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Grundgesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
On the 23rd of May, 1949, the "Grundgesetz" or Federal Basic Law is enacted, thus establishing The Federal Republic of Germany as sovereign nation. -
Foundation of The DDR
In repsponse to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Soviet Union allows the goverment in their occupation zone to form a seperate state: the German Democratic Republic. Thus the political division of Germany into two states has begun. -
Workers Uprising in the East.
Soviet troops crush a rising by East German workers, who were protesting unfair working conditions and wages in the east. Many flee to the Federal Republic of Germany. The authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany proclaim the 17th of June as the national holiday in honor of the East German workers who lost their lives in the uprising. The national day remains unchanged until the 3 October, 1990, which is proclaimed "der Tag der deutschen Einheit" (Day of German Reunification). -
World Cup 1954
At the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Bern, Switzerland, the national football (soccer) team of the Federal Republic of Germany stuns previously undefeated Hungary for the World Cup crown. The victory has deep cultural significance for many Germans, since it is seen as a symbol of the "Wirtschaftswunder" or economic recovery after the Second World War. -
West Germany joins NATO.
West Germany formally joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A move which prompts the eastern block to sign the Warsaw Pact (an organization which East Germany subsequently joins). -
The Bundeswehr is Formed.
The West German armed forces are formed under the title "Deutsche Bundeswehr". This move is seen a controversial by many Germans, since the Chancellor Konrad Adenauer had intially promised not to rearm the Federal Republic of Germany. -
West Germany joins the EEC
The Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany for short), signs the Treaty of Rome, thus joining the European Economic Community. The EEC eventually becomes the European Union. -
Berlin Wall is Built.
Due to an overwhelming number of refugees from the East escaping to West Germany at the border between East and West Berlin, the East German authorities begin the construction of a wall seperating the two sections of Berlin. What started as a means to prevent East Germany from imploding becomes of the defininn moment in both the Cold War, as well as the division of Germany between East and West. -
Checkpoint Charlie Confrontation.
What starts as a dispute between the Allied authorities in the West and the Soviets over transit rights between East and West Berlin quickly envolves into a military confrontation at the crossing point known as Checkpoint Charlie. Soviet and American tanks line up on either side of the sector border, ready to fire at a moments notice. World War 3 is barely averted after both sides come to an agreement. This event demonstrates Germany's role as the flashpoint of the Cold War. -
Kennedy's Speech in Berlin.
U.S. President John F. Kennedy makes his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" in West Berlin. Berliners and Germans alike view the speech as an idication that the U.S. is commited to protecting the rights of their German allies in the West. -
Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Low level officials and personnel at the infamous death camp Auschwitz are placed on trial for crimes committed during the Second World War. The Trials become a source of debate among many Germans in the West, since many began to oppenly discuss for the first time in many years the crimes and the legacy of Nazi-Germany. Indeed the Trials caused many Germans to re-evaluate their own understanding of their nation's past. -
Student Leader Rudi Dutschke Shot.
Popular student activist Rudi Dutschke is shot in the head, but survives. Dutschke is a popular figure in the student protest movement, which began to pick up steam during the trubulent 1960s. -
Chancellor Brandt Visits Warsaw.
Chancellor Willy Brandt of the Federal Repbulic of Germany knelt before a monument for the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising as a gesture of reconciliation between Germans and Poles. Brandt's actions were seen as controversial by many in West Germany, who criticized Brandt's actions as innapropriate. However Brandt's gesture indicated a new direction in terms of relations between the Eastern Bloc and West Germany. -
East and West Germany Normalize Relations.
The Basic Treaty between West and East Germany is ratified, thus normalizing realtions between both nations. For the first time ever, both goverments recognised the division of Germany in two seperate nations. -
East and West Germany join the United Nations.
After many years of the founding of both East and West Germany, both nations are admitted to the United Nations. This is symbolic of the greater role that both Germanys began to play in international politics. -
Chancellor Brandt Resigns.
In a scandal reminiscant of Watergate due to its outcome, a close personal aide of Chancellor Willy Brandt is discovered to have been a spy working for the East German goverment. The resulting humiliation from this event forces Chancellor Brandt to resign his possition as West German Chancellor on the 7th of May. -
West Germany Wins the 1974 World Cup.
For the first time ever West Germany hosts a FIFA World Cup tournament. The West German Team wins the title match against the heavily favored Netherlands nearly 20 years after they won their first title. West Germany also had the distinction of hosting the Summer Olympic games in Munich in 1972. Such sporting events highlight West Germany's prosperity and partcipation in the International Community. -
Helmut Kohl Becomes Chancellor.
Helmut Kohl officially becomes the Chancellor of West Germany on the 1st of October, 1982. Chancellor Kohl would later become one of the chief architects of German Reunification -
Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes Soviet Premier.
On the 11th of March, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev becomes premier of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev, thanks to his message of reform and reconciliation between East and West, becomes a instant celebrity in both East and West Germany. Gorbachev's policies have a major impact on East Germany, eventually leading to the fall of the East Germany government in the turbulent events of 1989. -
Erich Honecker Visits West Germany.
On the 7th of September, 1987, Erich Honecker became the first East German premier ever to visit West Germany. While Honecker's visit is meant to legitimize his regime in the eyes of West Germans, his goverment in the East will not outlast the end of the 1980s. -
East German Citizens Leave for The West.
After the reformist government of Hungary opened its border with the West, thousands of East Germans left for the West via this border. Some crowded the West German embassy in Prague, prompting the East German goverment to allow asylum seekers at that embassy free passage to the West. This event put into motion the end of the division of Germany, -
The Border Opens Between East and West Berlin.
The resulting political turmoil caused by mass protests in East Germany leads to the resignation of Premier Erich Honecker. The new reform goverment in the East attempts to lift some travel restrictions between East and West, but these new reforms are mistaken as a lifting of all travel restrictions. As a consequence East Germans start to crowd border crossings with West Berlin, forcing guards to open all of the borders. The Berlin Wall thus falls on the night of November 9th, 1989. -
German Reunification.
After many months of negotiation, Both German goverments are unfied into one nation on the 3rd of October, 1990. The long standing division of Germany ends, and a new era of German politics begins.
