German Unification
HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
GERMAN CONFEDERATION
NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION
GERMAN EMPIRE
German Unification
 Last major European power to unify
 In 1815 after the Napoleonic wars, The German
Confederation is created 39 independent states –
largest and richest = Prussia
 Smaller states feared domination by Prussia
 The Austro-Hungarian Empire feared economic
competition of a unified Germany
German Unification
Steps Toward Unity
 1834 Prussia proposes the
Zollverein (literally means
“Customs Association”) 
economic union between
the German states:
reduced trade barriers,
invested a lot of Prussian
money, unified currency.
 This strengthened
Prussia’s power but also
made all states richer and
more industrialized.
Kaiser Wilhelm I (King of Prussia)
chooses a new Prime Minister in 1862
 Otto von Bismarck = prime
minister of Prussia,
architect of the unification.
 Wanted strong government &
army  unification would come
through “Blood and Iron” (aka
Nationalism and Army)
 Embraced Realpolitik =
right of a country to pursue
its own advantages by any
means, including war.
Bismark’s plan for Unification
 He came up with a plan for achieving unification
through 3 wars:
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First: a conflict that heightened the national spirit, made all
germans realize that they have more in common than they
think. This has to be a war in which all the 39 states fight
together, Prussia and Austria included.
Second: Inevitably, a conflict of leadership would arise
between Austria and Prussia, so a quick and decisive victory
over Austria would be essential. As a result, the 37 states of the
confederation would ally with Prussia and Austria would be
left outside the union.
Third: a war by which the new country they were creating steps
into the international scene with a blast, evidencing its military
might and claiming it’s rightful place among the greatest
European powers.
War Against Denmark (1964)
 Denmark ruled Schleswig and Holstein = large
German population there (there’s a map three slides ahead)
 Bismarck formed an alliance with Austria to claim
back those territories
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They won but dragged the conflict longer than necessary for
the armies to fight together longer.
Prussia got Schleswig
Austria got Holstein
 War showed Prussia’s military might, both in
comparison to Denmark and also the other German
states.
 The shared territories increased tension between
Prussia and Austria
Austro-Prussian War (7 Weeks’ War) 1967
 Bismarck formed alliances with Russia, France,
and Italy
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Prevented them from forming alliances with Austria
 Bismarck declared war on Austria and many
other German states joined it.
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He won very quickly, asserting military superiority again
A very important decision was made here: given the
cultural similarity that united these two countries,
Bismarck’s purpose was to defeat them as competitors,
but NEVER to make them an enemy. He was smart
enough to realize that in the conflicts that were sure to
come in the future, they would need Austria as an ally, so
if this needed to be an honorable defeat, not humiliation.
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1)
 France = threatened by a united Germany, but
underestimated its power.
 Bismarck engineered a situation so that France
would declare war on Prussia. It worked.
 The rest of the German states immediately rallied in
support of Prussia and very quickly attacked France,
which was slow and undecisive. It was defeated.
 The war was surprisingly short to have involved one
of the major powers (from July 1870 to January
1871).
France’s defeat:
 Bismarck new that this defeat made France an
irreconcilable enemy, so he tried to avoid a future
attack by weakening it as much as possible:
 Prussia took the French territory of Alsace-Lorraine =
major industrial site and key sites of the french
defense system.
Unified Germany
 The French were VERY
humiliated in this defeat:
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The German Army paraded through
Paris and under the Arch of Triumph
In the Throne Room of the Palace of
Versailles, the traditional seat of
French government, Bismarck
declared the creation of
the GERMAN EMPIRE, led
by Prussia.
 Bismarck becomes the Imperial
chancellor and sets about
reorganizing the country.
Willhelm I Kaiser of Prussia
First German Emperor