J.M. Keynes said that “The German unification was built more truly on coal and iron than blood and iron”. To him it was economic development of Prussia was a decisive factor. The economic unity of Prussia, in fact created political unity among German states. Establishment of Zollverein was a victory for free trade.
Firstly we will look at the role of which Bismarck played towards German unification. Bismarck would see an opportunity and exploit it for his own good. In the Danish War of which involved Schleswig and Holstein; Bismarck managed to intervene, even though it did not have any effect on him, so that people would see him as a defender of German nationalism and so he could turn the war around to benefit Prussia. By doing so the citizens of German states saw him as a leader and joined together to back him up and this was his first step to unifying Germany. Following this, Bismarck turned his attention to Austria as he wanted them out of the Bund so he could fulfil his vision of a unified Germany under Prussian leadership.
What was Bismarck's vision domestically for the united Germany? How successful was he achieving his aims? Germany was unified in 1871 by Prussia's supremacy against France in the Franco-Prussian war. Under the reign of Kaiser William I (1871-1888), Bismarck was the most powerful man in the Empire and dominated the government of the Reich. He wanted a new constitution, the army to be well maintained, religion to be subordinated against the united Germany, Prussia to be economically strengthened and to curb the growth of socialism.
The aim of this foreign policy was to spread German influence throughout the world, the meaning of which is interpreted differently by different people. ‘Weltpolitik’ meant colonial expansion to the armed forces, and ‘Lebensraum’ (living space) throughout Europe to the Pan-German League. These promises made by ‘weltpolitik’ can easily be interpreted as aggressive, and this view is supported by Corrigan who says ‘At least as early as 1906, Germany had in place a plan for an
To what extent did Bismarck’s policies encourage greater German national identity in the years 1871–90? (30 marks) When Otto von Bismarck came to power in 1862 he had his plans set in mind, he did not announce his plans until his eventual retirement from politics in 1890. One of these aims was to unite Germany and in 1866 he started making his way towards this aim by removing Austria from any involvement through the Austro-Prussian war, in 1870 he made his final step, a war with France, this war ended in 1871 and Prussia was ultimately victorious. This now meant that Germany could unify as one, however it was very much controlled by the state within Germany that was the strongest, Prussia. Bismarck made Prussia the strongest state in Germany politically as well as what was already understood; their economic and military dominance.
Considering that Realpolitik focused on preventing a war within Europe and Weltpolitik aggressively asserted German dominance, it can be validly argued that this direct change in German foreign policy played a major role in bringing about the First World War. Another reason that German foreign policy was so greatly scrutinized was because of the Anglo-German naval rivalry which was creating tension within Europe. As long as Germany built, Britain would be a German enemy. The German government dramatically increased the development of German Ships. [i] This arms race and change in German foreign policy, believing they needed to control the seas was seen as a definite and direct cause
a) Autumn 1914-Spring 1915: Alfred Hugenberg started a propaganda campaign to counter Socialist agitation. b) The Industrialist Alfred Hugenberg initiated a political Dialogue over German war goals. c) This was a failed attempt by the Conservative German military-industrial complex to gain the support of Labor for the war effort, and to put an end to Socialist anti-war agitation. d) This failed attempt by the Conservatives led to turning towards the Volkish Movement. e) Out of the Volkish Movement came the Thule Society, a Volkish movement that dotted German Landscape.
The formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors. Princes of the many German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm I of the German Empire. Unification was a complicated process. Historians debate whether or not Otto von Bismarck, the Minister-President of Prussia, had a master-plan to expand the North German Confederation of 1866 to include the remaining independent German states into the German Empire — or whether he simply sought to expand the power of the Kingdom of Prussia. This article also addresses the factors beyond the strength of Bismarck's Realpolitik that led to unification.
To what extent was Wilhelm II foreign policy a continuation of Otto von Bismarck’s foreign policy? Both Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm II were in places of great power in Germany, Bismarck being Chancellor and Wilhelm being the Kaiser, therefore it is hard to say which had more influence because they both effected the state of Germany in major ways. When presented with the question of whether or not Wilhelm II’s foreign policy could be considered to be a continuation of Bismarck’s, the answer is arguably yes, it was a continuation because Wilhelm set goals along similar lines of Bismarck’s goals. However, a counterargument can be presented, as the results of Wilhelm’s actions were almost opposite of what Bismarck was trying to achieve. Realizing that without power they could in no way influence the outcome of anything nationally or internationally Bismarck and Wilhelm held power in high importance.
The states were connected mainly by language and a simple political scheme. In the early 1800s, French general, Napoleon Bonaparte, (after appointing himself emperor in 1804) took power in France and soon after began his conquest of Europe. It was through this that the French empire grew and the Napoleonic legal code took prevalence over the feudal systems of many European nations. This consisted of principles such as religious freedoms, rights of property owners, constitutional government, and equality before the law. It was under this Napoleonic reign that areas of what is now Germany were annexed and controlled by the French empire; this area (located on the west bank of the River Rhine) was called the Confederation of the Rhine.