Download Nuclear Power in Germany

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German 1090
History Overview Part II:
Homework 4 for Wednesday 1/16 (links and readings)
I.
Review the history section in the online Facts About GermanyBook http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/history.html
II.
Read through the additional information below in black; the greyed-out parts are
optional. I recommend watching a few videos. Most of them are short.
III. Review current events (link on our website:
http://homepages.utoledo.edu/bsulzer/german1090.htm
IV. Write your summary (100 words): focus on a few interesting „observations‘ you
make and a few questions you want to ask in class.
In your summary, you may focus on:
The Post World War II - Occupation Zones in Germany
The East German Uprising in 1953
The Berrlin Wall
Improvements of Relatiosn between east- and West germany
The Year before reunification (1989)
>>>> you can add/substitute other interesting issues between 1945-2013
Additional information:
Dresden before and after it was bombed in 1945:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmzjrhTmGIY
The “Frauenkirche” (baroque style) in Dresden today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5OuOaKeBJI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lesNQAf0F0I
destroyed Berlin
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Potsdam conference 7-8/45:
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm
Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945. (In some
older documents it is also referred to as the Berlin Conference of the Three Heads of
Government of the USSR, USA and UK [2][3]) Participants were the Soviet Union, the
United Kingdom and the United States. The three powers were represented by
Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill,[4]
and, later, Clement Attlee[5] and President Harry S. Truman.
Stalin, Churchill, and Truman—as well as Attlee, who participated alongside Churchill
while awaiting the outcome of the 1945 general election, and then replaced Churchill as
Prime Minister after the Labour Party's victory over the Conservatives—gathered to
decide how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany, which had agreed to
unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier, on 8 May (V-E Day). The goals of the
conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and
countering the effects of the war.
Results for Germany:
Germany
See also: Expulsion of Germans after World War II, The industrial plans for
Germany, Oder-Neisse line, Former eastern territories of Germany, and German
reparations for World War II
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Issuance of a statement of aims of the occupation of Germany by the Allies:
demilitarization, denazification, democratization, decentralization and
decartelization.
Division of Germany and Austria respectively into four occupation zones (earlier
agreed in principle at Yalta), and the similar division of each capital, Berlin and
Vienna, into four zones.
Agreement on the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
Reversion of all German annexations in Europe, including Sudetenland, AlsaceLorraine, Austria, and the westernmost parts of Poland
Germany's eastern border was to be shifted westwards to the Oder-Neisse line,
effectively reducing Germany in size by approximately 25% compared to its 1937
borders. The territories east of the new border comprised East Prussia, Silesia,
West Prussia, and two thirds of Pomerania. These areas were mainly agricultural,
with the exception of Upper Silesia which was the second largest centre of
German heavy industry.
Expulsion of the German populations remaining beyond the new eastern borders
of Germany.[13]
Agreement on war reparations to the Soviet Union from their zone of occupation
in Germany. It was also agreed that 10% of the industrial capacity of the western
zones unnecessary for the German peace economy should be transferred to the
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Soviet Union within 2 years. Stalin proposed and it was accepted that Poland was
to be excluded from division of German compensation to be later granted 15% of
compensation given to Soviet Union.[citation needed]
Ensuring that German standards of living did not exceed the European average.
The types and amounts of industry to dismantle to achieve this was to be
determined later (see The industrial plans for Germany).
Destruction of German industrial war-potential through the destruction or control
of all industry with military potential. To this end, all civilian shipyards and
aircraft factories were to be dismantled or otherwise destroyed. All production
capacity associated with war-potential, such as metals, chemical, machinery etc.
were to be reduced to a minimum level which was later determined by the Allied
Control Commission. Manufacturing capacity thus made "surplus" was to be
dismantled as reparations or otherwise destroyed. All research and international
trade was to be controlled. The economy was to be decentralized (decartelization).
The economy was also to be reorganized with primary emphasis on agriculture
and peaceful domestic industries. In early 1946 agreement was reached on the
details of the latter: Germany was to be converted into an agricultural and light
industry economy. German exports were to be coal, beer, toys, textiles, etc. — to
take the place of the heavy industrial products which formed most of Germany's
pre-war exports.[14]
Oder-Neisse Line:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oder%E2%80%93Neisse_line
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The Oder–Neisse line (Polish: granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej, German: Oder-NeißeGrenze) is the border between Germany and Poland which was drawn in the aftermath of
World War II. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and
meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin (German: Stettin) and
Świnoujście (Swinemünde). All pre-war German territory east of the line and within the
1937 German boundaries (23.8% of the former Weimar Republic lands, most of them
from Prussia) were discussed at the Potsdam Conference, and were placed under
International Law Administrative status of Poland (for most of the area) and the Soviet
Union (northern East Prussia) after the war (pending the final World War 2 Peace Treaty
for Germany), and the vast majority of its native German population was killed, fled or
was expelled by force. The Oder–Neisse line marked the border between the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany) and Poland from 1950 to 1990. East Germany
confirmed the border with Poland in 1950, while West Germany, after a period of refusal,
finally accepted the border in 1970.[1] In 1990 the newly reunified Germany and the
Republic of Poland signed a treaty recognizing it as their border.
1946 Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
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Nine months after Sir Winston Churchill failed to be reelected as Britain's Prime Minister,
Churchill traveled by train with President Harry Truman to make a speech. On March 5, 1946, at
the request of Westminster College in the small Missouri town of Fulton (population of 7,000),
Churchill gave his now famous "Iron Curtain" speech to a crowd of 40,000. In addition to
accepting an honorary degree from the college, Churchill made one of his most famous post-war
speeches.
In this speech, Churchill gave the very descriptive phrase that surprised the United States and
Britain, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across
the Continent." Before this speech, the U.S. and Britain had been concerned with their own postwar economies and had remained extremely grateful for the Soviet Union's proactive role in
ending World War II. It was Churchill's speech, which he titled "The Sinews of Peace," that
changed the way the democratic West viewed the Communist East.
Though many people believe that Churchill coined the phrase "the iron curtain" during this
speech, the term had actually been used for decades (including in several earlier letters from
Churchill to Truman). Churchill's use of the phrase gave it wider circulation and made the phrase
popularly recognized as the division of Europe into East and West.
Many people consider Churchill's "iron curtain speech" the beginning of the Cold War.
1947—bizone, US & GB merge econ; later France joins  trizone 48 > later becomes FRG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west
of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during
1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed
beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the future zones of occupation, in some
places by as much as 200 miles. The line of contact between Soviet and US forces at the
end of hostilities was temporary. After two months in which they had held areas that had
been assigned to the Soviet zone, US forces withdrew in the first days of July 1945.[1]
Some have concluded that this was a crucial move that persuaded the Soviet Union to
allow US, British, and French forces into their predesignated zones in Berlin, which
occurred at roughly the same time (July 1945), although the need for intelligence
gathering (see Operation Paperclip) may also have been a factor.
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1948-52 Marshall Plan
1948 London conf—w zones common political structure
intro of D-Mark in W (currency reform) 
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1obiI4RVAw0&feature=fvsr
1948-49 Blockade of Berlin (June 1948-May 49); airlift Tempelhof (Raisin
Bombers/Rosinenbomber – that is what the people called the planes carrying food,
clothes, and other material)
1949 Basic Law 23 May; Bonn provisional capital: Establishment of the FRG (Federal
Republic of Germany)
1949: Establishment of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) out of the Soviet Zone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqHqsYiUEwY
1950s economic miracle
Churchill iron curtain speech
1955-73 Hallstein Doctrine
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Named after the State Secretary in the foreign ministry, this doctrine insisted that the government
of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) had the sole right to represent Germany in
international relations. With the diplomatic recognition of the German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) by India in November 1955, this claim to be the only legitimate representative of the
whole German people threatened to become undermined. In order to prevent a wave of
Recognitions, the assumption of diplomatic relations with the GDR was interpreted by Bonn as an
‘unfriendly act’ and sanctioned with the loss of economic cooperation and development
assistance.
It was only with the policy of detente of the late 1960s that the development policy of the
FRG lost this function in the context of East-West German relations. The Hallstein Doctrine was
finally abandoned when both German states became members of the United Nations in 1973.
17 June 1953 uprising in East:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uprising_of_1953_in_East_Germany
In Berlin, major clashes occurred along Unter den Linden (between the Brandenburger
Tor and Marx-Engels-Platz), where Soviet troops and Volkspolizei opened fire,[4] and
around Potsdamer Platz, where several people were killed by the Volkspolizei.[5] It is still
unclear how many people died during the uprising or were sentenced to death in the
aftermath. The number of known victims is 55;[6] other estimates put the number of
victims at least 125.[7]
Earlier West German estimates of the number of people killed were considerably higher:
according to the West German Ministry for Inter-German affairs in 1966, 513 people
(including 116 "functionaries of the SED regime") were killed in the uprising, 106 people
were executed under martial law or later condemned to death, 1,838 were injured, and
5,100 were arrested (1,200 of these were later sentenced to an average of 5 years in penal
camps). It also was alleged that 17 or 18 Soviet soldiers were executed for refusing to
shoot demonstrating workers,[8] but these reports remain unconfirmed by post-1990
research.[9]
Nov 56 uprising in Hungary
1968 Prague
13 8 61 Berlin Wall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Berlin-wall-map.png
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_wall
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German
Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely
cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.[1]
The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls,[2] which
circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle
trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was
erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of
the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to
prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist
Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.
