Events in the year 1949 in the

Allied-occupied Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan, Nazi Germany was stripped of its sov ...

, then in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Incumbents

West Germany

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 ...

–

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

(starting 13 September) *

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 ...

–

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

(starting 20 September)

East Germany

Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

–

Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the Leadership of East Germany, chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as the only president of the Ger ...

(starting 11 October) *

Head of Government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

–

Otto Grotewohl Otto Emil Franz Grotewohl (; 11 March 1894 – 21 September 1964) was a German politician who served as the first prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) from its founding in October 1949 until his death in Septembe ...

(starting 12 October)

Events

* 8 May - The

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany () is the constitution of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came into effect on 23 May after having been approved b ...

was approved in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. * 8 May - The Soviet War Memorial in East-Berlin is established. * 12 May - The

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

ends. * 15/16 May - East German Constitutional Assembly election, 1949 * 14 August - West German federal election, 1949 * 16 September -

Hamburger Morgenpost The ''Hamburger Morgenpost'' (Hamburg Morning Post) (also known as Mopo) is a daily German newspaper published in Hamburg in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. As of 2006 the ''Hamburger Morgenpost'' was the second-largest newspaper in H ...

is first published. * 20 September - The First Adenauer cabinet led by

was sworn in. * 7 October -

Constitution of East Germany The original Constitution of East Germany (the German Democratic Republic; ) was promulgated on 7 October 1949. It was heavily based on the Weimar Constitution () and nominally established the GDR as a liberal democratic republic. In 1968, the Ea ...

* Date unknown:

Liebherr Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational corporation, multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany. Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divi ...

, a multinational equipment manufacturer, is founded in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, to build the mobile tower crane devised by Hans Liebherr. * Date unknown: Germany company

Heckler & Koch Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK or H&K; ) is a German firearms manufacturer that produces handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg and also has subsidiaries in the United ...

was founded. * Date unknown: German company

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

was founded. * Date unknown: The

Currywurst ''Currywurst'' () is a fast food dish of German origin consisting of sausage with curry ketchup. It was invented in 1949 by Herta Heuwer, who began selling it at a food stand in West Berlin. The Deutsches Currywurst Museum estimated that 8 ...

is invented by Herta Heuwer in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Births

* January 9 -

Mary Roos Mary Roos (born Rosemarie Schwab on 9 January 1949) is a German singer and actress. Biography 1949–1970 Schwab was born in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen. At the age of nine, she recorded her first song "Ja die Dicken sind ja so gemütlich" as ''Di ...

, German singer * January 15 -

Jürgen Roters Jürgen Roters (born 15 January 1949 in Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in G ...

, German politician * January 24 -

Nikolaus Brender Nikolaus Brender (born 24 January 1949) is a German journalist. He was the commissiong editor of the German public broadcasting station ZDF between 2000 and 2010. Life Brender was born in Freiburg im Breisgau, then Allied-occupied Germany, Fre ...

, German journalist * February 5 -

Kurt Beck Kurt Beck (born 5 February 1949) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who served as the 7th Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate from 1994 to 2013 and as the 55th President of the Bundesrat in 2000–01. In May 2 ...

, German politician * February 13 -

Jo Baier Jo Baier (born 13 February 1949) is a German film director and writer. He directed more than twenty films since 1982 and is known for ''Stauffenberg (film), Operation Valkyrie'' (2004), ''Henri 4'' (2010) and ' (2006). He is married to Gertrud Ba ...

, German film director * February 22 -

Joachim Witt Joachim Witt (born 22 February 1949) is a German rock musician and actor who has been active since 1977. During his prolific 50-year career, Witt has released 20 studio albums and a further 8 compilation and live albums as a solo artist. Early i ...

, German singer * March 2 - Wolfgang Sandner, German physicist (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 ...

) * March 5 - Franz Josef Jung, German politician * March 11 -

Georg Schramm Georg Schramm (born 11 March 1949) is a German Kabarett artist. He was a host of the Kabarett shows ''Scheibenwischer'' and '' Neues aus der Anstalt''. Biography Schramm was born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. His father was a member of the Soc ...

, German psychologist and Kabarett artist * March 26 -

Patrick Süskind Patrick Süskind (; born 26 March 1949) is a German writer and screenwriter, known best for his novel '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'', first published in 1985. Early life Süskind was born in Ambach, Bavaria. His father was writer and jour ...

, German writer * April 5 -

Klara Höfels Klara Höfels (; 5 April 1949 – 15 May 2022) was a German actress, director and theatre producer. She was first a stage actress, who played leading roles on stage at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Residenztheater in Munich and Staatstheater Stuttgart ...

, German actress and theatre director (died

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

) * April 6 -

Horst Ludwig Störmer Horst Ludwig Störmer (; born April 6, 1949) is a German physicist, Nobel laureate and emeritus professor at Columbia University. He was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Daniel Tsui and Robert Laughlin "for their discovery ...

, German physicist * April 7 - Evelyn Haas, German judge * April 11 - Bernd Eichinger, German film producer, director 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 ...

) * May 10 - Hans Reichel, German guitarist (died

) * May 12 ** Raimund Hoghe, German choreographer (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 ...

) **

Hans Leyendecker Hans Leyendecker (born 12 May 1949) is a German journalist. He writes for the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' and is one of Germany's best known investigative journalists. Leyendecker formerly worked for the magazine ''Der Spiegel'', unveiling various ...

, German journalist * June 8 - Hildegard Falck, German athlete * June 12 -

Jens Böhrnsen Jens Böhrnsen (born 12 June 1949) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD who served as President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen from 2005 to 2015. From 1 November 2009 until 31 October 2010 he was President of t ...

