1. Holy Roman Empire
   Red Reich
2. Österreich

Long before it was called Germany, the area was known as the Holy Roman Empire. In 962, Otto I reigned supreme in the Empire.

1. Kingdom of South Africa
   Kingdom of Italy
2. Kingdom of America

Otto’s time on the throne was marked by bloodshed. He sent his army to capture the Kingdom of Italy, but then spent years trying to calm tensions in the area.

1. He unified Germany.
   He destroyed France.
2. He spawned Hitler.

In 1871, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck used his political savvy to unify all of Germany. The German Empire was born.

1. True
2. False

By 1900, the Industrial Revolution had transformed the country and Germany was full steam ahead. It was the most powerful nation on the continent, and it wouldn’t be long before its military saw action.

1. Iceland
   United States
2. France

In June of 1914, an archduke of Austria was assassinated, which sparked World War I. Then, in August, Germany declared war on Russia and France. The Great War soon cratered much of Europe.

1. Adolf Hitler
   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2. Frederic Chopin

On January 27, 1757, Mozart was born. During his lifetime, the classical composer would create some of the most timeless music in history.

1. for universal health care
   to insist on better schools
2. to fight the autocratic government

In 1848, German people rose up in a series of protests around the country in opposition to an increasingly autocratic government. But the revolutions failed and many rebels had to flee the country in fear.

1. the Bible
   Ninety-Five Theses
2. National Enquirer

In 1517, a monk named Martin Luther completed his Ninety-Five Theses, which presented some ideas for reforming the Catholic Church. His bold move jumpstarted a religious movement called the Reformation.

1. Baptist
   Buddhist
2. Protestant

Martin Luther’s proposals for reforming the Catholic Church ignited a firestorm of controversy. Northern states agreed with Luther’s ideas and veered towards Protestantism, while Catholicism held sway in the south.

1. WWI
   Thirty Years’ War
2. Iran-Iraq War

The Reformation wasn’t a peaceful ordeal, it snowballed into the Thirty Years’ War, in which Europeans slaughtered each other in droves. Nearly 8 million people perished in the conflict.

1. 5%
   50%
2. 80%

The Thirty Years’ War was a vicious religious struggle that resulted in wholesale slaughter. By the time it was said and done, half of the male population of the German states was dead.

1. Diane Kruger
   Henry Kissinger
2. Adolf Hitler

In 1933, German President Paul von Hindenberg appointed firebrand Adolf Hitler as chancellor. Hitler put his new powers to maximum use.

1. 19 months
   9 years
2. 24 hours

Once he became chancellor, Hitler was on a roll. He gathered all of his political might and then had complete control just 19 months later. His dream of the Third Reich was coming to fruition.

1. Norway
   Poland
2. Finland

On Sept. 1, 1939, Hitler’s minions invaded Poland. The Nazi war machine had been unleashed, and it would be years before the world again saw real peace.

1. the Central Powers
   the Axis
2. the Immortals

During the First World War, Germany was the head of the Central Powers. Western Allies banded together to send Germany and its ilk back within their own borders.

1. It disbanded Germany.
   It was very fair to Germany.
2. It humiliated Germany.

Once the Allies won WWI, they forced Germany to accept the Treaty of Versailles, which was borderline humliating to the German people. So harsh was the treaty that no one was surprised when Germany rose up again in WWII.

1. children
   human rights
2. colonies

After the Great War, the Treaty of Versailles seized and redistributed Germany’s colonies. The Empire was no more.

1. Reconstruction
   German Civil War
2. Great Depression

In the 1930s, the Great Depression rattled economies all around the world, and the German people suffered. Many people found solace in extreme political views.

1. Stalin’s Tomb
   Eiffel Tower
2. Berlin Wall

In 1961, the Berlin wall was built in the city of the same name. Overnight, a giant city was divided into East and West Berlin, a microcosm of the tensions between Communism and democracy.

1. It detonated a nuclear test.
   It surrendered its fight in WWII.
2. It attacked Washington, D.C.

On May 7, 1945, just a week after Hitler’s suicide, Germany surrendered. The Allies had won the European theater of the war and now turned their attention to the Pacific.

1. 4
   9
2. 22

Following WWII, Germany was carved into four different zones of military occupation. France, the United Kingdom, USSR and U.S. all controlled a piece of the battered nation.

1. that German women were required to have at least four children each
   that Germany would rearm itself
2. that all disabled people would be eaten alive

In 1935, Hitler proclaimed that Germany would begin rebuilding its military, a blatant violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Politicians all over Europe dodged the issue, hoping Hitler would go away quietly.

1. the Berlin Wall
   Hitler’s headstone
2. BMW’s original headquarters

On Nov. 9, 1989, the world watched in awe as the Berlin Wall came down. East and West Berlin were finally reunited ... and East Germans could breathe a sigh of relief. Communism was, at last, on the retreat.

1. It ended the German Civil War.
   It brought the Olympic Games to Munich.
2. It gave parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany.

The 1938 Munich Agreement permitted Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia. It was a tiny taste of the Third Reich’s thirst for power and territorial expansion.

1. Turnip Winter
   Sauerkraut Summer
2. Oktoberfest

An Allied blockage caused widespread food shortages in Germany during the war. The Turnip Winter referred to the fact that turnips were just about the only food available to civilians.

1. Italy
   Austria
2. America

In 1936, Hitler decided that he wanted to reunite all German-speaking people under one roof, so to speak. He annexed Austria, giving the world a taste of what was to come.

1. America
   Weimar Republic
2. Adolfville

In the wake of WWI, the German Empire was ended. In its place? The Weimar Republic.

1. USSR
   Japan
2. Ghana

In June 1941, Hitler opened up the Eastern Front when he attacked the USSR. Operation Barbarossa was initially a fantastic success, but Joseph Stalin soon made it clear that he had no intention of surrendering to the Nazis.

1. War reparations caused economic hardship.
   Germany was attacked by France.
2. Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen went bankrupt.

Following WWI, Germany was required to pay war reparations to the countries it damaged with its bullets and bombs. But the huge reparations caused hyperinflation and the economy spiraled out of control.

1. Jews were exiled from Germany.
   Weapons of all kinds were banned.
2. Hitler’s adversaries were killed.

In 1934, German SS paramilitaries swept through cities, killing Hitler’s political rivals. Hitler’s path to power was clear... and the darkest days of Germany were just ahead.