The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart"
(German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall) by GDR authorities, implying that neighbouring
West Germany had not been fully de-Nazified.[3] The West Berlin city government
sometimes referred to it as the "Wall of Shame"—a term coined by mayor Willy
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Brandt—while condemning the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement. Along with
the separate and much longer Inner German border (IGB) that demarcated the border
between East and West Germany, both borders came to symbolize the "Iron Curtain" that
separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.
Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc
emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by crossing over the border
from East Berlin into West Berlin, from where they could then travel to West Germany
and other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the wall prevented
almost all such emigration.[4] During this period, around 5,000 people attempted to
escape over the wall, with estimates of the resulting death toll varying between 100 and
200.
In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated with
the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems and the erosion of political
power in the pro-Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary. After several weeks
of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all
GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans
crossed and climbed onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a
celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, a euphoric public and souvenir hunters
chipped away parts of the wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to
remove most of the rest. The physical Wall itself was primarily destroyed in 1990. The
fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally
concluded on 3 October 1990.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
1963 June JFK visits Berlin—Ich bin ein Berliner speech
later 1960s, 1970s détente—reconciliation, improvement of relationships with (mostly E)
neighbors
Video: The Berlin Wall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQVS9rL09ng
Normalizing Relations
1969 Ostpolitik FRG and GDR
1970 Willy Brandt, Social Democrat and Chancellor of FRG, meets leaders in Poland and
the Soviet Union: in Poland, the Oder-Neisse border is officially accepted by Brandt, an act for
which he was criticized at home by conservatives. The border was howver reaffirmed after
reunification, in 1990.
Things improve in the 70s—tels, tran, Hburg-Bln autobahn, release of pol prisoners from GDR
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostpolitik
from this site: Willy Brandt und Richard Nixon
Ostpolitik: (Policy towards the East/East Germany)
March 19, 1970: Willy Brandt, West German chancellor and Willi Stoph, then head of
government of the GDR met for the first time in Erfurt. A second meeting followed on
May 21, 1970 in Kassel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willi_Stoph
Video: Brandt in Erfurt 1970: (in German)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1DjY_OOgs
Treaty on the Renunciation of Force and recognition of the status quo: August 1970.
Both sides proclaim that they have no territorial claims against “anyone.”
Part of the treaty was the “Letter on German Unity,” later appended to the Inner-German
Basic Treaty, in which the Federal government declared that the treaty did not contradict
its political goal of endeavoring to bring about peace in Europe by the German people reachieving its unity in a process of free self-determination.
December 1970: December 7: Treaty of Warsaw signed:
It reaffirms the inviolability of the existing border (the Oder-Neisse line). Warsaw and
Bonn, too, gave an assurance that they had no territorial claims against one another and
declared their intention of improving mutual cooperation.
In an “information” document on humanitarian measures, Warsaw agreed to the transfer
of ethnic Germans from Poland and the reunion of separated families by the Red Cross.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Warsaw
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9076149?&query=warsaw
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In exchange, the Soviet negotiators agreed in the treaty to the Four Powers Agreement on
Berlin which essentially confirmed the existing state of the city. Accordingly, the
Western sectors of Berlin were not a constituent part of the FRG but Bonn was entitled to
represent Berlin in international treaties. Likewise, the “ties” between Berlin (West) and
the FRG were to be improved and relations between Berlin (east) and Berlin (West)
developed.
A historical moment:
Chancellor Brandt before the Monument to the Warsaw Ghetto (December 1970).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warschauer_Kniefall
http://au.encarta.msn.com/media_1481591633/Willy_Brandt_in_Warsaw_1970.html
From this site: Willy Brandt kneeling in front of the monument:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp4jq7Ojb7E
http://www.willy-brandt.org/bwbs_biografie/index.php?l=en&p=wg&m=2&id=1147
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_ghetto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Brandt
Following Brandt’s visit to Warsaw, a vote of no-confidence against him failed in the
Bundestag and later in 1972, the treaties with the Soviet Union and Poland were
ratified by the Bundestag with most (not all) members of the CDU and CSU abstaining
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from the vote. The Bundestag, in an “interpretative resolution” declared, the treaties did
not conflict with the aim of restoring German unity by peaceful means
The series of treaties was rounded out by a Treaty on the Basis of Relations (Basic
Treaty) between the two German states which had been preceded by talks and
negotiations since June 1972. Willy Brandt’s reelection as Chancellor on 14 December
1972, the way was clear for the signing of the treaty in December. Both sides agreed not
to threaten or use force against one another and to respect each other’s independence. The
inviolability of the border between the two states was also endorsed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Treaty_%281972%29
Following the ratification of these treaties, more and more humanitarian problems were
solved in a practical manner. Missions were established in their respective capitals
instead of the usual embassies, thus circumnavigating the respective acceptance as
international countries. The express commitment to reunification in the West German
Basic Law and the rights of reservation the Four Powers held over Germany as a whole
remained unaffected by the treaties. The GDR could not be considered a foreign country,
but only part of the home country.
1973: Treaty of Prague; between the FRG and Czechoslovakia: it declared the Munich
Agreement of 1938 to be null and void in accordance with this treaty. The two sides also
agreed that their borders were inviolable and that they would therefore not use force
against one another.
Summary of treaties:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostpolitik
Decline of the GDR:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany
http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=438
From the outset, the GDR had been a communist dictatorship built on the
foundations of the rule of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) and the presence of the
Soviet Red Army. The command economy, the secret police (STASI), the all-powerful
SED and strict censorship alienated the people and the regime increasingly, but very
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inexpensive housing, health care and social services – made possible by government
price-fixing and subsidies – allowed for numerous lifestyles to be adopted in niche areas.
Major successes by the GDR on the international sports stage provided compensation
as well as satisfaction for the “working people” who, had soon staked the GDR’s claim
within the Eastern bloc to being the country with the highest industrial output and the
highest standard of living, even though low compared with any Western standards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_East_Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany_at_the_1976_Summer_Olympics
A comprehensive spy network kept close watch on everyone, and the system’s incessant
propaganda and mendacious appeals for solidarity within the system soon sounded like
hollow rhetoric, and the people (especially the younger generation) soon began to
demand a say in running their own lives, more individual freedom, and more and better
consumer goods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STASI
Since 1985, an ever greater number of people flocked to the FRG’s diplomatic mission in
Berlin (East) and to the German embassies in Prague and Warsaw.
1986: the new General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev,
declared that his main political objective was to eliminate nuclear weapons by the end of
the century. This signaled a new readiness for dialogue between East and West.
But the East German regime did not want to get caught up in the zest of Gorbatchev’s
“perestroika” (conversion) and “glasnost” (openness). This was followed by more and
more demonstrations within the GDR.
The general climate of détente led to increasing demands for greater freedom and reform
in the GDR. In 1988, 120 supporters of a peace movement called “the Church from
below” were arrested in Berlin. Prayers were said for them in the Gethsemane Church.
Over 2000 people attended the service and a fortnight later their number had swollen to
4000. In Dresden, the police broke up demonstrations for human rights, free speech, and
freedom of the press.
1989: Hungary opens its borders. Thus permitting thousands of people from the GDR
to pass through Austria and from there into the Federal Republic. This breach of
Warsaw pact discipline encouraged ever more people in the GDR to take to the streets in
protest.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n19_v41/ai_7998111
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When the GDR leaders celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR with
great pomp and circumstance in October 1989, mass demonstrations were held,
primarily in Leipzig. “We are the people” became the slogan. It also became clear that
the GDR leadership under Erich Honecker was not receiving any support from the Soviet
Union.
Even Honecker’s resignation could not save the SED regime in the GDR. His successor,
Egon Krenz, promised “change” but people did not trust him. The council of Ministers
and the SED Politburo resigned en bloc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monday_demonstrations_in_GDR
The peaceful revolution seemed to paralyze the authorities. As a result, a casual and
awkwardly worded announcement on East German television that travel restrictions were
to be eased prompted the opening of the border crossings in Berlin on the evening of
9 November 1989, ushering in a night of indescribable joy.
http://www.wall-berlin.org/
From this site:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnCPdLlUgvo&feature=related
November 9th, 1989
Amerikanische Nachrichten
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM2qq5J5A1s&feature=related
Moments in History- shows how it came to the opening of the wall
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnYXbJ_bcLc&feature=related
Berlin, November 9th, 1989
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Following this event, West German chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) published a tenpoint program on 28 November 1989 which laid out the path to a confederal reunified
Germany entailing several stages – starting with current economic aid on the condition
that there was a fundamental change in political and economic system.
1990: January 15 , 150 000 people demonstrated in Leipzig chanting “Germany –
united Fatherland.” The people in East Germany distrusted their new government, which
was now headed by Hans Modrow. A process of destabilization had set in in the GDR
and prompted the need for quick resolutions.
The US Government emphatically supported the policy of re-unification to the extent that
Germany’s national borders remained unchanged and that Germany remained a member
of the Atlantic alliance and, in case of the eastern part of the country, became part of
NATO.
