Editing Gotha (section)

=== Since 1815 ===
[[File:Meyer's Universum, 1835 – BEIC 6195662 Gotha.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Gotha in ''[[Joseph Meyer (publisher)|Meyer]]'s Universum'', 1835]]

From 1826 to 1918, Gotha along with Coburg was one of the two capitals of the Duchy of [[Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]]. Under the rule of [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Duke Ernest II]], Gotha was a centre of Germany's [[classical liberalism|liberal movement]], where the [[Gothaer Nachparlament]], an aftermath of [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|1848 German Revolution]] took place. After 1851, [[Gustav Freytag]], novelist, advocate of German unity and often a harsh critic of [[Otto von Bismarck]] made Siebleben (today part of Gotha) his summer home. Ernest II made Freytag ''Hofrat'' (privy councillor) in 1854, when the Prussian government had issued a warrant for his arrest.<ref name="Klauss"/>{{rp|84–87}}

In 1875, the German [[socialism|socialist]] party ([[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]) was founded in Gotha through the merger of two organizations: the Social Democratic Workers' Party, led by [[August Bebel]] and [[Wilhelm Liebknecht]], and the [[General German Workers' Association]], founded by [[Ferdinand Lassalle]]. A compromise known as the [[Gotha Program]] was forged, although it was strongly criticized by [[Karl Marx]] for its reformist bias in his ''[[Critique of the Gotha Program]]''.

From 1876 to 1908, the novelist [[Kurd Lasswitz]], sometimes referred to as "the father of German science fiction" worked as a teacher at Gotha's Ernestinum, the oldest ''[[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]]'' in Thuringia.<ref name="Klauss"/>{{rp|87–88}}

Industrialization started in Gotha around 1850, as the city was connected to the [[Thuringian Railway]] in 1847. The city became a centre of engineering with companies like the ''[[Gothaer Waggonfabrik]]'', a tram and airplane manufacturer, founded in 1883. During the 19th century, Gotha also became a centre of banking and the insurance business in Germany. Ernst-Wilhelm Arnoldi founded the first fire insurance in 1820, followed by the first life insurance in 1827. The {{Interlanguage link|Gothaer Versicherungsbank|de|3=Gothaer Versicherungsbank|lt=Gothaer}} [[mutual insurance]] remains one of the largest insurance companies in Germany (it moved to [[Cologne]] after [[World War II]]). Gotha's tram network was established in 1894. The first [[crematory]] in Germany was built in Gotha in 1878.

The [[Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (USPD), a left-wing breakaway of the SPD was founded in Gotha in 1917 in opposition to the SPD's war policies during [[World War I]]. During the [[German Revolution of 1918–19|German Revolution]], the Duke abdicated in 1918. A far-left government was elected in Gotha in 1919 and worked against both the [[Weimar National Assembly]] and the [[Kapp Putsch|Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch]] in 1920 bringing the city to the edge of a civil war. After a referendum, the state of Gotha joined the newly created ''Freistaat'' [[Thuringia]] in 1920.

Under [[Nazi]] rule, Gotha became a centre of the arms industry with nearly 7,000 [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labourers]] working in the city's factories, where more than 200 died.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} The Gotha barracks in the southern periphery were enlarged and during the ''[[Kristallnacht]]'' in 1938 the synagogue was destroyed. Allied air raids in 1944/5 damaged some buildings in the city, in particular the state theatre (demolished by East German authorities in 1958) and the main station (which remains only "half-a-building") and the main church (rebuilt after the war). Nevertheless, some 95% of the city's buildings survived the war unscathed. Jewish slave laborers working in quarries at Gotha were all murdered by their Nazi overseers on 4 April 1945, just before the city was captured by American forces.<ref name=HC-1945>{{cite book|editor1-first=Marilyn|editor1-last=Harran|date=2000|title=The Holocaust Chronicle|publisher=Publications International|chapter=1945: Liberation and Rebuilding|pages=[https://archive.org/details/holocaustchronic00harr/page/602 602-603]|isbn=978-0785329633|edition=1st|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/holocaustchronic00harr/page/602|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>

The American Army reached the city in April 1945 but was replaced by the Soviets in July 1945 and in 1949 Gotha became part of the [[GDR]]. During this period, some historic inner-city quarters were replaced by ''[[Plattenbau]]'' buildings, especially west of the Hauptmarkt and at Gartenstraße north of the city centre. Many other buildings fell derelict during the later GDR period and the city's time of shrinking in the 1990s, whereas others were refurbished after [[German reunification]] in 1990. Gotha's economy was hit by the transition from state to market economy after 1990, nevertheless, some companies survived or were newly founded and have made Gotha economically a relatively successful city.