Events in the year 1920 in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
Incumbents
National level
*
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
-
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...
(
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
)
*
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
-
Gustav Bauer
Gustav Adolf Bauer (; 6 January 1870 – 16 September 1944) was a German Social Democratic Party leader and the chancellor of Germany from June 1919 to March 1920. Prior to that, he was minister of labour in the last cabinet of the German Empi ...
(Social Democrats) (to 26 March),
Hermann Müller (Social Democrats) (to 21 June),
Constantin Fehrenbach
Constantin Fehrenbach, sometimes erroneously Konstantin Fehrenbach, (11 January 1852 – 26 March 1926), was a German politician who was one of the major leaders of the Catholic Centre Party. He served as president of the Reichstag in 1918 and ...
(
Centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
) (from 25 June)
Overview
The
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
in the previous year resulted in Germany losing several provinces. The most important changes were the loss of
Alsace-Lorraine to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and of a large stretch of territory in
West Prussia
The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
,
Posen, and
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. The territory ceded to Poland amounted to nearly , and, coupled with the establishment of
Danzig as an independent state, which was also imposed upon Germany, this had the effect of cutting off
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
from the main territory of Germany.
Danzig and Memel were to be ceded to the Allies, their fate to be subsequently decided. A portion of Silesia was to be ceded to
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. The treaty also provided for
plebiscite
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...
s to be held in certain areas to decide their destinies. Certain districts of East Prussia and West Prussia were to be polled to decide whether they should belong to Germany or to Poland. A third portion of Silesia, which was in dispute between Germany and Poland, was to exercise the right of self-determination. The small districts of
Eupen
Eupen (, , ; ; ; former ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège, from the Germany, German border (Aachen ...
and
Malmedy
Malmedy (; , historically also ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a population dens ...
were to decide whether they would belong to
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
or to Germany. The middle and southern districts of the province of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...
, which had been annexed to
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
in 1866, were to decide their own destinies. Finally, the coal-producing valley of the
Saarland
Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...
, which had been provisionally separated from Germany, was to be the subject of a referendum after the lapse of fifteen years.
Raoul Hausmann
Raoul Hausmann (July 12, 1886 – February 1, 1971) was an Austrian artist and writer. One of the key figures in Berlin Dada, his experimental photographic collages, sound poetry, and institutional critiques would have a profound influence on ...
,
George Grosz
George Grosz (; ; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Obj ...
,
Hannah Höch
Hannah Höch (; 1 November 1889 – 31 May 1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar Republic, Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage. Photomontage, or fotomontage, is a type of collag ...
and other artists helped establish the Berlin wing of the
Dada movement, an
avant garde
In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
artistic movement that defied the established forms of classical art.
Photomontage
Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final imag ...
, a technique Hausmann claims to have originated with Höch in 1918, becomes associated with Berlin Dada style.
Events
Internal territorial changes in Germany
During the war, the 26 states of the German federation had been reduced by one with the merger of the principalities of
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt.
History
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...
and
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen.
History
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...
. After the revolution, Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, and the two
principalities of Reuss united into a single state. The Duchy of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...
split into two halves;
Coburg
Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
voluntarily united with Bavaria, and
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
entered into negotiations with a number of the other small states of central Germany to bring about a general union of the little republics concerned. Six states took part in these negotiations, which were brought to a successful conclusion at the end of December 1919, when Schwarzburg, Reuss, Gotha,
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant branch of the House of W ...
,
Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia.
Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...
and
Saxe-Altenburg
Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a population of 207,000 (190 ...
united. The total population of these united states was just over 1,500,000, and their joint area was just over . The states took the name of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
(''Einheitsstaat Thüringen'') and the town of
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
was made the capital of the new state.
Political situation at the beginning of the year
From the time of the revolution until the end of 1919, the Liberal and Radical parties in combination with the so-called Majority Social Democratic Party had held power continuously, and were confirmed in their position by the general election held in January 1919. The results were similar to those for the old
Reichstag in the time of the Empire.