On March 1990, the first free elections in more than 40 years were held in the GDR.
The result was a grand coalition government made up of CDU, DSU, DA, SPD, and FDP.
The Bonn government agreed to a timetable with this new government for monetary,
economic and social union by July 1st, 1990, it having become palpably clear that the
GDR had no economic basis on which to continue alone and that the majority of people
in the GDR wanted accession to the FRG.
http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/DRLewis/gdr03.html
In August of 1990, the GDR parliament (Volkskammer) voted in favor of accession
as soon as possible, and on 31 August GDR State Secretary Günter Krause and Federal
Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble finally signed the “Unification Treaty.”
This was followed for signature of the so-called Two-plus-Four Treaty in September
1990. Within that framework, the Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United
Kingdom, and representatives of the two German states confirmed the unification of the
two German states, consisting of the territories of the former GDR, the Federal republic
of Germany, and Berlin.
Bonn and Warsaw concluded a separate treaty to take account of Poland’s special
security needs in the light of history. Both agreed to respect easch other’s territorial
integrity and sovereignty.
October 3 has since then been celebrated as a holiday, the day of German unity.
http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2121_90.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_German_Unity
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Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90I-stGbhEg
1989-2010
Between 1990 and now:
National, European and global responsibilities are inseparably intertwined. Recovery and
consolidation in eastern Germany cannot take place unless the states are closely tied into
the process of European integration. Europe needs to open itself up to the reformist states
in Central and Eastern Europe. In this spirit, a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
was signed between the European Union and Russia (following the collapse of the Soviet
Union) in 1994 in Corfu. Germany’s contributions and existing obligations to the former
Soviet Union and the present CIS states* have totaled more than 63 billion dollars.
*CIS states:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States
Despite drastic cuts in public spending, Germany also stands firmly behind its
commitment to the developing countries around the world. It helps them help
themselves in order to improve the economic, social, and political conditions experienced
by the people living there. Respect for human rights, participation of the people in the
political process, the guarantee of the rule of law, the introduction of a socially oriented
market economy , and the development orientation of government action in the recipient
countries are important criteria used by the Federal Government in the giving of
development aid.
At several occasions, German troops have been part of peacekeeping UN missions. At
the formal request of the United Nations, Germany has sent troops to Somalia in 1993
(although it was subject to controversial discussion in Germany).
In 1994, the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany ruled that German armed
forces could participate in operations within the framework of NATO or EU
activities in support of the implementation of resolutions of the United Nations
Security Council.
Subsequently, 4000 troops were sent to Bosnia in 1995, and currently, more than 2500
German soldiers (navy units) are on their way to Lebanon, to secure the coast against
weapons transfers.
Germany is one of the founding members of the EU (European Union) which now
consists of 25 member states. The “Schengen Agreement” has been in force since
March 1995 and means that personal identification papers are no longer checked at the
borders between member states in continental Europe, whereas passport and custom
controls have been intensified on all remaining borders.
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In light of recent terror attacks, these policies are of course subject to change.
Germany has had its share of terrorist activity in the 1970s and 1980s, especially brought
on by the so called RED Army Fraction (Rote Armee Fraktion), a left wing organization,
also known as Baader-Meinhof Bande (Baader-Meinhof gang):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Fraction
Germany in the process of change: RENEWAL AND SECURING THE FUTURE
Overcoming still existing economic and social differences in living conditions in eastern
and western Germany remains a major challenge to the nation, and the top priority is to
reduce unemployment.
Tax reform of July 2000 the next step has been taken in this agenda for the future: the
tax reform package will ease the tax bill Germans face – in several stages, and since
2005, tax payers contribute about 70 billion dollars less than in 1998 without
endangering the consolidation of public-sector budgets.
German economic strength has been a major factor in this process, attributed by experts
to the Federal Government’s financial policy.
The government is especially intent on lowering youth unemployment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_germany
“Aufbau Ost” (Rebuilding the East) is an agenda whose primary goal remains to bring
living conditions in eastern Germany up to par with western Germany. In order to
buttress this core policy requirement, the Federal Government continues its transfers
under the financial equalization program.
Effects of Unification:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification
One other major goal is the reform of the social insurance sector: the goal is to ensure a
balanced spread of burdens between the generations. The statutory pension insurance is
to be supplemented by capital-based pension plans.
Homepage, Ministry of Health:
http://www.bmg.bund.de/cln_041/nn_600110/EN/Home/homepage__node,param=.html_
_nnn=true
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-The Act on the Prioritization of Renewable Energy Sources is designed to bring
ecological modernization of society – with the objective of ensuring the long-term
preservation of the natural basis for life and work.
http://unfccc.int/2860.php
http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/RENEW/Wind/OWWG/docs/BMUTheWayForwardbr
oschuereeezukunften.pdf#search='new%20energies%20Germany'
http://www.bmwzentrum.com/exhibits/hydrogen_car.asp
From this site:
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/03/16/hydrogen.cars/
Opt out of nuclear power: In June 2000 the Federal Government and leading power
utilities agreed on an orderly termination of nuclear power. The consensus reached is
considered an historic solution to a social conflict that has simmered for long.
The German town “Wackersdorf” was once subject of such controversy, as were other
locations in Germany, especially in the 1980s.
http://www.peacemagazine.org/archive/v02n5p08.htm
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2003/2003-11-18-19.asp#anchor2
Regarding nuclear transports:
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2004/07/74918_comment.php
http://www.wiseparis.org/index.html?/english/ournewsletter/4_5/page5.html&/english/frame/menu.html&
/english/frame/band.html
http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf43.html
Nuclear Power in Germany
(updated August 2011)
19



Germany until March 2011 obtained one quarter of its electricity from
nuclear energy, using 17 reactors.
A coalition government formed after the 1998 federal elections had the
phasing out of nuclear energy as a feature of its policy. With a new
government in 2009, the phase-out was cancelled, but then reintroduced in
2011.
Public opinion in Germany remains ambivalent and at present does not
support building new nuclear plants.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/791597.stm
From this site:
Previous chancellor, Gerhard Schröder and colleagues
http://www.uic.com.au/nip46.htm
On January 1, 2000, a new, modern law on citizenship was enacted in Germany which
takes its crue from the European norm and abandons the principle of hereditary origin in
favor of the principle of place of birth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nationality_law
The Foundation “Memory, Responsibility, and Future,” passed by parliament on July
6th, 2000 – a joint initiative by the government and the political parties represented in the
Bundestag, is a law regulating the modalities for payment of compensation for those
forced to work as slave laborers during the Third Reich. The then Federal chancellor
Gerhard Schröder, at whose behest the foundation was first set up. Considers it a “long
overdue humanitarian gesture. The estimated 1.5 million victims still alive today can
expect to receive payments of between 3,500 and 10,000 dollars.
http://www.ejpress.org/article/1988
Now:
Video:
20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY0IqNuSS-c
Cuts, Crises and Bailouts - Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Euro Crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel
Merkel speaking:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=mzkIFhSrj5E&feature=endscreen
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCV9BxvdGA4
Outlook for 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (pronounced [aŋˈɡeːla doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛʁkl̩ ] ( listen);[1] née
Kasner; born 17 July 1954) is the Chancellor of Germany and party leader of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU).[2] Merkel is the first woman to have become
Chancellor of Germany.
A physical chemist by professional background, Merkel entered politics in the wake of
the Revolutions of 1989 and briefly served as the deputy spokesperson for Lothar de
21
Maizière's democratically elected East German government prior to the German
reunification. Following reunification in 1990, she was elected to the Bundestag, where
she has represented a constituency in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since. She
served as Federal Minister for Women and Youth 1991–1994 and as Federal Minister for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety 1994–1998 in Helmut Kohl's
fourth and fifth cabinets. She was Secretary General of the CDU 1998–2000, and was
elected chairperson in 2000. From 2002 to 2005, she was also chair of the CDU/CSU
parliamentary coalition.
After her election as Chancellor following the 2005 federal election, she led a grand
coalition consisting of her own CDU party, its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social
Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), until 2009. In the
2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the votes, and formed a
coalition government with the CSU and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).[3]
In 2007, Merkel was President of the European Council and chaired the G8, the second
woman (after Margaret Thatcher) to do so. She played a central role in the negotiation of
the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. One of her priorities was also to
strengthen transatlantic economic relations by signing the agreement for the Transatlantic
Economic Council on 30 April 2007. Merkel is seen as playing a crucial role in managing
the financial crisis at the European and international level, and has been referred to as
"the decider."[4] In domestic policy, health care reform and problems concerning future
energy development have been major issues of her tenure.
Angela Merkel has been described as "the de facto leader of the European Union" and is
currently ranked as the world's second most powerful person by the Forbes magazine, the
highest ranking ever achieved by a woman.[5][6]
____________________________________________________
Summary:
Cost of Unification:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_unification_of_East_and_West_Germany
Timeline, German History, 1500 >>>>>>>>>>
http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_doclist.cfm?sub_id=64&section_id=16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3WyGqFJGdU&feature=relmfu
Chancellor Schröder wants more assertive role for Germany (participates in NATO
actions for the first time, after 911, German troops in Afghanistan, does not participate in
the Iraq war)
22
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Germany
Government of Germany
_____________________________________________________________________________
World War I
World War II
Homework 3 for Monday 1/14 (links and readings):
Greyed out text and links are optional.
