con
te
nt
s
List of maps xiii
List of tables xiv
Acknowledgements xv
1 The creation of the German nation 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10
1.11
1.12
1.13
Bismarck and the unification of Germany 1
Conflict with Denmark, 1864 5
The Schleswig-Holstein crisis 6
The Danish military campaign, 1864 7
The Treaty of Vienna 8
Chronology of the Schleswig-Holstein issue 8
The Gastein Convention, 1865 9
Conflict with Austria, 1866 9
War with Austria, 1866 11
The Battle of Königgrätz (Sadowa), 1866 12
The aftermath of the war with Austria 13
The North German Confederation 14
Chronology of the war with France and its consequences, 1868–71 15
1.14 Origins of the war with France, 1870–71 16
1.15 The Battle of Sedan, 1870 18
1.16 The Peace Treaty of Frankfurt am Main 18
2 German society, 1871–90 20
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
The nature of German society 20
The political system: the constitution, the Emperor, the
Chancellor, the Bundesrat, the Reichstag, the States 22
The political parties 24
Wilhelm I: King of Prussia (1861–88), Emperor of Germany
(1871–88) 25
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2.5
2.6
The Chancellor 26
The German economy and the process of internal
unification 29
2.7 Bismarck’s domestic policy 34
2.8 The Kulturkampf 40
2.9 The campaign against socialism 42
2.10 The deaths of Emperor Wilhelm I and Crown Prince Friedrich
III: the succession of Wilhelm II 44
2.11 The resignation of Bismarck 45
2.12 An assessment of Bismarck 46
3 Foreign policy, 1871–90 48
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
Bismarck’s foreign policy: an introduction 48
Franco-German rivalry 49
The Three Emperors’ League, 1873 51
The isolation of France, French recovery and the ‘War-in-Sight’
crisis 52
The Near-Eastern crisis, 1877–78 53
The Congress of Berlin, 1878 54
The Alliance with Austria-Hungary, 1879 54
The Three Emperors’ Alliance, 1881 55
Germany’s colonies in Africa 56
The Triple Alliance, 1882 56
The Balkans and the crisis in Bulgaria 57
The Reinsurance Treaty, 1887 58
Sources: evaluation of Bismarck’s foreign policy 59
The impact of the resignation of Bismarck on German foreign
policy 60
4 Wilhelmine Germany, 1890–1914 62
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
Interpretations 62
Leo von Caprivi and the New Course, 1890–94 (1831–99) 63
The development of the German economy 64
Wilhelm II and the issue of personal rule 67
Hohenlohe and the policy of concentration, 1894–1900 (1819–1901) 70
4.6 Baron von Bülow, 1900–09 (1849–1929) 71
4.7 Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, 1909–17 (1856–1921) 73
4.8 The Zabern incident 73
4.9 Interpretations of the nature of German society in 1914 74
4.10 Sources: Wilhelm II: personal ruler or shadow emperor? 75
5 Germany and the origins of the First World War, 1890–1914 78
5.1 Wihelm’s war? 78
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5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
5.15
5.16
The aims of German foreign policy 78
Bülow, the pursuit of Weltpolitik and the policy of the ‘free
hand’ 80
The Kruger telegram 81
The Far East and the Boxer Rebellion 82
The Dogger Bank incident, 1904 82
The First Moroccan Crisis, 1905 83
The alliance system 84
The Balkans 85
The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina 86
The naval race 87
Sources: the impact of the Kaiser on foreign policy 88
The Second Moroccan Crisis, 1911 89
The Potsdam war council, December 1912 91
The July Crisis 93
Sources: interpretations of the origins of the First World
War 99
6 The First World War, 1914–18 102
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
Mobilization for total war 102
The Schlieffen Plan 109
The Western Front, 1914–15 110
The war at sea 112
The Western Front, 1916 113
The Eastern Front, 1914–15 114
The Home Front and the impact of the war on the German
economy 116
6.8 The Eastern Front, 1916–17 119
6.9 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918 120
6.10 The Western Front, 1917–18 122
6.11 Collapse 122
7 The Weimar Republic, 1919–29 125
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
Interpretations 125
The German Revolution, 1918–20 126
The Versailles Treaty 130
The Weimar Republic, 1919–23 138
The Weimar economy 139
The origins of Adolf Hitler’s political ideology 140
Hitler’s rise to the leadership of the National Socialist Party,
1919–24 144
7.8 The Munich Putsch, 1923 147
7.9 The Weimar Republic and foreign policy 150
7. 10 From economic stability to crisis, 1925–29 156
