1926 in Germany

Events in the year 1926 in Germany.

Incumbents

National level

President of [Germany (1919–1945)|President] - Paul von Hindenburg
Chancellor - Hans Luther, Wilhelm Marx

Events

1 January – the city of Cologne is badly hit by flooding in the river Rhine.
6 January – Deutsche Luft Hansa is formed by the merger of Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr
7 January – Deutschlandsender, a radio transmitter, is opened for the first time.
20 January – Chancellor Hans Luther is forced to reconstitute his cabinet as a minority government, having lost the support of some of his partners the previous December.
8 February – The Reich government under Chancellor Hans Luther unanimously decides to formally apply for Germany’s admission to the League of Nations.
14 February – The Nazi Party holds the Bamberg Conference in an attempt to strengthen Adolf Hitler's control over the party.
21 February – A major rally of the republican organization Black, Red, Gold Banner of the Reich takes place in Hamburg, with speeches by Prussian Minister-President Otto Braun and Reichstag President Paul Löbe.
19 March – Max Wolf of the University of Heidelberg discovers the asteroid 2732 Witt.
11 April – Hermannplatz railway station opens in Berlin.
24 April – Treaty of Berlin (1926) is signed with the Soviet Union promising a five-year period of non-involvement if either state is attacked by a third party.
12 May – The Luther government falls as a result of its support for a modified imperial flag for use at the Republic's foreign missions.
16 May – Wilhelm Marx succeeds Luther as Chancellor although otherwise the make-up of the Cabinet is not altered.
20 June – A referendum on expropriating former royal properties without compensation fails due to a low voter turnout.
24 June – the liner Padua is launched. Other ships launched this year include SS Amrum, SS Ilse L M Russ and SS Siegmund.
28 June – German company Daimler-Benz was founded.
3 July – The second NSDAP Party Congress is held in Weimar, featuring elaborate staging to promote Adolf Hitler.
4 July –
* The architectural collective Der Ring is founded in Berlin, with prominent members including Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
* At the Nazi Party Day held in Weimar, Adolf Hitler proclaims the SS as his elite organization and entrusts them with the "Blood Flag".
3 September – Funkturm Berlin radio tower is opened to the public.
10 September – Germany officially joins the League of Nations.
17 September – French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand and German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann reach a mutual agreement on major foreign policy goals, including early return of the Saar Basin and Rhineland evacuation.
6 October – Hans von Seeckt resigns as Head of the Heeresleitung after a dispute over an unauthorized Reichswehr maneuver and tensions with Defence Minister Geßler and President Hindenburg.
1 November –
* Joseph Goebbels is appointed Nazi Gauleiter of Berlin.
* Franz Pfeffer von Salomon is appointed commander of the SA across Germany.
4 December – The Bauhaus is re-established in Dessau and gains state recognition as a Hochschule für Gestaltung.
10 December – Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann and his French counterpart Aristide Briand receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on the Locarno Treaties.
16 December – Philipp Scheidemann of the Social Democratic Party reveals that the Reichswehr is secretly working with the Soviet Red Army and anti-republican groups in Germany.
17 December – The Marx administration loses a vote of confidence and, although Marx continues as Chancellor, he does so without the involvement of previous coalition partners the German Democratic Party.

Date unknown

The National Socialist German Students' League is established.
The Old Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation are both established.
Gustav Stresemann is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with fellow architect of the Locarno Treaties Aristide Briand.
German company Südzucker was founded.

Popular culture

Arts

27 March – Der Protagonist, an opera by Kurt Weill, is performed for the first time at Semperoper in Dresden.
6 October – Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s film Faust premieres at the Ufa-Palast in Berlin.
22 October – Frank Wedekind’s play Lulu premieres at the Schauspielhaus in Berlin.
9 November – Paul Hindemith's opera Cardillac is premiered at the Staatsoper, Dresden.
14 November – Der Golem, an opera by Eugen d'Albert receives its premiere at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt.
27 November – Ernst Krenek's opera Orpheus und Eurydike premieres at the Staatstheater in Kassel.The Adventures of Prince Achmed by Lotte Reiniger is released. It is the oldest surviving animated feature film.

Sport

11 July – The German Grand Prix makes its first appearance on the sporting calendar. The event is won by Rudolf Caracciola.
1. FC Nürnberg are crowned German football champions.
SV Wehen Wiesbaden and FSV 1926 Fernwald are amongst the new association football clubs set up.
Berliner RC, a Rugby Union club, are established.