Viewing the videos is recommended.
1. Review links and readings on:
Bismarck
The Unification of Germany 1871
2. Prepare a summary (100 words minimum) including questions and observations
regarding:
a) History:
What led to WW 1
What triggered WW 1
What was Germany like between 1919 and 1933
How did the Nazis impact Germany and Germans from 1933 on
What triggered WW II
What was the so-called “final solution” (Endlösung)
What led to the defeat of Germany?
b) Current Events
Events leading up to WW I and WW II:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_I
German domestic politics, French domestic politics, changes in Austria-Hungary,
imperialism:
23
The rulers of Germany, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the United Kingdom
attempting to keep the lid on the simmering cauldron of imperialist and nationalist
tensions in the Balkans to prevent a general European war. They were successful in 1912
and 1913 but did not succeed in 1914.
Trigger:
1914 Franz-Ferdinand (archduke and successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne) was
assassinated in Sarajevo  WWI Germany, Austria-Hungary vs. Great Britain, France,
Russia, and the United States . Other countries such as Australia and New Zealand also
24
entered the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Additonal allies (central powers) of
Germany and Austria-Hungary were few (Bulgaria, Turkey). Italy did not honor a treaty
with Germany to enter into war against France but entered the war instead on the side of
the Entente (together with Great Britain in 1915). After WW I, Italy allied again with
Germany.
The German Empire was young in 1914. It came into being following a series of wars in 1871.
German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s adage was always to be in a majority of three in any
dispute among the five great European powers. His aim was to preserve Germany’s peaceful ties
with Russia. Kaiser Willhelm II quickly upset Bismarck’s delicate balance of power. Germany, by
refusing to renew its friendship with Russia, soon found itself in a minority of two. Its only
European ally was the weakest of the European powers, Austria-Hungary.
The trip wire that set off the century’s first global conflict was Austria's declaration of war against
Serbia on July 28, 1914. A war between Austria and Serbia meant a war between Austria
and Russia, Serbia's traditional ally. That meant war between Russia and Germany. And
that meant war between Germany and France. And that meant war between Germany and
Great Britain. In a flash, the whole continent was at war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_world_war#Participants_in_World_War_I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_world_war
1919—Treaty of Versailles signed, 1920 in effect :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Treaty_of_Versailles
1919—Weimar Republic: for the first time, Germany becomes a democratic republic, but
the republic still called itself "Deutsches Reich" (German Empire):
The Weimar republic is named after the small town by the same name, a cultural center of
Germany, in the state of Thuringia, not far from Thuringia’s capital, Erfurt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar) In Weimar, the constitution was drafted. At first, the Social
Democrats were the strongest political force but many other parties participated in the new
German parliament. Many radical and non-radical parties alike influenced the eventual demise of
that first republic, in particular the Nazi-party, a radical fascist movement that used terror and
secret activities to gain political power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_the_Weimar_Republic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic#Economic_problems
http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/weimar/ (in German) from: Deutsches Historisches Museum
(German Historical Museum. Homepage: http://www.dhm.de )
Current website of the city of Weimar: http://www.weimar.de (in German)
1929—world economic crisis, great depression in USA, great negative effect on
Weimar Republic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic#Economic_problems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf#Republication_in_Germany_after_2015
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0eyxlRGo5Y&feature=related
25
End of the Weimar Republic (de facto): 1933
A series of federal elections from 1930 on had led to first an increase of seats for the Social
Democrats as well as the NSDAP (Nazi Party). However, it was very difficult for any party to win
clear majorities in order to build a government.
The NSDAP (Nazi Party) was not able to take control without help from other parties, even after
the last election before WW II, the elections of 1933. These last elections were held after the fire
of the Reichstag:
On Feb. 27, 1933, a fire destroyed part of the Reichstag building. Hitler immediately
accused the Communists of having set the fire. President von Hindenburg proclaimed a
state of emergency and issued decrees suspending freedom of speech and assembly. The
elections gave a bare majority of seats to Hitler’s National Socialists (Nazis; see National
Socialism) and their allies, the German Nationalists. Severe measures were taken against
the Communist party, and its deputies were barred from the Reichstag.
1933 Hitler becomes chancellor with President Paul Hindenburg.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0eyxlRGo5Y&feature=related
How the Nazis came to power
Book Burnings:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ppe9WBLu_w
On 10 May 1933, a remarkable act of barbarism, a prelude to the many worse ones that followed,
took place in the city of Berlin. Students from the Wilhelm Humboldt University, all of them
members of right-wing student organizations, transported books from their university library and
from other collections to the Franz Joseph Platz; adjacent to the university. Accompanying their
actions with declaimed denunciations of the authors, they proceeded to toss thousands of titles,
by writers famous and obscure, foreign and native, into the flames of an already ignited bonfire.
The egregiously primitive act lasted for hours, interrupted only by the incantation of Nazi songs
and a speech by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.
The next day, and in the weeks following, there was a massive reaction in the world press,
especially since many other German university towns imitated this infamous act. German
newspapers reported in triumph that Germany was beginning to purge itself of the alien and
decadent corrupters of the German spirit, while newspapers and magazines abroad, from as far
away as China and Japan, responded in surprise and shock. Even then, some knowledgeable
journalists recalled the prediction of the poet Heinrich Heine, who had said a century earlier:
"Where one burns books, one will soon burn people."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning#Notable_book_burning_incidents
One-day boycott against Jewish shops
1934 Hindenburg dies; Hitler takes on both jobs (chancellor and president):
26
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_von_Hindenburg
1935 Nuremberg laws: Jews stripped of German citizenship:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_laws
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_policy_of_Nazi_Germany#Jewish_response_to_the_Nurember
g_Laws
1936 Olympics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics
1937 Munich: exhibition of Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art
This form of Nazi propaganda led to the confiscation of over 20,000 works of modern art by over
200 artists. The exhibition was to show the German people what was considered "accepted" art
and that these pieces of work, the "degenerate" art, was not accepted. Max Beckmann, Max
Ernst, Otto Dix, Picasso Expressionists, Jews.
1938 Jews required to carry identity cards
Nov. 9-10 Kristallnacht—Night of Broken Glass; pogrom; 101 synagogues, ca. 7500
businesses destroyed, 26000 sent to concentration camps, 91 die:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_Broken_Glass
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjY_WrTCM-E&feature=fvst
70 years after Kristallnacht
Hitler used road construction (Autobahn) and war production as well as new territories and
stolen assets for the recovery of the German economy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle = Volkswagen Käfer
--------------------------------------------------------------------Kristallnacht turns out to be a crucial turning point in German policy regarding the Jews and may
be considered as the actual beginning of what is now called the Holocaust.
1. By now it is clear to Hitler and his top advisors that forced emigration of Jews out of the
Reich is not a feasible option.
2. Hitler is already considering the invasion of Poland.
3. Numerous concentration camps and forced labor camps are already in operation.
4. The Nuremberg Laws are in place.
5. The doctrine of Lebensraum has emerged as a guiding principle of Hitler's ideology. And,
6. The passivity of the German people in the face of the events of Kristallnacht made it clear
that the Nazis would encounter little opposition -- even from the German churches.
27
Blamed on Jews laws
1. Jews were required to turn over all precious metals to the government.
2. Pensions for Jews dismissed from civil service jobs were arbitrarily reduced.
3. Jewish-owned bonds, stocks, jewelry and art works can be alienated only to the German
state.
4. Jews were physically segregated within German towns.
5. A ban on the Jewish ownership of carrier pigeons.
6. The suspension of Jewish driver's licenses.
7. The confiscation of Jewish-owned radios.
8. A curfew to keep Jews of the streets between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. in the summer and
8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in the winter.
9. Laws protecting tenants were made non-applicable to Jewish tenants.
One final note on the November 12 meeting is of critical importance. In the meeting, Hermann
Goering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Goering )announced, "I have received a letter
written on the Fuehrer's orders requesting that the Jewish question be now, once and for all,
coordinated and solved one way or another."
The path to the "Final Solution" had now been chosen. And, all the bureaucratic mechanisms for
its implementation were now in place.
1938—Austria annexed, Sudetenland (Cz):
In 1938, German troops invaded Austria and the Czech Republic. There were no battles. These
actions came after a right-wing coalition government had already been established in Austria, and
their chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuß (himself a conservative) had been murdered by Nazis in an
attempted coup in the chancellory (1934). He had previously outlawed the NSDAP in Austria. The
assassins were tried and executed. Kurt Schuschnigg became new chancellor. Two days before
a scheduled federal election in 1938, the Nazis invaded Austria. Schuschnigg was imprisoned,
survived the war, and was freed in 1945 by American troops.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Dollfu%C3%9F
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Schuschnigg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudentenland
THE MUNICH AGREEMENT OF1938
In the summer of 1938, Hitler voiced active support of the highly publicized demands of the
German population of the Sudetenland in the Republic of Czechoslovakia, for annexation of the
region into Germany. Fearing the outbreak of war, European leaders met in a conference at
Munich on September 29. Present were Eduard Daladier from France, Neville Chamberlain from
England, Mussolini representing Italy, Hitler, and Ribbentropp. Representatives of
Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were not invited.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rippentrop
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SetNFqcayeA
28
[APPEASEMENT]Wanting to avoid the possibility of a new European war, Chamberlain and
Daladier submitted to Hitler's demands very quickly; the conference was over the next day. The
treaty ceded three areas of Czechoslovakia to other powers: the Sudetenland was annexed into
Germany, the Teschen district was given to Poland, and parts of Slovakia went to Hungary.
