# 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
* King of Prussia – Wilhelm II
* King of Saxony – Frederick Augustus III
* King of Württemberg – William II

#### 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 (with Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line, as regent)
* 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 (Kamerun) – initially ... Full, acting governor, then Karl Ebermaier (2nd and final term)
* Kiaochow (Kiautschou) – Alfred Meyer-Waldeck to 7 November
* German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) – Albert Heinrich Schnee
* German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neuguinea) – Albert Hahl (2nd term) tol 13 February, then Eduard Haber (acting governor) until 17 October
* German Samoa (Deutsch-Samoa) – Erich Schultz-Ewerth tol 29 August
* German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) – 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 (Kiautschou).
** World War I: A New Zealand expeditionary force occupies the German colony of German Samoa (Deutsch-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 (500,000 killed/wounded) 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 (Deutsch-Neuguinea) 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 (Kiautschou).

### 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 (died 2007)
* 12 January – Albrecht von Goertz, German car designer (died 2006)
* 18 January - Arno Schmidt, German author (died 1979)

### February

* 4 February - Alfred Andersch, German writer (died 1980)
* 20 February - Erich Ziegler, German politician and resistance activist (died 2004)
* 20 February - Hans Pischner, German conductor (died 2016)
* 22 February - Karl Otto Götz, German painter (died 2017)

### March

* Wilhelm Wegner, German highly decorated Leutnant in the Wehrmacht (died 1989)
* March 2 - Walter Haeussermann, German engineer and rocket scientist (died 2010)
* March 18 - Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (died 1987)

### April

* 8 April – Günter Amelung, highly decorated Rittmeister of the Reserves in the Wehrmacht (died 1944)
* 12 April - Gretel Bergmann, German high jumper (died 2017)
* 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 (died 1944)
* 7 May – Joachim Wandel, German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (died 1942)
* 26 May – Erhard Weiß, German diver (died 1957)
* 27 May – Otto Weidinger, member of the Waffen-SS (died (1990)

### June

* 1 June – Karl Wanka, highly decorated Major of the Reserves in the Wehrmacht during World War II (died 1980)
* 13 June – Prince Aschwin of Lippe-Biesterfeld, art historian (died 1988)

### July

* 1 July – Orli Wald, member of the German Resistance in Nazi Germany (died 1962)
* 1 July - Christl Cranz, German alpine racer (died 2004)
* 9 July - Willi Stoph, German politician (died 1999)

### August

* 27 August – Heidi Kabel, actress (died 2010)

### September

* September 15 - Will Quadflieg, actor (died 2003)
* September 22 - Siegfried Lowitz, actor (died 1999)

### November

* 6 November – Alfred Zwiebel, German-American landscape, floral, and still-life paint (died 2005)
* 13 November - Paul Lücke, German politician (died 1976)
* 15 November - Erich Steidtmann, German Nazi SS officer (died 2010)

### December

* 5 December – Edmund Wagner, German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (died 1941)
* 13 December – Fritz Zängl, German skier and soldier (died 1943)
* 14 December – Karl Carstens, German politician, former President of Germany (died 1992)
* 19 December – Dietrich Hrabak, German World War II flying ace (died 1995)
* 21 December – Theodor Weissenberger, German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II (died 1959)
* 24 December- Herbert Reinecker, German dramatist and screenwriter (died 2007)
* 26 December – Annemarie Wendl, German actress (died 2006)
* 29 December – Alfred Vohrer, German film director (died 1986)

## Deaths
### January

* 13 January - Alfred Lichtwark, German art historian and museum curator (born 1852)

### March

* 21 March - August Wöhler, German railway engineer (born 1819)
* 22 March - Otto Harnack, German historian (born 1857)
* 31 March – Christian Morgenstern, German author (born 1871)

### April

* 2 April – Paul Heyse German writer and translator (born 1839)
* 11 April - Carl Chun, German biologist (born 1852)

### May

* 29 May - Paul Mauser, German weapon designer and manufacturer/industrialist (born 1838)

### June

* 11 June – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, nobleman (born 1848)
* 16 June - Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer, German gynecologist w (born 1837)
* 25 June – Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, nobleman (born 1826)

### August

* 1 August – Adolf Zander, German composer (born 1843)
* 19 August – Franz Xavier Wernz, German Superior General of the Society of Jesus (born 1842)
* 24 August – Johannes Weiss, German Protestant theologian and biblical exegete (born 1863)

### September

* 9 September - Albert Arnz, German painter (born 1832)
* 25 September – Alfred Lichtenstein (writer), German writer (born 1889)
* 26 September – August Macke, German painter (born 1887)
* 26 September - Hermann Löns, German poet (born 1866)

### October

* 4 September – Theodor Weber, German physician (born 1829)
* 27 September – Robert von Pöhlmann, German ancient historian (born 1852)

### November

* 2 November – Heinrich Burkhardt, German mathematician (born 1861)
* 5 November – August Weismann, German biologist (born 1834)
* 14 November - Leonhard Tietz, German merchant (born 1849)

### December

* 13 December - Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff, German general (born 1833)
* 17 December – Otto Sackur, 34, (German physical chemist) (born 1880)

### Date unknown

* Gustav Weymer, 81, (German entomologist)