Download GERMAN UNIFICATION Charlotte 1.The unification of Germany

GERMAN UNIFICATION
Charlotte
1.The unification of Germany 1871
(See Kitson schoolbook, pp.10-27)
What was Bismarck’s attitude towards Austria / war?
At a meeting of the Prussian Crown Council Bismarck clarified that war with Austria was
inevitable due to the fact that “Germany is too small for us both”. With “us both” Bismarck
was referring to Prussia and Austria. Anyhow he had no interest in annexing Austrian territory
because he was afraid that Austria might ally with France to gain back its lost territory.
Austro-Prussian dualism:
Austria and Prussia were the two largest individual states in the rag rug (this terms refers to
the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, not to the German Confederation) which formed
the German Confederation. Prussia’s aim was so unify Germany but Austria wanted to stay
independent and opposed Prussia’s movements towards the German unification. (not really…
dualism refers to the question which of the two – Prussia or Austria – would gain
predominance).
Was it a unification “by blood and iron”?
The annexation (after the Austro-Prussian and Danish War) of most of the German states was
carried out in a brutal fashion. Without the wars it would have been impossible to unify
Germany in such a short period of time. Therefore Bismarck called up for using “blood and
iron” instead of using peaceful measures because according to Bismarck violence was
necessary in order to unify Germany.
“Blood and Iron” 1862
“Blood and Iron” was a speech by Bismarck to the budget commission of the Prussian
Landtag. Bismarck was talking about Prussia being too educated and about the individuals in
Prussia being too independent to put up with the constitution. Moreover he explained that
Germany does not look to Prussia’s liberalism but to its power and this power must be
gathered and consolidated. Bismarck said that Prussia had learned from its mistakes and
would not try to achieve their goals by means of speeches and majority verdicts but by blood
and iron. ( in contrast to 1848!)
Wars of Unification
The wars of the German unification are including the German- Danish war, the AustroPrussian war and the war with France.
German- Danish War
Schleswig- Holstein was governed by two autonomous duchies under Danish sovereignty.
Holstein was part of the German confederation, while Schleswig was a mixture of Germans
and Danes who were not in the Confederation. After Demark’s king died there were no
immediate heirs and the new king who was only distantly related was refused by Holstein.
The new king annexed Schleswig to Denmark. As a reaction Bismarck called for cooperation
between Prussia and Austria to defeat the Danes, which happened in 1864. Bismarck’s
intention was to annex the gained territories to Prussia but Austria preferred autonomous
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duchies. They agreed in the Gastein Treaty in 1865 that Holstein was going to be controlled
by Austria and that Schleswig was going to be governed by Prussia.
Austro- Prussian War
The tension over the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig continued and Bismarck was certain
that war with Austria was necessary. The Prussian army was well prepared and Bismarck was
sure that Britain and Russia would stay out of the conflict. Moreover he negotiated a secret
alliance with Italy. He proposed a new constitution to provoke Austria knowing that the
constitution was unacceptable for them. Most of the smaller German states were afraid of
Prussia’s domination and therefore rallied to Austria. In June 1866 the Gastein Treaty was
broken by Austria by placing the Schleswig- Holstein question under the control of the federal
diet. Thinking that an occupation of Holstein would lead to a declaration of war by Austria,
Bismarck was surprised when Austria remained calm and he presented his proposal to reform
the Federal Constitution. Austria then wanted the members of the Confederation to mobilize
their troops and Prussia declared the end of the German confederation.
Battle of Königgrätz
After the German troops had advanced the Austrian army was defeated at Königgrätz within
seven weeks. Bismarck had no intention to move any further. He even appeased the king who
wanted to gain Austrian territories because he was afraid that Austria might ally with an
enemy of Prussia, e.g. France.
A peace settlement was agreed in Prague, Venetia was annexed by Italy and Prussia annexed
Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Kessel, Nassau and Frankfurt. The dualism in Germany
was over and Austria had to accept the dominance of Prussia.
North German Confederation 1867
Prussia controlled four- fifths of the population and most of the territory north of the Main.