(See map .)
Chamberlain boasted after the conference that they had achieved "Peace in our time," but the
Agreement quickly became a symbol of the western powers' appeasement of Hitler, which led to
the outbreak of World War Two one year later.
Blitzkrieg:
1939—march into Cz; attack on PolandWWII
took much territory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFToTWq0W7I
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtJ_zbz1NyY
Chamberlain speech: declaration of war
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgfdy5WJ6s4&feature=related
Churchill
The White Rose:
this resistance movement led by 5 students (Sophie and Hans Scholl and others) was brutally put
down by the Nazis and all 5 leaders were executed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Rose
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTO5ZE5DznQ
1942: Wannsee conference. in Berlin—final solution
over 11 mill victims (6 million Jews only)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_conference
Stalingrad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Stalingrad
decisive battle of WW II
1944: Failed assassination plot against Hitler: Graf Stauffenberg and 5000 other officers and
helpers are executed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stauffenberg
1945—Hitler suicide April, end of WWII in Europe (Pacific—August)
29
8/9 May 1945 unconditional surrender of Germany
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qTWVY6dAU
Deutschland/Berlin 1945
_____________________________________________________________
Previous homework and links below:
_____________________________________________________________
German 1090
History Overview Part II:
Frederick II (the Great) and the Rise of Prussia
The Revolution of 1848
Bismarck and the Unification of Germany 1871
Homework 2 for Friday 1/11 (links and readings):
Greyed out text and links are optional.
Viewing the videos is recommended.
Prepare a summary (100 words minimum) including questions and observations
regarding:
1. Frederick II (The Great) and the rise of Prussia:
Frederick II (the Great)
Unification of Prussia
Invasion of Silesia
Sans Souci
War with Russia
The Hitler/Nazi connection
------------------------------------2. The Revolution of 1848
30
-------------------------------------3. Unification of Germany:
Bismarck
Franco-Prussian War
German Unification 1871
_________________________
History Overview Part II:
Frederick II (Frederick the Great: Friedrich der Große)
and the Rise of Prussia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map-DR-Prussia.svg
Frederick II. (Friedrich II), also known as
Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Große) or „Old Fritz“(so called by his subjects)
He was the most important German figure in the 18th century, laying down the basis for a
unified Germany.
As King of Prussia, he expanded his empire territorially and established it as a
major European power besides Austria, England, France, Spain, and Russia.
He was not only concerned with territorial gain, but also tried to make life better for his
subjects.
He was influenced by and welcomed the age of enlightenment, as a Protestant king and
an artist.
31
He is a very unique figure who combined military prowess with cultural and social
responsibility.
He was self-effacing, and only a few portraits of him exist. He denied himself luxury and
saw himself as a subject among the other subjects, a servant of Prussia.
It is especially this last role who made him so different from Hitler who tried to compare
himself with him.
Geographical developments in German speaking regions in Europe:
PRUSSIA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyLSUZ1qlVM&feature=related
Expansion and diminishing of Austria between 1282 and the present
The rise and fall of Prussia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acprussiamap2.gif
Developments around the time of Frederick II.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrv1rCLC7E
http://tinyurl.com/3qcqy4r
32
Frederick the Great and the rise of Prussia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMNkd6-CMY
Hans Hermann von Katte, the accomplice /friend of Frederick II is executed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Hermann_von_Katte
Video:
The following text is a transcription from the video which you can watch
(optionally) on YouTube: recommend 1st and last part
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMNkd6-CMY&feature=related
5 parts: an excellent documentary about Frederick the Great and the establishment of
Prussia as an important European power, a precursor, of a unified Germany, a country
with one common language.
1730 – Frederick II wants to begin new life in England to be with his fiancée
He was captured on his flight to England
Frederick I puts his son in jail (2 months, for treason)
Austrians had opposed English marriage.
Within 3 years, Frederick II, now only following his dynastic duties, married an Austrianapproved bride,
7 years before FII could take revenge.
Until then, F II would become known as an intellectual heavyweight of the age of
enlightenment.
His intellectual mentor was the French philosopher Voltaire.
He wrote and published, the prince redefined the nature of kingship.
His vision of a virtuous kingship he laid down in a treatise called Anti-Machiavel,
emphasizing
sustaining welfare of the state, happiness of subjects, …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Machiavel
“Frederick's argument is essentially moral in nature: he asserts that Machiavelli offered a
partial and biased view of statecraft. His own views appear to reflect a largely
Enlightenment ideal of rational and benevolent statesmanship: the king, Frederick
contends, is charged with maintaining the health and prosperity of his subjects. On the
one hand, then, Machiavelli erred by assigning too great a value on princely machinations
that, Frederick claims, ended in disaster, as the king's evil actions are taken up by his
subjects. On the other hand, and in support of the first idea, Frederick points out the
numerous cases in which Machiavelli had ignored or slighted the bad ends of the
numerous malefactors he describes and praises.”
33
May 1740 his father, Frederick I., the “Soldier King”, dies.
Frederick II. unleashes war against Habsburg Austria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II_of_Prussia#Warfare
Before his accession, Frederick was told by D'Alembert, "The philosophers and the men
of letters in every land have long looked upon you, Sire, as their leader and model." Such
devotion, however, had to be tempered by political realities. When Frederick ascended
the throne as "King in Prussia" in 1740, Prussia consisted of scattered territories,
including Cleves, Mark, and Ravensberg in the west of the Holy Roman Empire;
Brandenburg, Hither Pomerania, and Farther Pomerania in the east of the Empire; and the
former Duchy of Prussia, outside of the Empire bordering the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth. He was titled King in Prussia because this was only part of historic
Prussia; he was to declare himself King of Prussia after acquiring most of the rest in
1772.
[edit] Warfare
Battle of Hohenfriedberg, Attack of the Prussian Infantry, by Carl Röchling. Oil on
canvas.
Frederick's goal was to modernize and unite his vulnerably disconnected lands; toward
this end, he fought wars mainly against Austria, whose Habsburg dynasty reigned as
Holy Roman Emperors almost continuously from the 15th century until 1806. Frederick
established Prussia as the fifth and smallest European great power by using the resources
his frugal father had cultivated.
Desiring the prosperous Austrian province of Silesia, Frederick declined to endorse the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, a legal mechanism to ensure the inheritance of the Habsburg
domains by Maria Theresa of Austria. He was also worried that Augustus III, King of
Poland and Elector of Saxony, would seek to connect his own disparate lands through
Silesia. The Prussian king thus invaded Silesia the same year he took power, using as
justification an obscure treaty from 1537 between the Hohenzollern and the Piast dynasty
of Brieg (Brzeg). The ensuing First Silesian War (1740–1742), part of the War of the
Austrian Succession (1740–1748), resulted in Frederick conquering the province (with
the exception of Austrian Silesia). Austria attempted to recover Silesia in the Second
Silesian War (1744–1745), but Frederick was victorious again and forced Austria to
adhere to the previous peace terms. Prussian possession of Silesia gave the kingdom
control over the Oder River.
34
12/1740 after 7 months 27 000 troops gathered at the Oder to invade and conquer
Silesia (Schlesien), the richest colony of the Austrians.
To the astonishment of all of Europe, the philosopher king was waging war. Unprovoked
strike, a decision made by the king alone, against the advice of all his military and
diplomatic aides.
Single most important political act of Frederick’s life.
“I crossed the Rubicon” – a la Julius Caesar.
6 weeks after crossing the river Oder, all was in Prussian hands.
Over the next 5 years he won 2 Silesian wars, changing forever the balance of power in
Central Europe. Never would A. get over the pain of losing Silesia, never it would forget
that it must now share its authority in Germany with Prussia.
What astounded contemporaries about his Silesian advantage, was the formidable
performance of the Prussian army (inheritance of the soldier king, Frederick I.):
The coordinated movement of its infantry, advancing like moving walls, relentless,
unstoppable, an awesome weapon, fashioned by Frederick’s father, the soldier king.
Underlying principle: keeping the soldiers inline. Each single man had to do what
was required.
During the Silesian campaign, F. began to turn Prussia into a highly militarized state.
A shabby uniform, dirty – “I am the servant of Prussia”, the people, he didn’t allow
himself any luxury.
To his troops, “Fritz”, as they affectionately called him, was a fearless comrade who led
from the front, in this plain blue uniform, a simple officer’s coat, and simple black hat,
dirty, full of stains.
Self-effacement; Refusal of being recognized as an individual
In the first 5 years of his 46-year reign, F. transformed and enlarged Prussia
through war. There now followed over a decade of peace, 11 years in which the
king’s artistic life blossomed at a beautiful summer palace that came to embody
Frederick’s cultural world: Palace of Sans Souci Palace. (“without a care”) – looked
to France for intellectual inspiration.
