1914 in Germany
Events in the year 1914 in Germany.
Incumbents
National level
- Kaiser – Wilhelm II
- Chancellor – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
State level
Kingdoms
- King of Bavaria – Ludwig III of Bavaria
- King of Prussia – Kaiser Wilhelm II
- King of Saxony – Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
- King of Württemberg – William II of Württemberg
Grand Duchies
- Grand Duke of Baden – Frederick II
- Grand Duke of Hesse – Ernest Louis
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – Frederick Francis IV
- Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Adolphus Frederick V to 11 June, then Adolphus Frederick VI
- Grand Duke of Oldenburg – Frederick Augustus II
- Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach – William Ernest
Principalities
- Schaumburg-Lippe – Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe
- Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg
- Schwarzburg-Sondershausen – Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg
- Principality of Lippe – Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe
- Reuss Elder Line – Heinrich XXIV, Prince Reuss of Greiz
- Reuss Younger Line – Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line
- Waldeck and Pyrmont – Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
Duchies
- Duke of Anhalt – Frederick II, Duke of Anhalt
- Duke of Brunswick – Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick
- Duke of Saxe-Altenburg – Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
- Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Duke of Saxe-Meiningen – Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen to 25 June, then Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Colonial Governors
- Cameroon – initially... Full, acting governor, then Karl Ebermaier '
- Kiaochow – Alfred Meyer-Waldeck to 7 November
- German East Africa – Albert Heinrich Schnee
- German New Guinea – Albert Hahl ' tol 13 February, then Eduard Haber until 17 October
- German Samoa – Erich Schultz-Ewerth tol 29 August
- German South-West Africa – Theodor Seitz
- Togoland – Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg to 31 August
Events
April
- April 24 – James Franck and Gustav Hertz's experiment on electron collisions showing internal quantum levels of atoms is presented to the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
July
- 5 July:
- * The German Kaiser announces that he will not attend the Archduke's funeral.
- * A council is held at Potsdam, powerful leaders within Austria-Hungary and Germany meet to discuss possibilities of war with Serbia, Russia, and France.
August
- 1 August – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire, following Russia's military mobilization in support of Serbia; Germany also begins mobilization.
- 3 August – World War I: Germany declares war on France
- 4 August:
- * World War I: Germany declares war on Belgium
- * World War I: German troops invade neutral Belgium. The United Kingdom declares war on Germany after the latter fails to respect Belgian neutrality.
- 7 August – World War I: French and British forces invade and occupy the German colony of Togoland.
- 9 August:
- * World War I: Battle of Mulhouse begins, the opening attack of by the French army against Germany.
- * World War I: The German submarine Unterseeboot 15 is sunk by the British HMS Birmingham.
- 23 August
- * The Republic of China cancels the German lease of Kiaochow Bay.
- * World War I: A New Zealand expeditionary force occupies the German colony of German Samoa, following an unopposed invasion.
- * World War I: Battle of Mons, the first major action of the war between the British Expeditionary Force and the German Army, in which the German forces are defeated.
- 28 August – World War I: The Battle of Heligoland - three German cruisers are sunk by British cruisers.
September
- 5–12 September – World War I: First Battle of the Marne begins: Northeast of Paris, German forces are attacked by the British Expeditionary Force and the French 6th Army. Over 2 million fight in victory for the Anglo-French forces.
- 13–28 September – World War I: First Battle of the Aisne involving British, French and German forces.
- 21 September– World War I: All German armed forces in German New Guinea surrender to the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force.
October
- 4 October – Manifesto of the Ninety-Three proclaimed in Germany.
- 19 October – 22 November – World War I: First Battle of Ypres fought between British, French and German forces in Ypres in Belgium.
November
- 1 November – World War I: Battle of Coronel fought – German forces, led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee, defeat a Royal Navy squadron.
- 7 November – World War I: Following the Siege of Tsingtao, Japanese armed forces assume control of the German colonial concession at Kiaochow Bay.
December
- 8 December – World War I: The Battle of the Falkland Islands, the German fleet is defeated by the British Royal Navy.
- 24 December – World War I: German and British soldiers begin an unofficial Christmas truce.
Births
January
- 6 January - Heinz Berggruen, German art dealer
- 18 January - Arno Schmidt, German author
February
- 4 February - Alfred Andersch, German writer
- 20 February - Erich Ziegler, German politician and resistance activist
- 20 February - Hans Pischner, German conductor
- 22 February - Karl Otto Götz, German painter
March
- Wilhelm Wegner, German highly decorated Leutnant in the Wehrmacht
- March 2 - Walter Haeussermann, German engineer and rocket scientist
- March 18 - Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover
April
- 8 April – Günter Amelung, highly decorated Rittmeister of the Reserves in the Wehrmacht
- 12 April - Gretel Bergmann, German high jumper
- 20 April – Otto Weiß, former German pair skater
May
- 3 May – Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart, German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- 7 May – Joachim Wandel, German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- 26 May – Erhard Weiß, German diver
- 27 May – Otto Weidinger, member of the Waffen-SS
June
- 1 June – Karl Wanka, highly decorated Major of the Reserves in the Wehrmacht during World War II
July
- 1 July – Orli Wald, member of the German Resistance in Nazi Germany
- 1 July - Christl Cranz, German alpine racer
- 9 July - Willi Stoph, German politician
August
- 27 August – Heidi Kabel, actress
September
- September 15 - Will Quadflieg, actor
- September 22 - Siegfried Lowitz, actor
November
- 6 November – Alfred Zwiebel, German-American landscape, floral, and still-life paint
- 13 November - Paul Lücke, German politician
- 15 November - Erich Steidtmann, German Nazi SS officer
December
- 5 December – Edmund Wagner, German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- 13 December – Fritz Zängl, German skier and soldier
- 14 December – Karl Carstens, German politician, former President of Germany
- 21 December – Theodor Weissenberger, German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II
- 24 December- Herbert Reinecker, German dramatist and screenwriter
- 26 December – Annemarie Wendl, German actress
- 29 December – Alfred Vohrer, German film director
Deaths
January
- 13 January - Alfred Lichtwark, German art historian and museum curator
March
- 21 March - August Wöhler, German railway engineer
- 22 March - Otto Harnack, German historian
- 31 March – Christian Morgenstern, German author
April
- 2 April – Paul Heyse German writer and translator
- 11 April - Carl Chun, German biologist
May
- 29 May - Paul Mauser, German weapon designer and manufacturer/industrialist
June
- 11 June – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, nobleman
- 16 June - Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer, German gynecologist w
- 25 June – Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, nobleman
August
- 1 August – Adolf Zander, German composer
- 19 August – Franz Xavier Wernz, German Superior General of the Society of Jesus
- 24 August – Johannes Weiss, German Protestant theologian and biblical exegete
September
- 9 September - Albert Arnz, German painter
- 25 September – Alfred Lichtenstein, German writer
- 26 September – August Macke, German painter
- 26 September - Hermann Löns, German poet
October
- 4 September – Theodor Weber, German physician
- 27 September – Robert von Pöhlmann, German ancient historian
November
- 5 November – August Weismann, German biologist
- 14 November - Leonhard Tietz, German merchant
December
- 13 December - Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff, German general
- 17 December – Otto Sackur, 34,
Date unknown
- Gustav Weymer, 81,