Still some states in north Germany like Saxony remained independent. The North German
Confederation under Prussia’s control covered whole Germany by forcing the independent
states to become its member. The North German Confederation treaty ensured Prussian
dominance and prevented a system of parliamentary rule. In the new constitution the King of
Prussia was also the President, who had control over the armed forces, foreign affairs,
dismissal of ministers and the declaration of war. The Federal Council states allotted votes
according to their size. Furthermore it initiated laws and was led by the chancellor. The
Reichstag was voted by all men over 25 and it could veto legislation. The budget was outside
its control.
Was it a unification “from above”?
Due to the fact that Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Kessel, Nassau and Frankfurt
supported Austria in the Austro- Prussian war I would say that it was unification “from
above”. These states would have preferred to stay independent than to be controlled by
Prussia. The majority of the German population had no intention to unify Germany (???
NO!!!). The North German Confederation shows that the independent states had to be forced
from the “people above” to accept Prussia’s dominance. So one might argue that it was not a
unification but a conquest. ??? “from above” = without the involvement of the PEOPLE!
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Franco- Prussian War
Some southern states were still independent and there was little support in these states for
Prussian dominance because they wanted to remain the right of independence. This is called
particularism. New laws that in case of were? the armies and railways were under Prussia’s
control were passed. These states were no longer a threat because due to the treaty of Prague
in case of war they were not allowed to support Austria or France. What does that have to do
with the Franco-Prussian War?
Customs Union Parliament
The southern states were allowed to become members of the Zollverein. They were forced by
Bismarck to accept the Customs Union Parliament. This organisation was dominated by
Prussia and it included members of the North German Reichstag and some members of the
southern states. Election for the Customs Union Parliament created a majority of deputies
who were against a political union in the southern states. This showed that Germany was still
far away (na ja) from unification.
Napoleon III wanted to gain back territory on the west bank of the River Rhine. Bismarck was
trying to avoid war and pointed towards Luxembourg which was part of the German
Confederation.
Napoleon persuaded the King of Holland who was in control of Luxemburg to give it to him.
Even though some Germans were angry about the French annexation of Luxemburg,
Bismarck still had no intention to fight against France. In London the Great Powers decided
that Prussia should withdraw its troops from Luxemburg and that the duchy of Luxemburg
should remain independent from France.
In 1869 the Spanish queen had to abdicate. The king of France persuaded Leopold (a member
of the Prussian royal family the crown had been offered to) to step down, which was against
Bismarck’s will. (???)
Hohenzollern Candidature
France did not want a prospect (?) of the Hohenzollern on the Spanish throne because France
was scared to face a two front war. The Hohenzollern were a dynasty which had ruled Prussia
from 1701 to 1918 and the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The French Foreign Minister
wanted Wilhelm to renounce Leopold’s claim but the Prussian King refused to do so.
Ems Telegram/ Dispatch
Bismarck received the telegram from Wilhelm explaining his meeting with the French
Ambassador to Prussia. The ambassador had been sent by the French foreign minister to put
pressure on Wilhelm (in how far?). Bismarck edited words out so that the impression of an
insult from the French to the German king aroused (NO! vice versa!). Then Bismarck
published the manipulated telegram to make sure that the southern states would support him.
Battle of Sedan
Napoleon III declared war on 15 July 1870. After some victories by the Germans, Sedan was
surrounded. France lost more than twice as many soldiers as Germany and Napoleon III was
caught.
In January 1871 there was the fall of Paris.
Treaty of Frankfurt
The treaty was a settlement for France (???). Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by Germany and
France had to pay five billion francs for four years. AND German troops were to be stationed
in France until the reparations were paid!
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What impact did the Treaty of Frankfurt have on Franco-German
relations?
The treaty was very harsh on France. For the next thirty- eight years the French wanted to
take revenge on Germany. They wanted to regain the lost territory and the rivalry and hatred
between Germany and France continued and became even worse. The (alleged!) hereditary
enmity between these two countries was put forward. Another impact of the treaty is probably
the First World War in which France tried to gain back its territory (na ja). The Treaty of
Versailles also might be an impact because it seems like the response to the harsh treaty of
Frankfurt by doing exactly the same to Germany.