Voltaire lived there for three years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eefy0gxLFQA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS_Guflar7c&feature=related
Discussion circles, dinners
Fr. Idea was to live there between the real world and the world he was dreaming of.
Sans Souci was Frederick’s spiritual home. F. was a prolific composer and gifted
musician (a highly accomplished flute player). Flute has a long-standing association
with military practice. He also could play it with elegance and ease. (trumpet or violin
would be too difficult). The flute had been developed from a simpler cylindrical
instrument of the Renaissance into this three-piece highly-ornamented instrument of the
early 18th century by French makers and players and it was the French players who gave
the flute a sort of “élan” that it hadn’t had before.
The highly acculturated milieu of Sans Souci would become a recurrent theme in
representations of F. long after his death. But one person, who did not enjoy the pleasures
35
of the King’s summer palace, was his wife, Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Bewern.
She did not live there, only visited it once, saw there was no space for her, so she left.
There was no real love between them no children, both had their duties, and that was it.
F. did not divorce her or banish her or replace her with mistresses, but he became
notorious for the remarkable lack of feeling towards her. That led to speculations about
his sexuality. Delicate question. If he was homosexual, he suppressed it.
Closest expression of himself is probably in his music.
Part 3 (Video):
Music with sufficient profundity to say he was somebody who wrote from a true
necessity to make music, not just a pose Predominant effect is Melancholy, choleric
agitation , anger, sadness, passion (taken over by a moment of passion), a genuine,
truthful expression.
It was 11 years since F. had been to war. But in January of 1756, the king made a rare
strategic blunder. He was maneuvered into an ill-judged alliance with the British that
alienated Prussia’s powerful neighbors and plunged his kingdom into crisis.
This was a diplomatic disaster
January 1756
1756 – Prussia was encircled by the coalition of France, Austria, and Russia. He faced the
prospect of a war on three fronts that could threaten Prussia’s very existence.
F.’s reaction: was characteristically decisive and typically do or die
Packed his flute, saddled up his horse and once again prepared his army to strike first.
In August, he invaded Saxony, the most powerful of Prussia’s rival German states.
Taking Saxony would reduce the threat of an attack on Berlin. But that was a high-risk
move. F.’s Prussia was plunged into its longest and bloodiest war. The king would spend
the next 7 years on horseback, riding 1000s of miles, commanding his armies, micromanaging his kingdom. Lose, and Prussia could be returned to its primordial condition as
a land-locked German back water.
8 am Nov. 5th 1757 – morning of the great battle: 40,000 French and Austrian troops
(speaking different languages)
Prussian army outnumbered two to one. Things had not been going well for the Prussian
army.
Battle at Rossbach would prove a crucial turning point.
Beginning of the 7-year war.
Fakes a retreat, then attacks the French. Marching columns of P. infantry closed like the
blades of a scissors, cutting into the flanks of the French. This is really F.’s doing.
Prussia’s enemy was a coalition force of mixed nationalities, its commanders speaking
different languages, its troops’ loyalties divided. But Frederick boasted a tightly
organized, highly motivated, beautifully drilled army, united behind a single,
inspirational leader.
Rossbach was his most important military victory. The French columns were broken up
and destroyed, the day was decided in a matter of minutes. The Prussians lost 500 men,
the enemy lost 10,000.
36
And most important of all, it’s at Rossbach that Frederick emerged as a truly brilliant
military commander.
After his victory at Rossbach, Frederick rode over 200 miles east to face the Austrians at
Leuthen, in Silesia.
Once again outnumbered 2:1, the Prussians won a famous victory. Leuthen would
become the most celebrated battle of Fredericks’ life, a triumph that would seal his place
in history as a military genius on a par with Caesar and napoleon.
As the Prussians marched from the battlefield of Leuthen, legend has it that a single
soldier began to sing. He was immediately joined by the entire host in a spontaneous
rendition of a famous hymn of thanksgiving, known thereafter and to this very day as the
choral of Leuthen.
Napoleon later claimed that Frederick’s achievements at the battle of Leuthen alone
placed him among the greatest commanders of all time. Nearly two centuries after the
event, the famous victory was dramatically reenacted in a Nazi propaganda film.
Long after his death, Frederick’s epic victories would become the stuff of legend. But a
grueling war on three fronts stretched Prussia to its very limits. Not even F the Great was
infallible.
August 1759, Frederick arrived in Kunersdorf (Kunowice -Poland) to face his greatest
fear, the massive Russian army which had made it within just 90 miles of Berlin. Initially
Frederick’s men overwhelmed the enemy, but the king then made a critical mistake.
Prussian king decides to continue the attack but he could only see the flatlands, not a very
deep depression in the land (Kuhgrund).
You have to go down and climb up but they have to order the lines before the next attack.
This realignment of the lines under continuous fire of the Russian army was distracting.
The attack was stopped because there was no army anymore but only a group of fleeing
soldiers.
19,000 casualties, 6000 on the files, most of them killed on the Kuhgrund as they made
their way towards the Russian lines. The king himself had two horses shot from under
him, musket bullets in his jacket, one deflected by the king’s snuffbox. F. was in despair.
A cruel reverse, he said. I shall not survive it. Everything is lost.
During the 7-years war, Frederick only won 8 out of 16 battles. Kunersdorf was far from
unique. But, remarkably, the Russians failed to capitalize on it. F. held out and Prussia
fought on for another 5 years, its resilience personified by a notorious class of loyal
warriors.
To understand the success of Frederick’s military machine, we need to understand the
ethos and culture of the noble class who ran it, the “Prussian Junkers”. In Frederick’s
view, the Junkers, Prussia’s conservative, land-owning nobility were the group capable of
serving as officers in the military. As such, they enjoyed a unique relationship with the
Prussian state. The Kleists are one of the oldest of these noble families. Only the eldest
son inherits the estate, the younger sons have to go. They serve as civil servants or
officers and created the so-called “Dienstadel” (service nobility), and it was a question of
honor to serve le Roi du Prusse. And of course the king had this view that only the
nobility had a true honor code and therefore only the nobility was fitted for service in an
officer role.
37
That was the idea of Frederick’s father. He invented, so to speak’, this code of honor, and
F. II was very intelligent of him to use it. It all belongs to the militarization of the whole
country. Frederick the Great concentrated the whole country on his military ideas.
Can’t I feel that it is not only at Frederick’s time but in general a Prussian feeling – we do
something for our fatherland.
During F.’s military campaigns, 1,500 officers died, a toll concentrated on a small group
of noble families.
This collective loss of its young men earned the Junkers a powerful and permanent bond
with the state. Their values became a defining feature of successive Prussian regimes, in
war, and in peace.
Of course, this nobility internalized military service as a way of life, according high
esteem on military virtues such as courage, loyalty and discipline. But it’s important that
militarism and bellicosity (war mongering) are not the same thing. Prussia was not a warmongering state during the reign of F. the Great. In fact, it spent less time at war than any
of the other major European powers
Part 4:
Loyalty alone was not enough to win the seven years war. But the patriotic resilience of
his army did buy F. just enough time to prevail.
Ultimately, he was saved by a stroke of luck.
In 1762, with Prussia’s forces all but spent, Czarina Elisabeth, ruler of Russia died.
“Miracle of Brandenburg” Her successor, peter, was an admirer of Frederick.
23 years of peace follow.
Second half of his reign, Diplomacy, Realpolitik, and the first partition of Poland, would
win him more territory than he gained in war.
Building a progressive state (architecture in Berlin shows it).
He subtracted the palace, opera, library, St. Hedwig’s Cathedral (work on the cathedral
started in 1945 – a church for the Catholics in a Protestant kingdom). This enormous
projection of tolerance – highly distinctive gesture.
1791 – F’s greatest achievement published – 7 years after his death comprehensive law
code. Redefining the relationship between the monarchy and the state.
Law code envisaged a world of free citizens in which the state was sovereign, and kings
and governments were bound by law. Almost 20,000 paragraphs legislate for every
conceivable transaction between one Prussian and another.
Law code means transparency, glasnost.
His last 20 years, he shunned personal adulation, he withdrew from his capital, a cranky
old man, most likely to be glimpsed walking his beloved Greyhounds at Sans Souci.
Only is one portrait of him as an old, exhausted man, having worked for his kingdom
74, 17th of August 1786. He had built a progressive, cultured and militarized state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia
In the last 23 years of his reign until 1786, Frederick II, who understood himself as the
"first servant of the state", promoted the development of Prussian areas such as the
Oderbruch. At the same time he built up Prussia's military power and participated in the
First Partition of Poland with Austria and Russia (1772), an act that geographically
connected the Brandenburg territories with those of Prussia proper. During this period, he
also opened Prussia's borders to immigrants fleeing from religious persecution in other
38
parts of Europe, such as the Huguenots. Prussia became a safe haven in much the same
way that the United States welcomed immigrants seeking freedom in the 19th
century.[21]
Frederick the Great, the first "King of Prussia", practiced enlightened absolutism. He
introduced a general civil code, abolished torture, and established the principle that the
Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He also promoted an advanced secondary
education, the forerunner of today's German gymnasium (grammar school) system, which
prepares the brightest students for university studies.[22] The Prussian education system
was emulated in various countries, including the United States.[21]
Is there a Frederick Paradox – the military man, the cultured man?
Not for Frederick (it seems).
