Conrad on his deathbed, according to the Res gestae saxonicae by chronicler Widukind of Corvey, had persuaded his younger brother Eberhard to offer the crown to Henry the Fowler, the duke of Saxony and one of his principal opponents, since he considers Henry to be the only prince capable of holding the German kingdom together in the face of internal rivalries among the dukes and the continuous Hungarian raids.

It is, however, not until May 919, when Eberhard and the other Frankish nobles accept Conrad's advice, and Henry is elected king, as Henry I, at the Reichstag of Fritzlar.

On his accession, Henry quickly forces the tribal duchies of Bavaria and Swabia to acknowledge him.

Eberhard, who had succeeded Conrad as Duke of Franconia, will remain loyal to King Henry.