How did the other European nations react to the “rise of Germany”?
The other European nations were not happy about the “rise of Germany”. They were afraid
that the balance of power was endangered because Germany had annexed so much territory
and had all of the sudden become one of Europe’s biggest countries.
Max Grauert
Forging an Empire: Bimarck’s domestic policy
Key terms
 Second Empire
 Prussian dominance
 Constitutional Monarchy
 formed after the “Smaller German” solution
 founded after the Franco- German War

 1871 Constitution
Features of a Constitutional Democracy
Features of an Authoritarian Monarchy
Devolution of some responsibility to local Heavily-centralized government, little scope for
government
regional initiative
Elected parliament responsible for central Monarch in direct control of major state
government, foreign policy, the army, defence
responsibilities, e.g. foreign policy, the army,
government
Broad electorate- acceptance of universal Restricted electorate (if any), no place for
manhood suffrage and periodic elections
universal manhood suffrage
State legislation is the product of parliamentary State legislation derives from monarch and
process
advisor
The government and government ministers Monarch not required to justify or explain
answerable to parliament
actions
 These are general criteria! How about features of the 1871 Constitution???
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political parties (Social Democratic Party, National Liberal Party, Centre Party etc.)
The National Liberals
Supporters: educated protestant middle class and
industrial upper class
Aim: creation of a strong nation-state and the
encouragement of a liberal constitutional state
The Centre Party
Supporters: Catholics worried about the predominance
of protestants in the new state and the non socialist
lower class
aim: defend the interests of the Catholic Church
The Social Democratic Party
Supporters: socialist groups with links to trade unions,
working class
aim: democracy in Germany, social reforms in the
interests of the Working-Class
The German Conservative Party
Supporters: landowners sceptical of German unification
Aim: preserve separate states
The Free Conservatives
Supporters: landowners, industrialists
aim: acceptance of Bismarck's unification
constitution
The Progressives
and
Supporters: Liberals, opposed to strong nation- state
Aim: attainment of parliamentary Government
 enemies of the state (Reichsfeinde)
 The Catholic church
 Social Democrats
 minorities such as Poles and Jews
‘carrot and stick’ policy (Zuckerbrot und Peitsche): Anti-Socialist Laws
(Sozialistengesetze) // poor relief, health care, social insurance
Anti-Socialist Laws
social insurance, poor relief, health care
Social-democratic, communist
organisations are prohibited
The state is
organizations
allowed
to
or
socialist Used to bind workers to the state so Bismarck
could pursue his anti-Socialist policy
monitor
these States influence on insurances was limited
The state takes charge of the organizations funds Financed by membership fees (membership was
mandatory)
The law backfired: it strengthened the feeling of Elaboration needed!
commitment within the Social Democratic Party
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Struggle for Culture/of Civilizations (Kulturkampf)
 Kulturkampf relates to Bismarcks fight against the Catholic church
 why? Catholics were caught between 2 authorities, the Kaiser and the Pope
 threat of southern Catholic states leaving the Empire
 Papal Infallibility (Unfehlbarkeit)
 everything the pope says is to be made a doctrine
 Falk Laws
 passed in 1883
 placed the responsibility for training and appointment of clergy under state
authority
 led to disassembly of church ministries
 also called “May Laws”
 Pulpit and School Law
The Pulpit Law (1871)
School Laws (1872)
No member of the church is allowed to talk 1. Supervision of schools falls under state
about political topics in front of a crowd, if he authority
does so, imprisonment of up to two years is
possible.
 (political) anti-Semitism // “Germanisation”
 eliminating foreign languages from schools and public life and force foreigners to
abandon their national identity
 Jews as a symbol of capitalism and modernity
 Jews not allowed to be officers in the army or to teach at a university about
German literature and language
 school reform
 creation of public schools to teach a common language (Hochdeutsch)
 strengthening of national identity
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Key Questions
 The 1871 Constitution – A fig leaf for absolutism?