For him, it was all part of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the total work of art that was his life; he
was an intensely aesthetic man, who thought through everything he did in an aesthetic
as well as a political and philosophical way. This cultivation of the arts, of music, of
conversation, of philosophy and a reasoned, rational state craft were all cut from the
same cloth, there was no paradox here between the Frederick who played the flute and
the Frederick who led armies. These two worlds flow together in Frederick’s existence
and become one. The contradiction is dissolved.
Most young Germans know next to nothing of Frederick the Great. Even here in Berlin
where the echoes of his memory are everywhere: Friedrichstraße, plenty of statues, …
You don’t have to look too hard to find Frederick’s presence in the capital today but
among the people, he is a distant, largely forgotten figure. The memory of his deeds
buried by the sheer scale and weight of Germany’s subsequent triumphs and traumas.
In the late 19th century Prussia rose, under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, to
become the political heartland of a single German nation. A Hohenzollern descendant of
Frederick’s family, Kaiser Wilhelm II, led this unified German nation into the horrors of
WWI. But it was in the 1930s that Frederick the Great’s Prussia would be most
emphatically appropriated as a model for the future of Germany.
The Nazis took all that to the extreme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=w5Smg5tmo3c
Part 5:
Potsdam:
It is hard to imagine today, but this was once the site of Potsdam’s Garrison Church. Built
in 1735 by Frederick’s father, it was an eloquent statement of Prussia’s military identity.
In March 1933 this was the setting for a dramatic propaganda spectacle, known as the
“Day of Potsdam”.
As Hitler proclaimed the inauguration of the Third Reich, wreaths were laid on the tombs
of Frederick II and his father, and the church resounded to the familiar strains of the
Leuthen choral.
The purpose of the day of Potsdam was to anchor the Hitler regime in Prussian history. It
proclaimed the fusion of the old Prussia and the new Germany. In the same year,
39
Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief, began to take control of the German film studio
UFA. Goebbels would raise the Nazification of Frederick’s Prussia to a fine art.
Der Grosse König:
“A German Reich must come, and Prussia must lead it”
For cinema goers in the 1930s, Otto Gebühr was Frederick the Great. In films such as
“Der grosse Koenig”, Goebbels turned his Frederick into a prototype for Hitler.
What do you think these depictions of Frederick the Great tell us about Hitler’s attitude?
Gebühr’s son:
“First of all, it’s so directly to parallel Frederick with Hitler – this lonely man, this single
man, alone (“einsam”), having a responsibility for all these things, this single man is
hiding everything – that’s the thing that fits Hitler. Hitler himself always tried to find
parallels in some mystical way that the fate which was with Frederick would also be with
him.”
Asker: Interesting thing about this film is that various characters make reproaches to the
king, which are the kinds of complaints and reproaches that many Germans were tempted
to make of Hitler:
You dragged us into a war, needlessly, you sacrificed the welfare of your people,…
Gebühr’s son:
Intelligent way of doing propaganda. If we, the system, which this movie shows you,
already knows about it, all these questions we know the answers to, we know what you
think, it gives them credibility.
Frederick the Great won the war, and so Hitler might also do this, so don’t be afraid we
have too many enemies.”
To equate Hitler with Frederick, Nazi-Germany with Prussia, is a ludicrous
perversion of history. The idea that one of Europe’s most enlightened and gifted
monarchs prefigured one the most repellent dictators in modern history of is simply
absurd. But during the final stages of WWII, as his downfall steadily intensified
Goebbels big influence read the letters of Frederick the Great …
Hitler very near to Frederick: will win the war
Frederick saved by the Russian Czarina;
1945 seemed history was repeating itself;
death of the American president, Franklin Roosevelt, on 12th of April, 1945.
Call through Hitler’s apartment
Roosevelt is dead, God has not abandoned us.
Pure fantasy.
Germany was not saved, but overrun by the Russians.
End of the Nazis did not look like Frederick’s Prussia.
However, after the downfall of the Nazi regime, the victors identified Prussia as the
source of the evil seed. Prussia was abolished. Cast onto the scrapbook.
Nazi regime cast a long shadow of Germany’s
30 years ago, back in Berlin
40
1980 relocated Equestrian statue of Frederick II.
Had been removed in 1961
Frederick was an unwelcome reminder
1980 things have changed
He’s often seen as a socialist hero, a monarch with a social conscience
Urge to reinvent this man irresistible
Warped and distorted this memory
Emerge from the 20th century
Frederick, a man too great to ignore.
It’s Fredericks brilliance and complexity that put him among the great leaders of
history, figures such as Caesar and Napoleon, who, whatever we may choose to
make of them, so captured the spirit of their age that it is impossible to imagine the
past without them.
Revolution of 1848
The time leading up to the Revolution of 1848:
Napoleonic wars:
After the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, Prussia quit its alliance with France and took part
in the Sixth Coalition during the "Wars of Liberation" (Befreiungskriege) against the
French occupation. Prussian troops under Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
contributed crucially in the Battle of Waterloo of 1815 to the final victory over
Napoleon. Prussia's reward in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna was the recovery of her
lost territories, as well as the whole of the Rhineland, Westphalia, and some other
territories. These western lands were to be of vital importance because they included the
Ruhr Area, the centre of Germany's fledgling industrialization, especially in the arms
industry. These territorial gains also meant the doubling of Prussia's population. In
exchange, Prussia withdrew from areas of central Poland to allow the creation of
Congress Poland under Russian sovereignty.[24]
Prussia emerged from the Napoleonic Wars as the dominant power in Germany,
overshadowing long-time rival Austria, which had abdicated the imperial crown in
1806.[citation needed] In 1815 Prussia became part of the German Confederation.
Reorganization in Europe: The Congress of Vienna:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification
After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna established a new European politicaldiplomatic system based on the balance of power. This system reorganized Europe into
spheres of influence which, in some cases, suppressed the aspirations of the various
nationalities, including the Germans and Italians.[10] Generally, an enlarged Prussia
and the 38 other states consolidated from the mediatized territories of 1803 were
41
confederated within the Austrian Empire's sphere of influence. The Congress
established a loose German Confederation (1815–1866), headed by Austria, with a
"Federal Diet" (called the Bundestag or Bundesversammlung, an assembly of
appointed leaders) which met in the city of Frankfurt am Main.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_flag
http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/history/main-content-03/1830-1848the-vormaerz.html
For the Germans there were always two sides to the German Question: that of territory
and that of constitution, or to be more precise, the question of the relationship between
unity and freedom. At the heart of the territorial question was the problem of a “larger
Germany” or “smaller Germany”. If it were possible to replace the Holy Roman Empire
with a German national state, would it have to include German-speaking Austria or was a
solution to the German Question possible without these territories? The question of the
constitution related primarily to the distribution of power between the people and the
throne. In a united Germany who was to call the shots: the elected representatives of the
Germans or the princes respectively their most powerful choice?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia
In 1848 the liberals saw an opportunity when revolutions broke out across Europe.
Alarmed, King Frederick William IV agreed to convene a National Assembly and grant a
constitution. When the Frankfurt Parliament offered Frederick William the crown of a
united Germany, he refused on the grounds that he would not accept a crown from a
revolutionary assembly without the sanction of Germany's other monarchs.[26]
The Frankfurt Parliament was forced to dissolve in 1849, and Frederick William issued
Prussia's first constitution by his own authority in 1850. This conservative document
provided for a two-house parliament. The lower house, or Landtag was elected by all
taxpayers, who were divided into three classes whose votes were weighted according to
the amount of taxes paid. Women and those who paid no taxes had no vote. This allowed
just over one-third of the voters to choose 85% of the legislature, all but assuring
42
dominance by the more well-to-do men of the population. The upper house, which was
later renamed the Herrenhaus ("House of Lords"), was appointed by the king. He retained
full executive authority and ministers were responsible only to him. As a result, the grip
of the landowning classes, the Junkers, remained unbroken, especially in the eastern
provinces.[27]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification
The period of Austrian and Prussian police-states and vast censorship before the
Revolutions of 1848 in Germany later became widely known as the Vormärz, the "before
March", referring to March 1848. During this period, European liberalism gained
momentum; the agenda included economic, social, and political issues. Most European
liberals in the Vormärz sought unification under nationalist principles, promoted the
transition to capitalism, sought the expansion of male suffrage, among other issues. Their
"radicalness" depended upon where they stood on the spectrum of male suffrage: the
wider the definition of suffrage, the more radical.[32]
Bismarck and the Unification of Germany 1871:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification
43
In 1864, Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the border between Holstein and Schleswig
initiating the Second War of Schleswig. The Austro-Prussian forces defeated the Danes,
who surrendered both territories. In the resulting Gastein Convention of 1865 Prussia
took over the administration of Schleswig while Austria assumed that of Holstein.
Austro-Prussian War
Main article: Austro-Prussian War
Expansion of Prussia 1807–1871
Bismarck realized that the dual administration of Schleswig and Holstein was only a
temporary solution, and tensions rose between Prussia and Austria. The struggle for
supremacy in Germany then led to the Austro-Prussian War (1866), triggered by the
dispute over Schleswig and Holstein.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch
The Ems Dispatch (French: Dépêche d'Ems, German: Emser Depesche), sometimes
called the Ems Telegram, caused France to declare the Franco-Prussian War in July
1870. The actual dispatch was an internal message from the Prussian King's vacationing
site to Bismarck in Berlin, reporting demands made by the French ambassador; it was
Bismarck's released statement to the press that became known as Ems Dispatch. The
name referred to Bad Ems, a resort spa east of Koblenz on the Lahn river, then situated in
Hesse-Nassau, a new possession of Prussia.
