Petersberg, plenary hall, signpost
20th Century

The short 20th century

Now we have come to the last chapter in the history of our region, it covers the period from the Great War to the “Bonn years” of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Etricourt, France, 1918
20th Century

The Great War

The Kaiser’s world was about to fall apart. The Great War would bring total mobilization and upheaval in Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, plus a new social and world order.

German Revolution, Berlin November 1918
20th Century

German Revolution

Germany, 1918: The war was lost, there was hunger and need everywhere, millions of soldiers had perished in battle. The mood swung against the Kaiser. In Russia, the Bolsheviks had seized power and finally killed the Tsar and his family. The multi-ethnic Austria-Hungary was falling apart. A German Revolution would do away with the Kaiser and the Hohenzollern Monarchy.

Rhine and Drachenfels, 1921
20th Century

Occupation of the Rhineland

Rhineland, 1918/1919. The armistice had put a temporary end to the fighting in the Great War, the allied occupation of the Rhineland began. Martial law remained in force, and the British fleet maintained its naval blockade.

Kapp putsch, Berlin 1920
20th Century

Weimar Republic

This chapter if about the first German republic, named after the city of Weimar where the national assembly met in 1919, to decide about a constitution and to form a new government. However, the young Weimar Republican had to struggle from its start.

Bonn Rhine bridge
20th Century

Nazi Germany

On January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg had finally appointed Hitler Chancellor. Within only a few months, Germany became a totalitarian state, Nazi Germany.

Cologne cathedral, 1945
20th Century

World War II

The reforestation at Ofenkaulberg conceals very painful memories. Forced labor in the Ofenkaulen mines and air raids during World War II. The war raged between 1939 and 1945 and affected the civilians more than any war before.

Chancellor Adenauer's Mercedes, Haus der Geschichte, Bonn
20th Century

Federal Republic

The last chapter deals with the democratic new beginning after the Second World War, the “Bonn years” of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the state guests on Mount Petersberg.