Births

2 January – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of France
3 January – W. Michael Blumenthal, German-American economist and politician
5 January – Walther Leisler Kiep, German politician
6 January – Walter Sedlmayr, actor
24 January – Hans-Jürgen Borchers, mathematical physicist
26 January – Kurt-Heinz Stolze, pianist
28 January – Meier Schwarz, Israeli plant physiologist
29 January – Ernst Träger, judge
31 January:
* Johannes Joachim Degenhardt, Archbishop of Paderborn
* Horst Giese, actor
* Rudi Kopp, cross country skier
* Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, nobleman
2 February – Fritz Stern, German-American historian
3 February:
* Franz Islacker, footballer
* Hans-Jochen Vogel, politician
6 February – Elisabeth Guttenberger, Holocaust survivor and human rights activist
8 February – Sonja Ziemann, actress
11 February – Ursula Buckel, opera singer
16 February – Margot Frank, sister of Anne Frank
20 February – Adolf Bechtold, footballer
23 February – Christian Habicht, historian
11 March:
* Albrecht Dietz, German entrepreneur and scientist
* Heinz Kiessling, musician
* Peer Schmidt, actor
17 March – Siegfried Lenz, writer of novels, short stories and essays
25 March – Georg Schäfer (artist), painter and writer
26 March – Heinz Staab, German chemist
8 April:
* Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian
* Elisabeth Wiedemann, German actress
18 April:
* Horst Käsler, handball player
* Günter Meisner, actor
22 April – Harald Leipnitz, actor
26 April – Michael Mathias Prechtl, artist
8 May – David Hurst, actor
17 May – Franz Sondheimer, German-born Israeli-British chemist
19 May – Peter Zadek, film director
24 May – Rudolf Kippenhahn, astrophysicist
28 May – Gerhard Beil, politician
5 June – Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, businessman
6 June – Klaus Tennstedt, conductor
14 June – Hermann Kant, writer
20 June – Hans-Dieter Lange, journalist and television presenter
21 June – Johanna Quandt, business woman
24 June – Walter Hirrlinger, German politician
22 June – Elyakim Haetzni, Israeli lawyer and politician
1 July:
* Carl Hahn, businessman
* Hans Werner Henze, composer
2 July – Berthold Wulf, priest
4 July – Wolfgang Seidel, racing driver
12 July – Oswald Mathias Ungers, architect
15 July – Hans Frankenthal, writer and Holocaust survivor
16 July – Stef Wertheimer, German-born Israeli entrepreneur and industrialist
24 July – Hans Günter Winkler, showjumper
25 July – August Lütke-Westhüs, equestrian
1 August – Theo Adam, opera singer
6 August – Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse
9 August – Gustav Schmidt, sprint canoer
21 August – Ben-Zion Orgad, Israeli composer
27 August – Karl-Heinz Heddergott, football manager
30 August – Rudi Gutendorf, footballer and manager
3 September:
* Rudi Arnstadt, East German border guard
* Jochen Bleicken, professor of ancient history
4 September – Helmut Ringelmann, film producer
6 September – Prince Claus of the Netherlands
10 September – Gerda Munsinger, prostitute and alleged spy
17 September:
* Hermann Bausinger, cultural scientist
* Klaus Schütz, politician
1 October:
* Manfred Messerschmidt, historian
* Gerhard Stolze, opera singer
4 October – Klaus Koch, theologian
5 October – Gottfried Michael Koenig, composer
8 October – Günter Mittag, politician
14 October – Günther Schwarberg, journalist
15 October – Karl Richter, conductor
18 October – Klaus Kinski, actor
19 October – Udo Schaefer, Baháʼí author
20 October – Ursula Happe, swimmer
21 October – Leo Kirch, media entrepreneur
26 October – Bernhard Klodt, footballer
30 October – Dieter Zechlin, pianist
1 November – Günter de Bruyn, writer
11 November – Werner Schmieder, politician
15 November:
* Alfred Biehle, politician
* Manfred Müller, German bishop or Roman Catholic Church
* Helmut Fischer, actor
26 November:
* Peter van Pels, German-Dutch boyfriend of Anne Frank
* Ralf Wolter, actor
28 November – Eberhard von Brauchitsch, industrialist
9 December – Erhard Eppler, politician and businessman
10 December – Jacob Birnbaum, Jewish activist
16 December – Alfred Koerppen, musician
19 December – Hans Henn, bobsledder
20 December – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, politician
21 December – Herbert Ehrenberg, politician
23 December – Heinz Graffunder, architect

Deaths

2 February – Karl von Weizsäcker, politician
4 January – Franz Stockhausen, conductor
7 January – Paul Cassirer, art dealer
29 January – Wilhelm Heitmüller, theologian
5 February – Gustav Eberlein, sculptor and painter
6 February – Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich von Baudissin, theologian
11 February – Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert, painter
13 February – Friedrich Krafft Graf von Crailsheim, German politician
20 February – Georg Friedrich Knapp, economist
28 February – Gustav Otto, aircraft engineer
7 March – Paul Matschie, zoologist
24 March – Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg, nobleman
26 March – Constantin Fehrenbach, politician
4 April – August Thyssen, industrialist
21 May – Friedrich Kluge, lexicographer
23 May – Hans von Koessler, composer
3 June – Rudolf Oeser, politician
5 June – Richard Wolffenstein, chemist
22 July – Otto Wilhelm Madelung, surgeon
23 July – Kurt Wüsthoff, fighter pilot
5 September – Karl Harrer, journalist and politician
15 September – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, philosopher
7 October – Emil Kraepelin, psychiatrist
9 October – Josias von Heeringen, Army general
15 October – Mathilde Bauermeister, opera singer
17 October – Otto Heubner, internist and pediatrician
26 November – Fritz Cassirer, conductor
2 December – Karl Joseph Eberth, pathologist
11 December – Carl Magnus von Hell, chemist