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8 The collapse of the Weimar Republic, 1929–33 158
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
8.11
8.12
The German economy and the Great Depression 158
The electoral breakthrough of the National Socialist Party 159
Chancellor Müller 160
Chancellor Brüning 161
The Communists 161
Brüning and the National Socialists 162
Who voted for the National Socialists? 162
How did Hitler become Chancellor (1932–33)? 165
Von Papen as Chancellor 167
The period of crisis, August–December 1932 167
The period of intrigue 169
Schleicher as Chancellor 169
9 The Third Reich, 1933–39 175
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
9.10
9.11
9.12
9.13
9.14
9.15
9.16
Hitler as Chancellor, January 1933 175
Consolidation of power and the destruction of democracy,
1933–34 176
The Röhm purge 181
Culture, the arts and propaganda 185
Sources: Josef Goebbels: a career in propaganda 186
Education and youth in Nazi Germany 190
The role of women in Hitler’s Germany 192
The Nazi economy and popular support for the regime 194
Sources: Hermann Goering and the National Socialist
economy 198
Law and order 201
Organized religion 202
Sources: Church and State in Nazi Germany 203
The Nazi euthanasia programme 205
Consent and opposition 206
Sources: how popular was Hitler as the leader of
Germany? 212
Sources: Hitler’s personal role in the Third Reich 215
10 Anti-semitism, 1933–39 217
10. 1 The context of the Jewish people in German society and the
impact of 1933 217
10.2 Intentionalists and functionalists 218
10.3 Hitler’s anti-semitism 219
10.4 Hitler in power, 1933 219
10.5 The boycott of Jewish shops, 1 April 1933 220
10.6 The nature of the racial society 221
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10.7
10.8
10.9
10.10
10.11
10.12
11 The origins of the Second World War 234
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9
11.10
11.11
11.12
11.13
Tile Nuremberg Laws, 1935 222
The Berlin Olympics of 1936 224
Autumn 1936 to autumn 1938 224
Reichskristallnacht, 9–10 November 1938 226
1933: a detailed chronology 229
1935–39: a detailed chronology 231
Overview: the origins of the Second World War 234
Sources: Hitler’s ideology and German foreign policy 236
Italy and Mussolini 238
Relations with the armed forces, the issue of rearmament
and the notion of continuity between Hitler and previous
chancellors 239
The reoccupation of the Rhineland, March 1936 243
The Spanish Civil War, 1936–39 245
The Hossbach Conference, 1937 245
The Blomberg–Fritsch Crisis 249
The Anschluss with Austria, 1938 250
Neville Chamberlain, the policy of appeasement and the fate of
Czechoslovakia 252
The crisis over Czechoslovakia 260
The Nazi–Soviet Pact 261
Poland and the free city of Danzig, 1939 263
12 The Second World War, 1939–45 265
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8
12.9
12.10
12.11
12.12
12.13
12.14
12.15
Introduction 265
The destruction of Poland 265
The war in Scandinavia 267
The campaign in Western Europe 268
The war in the air 269
The Balkans 269
War of the century: the invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941–42 270
Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry into the war 277
The war in Africa and the significance of the
Mediterranean 278
Sources: the impact of the war on the Home Front 278
The role of Italy 283
The Normandy landings 284
The war with the Soviet Union, 1943–45 285
Downfall: chronology of Hitler’s final years as a wartime leader,
1943–45 289
Sources: analysis of Hitler as a wartime leader, 1943–45 292
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13 The Holocaust 296
13.1
13.2
13.3
Chronological overview: 1939–42 296
Interpretations of the Holocaust 297
Hitler’s speech of 30 January 1939: impending war and the
radicalization of anti-Semitism 301
13.4 The invasion of Poland and its consequences 303
13.5 The Madagascar plan 304
13.6 The invasion of the Soviet Union and the Einsatzgruppen 304
13.7 The Wannsee Conference, 1942 306
13.8 The roles of Heydrich and Himmler in planning and
organization of the Holocaust 309
13.9 Sources: the role of Himmler in the Nazi State 313
13.10 Auschwitz-Birkenau 315
13.11 Sources: the interpretations of historians: Hitler’s personal role
in the Holocaust 318
14 1945–1990 322
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
14.5
14.6
14.7
14.8
14.9
14.10
The destruction of Germany 322
The Yalta Conference 323
The Nuremberg trials 324
The Potsdam Conference 324
