Nazi Germany timeline 1918-23

This Nazi Germany timeline contains a chronological list of significant events and developments in Germany, from 1918 to 1923. This timeline has been written by Alpha History authors.

1918

November 9th: A German republic is proclaimed, under the leadership of Friedrich Ebert, after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
November 11th: Warring nations sign an armistice to end fighting in World War I. The armistice comes into effect at 11.00am.
November 19th: Corporal Adolf Hitler is discharged from military hospital after recuperating from severe gas poisoning.
December 14th: The formation of the first unit of Freikorps (a militia comprised of ex-soldiers) near Hagen in western Germany.

1919

January 10th: Communist revolutionaries attempt to seize control of Berlin but are defeated by Freikorps troops.
January 13th: The provisional German government relocates to the city of Weimar because of the violence in Berlin.
January 19th: The Social Democrat Party (SPD) wins 38 per cent of the votes in elections for the new national assembly.
February 11th: SPD leader Friedrich Ebert is confirmed as the first president of the new German republic.
June 22nd: The Treaty of Versailles is ratified by the German Reichstag, despite opposition in the nationalist press.
June 28th: The Treaty of Versailles is signed by all parties, formally ending hostilities in World War I.
August 11th: The proclamation of the new Weimar constitution, creating a new liberal democratic political system for Germany.
September 11th: Reichswehr officers order Corporal Hitler to attend meetings of the German Workers’ Party (DAP) and report on its activities. Hitler joins the party after attending two meetings.

1920

February 20th: Hitler’s party, the DAP, renames itself the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (or NSDAP).
February 24th: The NSDAP publishes its political manifesto, a 25-point statement listing its beliefs, value and agenda.
March 17th: The Kapp putsch, an attempt to seize Berlin launched by a small group of ex-soldiers and nationalists, fails.
March 31st: Adolf Hitler is formally discharged from the German military and is employed by the NSDAP.
June 6th: Elections for the national Reichstag see socialist parties win almost 40 per cent of votes and seats.
December 17th: The NSDAP obtains its first newspaper, Voelkischer Beobachter.

1921

July 11th: Hitler resigns from the NSDAP in protest against a proposed merger with another right-wing party.
July 25th: Hitler accepts an invitation to re-join the party and replaces Anton Drexler as its supreme leader.
September: Hitler is arrested for disturbing the peace, after gate-crashing a meeting of a rival political group.

1922

January 12th: Hitler serves a month in prison for his disturbing the peace offence of September 1921.
June 24th: German foreign minister Walter Rathenau is murdered by Organisation Consul, a right-wing terrorist group.
October 28th: Italian fascist Benito Mussolini becomes the prime minister of Italy, after his successful ‘march on Rome’.
December 27th: French troops occupy the Ruhr region after Germany defaults on several reparations payments.

1923

October: Hyperinflation grips Germany after the government orders massive print runs of banknotes. Prices rise by huge amounts every day, while many Germans lose their savings and cash investments.
November 8th: The NSDAP launches the Beer Hall Putsch, an attempt to seize control of the Bavarian government.
November 9th: The Beer Hall Putsch is defeated by police and army units. Adolf Hitler, Ernst Rohm and others are arrested.
November 12th: Hjalmar Schacht, a supporter of Hitler, is appointed president of the Reichsbank.


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