1931 in Germany

Decades:	1910s; 1920s; 1930s; 1940s; 1950s;
See also:	Other events of 1931; History of Germany • Timeline • Years

Events in the year 1931 in Germany.

Incumbents

President

Paul von Hindenburg (Non-partisan)

Chancellor

Dr. Heinrich Brüning (Centre)

Events

January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) in Africa.
February 11 – National Socialist (NSDAP) and National Party (DNVP) 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 ("Eden Dance Palace") in Berlin in 1930 is dismissed.^[1]
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.^[2]
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 (SPD) 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 (KPD), while the SPD and Zentrum support the "no" side.
August 29 – Airship Graf Zeppelin pioneers the air route between Germany and Brazil.
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.
Date unknown: German company Porsche was founded.

Arts and literature

Erich Kästner's satire 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 (January) and is published in book form (March).
Carl Zuckmayer's satire Der Hauptmann von Köpenick is first performed.
Fritz Lang's thriller M is released (May 11).
The film version of Berlin-Alexanderplatz is released.
The musical film version of Die 3-Groschen-Oper, is released (February 19).
The film version of Emil und die Detektive is released.

Science

Adolf Butenandt discovers androsterone.
The first electroencephalography is performed by Hans Berger.
Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll build the first prototype electron microscope.
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 (Wulf Wolodia Grajonca), rock concert promoter (died 1991 in the United States)
January 9 – Erhard Krack, German politician (died 2000)
January 16 – Johannes Rau, President of Germany 1999–2004 (died 2006)
January 17 – Mark Brandis (Nikolai von Michalewsky), journalist and science fiction author (died 2000)
January 31 – Hansjörg Felmy, German actor (died 2007)
February 2 – Walter Burkert, classical scholar (died 2015)
February 7 – Holger Börner, politician (died 2006)
February 23 – Gustav-Adolf Schur, German cyclist
3 March — Werner Haas (pianist), German musician (died 1976)
March 11 – Janosch (Horst Eckert), writer
April 1 – Rolf Hochhuth, dramatist
April 17 – Hilmar Thate, German actor (died 2016)
April 29 – Frank Auerbach, painter
May 15 – Claus Roxin, jurist
May 19 – Alfred Schmidt, philosopher (died 2012)
June 8 – Dana Wynter, actress (died 2011 in the United States)
June 29 – Ralph Klein, basketball player and coach (died 2008 in Israel)
July 25 – Peter Armbruster, German physicist
July 31 – Ivan Rebroff, German singer (died 2008)
August 18 – Hans Tietmeyer, German president of Deutsche Bundesbank from September 1999 until 2004 (died 2016)
August 20 – Bernd Becher, photographer (died 2007)
September 1 – Michael O. Rabin, Israeli computer scientist and Turing Award laureate
September 3 – Fritz J. Raddatz German feuilletonist, essayist, biographer and romancier (died 2015)
September 11 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian (died 2014)
October 14 – Heinz Fütterer, German athlete
October 16 – Hans Friderichs, German politician
November 6 – Mike Nichols (Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky), director (died 2014 in the United States)
December 3 – Franz Josef Degenhardt , poet and novelist (died 2011)

Deaths

February 16 – Wilhelm von Gloeden, photographer (born 1856)
February 23 – Eduard von Capelle, admiral (born 1855)
February 24 – Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg (born 1852)
February 26 – Otto Wallach, chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (born 1847)
March 11 – F. W. Murnau, film director (born 1888; died in United States)
March 20 – Hermann Müller, German politician (born 1876)
April 14 – Richard Armstedt, historian (born 1851)
May 6 – Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, German scientist and inventor (born 1872)
May 26 – Hans von Arnim, German philogist (born 1895), died in Austria
September 20 – Max Littmann, architect (born 1862)
October 17 – Alfons Maria Jakob, neuropathologist (born 1884)
December 7 – Karl Fritz, German bishop of Roman-Catholic Church (born 1864)

References

^ Hett, Benjamin Carter (2007). "Hans Litten and the Politics of Criminal Law in the Weimar Republic". In Dubber, Markus Dirk; Farmer, Lindsay (eds.). Modern Histories of Crime and Punishment. Stanford University Press.
^ Young, William (2006). German Diplomatic Relations 1871–1945: The Wilhelmstrasse and the Formulation of Foreign Policy. iUniverse, Inc. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-595-40706-4.

[1] Hett, Benjamin Carter (2007). "Hans Litten and the Politics of Criminal Law in the Weimar Republic". In Dubber, Markus Dirk; Farmer, Lindsay (eds.). Modern Histories of Crime and Punishment. Stanford University Press.

[2] Young, William (2006). German Diplomatic Relations 1871–1945: The Wilhelmstrasse and the Formulation of Foreign Policy. iUniverse, Inc. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-595-40706-4.

[1]

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v t e Years in Germany (1871–present)
19th century	Pre-1871 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
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21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025