Germany Through the Ages Trivia Game | German

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 9 A.D the Germanic tribal chief Arminius led an army of warriors to victory against the forces of which great power?

Answer: Roman Empire

Arminius's armies defeated three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest. This victory, ended Roman expansion to the east of the Rhine River. Succesive waves of barbarian tribes would continue to migrate through the Roman Empire over the next several hundred years, occasionaly sacking Rome.

This, along with long developing internal issues, would eventually doom and fragment the Westen Empire, allowing political power to shift to the Papacy and also northwards in later centuries to the Frankish kingdoms, and later the Holy Roman Empire.

2. The Holy Roman Empire was a union of German states that lasted for nearly 1000 years, until it was disbanded in 1806. Which of the below leaders NEVER held the title of Holy Roman Emperor? (Dates below represent years of reign over empire)

Answer: Frederick II (The Great), 1740-1786

Otto I of Saxony, arguably the first Holy Roman Emperor, was crowned by Pope John VII in 962 AD. (German historians treat him, not Charlemagne, as the first Holy Roman Emperor). Charles V, of Spain became Emperor in 1530. Francis II, of the house of Habsburg-Lorraine was the last Holy Roman Emperor, when Napoleon dismanteld the empire in 1806. Frederick the Great, of Prussia, never held the imperial title.

3. Martin Luther was the famous German monk whose writing of his 95 Theses, against the Catholic Church, marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. In what year did Martin Luther post his 95 Theses on the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany?

Answer: 1517

1517 was the year in which he published his 95 Theses. This would begin the German Reformation against the Catholic church, and spark more refomations throughout Europe over the next 100 years. The years 1618 and 1648 mark the beginning and end of the Thirty Years' War, and 1483 is the year Martin Luther was born.

4. The Thirty Years' War ravaged Germany from 1618 to 1648, and ended with the Treaty of Westphalia. Which of the below statements is NOT true regarding the outcome?

Answer: Germany emerged united for the first time.

The German states came out of the Thirty Years' War devatated by population loss due to war and disease. France annexed the Alsace-Lorraine region, and both Sweden and Denmark maintained footholds in German-speaking regions such as Holstein and Pomerania.

The German states remained decentralized and continued to be distrustful of Europe's great powers setting the stage for great conflict in the future.

5. In the 18th century, which medium sized German kingdom rose to a leading position in German affairs and became one of the European Great Powers?

Answer: Prussia

Prussia rose from a scattering of German provinces at the begining of the 18th century, to being second only to Austria in influence by the time of Napoleon. With the addition of Silesia, invaded by Frederick the Great in 1740, survival during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), and the partitions of Poland in the latter 18th century Prussia more than doubled in size. Prussia maintained the highest per capita army among the European powers, and was highly influencial during the Enlightenment.

6. Often referred to as the Battle of the Nations, this battle in 1813 ultimately ended Napoleon's control over Germany and set the stage for the final campaign against Napoleon in 1814, and again at Waterloo in 1815. What was the other well known name of this battle?

Answer: Battle of Leipzig

The Battle of Leipzig (aka Battle of the Nations) is widely considered the largest battle in Europe until World War I. It involved Germans fighting on both sides, with many of Napoleons's troops coming from the Confederation of the Rhine as well as from the alliance with Saxony.

They faced a vast army fielded by Austria, Prussia, Russia and Sweden. The battle involved approximately 500,000 troops. The allied forces surrounded Leipzig in brutal fighting, and as the battle continued the Saxon forces deserted Napoleon and changed sides.

After the battle, the remaining French forces were in permanent retreat all the way to the Rhine and then Paris.

7. As a result of the Franco-Prussian war, the German Empire was proclaimed in 1871. What type of government was the German Empire?

Answer: Constitutional Monarchy

The German Empire was a constitutional monarchy, but with executive power residing with the monarchy. The ministers were responsible to the monarch and not to the Reichstag. (It was not a parliamentary democracy in the West European sense. The Reichstag had almost no control over the military budget, for example).

The first Emperor (or Kaiser) was Kaiser Wilhelm I. Otto von Bismarck was the first Chancellor. The German Empire lasted until the Kaiser abdicated at the end of World War I, and the Weimar Republic was established in 1919.

8. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen was the architect of the Schlieffen Plan of World War 1, which involved the German army sweeping through Belgium in the case of war against France. What were von Schlieffen's reported last words about the plan, on his deathbed in 1913?

Answer: "Remember, keep the right wing strong."

The Schlieffen Plan, according to Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, depended on the strength and speed of the right wing of the German army. The primary purpose of the plan was to ultimately envelope the French army near Paris. After his death the plan was altered as the German High Command made adjustments which weakend the right wing. Troops were reassigned to strengthen the rest of the western front as well as to help strengthen the lightly defended eastern front against the Russian attack.

However, even in its original form the plan was a huge gamble.

9. In 1949, the Soviet Zone of occupation became a socialist state. What was the official name of this new country?

Answer: German Democratic Republic

In 1949, the German Democratic Republic was formed just weeks after the western regions of Germany formed the Federal Republic of Germany. The first leader of this new country was Wilhelm Pieck of the SED (Socialist Unity Party). The country remained in existence until reunification with the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990.

10. Who was the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (A) when construction of the Berlin Wall began, and (B) when the Wall came down?

Answer: A) Konrad Adenauer B) Helmut Kohl

Construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961 when Konrad Adenauer was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. It came down in November of 1989 with Helmut Kohl as Chancellor, and ultimately led to the re-unification of Germany in 1990.

Source: Author rwillia1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Germany Through the Ages Trivia Quiz

An assortment of questions spanning 2,000 years of German history. The first half are about the pre-Napoleonic era, while the second half is more recent. Enjoy and good luck!

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