In March, following months of instability, the president asked
Hermann Müller, who had previously held the office of minister for foreign affairs, to form an administration. Within forty-eight hours it was announced that Müller had succeeded in forming a cabinet, which included (as did the previous administration) members of all the three moderate parties, the Catholic
Centre Party, the
Democrats, and the
Majority Social Democrats. The new cabinet was composed as follows:
Müller's tenure of the Foreign Office was only temporary, and before the middle of April he relinquished that position to Dr.
Adolf Köster.
Ruhr uprising
As soon as he assumed office Müller had to deal with
insurrection in the Ruhr valley and the neutral zone generally. The German government applied to the Allies for permission to send troops into the disturbed districts in excess of the numbers allowed by the Treaty of Versailles. The British and Italian governments made various suggestions for a temporary modification of certain provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (Articles 42 to 44). The French government, however, declared that if the Germans were allowed to send forces into the Ruhr District, the French should be allowed to occupy
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
,
Homburg, and other neighbouring German towns during the period that the German troops were in the neutral zone. The German government rejected the French suggestion of a parallel occupation. On 3 April, German regular troops of the Reichswehr, under General
Oskar von Watter
Oskar Walther Gerhard Julius Freiherr von Watter (2 September 1861 – 23 August 1939) was a German ''Generalleutnant'' who served in World War I and led the suppression of the Ruhr Uprising.
Early life
Oskar Walther Gerhard Julius Freiherr von ...
, entered the neutral zone in force, and experienced little difficulty in dealing with the
armed leftist workers. The revolutionary headquarters at
Mülheim
Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is ho ...
were taken on April 4. Immediately after the German troops crossed the line, the French government itself gave orders to its own troops to advance, proclaiming the necessity of this move on the grounds that Articles 42 to 44 of the Treaty of Versailles had been broken by the Germans. The population of Frankfurt was hostile, and the British government regarded the advance as an extreme measure which should only have been adopted in the last resort. The British held that the enforcement of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was an affair for the Allies collectively, and not for any single Allied government.
Müller complained of French militarism, and in particular that
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
ese negro troops should have been quartered in Frankfurt University. He blamed Kapp and his associates for the fact that the working classes had now lost confidence in the republican army. In the disturbed area, 160 German officers and men had been killed and nearly 400 had been wounded.
The
San Remo conference
The San Remo conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council as an outgrowth of the Paris Peace Conference, held at Castle Devachan in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. The San Remo Resolution ...
, a meeting of the Supreme Council, consisting of the British, French, and Italian prime ministers, was opened on 19 April; it dealt, among other questions, with the German invasion of the Ruhr Valley, and with the problem of disarmament.
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
, with the support of
Francesco Saverio Nitti
Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paola Nitti (; 19 July 1868 – 20 February 1953) was an Italian economist and statesman. A member of the Italian Radical Party, Nitti served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920. An opponent of the ...
, proposed that the German government should be invited to attend the conference; but this was opposed by
Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1920 to 1924, having previously served as Prime Minister of France earlier in 1920. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the start of the ...
. The result of the discussions at San Remo on the German question was that a note dealing with the question of disarmament was sent to the German government at the end of April, stating that it was impossible for the Allied governments even to consider the German request for an increase in troop allowances whilst Germany failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty of Versailles. The rapidity with which the Reichswehr overcame the insurgents made it possible for the German government to withdraw the troops quickly. At the end of April the foreign minister, Adolf Köster, declared that the French ought now to evacuate Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and Homburg, because the German troops had been reduced to 17,500. The Allied side stated that the force must be reduced forthwith to twenty battalions, six squadrons, and two batteries; and that even this force would have to be replaced entirely by a body of 10,000 police by July 10. The German government made the necessary reductions, and on May 17 the French evacuated Frankfurt and the other occupied towns.
