1944 in Germany

Events in the year 1944 in Germany.

Incumbent

National level

Head of State and Chancellor

Adolf Hitler

Events

4 January — World War II: The Battle of Monte Cassino begins.
20 January — World War II: The Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin.
27 January — World War II: The 3-year Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
29 January — World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place.
15 February — World War II - Battle of Monte Cassino: A monastery atop Monte Cassino is destroyed by Allied bombing.
20 February — World War II: The "Big Week" begins with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
26 February — Holocaust: Shooting begins on the Nazi propaganda film, The Fuehrer Gives a Village to the Jews in Theresienstadt.
15 March — World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Allied aircraft bomb German-held monastery and stage an assault.
17 March — World War II: The Nazis execute almost 400 prisoners, Soviet citizens and anti-fascist Romanians at Rîbniţa.
19 March — World War II: Germany's Panzerfaust occupy Hungary.
23 March — World War II: Members of the Italian Resistance attack Nazis marching in Via Rasella, killing 33.
9 May — World War II: In the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol, Soviet troops completely drive out German forces, who had been ordered by Hitler to “fight to the last man.”
12 May — World War II: Soviet troops finalize the liberation of the Crimea.
15 May — Holocaust: Deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz begins.
18 May — World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: The Germans evacuate Monte Cassino and Allied forces take the stronghold after a struggle that claimed 20,000 lives.
June — German V-2 rockets on test from Peenemünde become the first man-made objects to enter space. By the end of the month, more than 380,000 Hungarian Jews have been transferred to concentration camps - around half of the country's Jewish population.
4 June — World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the, marking the first time a U.S. Navy vessel has captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
5 June — World War II: More than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
5 June — The German Navy's Enigma messages are decoded almost in real time.
6 June — World War II: Battle of Normandy: Operation Overlord, commonly known as D-Day, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The Allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland, in the largest amphibious military operation in history. This operation helps liberate France from Germany, and also weakens the Nazi hold on Europe.
10 June — World War II: 642 men, women and children are killed in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre in France.
13 June — World War II: Germany launches a V1 Flying Bomb attack on England.
22 June — World War II: Operation Bagration: A general attack by Soviet forces clears the German forces from Belarus, resulting in the destruction of German Army Group Centre, possibly the greatest defeat of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
3 July — World War II: Soviet troops liberate Minsk.
7 July — Holocaust: Hungarian Regent Horthy orders Jewish transports to Auschwitz halted; 437,000 Jews have already been deported, mostly to their deaths.
10 July — World War II: Soviet troops begin operations to occupy the Baltic countries.
31 July — World War II: Vilnius is liberated.
20 July — World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt, led by Claus von Stauffenberg.
24 July — Holocaust: Russian troops liberate the first concentration camp, at Majdanek, where 360,000 Jews have been exterminated.
1 August — World War II: The Warsaw Uprising begins.
2 August — World War II: Turkey ends diplomatic and economic relations with Germany.
4 August — Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family.
5 August — Holocaust: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
6 August — Holocaust: Łódź, the last remaining Jewish ghetto in Poland, is liquidated and 60,000 Jews are sent to Auschwitz.
19 August — World War II: An insurrection starts in Paris.
20 August — World War II: American forces successfully defeat Nazi forces at Chambois, closing the Falaise Gap.
20 August — World War II: 168 captured allied airmen, including Phil Lamason, accused of being "terror fliers" by the Gestapo, arrive at Buchenwald concentration camp.
24 August — World War II: Liberation of Paris: The Allies enter Paris, successfully completing Operation Overlord.
25 August — World War II: German surrender of Paris: General Dietrich von Choltitz surrenders Paris to the Allies in defiance of Hitler's orders to destroy it.
25 August — World War II: Maillé massacre: Massacre of 129 civilians by the Gestapo at Maillé, Indre-et-Loire.
25 August — World War II: Hungary decides to continue the war together with Germany.
3 September — World War II: The Allies liberate Brussels.
4 September — World War II: Finland breaks off relations with Germany.
8 September — World War II: London is hit by a V-2 rocket for the first time.
2 October — Holocaust: Nazi troops end the Warsaw Uprising.
7 October — Holocaust: A revolt by Jewish slave labourers at Auschwitz-Birkenau results in the complete destruction of Crematory IV.
10 October — Holocaust: Porajmos: 800 Romani children are systematically murdered at the Auschwitz death camp.
14 October — World War II: German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commits suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.
18 October — World War II: The Volkssturm is founded on Hitler's orders.
20 October — World War II: Belgrade is liberated by Yugoslav Partisans and the Red Army.
21 October — World War II: Aachen, the first German city to fall, is captured by American troops.
25 October — World War II: The Red Army liberates Kirkenes, the first town in Norway to be liberated.
30 October — Holocaust: The last gassings take places at Auschwitz.
25 November — Holocaust: Himmler orders the destruction of the crematories at Auschwitz.
16 December — World War II: Germany begins the Ardennes offensive, later known as Battle of the Bulge.
17 December — World War II: German troops carry out the Malmedy massacre.
19 December — World War II: The entire territory of Estonia is taken by the Red Army.
31 December — World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany.