Yes
No
Kaiser can dissolve the Reichstag
Elected Reichstag, controlling the chancellor
Prussia is the major party in the Bundesrat (has Bundesrat has to agree to decisions of the
17 seats, needs 14 votes to veto)
Reichstag
Kaiser is commander-in-chief of the armed
forces
The Reichstag has no real control over the Elaboration needed!
chancellor
 Was Bismarck’s rule at home a “chancellor-dictatorship”?
 Bismarck had full authorization from the Kaiser, he could decide on his own
 the Reichstag had almost no influence on him
 He supported whichever party suited his aims best (what does that have to do with
the question?)
 What was Bismarck’s attitude towards political parties?
 Bismarck saw the parties as a tool in his political play. He changed his mind on
who to cooperate with frequently, e.g. cooperating with the Centre Party to push
through a new economic policy. He never pledged to one party, but chose the one
best suiting his aims at that time. Bismarck also realized that an autocratic form of
government was impossible.
 What were the aims of and how successful was Bismarck’s domestic policy?
 The creation and consolidation of Germany
 successful in the Smaller German solution (without Austria) (domestic policy?)
 Prussia as dominant power in ???
 to destroy the influence of Catholicism on the population
 failed, because Centre party stayed biggest party in the Reichstag
 Catholics loyal to the Pope
 destruction of the Social Democratic Party
 “carrot and stick” policy failed, all restrictions against Social Democrats lead
to an increase in their feeling of commitment, party grew
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Stefan
3. Forging an Empire II: Bismarck’s foreign policy
(see Kitson schoolbook, pp. 40-45)
What were the aims of and how successful was Bismarck’s foreign policy?
SUMMARY: After German unification: creating peace to strengthen Germany
Bismarck’s immediate aim was building up the economy and stabilizing Germany. Because of
that, he wanted to avoid war (“saturated Empire”) and isolate France so that Germany would
not have to fight a two-front war against both Russia and France. (“nightmare of coalitions”)
By making an alliance with Russia and Austria and by excluding France, he made sure that
France could not find allies to wage a war against Germany. Through his system of alliances,
Bismarck prevented a big European war and could build up the German economy. However,
the alliances only worked because of his clever manipulation and his making use of certain
situations. Therefore, he constantly had to renew or change the alliances, and when he
resigned, the alliances broke down.
SUMMARY: The Balkan crisis (1878) – A war threat to Europe that was well-handled by
Bismarck
Ottoman Empire: (German: Osmanisches Reich)
The Ottoman Empire was an Empire with power over the current Turkey and the Balkans. It
ruled from the 13th to the 19th century, being at the height of its power in the 17th century.
When multiple Balkan nations declared their independence and the Ottoman Empire lost a
war against Russia in the 1870s, the Ottoman Empire lost influence in Europe and the newly
founded countries in the Balkan region were not very stable. In 1923, the Ottoman Empire
was replaced by the present-day Turkey.
Congress of Berlin (Summer 1878): (German: Berliner Kongress)
Meeting between Bismarck and other European leaders to stabilize the Balkan region.
Bismarck called himself (gained the title) an “honest broker” (German: ehrlicher Makler): His
neutrality (since Germany was not affected by the decisions) and his diplomacy allowed him
to change the borders of the countries in order to ease the tensions and to prevent a war. The
leaders of the smaller countries were excluded from the talks, and Russia was angry
afterwards because it had lost much land, while Austria gained land. Bismarck tried to
negotiate so that the Three Emperors’ League would not be damaged by the outcome of the
talks.
SUMMARY: Bismarck’s System of Alliances – Preventing a two-front war through secret
treaties and the isolation of France
“Nightmare of coalitions” (two-front war): (German: Alptraum der Koalitionen)
Because of Germany’s central position in Europe, Bismarck feared that if France allied with
Austria or Russia, Germany could not win a war on two fronts. Therefore, he tried to build up
a relationship with Austria and Russia so that they would not ally with France. See also the
Kissinger Diktat where Bismarck noted his aims to prevent a two-front war.
