, and it joined West Germany in 1990.
Germany
Reunified on 3 October 1990, Germany is the largest economy in the European Union and moved its government back to Berlin in 1999.
Major events
- Treaty of Verdun. Agreed on 10 August 843, the treaty ends the Carolingian civil war and divides the empire among Lothair I, Louis II and Charles II. It is the first in a series of partitions contributing to the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire.
- Gutenberg's printing press. Johannes Gutenberg develops printing with movable metal type in Mainz. His Bible is finished around 1455.
- Luther's Ninety-five Theses. Martin Luther attacks the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, starting the Protestant Reformation.
- Copernicus publishes his heliocentric theory. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, printed in Nuremberg, sets out Nicolaus Copernicus's heliocentric theory as an alternative to the geocentric system of Ptolemy, widely accepted since ancient times.
- Thirty Years' War begins. Protestant nobles throw two Catholic representatives from the windows of Prague Castle in May 1618 and begin the Bohemian Revolt. The war that follows draws in foreign rulers and lasts until 1648.
- Peace of Westphalia. Treaties at Osnabruck and Munster end the Thirty Years' War, which killed between 4.5 and 8 million people. The Swiss Confederacy gains legal independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
- Seven Years' War begins. Frederick II leads Prussian troops into Saxony on 29 August in a global conflict that sets Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. It spreads to North America and India before ending in 1763.
- Congress of Vienna. Chaired by Metternich, representatives of the European powers meet from September 1814 to June 1815 to settle Europe's order after Napoleon's downfall. The Final Act is signed on 9 June, nine days before Waterloo.
- Revolutions of 1848. Uprisings begin in Sicily in January and spread across Europe after the revolution in France in February, affecting over fifty countries with little coordination. Austria and Prussia eliminate feudalism by 1850.
- Unification of Germany. After victory over France, Wilhelm I of Prussia is proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
- First World War begins. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June sets off a war that causes 15 to 22 million deaths and ends with the collapse of four empires.
- Treaty of Versailles. Signed on 28 June, the treaty ends the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. Germany, barred from the negotiations, must disarm, make territorial concessions and pay reparations.
- Hitler becomes chancellor. President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany on 30 January after backroom negotiations. On 23 March Hitler calls on the Reichstag to vote for the Enabling Act.
- Second World War begins. Germany invades Poland on 1 September. The war in Europe kills tens of millions, including six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, before Germany surrenders in May 1945.
- The Holocaust. From 1941 to 1945 Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murder around six million Jews, about two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population, in mass shootings and extermination camps. Nazi persecutions also kill millions of others.
- Battle of Stalingrad. Axis forces attack the Soviet city from August 1942, and the German 6th Army surrenders on 2 February 1943. Generally regarded as the turning point of the European theatre, it is considered the deadliest battle of the Second World War.
- D-Day landings in Normandy. Allied forces land in Normandy on 6 June in the largest seaborne invasion in history, beginning the liberation of France and western Europe. Allied casualties on the day are at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.
- Treaty of Rome. France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries found the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European Union.
- Berlin Wall built. East Germany begins building the Wall on 13 August, mainly to stop its citizens fleeing to the West. Estimates of those killed by East German authorities at the Wall range from 136 to more than 200.
- Fall of the Berlin Wall. East German border guards open the Wall on 9 November as communist regimes fall across eastern Europe.
Questions
What is the order of German states and empires?
By start date: East Francia, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Prussia, Confederation of the Rhine, German Confederation, German Empire, Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, West Germany, East Germany and Germany.
Which of the German states and empires lasted longest?
On this timeline, Holy Roman Empire, at about 844 years (962 to 1806 CE).
How many German states and empires were there?
This timeline shows 11. Other lists count differently, depending on how they treat rival states and periods of division.
Which came first?
East Francia, 843 to 962 CE, is the earliest on this timeline.
Where do these dates come from?
Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.