The reparations issue and the development of Bizonia 326
Political developments 327
The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan 329
The constitution and the Basic Law 331
The Berlin blockade, 1948–49 332
The creation of the GDR and the economic contrast with the
West 333
14.11 Berlin 336
14.12 The post-Adenauer era 337
14.13 The reunification of Germany, 1989–90 342
Postscript: Germany in the post-unification era 346
oreign affairs 346
F
The economy, politics and the post-unification search for ‘inner
unity’ 347
Notes 353
Index 363
xii
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chapter
1
the
cr
ea
tion
o f the German nation
1.1 Bismarck and the unification of Germany
introduction
Since medieval times a complex, patchwork mosaic of several hundred states,
great and small, occupied the space we now know as Germany, to form the
Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. However, as the Empire entered the
nineteenth century, the turbulence of the Napoleonic Wars underlined a need
for national security which was difficult to provide for the smaller states in such
a tangled geographical area and also aroused a common sense of Germanic
antipathy towards the French, creating, in a sense some of the first modern
stirrings of what could be called German nationalism. Under the Vienna peace
settlement of 1815 a process of rationalisation saw 350 states ranging from the
powerful, deeply conservative and absolutist kingdoms of Austria and Prussia
to the tiny principalities of the imperial knights, welded into 39 states brought
loosely together as the German Confederation. Despite its name, the German
Confederation was no more a national, united state than its predecessor had
been. Those who created the German Confederation did not imagine that
barriers of religious differences between Protestants and Catholics, a strong
sense of regional identity, customs and independence or the distinctive nature of
the two most powerful member states, Prussia and Austria, could be overcome
to create a single German state. In any case, Austria and Prussia showed no
interest at this stage in bringing the German states together in a process of
unification. Both were initially content to preserve their general influence over
the other states and in broad terms respected the other’s position in a period of
‘peaceful dualism’. However, Prussia’s growing economic strength meant that
the permanence of this stance of mutual respect could not be guaranteed for
ever. Prussia’s position was bolstered by the creation of the German Customs
Union (Zollverein) in 1834, a single economic unit consisting of 18 states,
although recent research has highlighted the self-interest of the member states
at the expense of loyalty to a common entity. While the prestigious Habsburg
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DENMARK
UNITED
KINGDOM
London
SWEDEN
POMERANIA
Amsterdam
RUSSIA
Copenhagen
HANOVER
Berlin
EAST PRUSSIA
WEST PRUSSIA
Warsaw
BRANDENBURG
POLAND
NETHERLANDS
SILESIA
SAXONY
Brussels
GALICIA
BOHEMIA
MORAVIA
BAVARIA
Paris
AUSTRIA
WÜRTTEMBERG
Vienna
BADEN
Munich
FRANCE
HUNGARY
SWITZERLAND
KINGDOM OF
SARDINIA
TUSCANY
SPAIN
Prussian territories
Limits of the German Confederation
State boundaries
Habsburg territories
map 1 – the 39 states of the German Confederation established by the Vienna Settlement of 1815
DENMARK
UNITED
KINGDOM
London
SWEDEN
RUSSIA
Copenhagen
Amsterdam
Warsaw
Berlin
PRUSSIA
NETHERLANDS (North German
Confederation)
Brussels
BELGIUM
Paris
LUXEMBOURG
FRANCE
SOUTH
GERMAN
STATES Munich
SWITZERLAND
ITALY
SPAIN
Vienna
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
ROMANIA
SERBIA
TURKISH
EMPIRE
map 2 – the impact of Prussian expansion following the war with Austria of 1866 and the creation of
the North German confederation
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DENMARK
UNITED
KINGDOM
SWEDEN
Amsterdam
London
HOLLAND
Brussels
RUSSIA
Copenhagen
Warsaw
Berlin
GERMANY
BELGIUM
Paris
LUXEMBOURG
Munich
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND
ITALY
SPAIN
Vienna
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
ROMANIA
SERBIA
MONTENEGRO
TURKISH
EMPIRE
map 3 – the German Empire in 1871
monarchy of Austria may have retained political sway within the Confederation,
the burgeoning commercial prowess of Prussia cannot have escaped the
attention of those who imagined that Prussia’s economic ascendancy amongst
the German states could one day be matched by her political leadership.