General election and new government
The German government arranged a general election for Sunday, 6 June, and about 80% of the voters exercised their rights. The three moderate parties, which had been in an overwhelming majority both in the last imperial Reichstag and also in the new republican National Assembly, were returned with a much smaller majority over the right and left political wings combined.
The Communists enteredthe contest, and a rout of the Spartacists, who won only two seats, was tempered by the success of the Independent Social Democrat, one of the most extreme Socialist parties in Europe, who increased their membership of the house from 22 to 80. This success was gained at the expense of the Majority Social Democrats, previously the largest party in the National Assembly.
After several politicians had attempted in vain to form a new cabinet,
Constantin Fehrenbach
Constantin Fehrenbach, sometimes erroneously Konstantin Fehrenbach, (11 January 1852 – 26 March 1926), was a German politician who was one of the major leaders of the Catholic Centre Party. He served as president of the Reichstag in 1918 and ...
, one of the most respected leaders of the Centre Party, succeeded in doing so. The
German People's Party
The German People's Party (German: , DVP) was a conservative-liberal political party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. Along with the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), ...
, led by
Gustav Stresemann
Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman during the Weimar Republic who served as Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany from August to November 1 ...
, agreed to unite with the Centre and Democrats to form a government. The Majority Social Democrats would not join a ministry which included the German People's Party, but agreed to lend the new government their general support in the Reichstag. Fehrenbach had entered the Bavarian parliament as a Catholic and a representative of Freiburg, and in 1919 he became president of the National Assembly.
Rudolf Heinze became vice-chancellor and minister for justice, Dr.
Walter Simons
Walter Simons (24 September 1861 – 14 July 1937) was a German lawyer and politician. He was Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic in 1920-21 and served as president of the ''Reichsgericht'' from 1922 to 1929.
Early life
Walter Simons was b ...
became foreign minister,
Joseph Wirth
Karl Joseph Wirth (; 6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Centre Party (Germany), Catholic Centre Party who was Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany fr ...
became minister of finance,
Erich Koch-Weser was minister of the interior, and
Johannes Giesberts was minister of posts. Former defence minister
Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske was known for u ...
was not a member of the new cabinet.
Spa conference
At the meeting of the Supreme Council at San Remo in April it was decided to invite the German government to a conference at
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...
, in Belgium, in order to settle the questions relating to disarmament and reparations which arose under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Spa Conference was held during the first half of July, and Fehrenbach himself attended the conference at which Lloyd George and Millerand were also present. Before going into the conference with the Germans the Allies agreed amongst themselves as to the proportions of the total German reparation which should be allotted to each of the Allied countries. Thus France was to receive 52%, the British Empire 22%, Italy 10%, Belgium 8%, and Serbia 5%, the small remaining proportion to be divided amongst other claimants. Apart from her 8% Belgium was to have the privilege of transferring her entire war debt to Germany's shoulders, and she was also to have a prior claim upon the first £100,000,000 paid by Germany. These proportions were settled, but the total amount to be paid by Germany was not decided.
The conference was to have been opened on July 5, and a preliminary sitting was in fact held on that day, but owing to the non-arrival of
Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler (or Geßler) (6 February 1875 – 24 March 1955) was a liberal German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in numerous W ...
, the German minister of defense, it was not possible to proceed with the serious consideration of the first subject on the agenda, which was the question of German disarmament. The conference was held under the presidency of the Belgian prime minister,
Léon Delacroix
Léon Frédéric Gustave Delacroix (; 27 December 1867 – 15 October 1929) was a Belgian statesman. Before entering politics, he was a renowned lawyer, and served as president of the Belgian Court of Cassation from 1917 to 1918. In the context ...
, and the Belgian foreign minister,
Paul Hymans
Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933.
Life
Hymans was ...
, also attended. The British representatives, in addition to Lloyd George himself, were
Lord Curzon
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...
and Sir
Laming Worthington-Evans
Sir Worthington Laming Worthington-Evans, 1st Baronet (23 August 1868 – 14 February 1931) was a British Conservative politician.