, German politician * June 13 - Ulla Schmidt, German politician * June 15 - Elmar Hörig, German television presenter * June 27 -

Günther Schumacher Günther Schumacher (born 27 June 1949) is a retired track cyclist and road bicycle racer born in East Germany, who was a professional rider from 1977 to 1984. He twice represented West Germany at the Summer Olympics (1972 and 1976), and won ...

, German track cyclist * June 28 - Peter Gruss, German biologist * June 29 - Kurt Schrimm, German prosecutor * July 4 -

Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer (born 4 July 1949) is a German politician who served as Minister for the Interior, Building and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), he served as the ...

, German politician * July 19 - Maren Kroymann, German actress and singer * August 3 -

Fritz Egner Fritz Egner (born 3 August 1949 in Munich) is a German broadcaster. After working for the AFN in the early 1970s, Egner joined the regional broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk in 1978, alongside his two friends and colleagues Thomas Gottschalk and ...

, German television host * August 22 -

Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein (22 August 1949 – 27 September 2023) ( German: ''Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein'') was the head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (commonly known as the House of Glücksburg) and, ...

, German nobleman, head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg * August 30 -

Peter Maffay Peter Alexander Makkay (born 30 August 1949), known as Peter Maffay (), is a Romanian-born German musician, singer, and composer. Being a veteran musician, he is often credited for motivating audiences with his emotional lyrics and powerful mel ...

, German singer * September 2 - Frank Ripploh, German actor and film director (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 ...

) * September 3 -

Volker Kauder Volker Kauder (born 3 September 1949) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as parliamentary group leader of the ruling CDU/CSU faction in the German ''Bundestag'' from 2005 to 2018, during which h ...

, German politician * September 19 -

Richard Rogler Richard Rogler (19 September 1949 – 11 August 2024) was a German Kabarett artist and professor of Kabarett at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Early life Rogler studied French and sport at the University of Würzburg. From 1974 to 1978 h ...

, German Kabarett performer and comedian * September 22 - Ludwig Schick, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church * October 4 - Albrecht von Boeselager, German lawyer and forester * October 18 - Erwin Sellering, German politician * November 8 - Gabriele Krone-Schmalz, German journalist * November 24 - Bruno Weil, German conductor

Deaths

* January 5 - Max Bockmühl, German chemist (born

1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...

) * January 10 -

Erich von Drygalski Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (; February 9, 1865 – January 10, 1949) was a German geographer, geophysicist and polar scientist, born in Königsberg, East Prussia. Between 1882 and 1887, Drygalski studied mathematics and natural science at ...

, German geographer, geophysicist and polar scientist (born

1865 Events January * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Unio ...

) * March 4 - Joannes Baptista Sproll, German bishop of Roman Catholic Church (born

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

) * March 12 -

August Bier August Karl Gustav Bier (24 November 1861 – 12 March 1949) was a German surgeon. He was the first to perform spinal anesthesia and intravenous regional anesthesia. Early medical career Bier began his medical education at the Charité – U ...

, German surgeon (born

1861 This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. Events January * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico Ci ...

) * March 25 -

Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia Prince August Wilhelm Heinrich Günther Viktor of Prussia (29 January 1887 – 25 March 1949), nicknamed "Auwi", was the fourth son of German Emperor Wilhelm II by his first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. A vocal supporter of Na ...

, German nobleman (born

1887 Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

) * March 28 - Theodor Seitz, German colonial politician (born

1863 Events January * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing ...

) * March 30 - Friedrich Bergius, German chemist,

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

laureate (born

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

) * April 8 –

Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germ ...

, German general (born

1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

) * May 21 —

Klaus Mann Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann (18 November 1906 – 21 May 1949) was a German writer and dissident. He was the son of Thomas Mann, a nephew of Heinrich Mann and brother of Erika Mann (with whom he maintained a lifelong close relationship) and Go ...

, German writer (born

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

) * May 22 -

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

, German composer (born

1869 Events January * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – Elizabe ...

) * June 23 -

Heinrich Schnee Heinrich Albert Schnee (Albert Hermann Heinrich Schnee; 4 February 1871 – 23 June 1949) was a German lawyer, colonial civil servant, politician, writer, and association official. He served as the last Governor of German East Africa. Early ...

, German lawyer, colonial civil servant, politician, writer, and association official (born

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

) * July 18 - Bernhard Hoetger, German painter and sculptor (born

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

) * September 4 - Herbert Eulenberg, German author and poet (born

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

) * September 8 -

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

, German composer (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 ...

) * September 14 - Gottfried Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen, German politician (born

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

) * October 21 -

Johannes Bell Johannes Bell (23 September 1868 – 21 October 1949) was a German jurist and politician from the Centre Party. During the Weimar Republic era, he briefly served as Minister of Colonial Affairs, Minister of Transport (1919/20), and as Minister o ...

, German politician (born

1868 Events January * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...

) * November 23-

Gustav Radbruch Gustav Radbruch (; 21 November 1878 – 23 November 1949) was a German legal scholar and politician. He served as Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany), Minister of Justice of Germany during the early Weimar Republic, Weimar period. Radbruch is ...

, German legal scholar and politician (born

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

) * December 23 - Arthur Eichengrün, German chemist (born

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

) * December 30 -

Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe (''Leopold Julius Bernhard Adalbert Otto Karl Gustav''; 30 May 1871 – 30 December 1949) was the final sovereign of the Principality of Lippe in northwestern Germany from 1905 until his abdication in 1918. Prior t ...

, sovereign of the Principality of Lippe (born

)

References

1940s in Germany Years of the 20th century in Germany

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 ...

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