Austria’s relatively weak economic position meant that the Habsburgs faced
a degree of isolation from the increasingly cohesive economic coalition of the
German states that were operating within the gravitational pull of Prussia. By
the mid-nineteenth century a gradually emerging struggle for dominance was
emerging within the Confederation between the ‘Little German’ solution led by
Prussia and the ‘Greater German’ solution offered by Austria. Both concepts
reflected the gradual emergence of a nationalist vision over a regional one,
although independent sentiments remained particularly powerful amongst
some of the states in the south. The most passionate advocates of German
nationalism believed that a strong Germany would bring stability, culture and
progressive, humanistic values to their subjects and fulfil the general desire for
security. It was the forces of nationalism, economic liberalism, industrial and
technological growth, military prowess and political will that coalesced to lead
Prussia towards a position of leadership amongst the German states that was to
be sealed in 1871.
The unification of Germany
At moments of high importance every public gesture, every utterance, every
detail was carefully calculated. On this occasion, 18 January 1871, with the
moment of German unification at hand and with the armies of France, his most
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bitter enemy, defeated, the ‘founder of the Empire’ or ‘Reichsgrunder’ chose, as
was his habit, to wear a uniform that carefully cultivated a martial appearance.
Wearing a blue coat, the orange ribbon of the Order of the Black Eagle, high
riding boots and military insignia, the first Chancellor of the Second Reich
looked like a conquering warlord. The dazzling appearance of Otto Eduard
Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen matched the glittering surroundings of
the Galerie des Glaces at the Palace of Versailles, for so long the symbol of
French military strength and now the scene of her ritual humiliation.
Before an audience of German princes and invited dignitaries, the King of
Prussia, Wilhelm I, formally accepted the crown of the newly united German
Empire. It was Bismarck himself who delivered the proclamation:
We Wilhelm, by the Grace of God, King of Prussia, and after the German
Princes and free cities have unanimously appealed to us to renew the
Imperial dignity, which has been in abeyance for more than sixty years,
hereby inform you that we regard it as our duty to the whole Fatherland
to respond to this summons of the allied German Princes and free cities
to assume the German Imperial title.
Otto von Bismarck, described by Hans-Ulrich Wehler as ‘the first man in
Germany to practise charismatic rule’,1 was without question the outstanding
political strategist of the day, ‘the directive genius of German history between
1862 and 1890’,2 a combination of ‘swift intuitive judgement, vehemence and
intensity’.3 It would take just nine years serving as minister-president and
foreign minister for his leadership to move the state of Prussia from the stagingpost of 1862 as an established German power and an emerging great power to a
position of central importance in European affairs. At issue is whether Bismarck
possessed a clear mental map of the direction and timing of the unification
process, whether he benefited from an exceptionally favourable international
constellation or if, in fact, he was chiefly a highly skilled opportunist A further
problem concerns our view of history itself. Much of what follows in this
opening section concerns kings and statesmen, chancellors and mass armies.
