On this day 147 years ago, the “Reichsgesetz über die Beurkundung des Personenstands und die Eheschließung” (Imperial Law on the Registration of Personal Status and Marriage) was enacted. The law, which came into force on January 1, 1876, made it compulsory for the first time to record births, marriages and deaths. The law was enacted by the then Chancellor of the Reich, Otto von Bismarck, as part of the Kulturkampf, during which he advocated, among other things, the separation of church and state.
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