Background and education
Born Laming Evans, he was the son of Worthington Evans and Susanah Laming. He assumed the ...
. The chief Italian representative was
Count Sforza, the distinguished and successful foreign minister. The German chancellor was accompanied by Simons and Wirth.
On the following day Gessler arrived, and he proceeded at once to make a formal request that the 100,000 men, which was the limit of the German army allowed by the treaty, should continue to be exceeded, on the ground that it was impossible for the government to keep order with such a small force. Lloyd George then explained the reasons for the Allies' anxiety. He said that the treaty allowed Germany 100,000 men, 100,000 rifles, and 2,000 machine guns. Germany, however, still possessed a regular army of 200,000 men, and also possessed 50,000 machine guns, and 12,000 guns. Moreover, she had only surrendered 1,500,000 rifles, although it was obvious that there must be millions of rifles in the country. During the discussions on the following days it transpired from statements made by the chief of the General Staff himself, General von Seeckt, that in addition to the Reichswehr there were various other organized forces in Germany such as the Einwohnerwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei. The Einwohnerwehr alone appear to have numbered over 500,000 men. General von Seeckt proposed that the regular army should be reduced gradually to 100,000 men by October 1921. A discussion upon this matter took place between the Allies, and it was decided that Germany should be given until January 1, 1921, to reduce the strength of the Reichswehr to the treaty figure of 100,000 men. The exact conditions laid down were that Germany should reduce the Reichswehr to 150,000 men by October 1, withdraw the arms of the Einwohnerwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei, and issue a proclamation demanding the surrender of all arms in the hands of the civilian population, with effective penalties in the event of default. On July 9 the German delegates signed the agreement embodying these stipulations in regard to disarmament.
The later sittings of the conference were concerned with the question of the trial of the German "war criminals", the delivery of coal as a form of reparation, and various other financial matters. It was the question of coal which required the closest attention, largely owing to the extreme need of France for supplies of coal, and the agreement relating to this matter was signed on July 16. It was decided that for six months after August 1 the German government should deliver up 2,000,000 tons of coal per month.
The question of the war criminals referred to above had been under discussion since the beginning of the year. The Treaty of Versailles had required that certain persons with an especially evil record in the war should be handed over to the Allies. Lists of the chief persons coming under the heading of "war criminals" were published by the Allied governments at the end of January. The lists included a number of very well known persons, such as the Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, Field Marshal
August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig Friedrich August Mackensen (ennobled as von Mackensen in 1899; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), was a German field marshal. He commanded Army Group Mackensen during World War I (1914–1918) and became one of the German Empire ...
, General von Kluck, Admiral von Tirpitz, and Admiral von Capelle. However, the ex-Emperor Wilhelm had fled to the Netherlands, and since the Dutch government definitely declined to hand him over to the Allies, it was generally held, especially in Britain, that it was difficult to press forward very vigorously with the punishment of those who, however important their positions, had only been the emperor's servants. It was therefore subsequently decided that the German government itself should be instructed to proceed with the punishment of the war criminals concerned. But it transpired at Spa that the German government had been extremely dilatory in taking the necessary proceedings.
Rest of 1920
The last five months of the year were much less eventful in Germany. The country was still suffering from a shortage of food, though not in the acute degree which was so painfully characteristic of Austria and also of some of the other countries farther east. The German government appears to have made serious efforts to comply with their treaty obligations regarding disarmament and reparation. Thus, in the three weeks following the Spa Conference over 4,000 heavy guns and field guns were destroyed; and measures were taken to obtain the very large number of arms which existed all over the country in the hands of the civilian population. Great numbers of livestock were also handed over to the Allies. Thus France received from Germany (up to November 30) over 30,000 horses, over 65,000 cattle, and over 100,000 sheep. Belgium received, up to the same date, 6,000 horses, 67,000 cattle, and 35,000 sheep.