The ordinary person is largely missing from the story, although we will turn to
that perspective in later chapters. Was Germany created from above by ‘great
men’, or did the drive for a German nation-state come from below, fuelled
by powerful economic and social forces above and beyond the control of any
statesman, even Bismarck?
To be sure, he was fortunate to have at his disposal the burgeoning economic
and social infrastructure of the emerging industrial powerhouse. Although a
significant proportion of her population was employed in agriculture, Prussia
also enjoyed domination of the Zollverein, or customs union, substantial natural
mineral resources in the Ruhr, the Saar and Silesia, with growing numbers
of mines, blast furnaces and steelworks reflecting an increasing process of
industrialization after 1850.
Yet the deployment of this resource needed all the skill and judgement that
Bismarck possessed in abundance. Favourable diplomatic configurations at
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crucial periods also played their part but perhaps, above all, Bismarck was able
to manage, at least to an extent, the moments when Prussia’s progress would be
put to the test in warfare, the most severe examination of a nation’s resources
and resolve. In the words of American academic Gordon Craig:
If he had never risen to the top in Prussian politics, the unification of
Germany would probably have taken place anyway, but surely not at the
same time or in quite the same way as it did. Whatever may be said about
the movement of economic forces, there is no burking the fact that the
decision concerning the form unification would take was made, not in
the area of economic and social policy, but on the battlefield.4
Or, as Bismarck himself had so famously put it in a speech to the Landtag’s
budget committee on 30 September 1862:
Prussia must gather and consolidate her strength in readiness for the
favourable moment which has already been missed several times;
Prussia’s boundaries according to the Vienna treaties are not favourable
to a healthy political life; not by means of speeches and majority verdicts
will the great decisions of the time be made – that was the great mistake
of 1848 and 1849 – but by iron and blood.
Yet for the new Chancellor, the personal satisfaction at the moment of unification
was little more than a veneer beneath which lay weariness, political tension and
ill health. Despite the immense power and prestige constitutionally assigned to
the head of the new imperial executive, Bismarck ended the unification year in
sombre mood. As Lothar Gall notes in his magisterial biography of Bismarck,
the Chancellor confided in a letter written on Christmas Day 1871: ‘I am weary,
and while still bound up with the life of this world I begin to appreciate the
attractions of peaceful repose. What I should like most is to leave the stage
for a seat in one of the boxes.’5 As he prepared to accept the imperial crown,
Wilhelm also visibly lacked enthusiasm. As Blackbourn notes: ‘Germany existed
on paper, but it lacked widespread legitimacy as well as seasoned institutions.’6
Perhaps Bismarck’s uncertainty between the desire for the tranquil existence
of a country squire and his need to exercise charismatic leadership on a
European level can also be discerned in the restless and sometimes turbulent
nature of the country he now led. A nation that would achieve renown for its
glorious cultural achievements, scientific progress and technological innovation
had been created through wars of unification. Many possible developments,
none of them preordained, lay in the future path of the new country, but its
ultimate fate would also be sealed on the battlefields of Europe. The military
journey began in Denmark in 1864.
1.2 conflict with Denmark, 1864
The Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein had traditionally been ruled by Denmark,
a nation still regarded in the mid-nineteenth century as a significant Baltic
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power but with her greatest days in the past. However, by 1860 Holstein had
a population of around half a million people who were almost exclusively
German-speaking. Schleswig also contained a German element, so that the
future of the Duchies became an increasing focus of German nationalist and
anti-Danish sentiment. In addition, Schleswig-Holstein’s important naval base
at Kiel offered the attractive prospect of strategic control of the Baltic and
the North Sea. The increasingly passionate interest of the German people in
Schleswig-Holstein was stimulated by the fierce clash between German and
Danish nationalism in a sensitive frontier area, the complex relationships
between Germans and Danes, the conflicting views of the majority of the
German Confederation with the carefully managed ambitions of Prussia and
the anxiety of the ‘imperially overstretched’ Austria that it should not be left
behind in the changing configuration of European power. Meanwhile, measures
taken by the Danes, such as the forced introduction of Danish into the schools
of parts of Schleswig, were seen as antagonistic and only raised the international
tension.
