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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, is assassinated in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. His murder precipitates the start of the massive armed conflict in Europe now known as the World War I, or the First World War. -
The Armenian Genocide
The Ottomans claimed that Armenian revolutionaries had established contact with the enemy and were preparing to facilitate a Franco-British landing, from where the Entente forces would march on Constantinople. When challenged by the Entente Powers, the then neutral United States, and even by their own allies Germany and Austria-Hungary, Ottoman officials justified the deportations as a precautionary measure that was essential to the defense of the Empire. -
Battle of the Somme
World War I represented one of the most destructive wars in modern history. Nearly ten million soldiers died as a result of hostilities, a figure which far exceeded the military deaths in all the wars of the previous one hundred years combined. Although accurate casualty statistics are difficult to ascertain, an estimated 21 million men were wounded in combat. -
Mutiny of German Sailors in Kiel
A mutiny by German sailors at the end of World War I contributed to the end of the German Empire and the founding of the Weimar Republic. By autumn 1918, German military leaders realized that the war was lost. The German Empire was facing a total military collapse, but the heavily overmatched German navy still planned one final large-scale battle against the British navy in the English Channel. -
Ceasefire Ends Hostilities of World War I
By autumn 1918, German military leaders knew that their military was collapsing and there was no way to win World War I. German authorities decided to pursue a ceasefire. As news spread that the war was lost, revolts broke out throughout many German cities. The government had lost the support of the military and large swaths of the population -
Women’s Suffrage is Declared in Germany
In November 1918, World War I came to an end and the German Empire fell. In the following days, Germany’s newly formed provisional government made preparations for the country’s first democratic elections. On November 12, 1918, the socialist politicians in charge of the new government issued a declaration supporting universal suffrage in all elections. For the first time in Germany’s history, the right to vote included women. -
Treaty of Versailles Presented to German Delegation
The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to concede vast European territories and overseas colonies. Perhaps the most humiliating portion of the treaty for defeated Germany was Article 231, commonly known as the "War Guilt Clause," which forced the German nation to accept complete responsibility for initiating World War I. Germany was required to make enormous reparation payments. In addition, the German military was to be severely limited in size and armaments. -
Adolf Hitler Issues Comment on the "Jewish Question"
In the statement, he defined the Jews as a race and not a religious community, characterized the effect of a Jewish presence as a “race-tuberculosis of the peoples,” and identified the initial goal of a German government to be discriminatory legislation against Jews. The “ultimate goal must definitely be the removal of the Jews altogether.” Hitler's years in Vienna (1908–1913) and his military service were important stages for his development of a comprehensive racist ideology.