Births

4 January - Judy Winter, German actress
9 January - Harun Farocki, German filmmaker, author, and lecturer
12 January - Klaus Wedemeier, German politician
16 January - Thomas Fritsch, German actor
21 January — Hasso Plattner, German entrepreneur
24 January — Klaus Nomi, German singer
31 January - Uwe Kockisch, German actor
5 February - Thekla Carola Wied, German actress
12 February - Ortwin Runde, German politician
28 February — Sepp Maier, German footballer
2 March — Uschi Glas, German actress
15 March - Josef Joffe, German publisher
20 March — Erwin Neher, German biophysicist
21 March — Gila von Weitershausen, German actress
24 March — Rebecca Horn, German visual artist
6 April - Bernd Spier, German singer
7 April
* Christof Nel, German theatre and opera director
* Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor of Germany
16 April — Elmar Wepper, German actor
29 April - Hermann Scheer, German politician
30 April - Rudi Assauer, German football manager and player
1 May - Costa Cordalis, German singer
3 May - Renate Blume, German actress
4 May - Monica Bleibtreu, German actress
13 May - Uwe Barschel, German politician
15 May - Ulrich Beck, German sociologist
16 May - Friedrich Schorlemmer, German theologian
6 June - Edgar Froese, German artist and electronic music pioneer
19 June - Amélie Mummendey, German social psychologist
22 June - Helmut Dietl, German film director and author
27 June - Paul Koslo, German-Canadian actor
5 July - Hendrik Born, German vice admiral
6 July - Bernhard Schlink, German jurist and writer
7 July
* Jürgen Grabowski, German footballer
* Godehard Link, German philosopher
18 August - Volker Lechtenbrink, German singer
22 August - Peter Hofmann German singer
30 August – Wolf Roth, German actor
4 September — Rüdiger Mielke, German footballer
14 September
* Günter Netzer, German footballer
* Martin Sperr, German dramatist and actor
15 September — Jürgen E. Schrempp, German businessman
18 September — Gunther Emmerlich, German operatic bass
19 September — Friedrich Christian Flick, German businessman and art collector
20 September — Josef Bille, German physicist
24 September
* Bernd Bransch, German footballer
* Diana Körner, German actress
27 September - Helmut Kosmehl, German handball player
29 September - Lerke Osterloh, German judge
30 September - Bernd Meinunger, German lyricist and record producer
3 October - Roy Horn, German-born American magician and entertainer
14 October - Udo Kier, German actor
18 October - Harry Blum, German politician
28 October - Anton Schlecker, German businessman
29 October - Barbara Stamm, German politician
12 November - Liesel Westermann, German discus thrower
15 November - Joy Fleming, German singer
18 November - Ibrahim Böhme, German politician
18 November — Wolfgang Joop, German artist, fashion designer and art collector
2 December - Botho Strauß, German novelist and playwright
14 December - Michael Glos, German politician
24 December - Erhard Keller, German speed skater
Date not known
*Inge Solbrig, German actress

Deaths

9 January - Kurt Hasse, German equestrian
11 February — Carl Meinhof, German linguist
18 February - Hermann Blau, German engineer and chemist, and inventor of Blau gas
3 March - Anton Geiss, German politician
15 March - Otto von Below, German general
5 April — Isolde Kurz, German painter
8 April — Maria Bard, German actress
9 April — Johann Trollmann, German boxer
13 April - Hugo Graf von und zu Lerchenfeld auf Köfering und Schönberg, German politician
21 April — Hans-Valentin Hube, German army general
5 May — Bertha Benz, German automotive pioneer
6 June - Wilhelm Falley, German general
20 June - Toni Merkens, German cyclist
23 June — Thomas-Emil von Wickede, Wehrmacht general and Knight's Cross recipient
20 July — Ludwig Beck, German general and Chief of the German General Staff
21 July
* Heinz Brandt
* Werner von Haeften
* Hans-Ulrich von Oertzen, German resistance member
*Friedrich Olbricht
* Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim
* Claus von Stauffenberg, German military and resistance fighter
* Henning von Tresckow
22 July — Günther Korten, German Colonel General and Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in World War II.
23 July
* Max Nettlau, German historian
* Eduard Wagner, general in the Army of Nazi Germany who served as quartermaster-general
26 July — Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven, colonel in the High Command of the German Armed Forces
28 July — Werner Schrader, German resistance member
8 August
* Robert Bernardis, German resistance fighter
* Albrecht von Hagen, German resistance fighter
* Paul von Hase, German army officer and resistance member
* Erich Hoepner, German general
* Hellmuth Stieff, German resistance fighter
* Michael Wittmann, German tank commander
* Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal
* Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, German resistance fighter
10 August
* Alfred Kranzfelder, German resistance fighter
* Hans Albrecht, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein
* Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, German resistance fighter
* Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, Nazi opponent and lawyer
15 August
* Egbert Hayessen, German resistance fighter
* Hans Bernd von Haeften, German resistance fighter
* Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff, German police chief and resistance fighter
17 August — Günther von Kluge, German field marshal
18 August - Ernst Thälmann, German politician
19 August - Günther von Kluge, German field marshal
21 August - Friedrich Gustav Jaeger, German resistance fighter
23 August - Carl Moritz, German architect
26 August
* Otto Kiep, German resistance fighter
* Hans Georg Klamroth, German resistance fighter
* Ludwig Freiherr von Leonrod, German resistance fighter
* Adam von Trott zu Solz, German diplomat
27 August — Georg von Boeselager, German nobleman and officer in the Wehrmacht
28 August — Rudolf Breitscheid, German politician
30 August
* Eberhard Finckh, German resistance fighter
* Hans Otfried von Linstow, German resistance fighter
* Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, German general and resistance leader
3 September — Friedrich Alpers, German Nazi politician and general
4 September
* Erich Fellgiebel, German Army general and resistance fighter
* Heinrich Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort, German resistance fighter
* Fritz Thiele, German resistance fighter, communications chief of the German Army
8 September
* Georg Hansen, German resistance fighter
* Ulrich von Hassell, German diplomat and resistance fighter
* Paul Lejeune-Jung, German resistance fighter
* Ulrich Wilhelm Graf Schwerin von Schwanenfeld, German resistance fighter
* Günther Smend, German resistance fighter
* Josef Wirmer, German resistance fighter
11 September - Joseph Müller, German Roman Catholic priest and Servant of God
14 September
* Michael Graf von Matuschka, German resistance fighter
* Heinrich Graf zu Dohna-Schlobitten, German major general and resistance fighter
* Nikolaus von Üxküll-Gyllenband, German resistance fighter
* Hermann Josef Wehrle, German Catholic priest and resistance member
16 September — Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany
17 September — Friedrich Zickwolff, Wehrmacht general
18 September — Anton Saefkow, German communist
20 September — Friedrich Boedicker, German admiral
22 September — Fritz Lindemann, German officer in the Wehrmacht
28 September — Josef Bürckel, German Nazi gauleiter
* Wilhelm Leuschner German politician and resistance fighter
* Joachim Sadrozinski, German resistance fighter
1 October — Rudolf Schmundt, German officer in the Wehrmacht and adjutant to Adolf Hitler
7 October - Diego von Bergen, German diplomat
12 October — Carl Langbehn, German resistance member
13 October
* Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal, German resistance member
* Roland von Hößlin, German resistance member
14 October — Erwin Rommel, Wehrmacht Field Marshal
17 October — Anton Hafner, German aviator
18 October — Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg, German prince
19 October - Erich Koch-Weser, German lawyer and politician
20 October
* Eduard Brücklmeier, German diplomat and resistance member
* Hermann Maaß, German politician and resistance member
26 October - Joseph Fischer, German cartographer
27 October – Judith Auer, German World War II resistance fighter
28 October - Kurt Gerron, German actor
7 November - Max Bergmann, German biochemist
10 November - Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg, German diplomat
12 November - Otto Frank, German physiologist
13 November
* Paul Graener, German composer and conductor
* Friedrich Lorenz, German Roman Catholic priest and blessed
* Bernhard Letterhaus, German trade unionist and resistance member
* Ferdinand von Lüninck, German politician and resistance member
30 November
* Lilo Gloeden, German resistance member
* Max Halbe, German dramatist
19 December — Rudolph Karstadt, German entrepreneur
20 December
*Caesar von Hofacker, German Lieutenant Colonel and member of the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler
Fritz Pfeffer, German-Dutch housemate of Anne Frank
* Carl Wentzel, German resistance member