The German confederation was formed after the Vienna Settlement in 1815. During the 1860’s and 1870 Bismarck came into power and led Prussia in working with the German confederation to ascend in power and unify the confederation into a country. The German country would then be led by Prussia, with Bismarck in power. By 1871, this goal was eventually achieved after many contributing factors. The wars in which Prussia fought were undoubtedly significant to the unification of Germany, but however, I feel that it was not the sole factor that contributed to the unification of Germany.
What were the aims for Weltpolitik? To what extend did the Germans achieve these aims by 1907? In 1897 Germans pursued a World Policy called “Weltpolitik” as a reaction to the conservative “Realpolitik” of Bismark. Weltpolitik didn’t have a precise meaning but generally describes the specific phase of German history in which the Kaiser asserted the right to rule the country personally, appointed Bernhard Bülow as a Foreign Minister to secure the country’s place in the world map and the good relations with Britain and selected admiral Von Tirpitz to expand the navy. In that year Bülow stated officially that Germany now pursued such a policy.
After 1871, Bismarck’s careful diplomacy, agreement to imperialism and design of Prussinification allowed Germany to become one of the Great Powers. Before the Unification of Germany, Bismarck had realised the diplomatic environment needed for the unification. Bismarck had concluded that “blood and iron” policy was needed where peaceful means could not achieve. He identified Austria and France as the greatest enemies against German Unification. He also concluded that most effective war was one without foreign intervention.
Fischer’s argument that the outbreak of the First World War was due to Germany’s aggressive foreign policy, with a harsh focus on annexation, can be regarded as one of much significance. This theory has been backed up by historians such as Berghahn who claims that Germany ‘[tried] to shift the balance of power in their favour’, and did this through a weltpolitik policy of aggressiveness. This, it can be argued, can be shown by The Navy Race, in which Germany attempted to expand their navy in order to compete with Britain. Despite this being regarded by some as an attempt to
“It is more accurate to talk of a potential revolution which ran away into the sand than the genuine article” Before we can assess whether a ‘genuine’ revolution took place in 1918, or if held many promises and yet failed to deliver, we must look at the term ‘Revolution’. This often refers to a substantial change in power/structure that takes place within a short time span. Germany was in a vulnerable position, susceptible to change as the defeat in the war had shaken people’s faith in the government. There was undoubtedly political changes undergone in Germany but whether they fundamentally shook the German foundations of society can be seriously questioned. It can be argued that the ’Weimar Republic’ , the outcome of the revolution was a facade of the old authoritarian regime, carrying out change under false pretences of a democratic institution, with the Right Wing Conservatives still in control.
The achievement of creating a unified German state in 1871 was the outcome of numerous forces: social, economic and political; both domestic and foreign. Prussia’s economic strength, her formidable military, Bismarck’s Machiavellian leadership, Austria’s apparent weaknesses, German nationalism, and a general European retreat in diplomatic involvement were all causes leading to the outcome of unification. Yet, this paper chooses to analyze the economic factors behind German unification, seeing them as vital in
Revolution is a fundamental change in power or organization that takes place in relatively short period of time. The term revolution means a change in power. The political changes in Germany between October 1918 and May 1919 helped a lot for the revolution to occur. As firstly then German revolution lead by the German navy refusing to attack the British Navy as they realised the war is lost and that attacking them would be a suicide mission. Soon other major German ports like Kiel and Hamburg were under the control of the navy.
They did this through aggressive policies, which they hoped would achieve their aim and build up their empire. In 1897 Germany introduced Weltpolitik (World policy). This was a militaristic strategy and the aim of it was for Germany to become a world power and to create an empire to rival Britain’s. They tried to build up their empire but only managed to gain minor colonies, which offered little gain to Germany and did little to assert their authority in Europe. They clashed with the main powers of Europe over territory like morocco, which ultimately strengthened Franco-Anglo relationships.
France might have also been frightenend by the progressing German unification. There were other more politically domestic long term reasons for the war. These were that Bismarck wanted to unify the land that he had won as a result of the Austrian and Prussian war in 1866. Bismarck also used France as a common enemy of Germany all together so that unification could take place much more easily. France thought the war would not only help by stopping Germany’s increase in power.
However as the war progressed and more issues became apparent, the divide between the rich and the poor and the left and the right wing became vaster. Before the war had commenced liberals and socialists were aggravated with German democracy. Germany portrayed itself as a democratic state, however all the power belonged to the elite. Kaiser Wilhelm II even boasted that he had never read the constitution. Therefore Liberals wanted constitutional reform and more power to be given to the Reichstag.