France’s mistaken attitude of her own position carried matters far beyond what was
necessary, and France mobilized.[10] Following further improper translations and
misinterpretations of the dispatch in the press, excited crowds in Paris demanded war,
just as Bismarck had anticipated.[8] The Ems dispatch had also rallied German national
feeling, it was no longer Prussia alone, south German particularism was now cast
aside.[10] Benedetti, the messenger for the Duc de Gramont’s demands for pointless
guarantees (the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family had withdrawn Prince Leopold’s
candidature on 11 July 1870 with Wilhelm’s "entire and unreserved approval"[6]),
became an unseen bit-player, his own dispatches to Paris no longer mattered. In the
legislative chamber, by an overwhelming majority, the votes for war credits were passed.
France declared war on 19 July 1870
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification
44
The humiliating capture of the French Emperor, and the loss of the French army itself,
which marched into captivity at a makeshift camp in the Saarland ("Camp Misery", the
French called it), threw the French government into turmoil; Napoleon's energetic
opponents overthrew his government and proclaimed the Third Republic.[92] The
German High Command expected an overture of peace from the French, but the new
republic refused to surrender. The Prussian army invested the capital Paris, and held it
under siege until mid-January, with the city being "ineffectually bombarded."[93] On 18
January 1871, the German princes and senior military commanders proclaimed
Wilhelm "German Emperor" in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles.[94]
Under the subsequent Treaty of Frankfurt, France relinquished most of its traditionally
German regions (Alsace and the German-speaking part of Lorraine); paid an indemnity,
calculated on the basis of population, as the precise equivalent of the indemnity which
Napoleon Bonaparte imposed on Prussia in 1807;[95] and accepted German
administration of Paris and most of northern France with "German troops to be
withdrawn stage by stage with each installment of the indemnity payment.[96]
VIDEOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVsYG_fkwL4
2:05 – towards the Franco-Prussian War – 6:05
45
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSYN67aguUs&feature=related
4:40 – 7:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBrD_u20UF0&playnext=1&list=PLD0FACD24CC
A84450
3:30
Most powerful industrial nations in the World 1914:
1. USA
2. Germany
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeWbOJARGUs&feature=related
up to WW1
_______________________________________________________________________
Previous homework and links below:
______________________________________________________________________
German 1090
History Overview Part I: Arminius, Charlemagne, Martin Luther
Homework 1 for Wednesday, 1/9:
Start studying all sections concerning history in the online Facts Book http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/history.html Review the information provided below. The links to websites provide more information on
the subject.
You are invited to watch at least one of the videos (links below).
Greyed-out text and links are optional.
Prepare a summary (100 words minimum) including questions and observations
regarding:
Cherusci
Arminius
Charlemagne
Situation after Charlemagne’s death
Otto (Roman Emperor)
46
Martin Luther’s life
Protestant Reformation
_________________________________________________
Origin of Germanic people:
BC
? centuries: Germanic, Celtic, Slavic tribes in Central Europe
Origins:
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/ancientgermans.htm
Germanic, Germani and Germania:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_tribe
50: Evidence of contact between Romans, Germanic tribes
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Roman_Empire_125.png Here you can
enlarge the map below.
47
AD
9: Arminius (Hermann) defeats 3 Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest;
puts a stop to plans of Roman emperor Augustus for Rhine-Elbe region;
he is later killed by own people in 19 BC.
Today seen as a national hero.
Image Source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/arminius
Cherusci:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherusci
Arminius:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminius
VIDEO:
Arminius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pt8OiHLC00
1/2
Additional Info:
Arminius Opponent in the Teutoburg Forest: Varus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest
Where the word “deutsch” originated:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodiscus
ca.* 150-ca. 300: migrations of Germanic tribes, violent conflicts with Romans
border raids
48
moved along river valleys of c., e Europe, eg Rhine, Danube
ca. 280-ca. 370 alliance zw. Rome, some tribes stability
4th c: Gmc confederations: Alemanni on Rhine, Goths on Danube—protection from military threat
from Rome.
ca. 300-ca. 500: period of migration of German tribes (G.: Völkerwanderung)
some tribes: Alemanni, Burgundians, Franks, Goths (Ostrogoths, Visigoths), Lombards,
Vandals
ca. 350: translation of Bible into Gothic by bishop Ulfilas (ca. 311-ca. 383); first written Germanic
language still existant; fragments
late 4th c (ca. 370): Gmc pushed into Roman Empire by Huns from East; Rome used fear of Huns
to use Gmc for defense; Gmc had no sense of nationalism—Romans played off against each
other, eg. Vandals vs visigoths; Atila d. 453 collapse of Hun empire
470s: Visigoth kingdom in sw Gaul, Burgundian in se Bgaul, Frankish (Clovis) in north
800: Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne (German: Karl der Große), king of the Franks, emperor.
*
King of the Romans (precursor of the Holy Roman Emperor )
territory included contemporary Germany, Austria, Czech Rep, Switzerland, France and Benelux,
and parts of Italy.
At first allied!! with the papacy (= protector of the pope against encroaching tribes)
VIDEO: Charlemagne and his empire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0tLOQUq7T4 Part 1
The video links to the other 4 parts (Part2-5) – optional viewing
Additional information:
814: Charlemagne dies; empire  eastern, central, western realms
Treaty of Verdun
49
the partition of Charlemagne’s empire among three sons of Louis I (last surviving son of
Charlemagne), emperor of the West. It was concluded in 843 at Verdun on the Meuse or,
possibly, Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Soâne-et-Loire dept., E France. Louis the German received the
eastern portion (later Germany); Charles II (Charles the Bald) became king of the western portion
(later France); Lothair I received the central portion (Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy,
Provence, and most of Italy) and also kept the imperial title. The Treaty of Verdun represented
the beginning of dissolution of Charlemagne’s empire into political units that foreshadowed the
nations of Western Europe. It was superseded in 870 by the Treaty of Mersen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Verdun
*The official name of the Roman Empire and the title Roman Emperor are used for the first time
in 962, and are more a title/ name than anything else. The Holy Roman Empire described various
kingdoms and dukedoms and principalities whose so-called electors (bishops and noblemen)
elected the Holy Roman Emperor, the defender of the Pope and Catholic faith, and these states
vowed to abide by that goal.
It was later renamed “Holy Roman Empire” and finally “Holy Roman Empire of the German
Nation”.
This later incarnation is considered the so-called “First Empire or First Reich”. However, it
consisted of independent states over which the emperor had no real political power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire
Otto I was crowned King of Germany in 962, but he is nevertheless considered to have been the
first Holy Roman Emperor (German: Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser) in retrospect. Otto was the first
emperor of the realm who was not a member of the earlier Carolingian dynasty.[2] The last Holy
Roman Emperor was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during the
Napoleonic Wars. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was officially
changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich
Deutscher Nation, Latin: Imperium Romanum Sacrum Nationis Germanicæ).[3] …
… The Holy Roman Empire was not a highly centralized state like most countries today. Instead,
it was divided into dozens—eventually hundreds—of individual entities governed by kings,[9]
dukes, counts, bishops, abbots or other rulers, collectively known as princes. There were also
some areas ruled directly by the Emperor. At no time could the Emperor simply issue decrees
and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local
leaders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire
Name
The term sacrum (i.e. "holy") in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was used from
1157, under Frederick I Barbarossa.[4]
50
In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was officially changed to Holy Roman
Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation, Latin:
Imperium Romanum Sacrum Nationis Germanicæ).[5]
The Holy Roman Empire was named after the Roman Empire and was considered its
continuation. This is based in the medieval concept of translatio imperii and does not mean that
the Empire's territory included the city of Rome, any more than did that of the Byzantine Empire,
which also understood itself as the continuation of the Roman Empire (Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων).
The French Enlightenment writer Voltaire remarked sardonically that "this agglomeration which
was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an
empire."[6]
11th-13th c.—struggle with pope for leadership
16th c.—Protestant Reformation split: Cath. emperor, Prot. German princes  conflicts 
1517: Martin Luther poses his theses on the church door in Wittenberg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation
VIDEO: Martin Luther, the reformer of the Christian faith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFqWnEpZvjs
Luther’s Life: long version: optional:
The early years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsMpIx6fxoA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOq93pUZyD8&feature=watch_response Luther’s “bargain” with God
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnjGIv-tFEE&feature=watch_response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjvPlztYuGc&feature=watch_response –
Luther’s experience of Rome
The Reformer of Faith:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29FiYa0A5tU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i8u_KQvZkk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p01dS27bCQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXLr_Rtv-es&feature=watch_response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY6hMVMtjPg&feature=watch_response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzUPp1BgWg8&feature=watch_response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YiEXA2Mv-s&feature=watch_response - Wartburg –
translation of the bible from Latin into German
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rK8HL7ziN4&feature=watch_response
Additional information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence