Before 1848, Germany was a confederation
of 38 states ruled by princes or kings.
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Prussia was the largest and most
powerful German state.
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Many Germans believed that unity
could only be achieved through
Prussian leadership.
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But the Prussian king would not take the
crown from the hands of revolutionaries
and liberals.
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The Prussian king
appointed
Otto von Bismarck
his chief minister
in 1862.
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Bismarck
intended
to use
war as
a means
for
unification.
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The Prussians fought three wars to
unify Germany. They fought the
Danes, the Austrians, and the French.
Unification was achieved through
“blood and iron”.
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The Prussians
fought Denmark
for control of
Schleswig and Holstein
in 1864.
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The Prussians fought the Austrians
over administration of territories.
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And finally, the
Prussians fought
the French
thereby
successfully
uniting Northern
German Protestants
and Southern
German Catholics.
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By 1871, Germany was unified. Kaiser
or Emperor Wilhelm I ruled and Otto
von Bismarck served as the chancellor.
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Otto von Bismarck
followed a policy
of “blood and iron”
to achieve his goals.
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“The greatest questions of the day
will not be settled by speeches and
majority decisions but by iron and
blood.”
Otto von Bismarck
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Although there was a national assembly,
it was controlled by conservative Prussian
landowners, not the working people.
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