1931 in Germany

Events in the year 1931 in Germany.

Incumbents

President of [Germany (1919–1945)|President] - Paul von Hindenburg
Chancellor - Heinrich Brüning

Events

January 4 - German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Portuguese Guinea in Africa.
February 11 - National Socialist and National Party members walk out of the Reichstag in protest against changes in the parliament's protocol intended to limit heckling.
April 22 - Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States recognize the Second Spanish Republic.
May 8 - Prosecution of Adolf Hitler by Hans Litten for complicity in manslaughter committed by members of the Sturmabteilung at the Tanzpalast Eden in Berlin in 1930 is dismissed.
June 5 - Chancellor Brüning visits London, where he warns the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald that the collapse of the Austrian banking system, caused by the bankruptcy of the Creditanstalt, has left the entire German banking system on the verge of collapse. Germany suspends payment of World War I reparations and, despite declaration of the Hoover Moratorium, there is massive withdrawal of domestic and foreign funds from German banks, which by mid-July have all closed.
June 10 - The Schienenzeppelin, an experimental propeller driven railcar, sets up a new world railway speed record of 230 km/h on its way from Hamburg to Berlin which is not surpassed by any other train for 24 years.
August 9 - Referendum in Prussia for dissolving the Landtag ends with the "yes" side winning 37% of the vote, which is insufficient for calling the early elections. The elections are intended to remove the Social [Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party] government of Otto Braun, which is one of the strongest forces for democracy in Germany. Supporting the "yes" side are the NSDAP, the DNVP and the Communist Party, while the SPD and Zentrum support the "no" side.
August 29 - Airship Graf Zeppelin pioneers the air route between Germany and Brazil.
August - The Deaflympics are held in Nuremberg.
October 11 - Rally in Bad Harzburg leads to the Harzburg Front being founded, uniting the NSDAP, the DNVP, the Stahlhelm and various other right-wing fractions.
December 8 - Carl Friedrich Goerdeler is appointed Reich Price Commissioner to enforce the deflationary policies of the Brüning government.

Arts and literature

Erich Kästner's satire The [35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas|Der 35. Mai oder Konrad reitet in die Südsee] is published.
Irmgard Keun's first novel Gilgi - eine von uns is published.
Erich Maria Remarque's war novel Der Weg zurück concludes serialization and is published in book form.
Carl Zuckmayer's satire The [Captain of Köpenick (play)|Der Hauptmann von Köpenick] is first performed.
Fritz Lang's thriller M is released.
The film version of Berlin-Alexanderplatz is released.
The musical film version of The [Threepenny Opera (1931 film)|Die 3-Groschen-Oper], is released.
The film version of Emil und die Detektive is released.

Science

10 September - Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll publish their findings after building the first prototype electron microscope.
Adolf Butenandt identifies the sex hormone androsterone.
The first electroencephalography is performed by Hans Berger.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Carl Bosch and Friedrich Bergius; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Otto Heinrich Warburg.

Births

January 8 - Bill Graham, rock concert promoter
January 16 - Johannes Rau, President of Germany 1999-2004
January 17 - Mark Brandis, journalist and science fiction author
February 2 - Walter Burkert, classical scholar
February 6 - Maria Mies, sociologist and feminist
February 7 - Holger Börner, politician
March 3 - Werner Haas (pianist), German musician
March 11 - Janosch, writer
April 1 - Rolf Hochhuth, dramatist
April 29 - Frank Auerbach, painter
May 19 - Alfred Schmidt, philosopher
June 4 - Erasmus Schöfer, writer
June 8 - Dana Wynter, actress
June 29 - Ralph Klein, basketball player and coach
June 30 - Gerda Herrmann, composer and poet
July 31 - Ivan Rebroff, German singer
August 20 - Bernd Becher, photographer
September 1 - Michael O. Rabin, Israeli computer scientist and Turing Award laureate
November 6 - Mike Nichols, director

Deaths

February 16 - Wilhelm von Gloeden, photographer
February 23 - Eduard von Capelle, admiral
February 26 - Otto Wallach, chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
March 11 - F. W. Murnau, film director
March 20 - Hermann Müller, German politician
April 14 - Richard Armstedt, historian
May 6 - Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, German scientist and inventor
September 18 - Geli Raubal, half-niece of Adolf Hitler
September 20 - Max Littmann, architect
October 17 - Alfons Maria Jakob, neuropathologist