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Three Emperors’ League: G+A+R (1873 + 1881): (German: Dreikaiserabkommen)
Bismarck’s first alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia: three countries
who still had Emperors, hence the title. However, these three countries did not work well
together and Bismarck could not convince the other Emperors to support his views. Therefore,
the alliance was renewed in 1881 but Austria and Russia were both interested in the Balkan
region and an alliance between them did not go too well.
Dual Alliance: G+A (1879): (German: Zweibund)
With the relationship between German and Russia deteriorating (because of Russia’s unfair
treatment at Congress of Berlin), Bismarck wanted to make an alliance with only Austria.
Both countries would unite in case of a Russian attack.
Triple Alliance: G+A+I (1882): (German: Dreibund)
Italy wanted to join the Dual Alliance so that it would have allies in case of a war with
France. This created the Triple Alliance in 1882. The alliance did not bring big benefits for
Bismarck but at least he got another ally and further isolated France.
Reinsurance Treaty: G+R (1887): (German: Rückversicherungsvertrag)
When war broke out between Bulgaria and Serbia in 1885, a war between Austria and Russia
became likely. To reinsure himself that Russia would be his ally in case of war, he signed the
Reinsurance Treaty with only Russia in 1887.
Mediterranean Agreement: G+A+I+B (1887): (German: Mittelmeerabkommen)
Because Bismarck had built up such a good relation to Russia, he wanted to make sure that he
did not neglect Austria. In the Mediterranean Agreement, the Triple Alliance and Great
Britain made sure that Russia could not get control over the Balkans.
Bismarck’s system of alliances:
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What was Bismarck’s attitude towards the acquisition of colonies
(= imperial policy)?
SUMMARY: Germany: First only caring about Europe, and then a latecomer to the
colonial scramble
“saturated Empire”: (German: saturiert/gesättigt)
When Germany was unified into the German Reich, the European countries feared that
Germany would want to expand even more. To refute these claims, Bismarck declared that
the German Empire was saturated and would not interfere in other countries but look for
peace, especially through alliances with other countries.
However, in 1884 he wanted to get colonies for Germany; this marked a shift in Bismarck's
foreign policy. While Bismarck’s real motivation is unknown, historians have developed
multiple theories for the change, including that time was running out and that Germany had to
act fast to get a colony, and that Bismarck wanted to divert the attention from problems in
Germany. (conflict => periphery; social imperialism)
German colonies included Cameroon, Togoland, German East Africa and German South
Africa. While Britain was at first suspicious of Germany, they had their own problems and
eventually accepted the German colonies. Unfortunately, the colonies were very expensive for
Germany, which is why Bismarck did not want any more colonies in 1888.
Stefan
4. “Dropping the pilot”: The fall of Bismarck
(see Kitson schoolbook, pp. 47-49)
Why was Bismarck dismissed / why did he resign in 1890?
SUMMARY: With two old Emperors dying, Bismarck can no longer control the new, young
Emperor
The old Emperor, Wilhelm I, gave Bismarck a free rule; he could do nearly everything he
wanted in politics. This worked to Bismarck’s advantage since he could do anything he
wanted without the Emperor interfering.
Three-Emperors-Year (1888): (German: Dreikaiserjahr)
In 1888, however, Wilhelm I died. The next Emperor, Friedrich, died three months after being
in office, and the third Emperor, Wilhelm II, was a very young Emperor. Therefore, the year
1888 was unusual because there were three Emperors ruling in that year.
For Bismarck, however, the new Emperor was a problem because he was much more socialist
(na ja) than Bismarck and did not give Bismarck so much freedom. In 1890, Bismarck
resigned and was replaced by General von Caprivi.
How important was Bismarck in the process of German unification
from 1862 to 1890?
Historians are divided over Bismarck’s legacy. While his system of alliances died with his
resignation, his social insurances still exist today. Some even credit Bismarck with allowing
Hitler to come to power. (WHY??? Elaboration needed!! Special path?)
However, while the economy recovered under Bismarck, he could have been more democratic
and could have allowed more reforms.
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