1926 in Germany

National level • President - Paul von Hindenburg (Non-partisan) • Chancellor - Hans Luther (German People's Party) (to 12 May), Wilhelm Marx (Centre) (from 17 May) ==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. • 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. • 24 June – the liner Padua is launched. Other ships launched this year (all with date of launch unknown) 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. • 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. • 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. • 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 (died 2020 in France) • 3 January – W. Michael Blumenthal, German-American economist and politician • 5 January – Walther Leisler Kiep, German politician (died 2016) • 6 January – Walter Sedlmayr, actor (died 1990) • 24 January – Hans-Jürgen Borchers, mathematical physicist (died 2011) • 26 January – Kurt-Heinz Stolze, pianist (died 1970) • 28 January – Meier Schwarz, Israeli plant physiologist (died 2022 in Israel) • 29 January – Ernst Träger, judge (died 2015) • 31 January: • Johannes Joachim Degenhardt, Archbishop of Paderborn (died 2002) • Horst Giese, actor (died 2008) • Rudi Kopp, cross country skier (died 2022) • Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, nobleman (died 2012) • 2 February – Fritz Stern, German-American historian (died 2016) • 3 February: • Franz Islacker, footballer (died 1970) • Hans-Jochen Vogel, politician (died 2020) • 6 February – Elisabeth Guttenberger, Holocaust survivor and human rights activist (died 2024) • 8 February – Sonja Ziemann, actress (died 2020) • 11 February – Ursula Buckel, opera singer (died 2005) • 16 February – Margot Frank, sister of Anne Frank (died 1945) • 20 February – Adolf Bechtold, footballer (died 2012) • 23 February – Christian Habicht, historian (died 2018) • 11 March: • Albrecht Dietz, German entrepreneur and scientist (died 2012) • Heinz Kiessling, musician (died 2003) • Peer Schmidt, actor (died 2010) • 17 March – Siegfried Lenz, writer of novels, short stories and essays (died 2014) • 25 March – Georg Schäfer (artist), painter and writer (died 1991) • 26 March – Heinz Staab, German chemist (died 2012) • 8 April: • Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian (died 2024) • Elisabeth Wiedemann, German actress (died 2015) • 18 April: • Horst Käsler, handball player (died 1987) • Günter Meisner, actor (died 1994) • 22 April – Harald Leipnitz, actor (died 2000) • 26 April – Michael Mathias Prechtl, artist (died 2003) • 8 May – David Hurst, actor (died 2019) • 17 May – Franz Sondheimer, German-born Israeli-British chemist (died 1981) • 19 May – Peter Zadek, film director (died 2009) • 24 May – Rudolf Kippenhahn, astrophysicist (died 2020) • 28 May – Gerhard Beil, politician (died 2010) • 5 June – Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, businessman (died 1990) • 6 June – Klaus Tennstedt, conductor (died 1998) • 14 June – Hermann Kant, writer (died 2016) • 20 June – Hans-Dieter Lange, journalist and television presenter (died 2012) • 21 June – Johanna Quandt, business woman (died 2015) • 24 June – Walter Hirrlinger, German politician (died 2018) • 22 June – Elyakim Haetzni, Israeli lawyer and politician (died 2022) • 1 July: • Carl Hahn, businessman (died 2023) • Hans Werner Henze, composer (died 2012) • 2 July – Berthold Wulf, priest (died 2012) • 4 July – Wolfgang Seidel, racing driver (died 1987) • 12 July – Oswald Mathias Ungers, architect (died 2007) • 15 July – Hans Frankenthal, writer and Holocaust survivor (died 1999) • 16 July – Stef Wertheimer, German-born Israeli entrepreneur and industrialist (died 2025) • 24 July – Hans Günter Winkler, showjumper (died 2018) • 25 July – August Lütke-Westhüs, equestrian (died 2000) • 1 August – Theo Adam, opera singer (died 2019) • 6 August – Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (died 2013) • 9 August – Gustav Schmidt, sprint canoer (died 2016) • 21 August – Ben-Zion Orgad, (German-born) Israeli composer (died 2006) • 27 August – Karl-Heinz Heddergott, football manager (died 2021) • 30 August – Rudi Gutendorf, footballer and manager (died 2019) • 3 September: • Rudi Arnstadt, East German border guard (died 1962) • Jochen Bleicken, professor of ancient history (died 2005) • 4 September – Helmut Ringelmann, film producer (died 2011) • 6 September – Prince Claus of the Netherlands (died 2002) • 10 September – Gerda Munsinger, prostitute and alleged spy (died 1998) • 17 September: • Hermann Bausinger, cultural scientist (died 2021) • Klaus Schütz, politician (died 2012) • 1 October: • Manfred Messerschmidt, historian (died 2022) • Gerhard Stolze, opera singer (died 1979) • 4 October – Klaus Koch, theologian (died 2019) • 5 October – Gottfried Michael Koenig, composer (died 2021) • 8 October – Günter Mittag, politician (died 1994) • 14 October – Günther Schwarberg, journalist (died 2008) • 15 October – Karl Richter, conductor (died 1981) • 18 October – Klaus Kinski, actor (died 1991) • 19 October – Udo Schaefer, Baháʼí author (died 2019) • 20 October – Ursula Happe, swimmer (died 2021) • 21 October – Leo Kirch, media entrepreneur (died 2011) • 26 October – Bernhard Klodt, footballer (died 1996) • 30 October – Dieter Zechlin, pianist (died 2012) • 1 November – Günter de Bruyn, writer (died 2020) • 11 November – Werner Schmieder, politician • 15 November: • Alfred Biehle, politician (died 2014) • Manfred Müller, German bishop or Roman Catholic Church (died 2015) • Helmut Fischer, actor (died 1997) • 26 November: • Peter van Pels, German-Dutch boyfriend of Anne Frank (died 1945) • Ralf Wolter, actor (died 2022) • 28 November – Eberhard von Brauchitsch, industrialist (died 2010) • 9 December – Erhard Eppler, politician and businessman (died 2019) • 10 December – Jacob Birnbaum, Jewish activist (died 2014) • 16 December – Alfred Koerppen, musician (died 2022) • 19 December – Hans Henn, bobsledder (died 1993) • 20 December – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, politician (died 2019) • 21 December – Herbert Ehrenberg, politician (died 2018) • 23 December – Heinz Graffunder, architect (died 1994) ==Deaths==

• 2 February – Karl von Weizsäcker, politician (born 1853) • 4 January – Franz Stockhausen, conductor (born 1839) • 7 January – Paul Cassirer, art dealer (born 1871) • 29 January – Wilhelm Heitmüller, theologian (born 1869) • 5 February – Gustav Eberlein, sculptor and painter (born 1847) • 6 February – Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich von Baudissin, theologian (born 1847) • 11 February – Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert, painter (born 1865) • 13 February – Friedrich Krafft Graf von Crailsheim, German politician (born 1841) • 20 February – Georg Friedrich Knapp, economist (born 1842) • 28 February – Gustav Otto, aircraft engineer (born 1883) • 7 March – Paul Matschie, zoologist (born 1861) • 24 March – Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg, nobleman (born 1860) • 26 March – Constantin Fehrenbach, politician (born 1852) • 4 April – August Thyssen, industrialist (born 1842) • 21 May – Friedrich Kluge, lexicographer (born 1856) • 23 May – Hans von Koessler, composer (born 1853) • 3 June – Rudolf Oeser, politician (born 1858) • 5 June – Richard Wolffenstein, chemist (born 1864) • 22 July – Otto Wilhelm Madelung, surgeon (born 1846) • 23 July – Kurt Wüsthoff, fighter pilot (born 1897) • 5 September – Karl Harrer, journalist and politician (born 1890) • 15 September – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, philosopher (born 1846) • 7 October – Emil Kraepelin, psychiatrist (born 1856) • 9 October – Josias von Heeringen, Army general (born 1850) • 15 October – Mathilde Bauermeister, opera singer (born 1849) • 17 October – Otto Heubner, internist and pediatrician (born 1843) • 26 November – Fritz Cassirer, conductor (born 1871) • 2 December – Karl Joseph Eberth, pathologist (born 1835) • 11 December – Carl Magnus von Hell, chemist (born 1849) ==References==