The financial position of the country remained extremely serious. The total national debt (funded debt and floating debt) amounted to 200,000,000,000 marks, that is, £10,000,000,000 sterling at the old prewar rate of exchange. The anticipated revenue for the year 1920–21 was 27,950,000,000 marks, and the anticipated ordinary expenditure was 23,800,000,000 marks. There was, however, also an anticipated extraordinary expenditure of no less than 11,600,000,000 marks. A heavy deficit on the railways was also expected. The
exchange value
In political economy and especially Marxian economics, exchange value () refers to one of the four major attributes of a commodity, i.e., an item or service produced for, and sold on the market, the other three attributes being use value, econo ...
of the mark had fallen disastrously since the armistice, and though it rose towards the end of the year, the mark was still reckoned at over 200 to the pound sterling in December.
Various statistics of population were published during the year. Among other significant features, it was stated that the number of children under five years of age, in the whole of the territories of the former Hohenzollern empire, had sunk from 8,000,000 in 1911 to 5,000,000 in 1919.
Events
* January – The new state of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, formed by a union of six smaller states, comes into existence.
*
20 January
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
*1156 – Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry (bishop of Finland), Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Köyliönjärvi, Lake Köyli� ...
– The provisions of the Treaty of Versailles come into force, restricting the German army to a maximum of 100,000 men.
*
28 February
Events Pre-1600
*202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
* 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
*1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed ...
– Minister of Defence
Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske was known for u ...
dissolves the Freikorps ''Marinebrigaden'' "
Ehrhardt" and "Loewenfeld", but the highest ranking general of the Reichswehr,
Walther von Lüttwitz
Walther Karl Friedrich Ernst Emil Freiherr von Lüttwitz (2 February 1859 – 20 September 1942) was a German general who fought in World War I. Lüttwitz is best known for being the driving force behind the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch of 1920 w ...
, refuses to comply.
*
13 March
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Mu ...
–
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to ...
:
Wolfgang Kapp
Wolfgang Kapp (24 July 1858 – 12 June 1922) was a German conservative and nationalist and political activist who is best known for his involvement in the eponymous 1920 Kapp Putsch. He spent most of his career working for the Prussian Mini ...
and
Walther von Lüttwitz
Walther Karl Friedrich Ernst Emil Freiherr von Lüttwitz (2 February 1859 – 20 September 1942) was a German general who fought in World War I. Lüttwitz is best known for being the driving force behind the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch of 1920 w ...
attempt to overthrow the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
and establish an
autocratic
Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...
government in its place.
*
19 March
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
* 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
–
Spartacist risings occur in many different places, especially in western Prussia,
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
, and
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.
*
27 March
Events Pre-1600
*1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
*1329 – Pope John XXII issu ...
**
Gustav Bauer
Gustav Adolf Bauer (; 6 January 1870 – 16 September 1944) was a German Social Democratic Party leader and the chancellor of Germany from June 1919 to March 1920. Prior to that, he was minister of labour in the last cabinet of the German Empi ...
resigns as Chancellor and is replaced by
Hermann Müller.
**
Otto Braun
Otto Braun (28 January 1872 – 15 December 1955) was a politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) during the Weimar Republic. From 1920 to 1932, with only two brief interruptions, Braun was Minister President of Prussia, Ministe ...
becomes premier of Prussia, with a new ministry constituted on much the same lines as that of Germany, including members of all the three moderate parties.
*
4 April
Events Pre-1600
*503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
* 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
* 611 – ...
– The
Ruhr uprising
The Ruhr uprising () or March uprising () was an uprising that occurred in the Ruhr region of Germany from 13 March to 6 April 1920. It was a Left-wing politics, left-wing workers' revolt triggered by the call for a Kapp Putsch#General Strike ...
comes to a violent end.
*
6 April
Events Pre–1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
* 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
*132 ...
