Events in the year 1917 in Germany.
Incumbents
National level
Kaiser – Wilhelm II
Chancellor – Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg to 13 July, then Georg Michaelis to 31 October, then from 1 November Georg von Hertling
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 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 – Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Colonial Governor
German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika) – Albert Heinrich Schnee, although much of territory under Allied occupation.
Events
January/February – Turnip Winter
19 January – Zimmermann Telegram
2 February – Atlantic U-boat Campaign: Germany announces its U-boats will resume unrestricted submarine warfare, rescinding the 'Sussex Pledge'. 3 February – The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany. 13 February – Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie in Munich is officially founded. 24 February – Walter Hines Page, United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, is shown the intercepted Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany offers to give the American Southwest back to Mexico, if Mexico will take sides with Germany when the United States declares war on Germany. 13 March – The German Leather Museum in Offenbach am Main is opened by Hugo Eberhardt. 2 April – United States declaration of war on Germany (1917) 1 October – The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Physik is officially founded in Berlin. 25 October – Hertling cabinet 18 December – German filmcompany UFA GmbH is founded in Berlin. 22 December – Deutsches Institut für Normung is founded.
Undated
German company Viessmann is founded. German company Leoni AG is founded.
Births
5 January – Wieland Wagner, German opera director (died 1966) 18 February – Gertraud Winkelvoss, German neo-Nazi politician (died 1981) 24 March – Krafft Arnold Ehricke, German rocket-propulsion engineer and advocate for space colonization (died 1984) 9 April – Johannes Bobrowski, German poet and writer (died 1965) 16 May – Ulrich Matschoss, German actor (died 2013) 2 June – Heinz Sielmann, German zoologist, biologist and filmmaker (died 2006) 29 July – Rochus Misch, German bodyguard of Adolf Hitler (died 2013) 6 September – Philipp von Boeselager, German resistance fighter (died 2008) 12 September – Jürgen Seydel, German karateka (died 2008) 15 December Karl-Günther von Hase, German diplomat and journalist (died 2021) Hilde Zadek, German operatic soprano (died 2019) 21 December – Heinrich Böll, German writer (died 1985) 23 December – Armin Zimmermann, German admiral (died 1976)