–
French occupation of Frankfurt: French troops occupy parts of the neutral zone in response to Germany's failure to observe the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
*
25 April – The
San Remo conference
The San Remo conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council as an outgrowth of the Paris Peace Conference, held at Castle Devachan in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. The San Remo Resolution ...
decides that so long as the German government does not carry out the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, the Allied governments will not consider the German request that 100,000-man limit on the permanent force allowed by the treaty should be increased.
*
6 June –
1920 German federal election
Federal elections were held in Germany on 6 June 1920 to elect the first Reichstag (Weimar Republic), Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. It succeeded the Weimar National Assembly elected in 1919 German federal election, January 1919, which had ...
*
28 June – The new chancellor,
Constantin Fehrenbach
Constantin Fehrenbach, sometimes erroneously Konstantin Fehrenbach, (11 January 1852 – 26 March 1926), was a German politician who was one of the major leaders of the Catholic Centre Party. He served as president of the Reichstag in 1918 and ...
, tells the Reichstag on June 28 that, so long as the formerly hostile states refuse to modify the Treaty of Versailles, the German government must endeavour to the best of their ability to observe the terms of the treaty.
Births
*
3 January
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except ...
-
Siegfried Buback
Siegfried Buback (3 January 1920, Wilsdruff, Saxony – 7 April 1977, Karlsruhe) was the Attorney General of West Germany from 1974 until his murder in 1977.
Life and career
Buback studied at the University of Leipzig. From 1940 to 1945, he ...
, Attorney General of Germany (died
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
)
*
9 January
Events Pre-1600
* 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
*1038 – An earthquake in Dingxiang, China kills an estimated 32 ...
-
Curth Flatow, German dramatist and screenwriter (died
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
)
*
23 January -
Gottfried Böhm
Gottfried Böhm (; 23 January 1920 – 9 June 2021) was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne ...
, German architect and sculptor (died
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
)
*
26 January
Events Pre-1600
* 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
*1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
* 1564 – The Council of Trent ...
-
Heinz Kessler, German politician, military officer and convicted felon (died
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
)
*
8 February
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
*1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
* 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
-
Karin Himboldt, German actress (died
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
)
*
20 February
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
* 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in ...
–
Karl Albrecht, German entrepreneur (died
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
)
*
22 February
Events Pre-1600
*1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdina ...
–
Maria Hellwig, German yodeler, popular performer of volkstümliche Musik (Alpine folk music), and television presenter (died
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
)
*
2 March
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his ''bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...
-
Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt, footballer and manager (died
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
)
*
22 March
Events Pre-1600
*106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
* 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century.
* 871 – Æthelred of ...
–
Helmut Winschermann
Helmut Winschermann (; 22 March 1920 – 4 March 2021) was a German classical oboist, conductor and academic teacher who founded the Deutsche Bachsolisten ensemble for historically informed performances, and was their conductor from 1960 until h ...
, German oboist (died
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
)
*
15 April
Events Pre-1600
* 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
* 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard. ...
–
Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...
, German politician, former
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
(died
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
)
*
2 June
Events Pre-1600
* 260 – Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao: The figurehead Wei emperor Cao Mao personally leads an attempt to oust his regent, Sima Zhao; the attempted coup is crushed and the emperor killed.
* 455 – Sack of Rome: ...
–
Marcel Reich-Ranicki, German literary critic (died
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
)
*
18 June
Events Pre-1600
* 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
* 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
* 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...
–
Utta Danella, German writer (died
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
)
*
5 July
Events Pre-1600
* 328 – The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava ( Corabia, Romania) and Oescus ( Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
* 1316 – The Burgundian ...
-
Rosemarie Springer, German equestrian (died
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
)
*
22 August -
Wolfdietrich Schnurre, German writer (died
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
)
*
7 October
Events Pre-1600
*3761 BC – The epoch reference date (start) of the modern Hebrew calendar.
* 1403 – Venetian–Genoese wars: The Genoese fleet under a French admiral is defeated by a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon.
* 1477 ...
-
Georg Leber, German politician (died
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
)
*
8 October
Events Pre-1600
* 316 – Constantine I defeats Roman Emperor Licinius, who loses his European territories.
* 451 – The first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins.
* 876 – Frankish forces led by Louis the Younger pr ...
-
Maxi Herber
Maxi Herber (8 October 1920 – 20 October 2006) was a German figure skater who competed in pair skating and single skating. She remains the youngest figure skating Olympic champion (at the age of 15 years and 128 days) from when she won go ...
, German figure skater (died
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
)
* 8 October -
Maria Beig, German author (died
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
)
*
31 October
Events Pre-1600
* 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
* 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down.
* 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Con ...
-
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...
, German football player (died
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
)
*
17 November -
Ellis Kaut, German author of children's literature, best known for her creation of Pumuckl (died
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
)
*
19 December -
Alfred Dregger
Alfred Dregger (10 December 1920 – 29 June 2002) was a German politician and a leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Dregger was born in Münster. After graduating from a school in Werl, he entered the German Wehrmacht in 19 ...
, German politician (died
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
)
Deaths
*
31 March
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian.
* 1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging ...
-
Lothar von Trotha
Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 – 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxer Rebelli ...
, German military commander (born
1848
1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
)
*
12 May
Events Pre-1600
* 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
* 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang ...
–
Casar Flaischlen, German poet (born
1864
Events
January
* January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
)
*
14 June
Events Pre-1600
* 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
* 1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...
–
Max Weber
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...
, German sociologist, philosopher, jurist, and political economist (born
1864
Events
January
* January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
)
*
18 July
Events Pre-1600
* 477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
* 387 BC – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leadi ...
-
Albert Zürner
Albert Zürner (30 January 1890 – 18 July 1920) was a German Empire, German diving (sport), diver who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, and in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Career
At the 1906 Intercalated Games in ...
, German diver (born
1890
Events
January
* January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa.
* January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House.
* January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...
)
*
18 July
Events Pre-1600
* 477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
* 387 BC – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leadi ...
-
Prince Joachim of Prussia
Prince Joachim Franz Humbert of Prussia (17 December 1890 – 18 July 1920) was the youngest son and sixth child of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, by his first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. He committed suicide at age 29. Prince Joa ...
, German nobleman (born
1890
Events
January
* January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa.
* January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House.
* January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...
)
*
27 July -
Thomas Nörber, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (born
1846
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom.
* January 13 – The Milan–Venice railway's bridge, over the Venetian Lagoon betwee ...
)
*
6 August -
Remus von Woyrsch
Martin Wilhelm Remus von Woyrsch (4 February 1847 – 6 August 1920) was a Prussian field marshal, a member of the Prussian House of Lords from 1908 to 1918, and an ''Ehrenkommendator'' or Honorary Commander of the Order of St. John.
Family ...
, German fieldmarshall (born
1847
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government.
* January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California.
* January 16 – John C. Fr� ...
)
*
12 August -
Hermann Struve, German-Russian astronomer (born
1854
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''.
* January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born.
* January 9 – The Te ...
)
*
31 August
Events Pre-1600
* 1056 – After a sudden illness a few days previously, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.
* 1057 – Abdication of Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas after just one yea ...
-
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology, was t ...
, German physician (born
1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...
)
*
8 September -
Rudolf Mosse, German newspaper magnate (born
1843
Events January–March
* January 3 – The '' Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms'' (海國圖志, ''Hǎiguó Túzhì'') compiled by Wei Yuan and others, the first significant Chinese work on the West, is published in China.
* J ...
)
*
2 October
Events Pre-1600
* 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor.
* 939 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and o ...
-
Max Bruch
Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...
, German composer (born
1838
Events
January–March
* January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London.
* January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration ...
)
References
{{Year in Europe, 1920
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
Years of the 20th century in Germany