Within days of his appointment as minister-president of Prussia in September
1862, Bismarck asked War Minister Roon to request from Moltke, chief of the
Prussian General Staff since 1857, a plan for military action against Denmark.
Yet the notion that Bismarck had a clear sense of what was ahead needs to
be treated with care. It is often assumed that Bismarck had fixed his attention
upon the annexation of the duchies throughout the crisis of 1863–4 in order to
round off Prussian territory in North Germany. While Bismarck undoubtedly
appreciated the strategic importance of Schleswig-Holstein for Prussia, it
is not certain that annexation was his primary objective. It was not until the
late winter of 1864 that he finally opted for that solution. Some authorities
have claimed that a primary consideration was the use he could make of the
crisis to benefit Prussia in the struggle with Austria. It is more likely that a
pragmatist like Bismarck was initially uncertain as to the use he could make of
the Schleswig-Holstein affair. His success in gaining Austrian support has often
been presented as one of Bismarck’s great diplomatic achievements, but in fact
agreement with Austria was not unduly illusive.
1.3 the Schleswig-Holstein crisis
Matters came to a head in November 1863 when the King of Denmark, Friedrich
VII, died without leaving an heir to the throne. With prior international
agreement the throne was passed to a Dane, Christian of Glucksburg, who,
within days, had signed a new constitution which affected the status of
Schleswig and Holstein and raised issues regarding the previous constitutional
agreement reached in 1852.
However, his position was challenged by the German Prince of
Augustenburg, who had the support of German nationalists, the majority
of the German Confederation and the Diet. Bismarck’s assessment was that
despite the arousal of German nationalism it was not in Prussia’s interests
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to install a new grand duke who would be likely to oppose Prussian interests
in the Diet. Bismarck’s alternative strategy was to secure the agreement of
Austria to work alongside Prussia in the Austro-Prussian military alliance
of January 1864 to secure the Duchies by force of arms. Bismarck’s tactic
was to assure the Austrians of his conservative commitment to the treaty of
1852. Privately he remarked that Prussia had hired Austria and that she was
now working for the King of Prussia. In addition, Bismarck had established a
firm pretext for intervention – namely, the November constitution binding
Schleswig with Denmark which violated the guarantees made to Austria
and Prussia in 1852. It was on this basis, and with Denmark lacking military
support from any of the great European powers that, in the winter of 1864,
troops from Austria and Prussia assailed the medieval fortifications of the
Danes with snow on the ground and an icy drizzle biting in from the North
Sea to the west and the Baltic in the east.
1.4 the Danish military campaign, 1864
The first unification war was a campaign that has been neatly termed by military
historian Arden Bucholz ‘a small war in the snow’,7 but which was also, in the
same author’s words, ‘a long and difficult campaign, full of mistakes’.8 The
Danish reserves faced the emerging power of the Prussian military machine.
The nature of the winter campaign meant that the Danish fleet was effectively
neutralized. The unevenness of what followed offered a chilling insight into the
difference between an essentially agricultural force and, in relative terms, the
industrial mass army of an emerging industrial nation. Brave but naïve, many
of the Danish soldiers had only the most rudimentary preparation before they
faced the Prussian Army with its superior numbers and rapid-firing breechload rifles. Under Moltke’s dynamic leadership the evolution of the Prussian
general staff into a ‘learning organization’ and the ‘futures thinking’ of senior
figures in the Prussian army led to an innovative approach in key areas such
as logistical support, map-making techniques and war-game exercises. The
provision of top-quality training in military shooting, gymnastics, artillery
and fortifications provided a ‘knowledge advantage’ that would weigh heavily
when deployed against more traditional forces. All of this was underpinned
by a highly successful education system, a further vital ingredient in what was
becoming an intoxicating mixture.
The Danish reserves, 50 per cent of their army, contained men who were
either too old to fight or at the other extreme completely raw, untested and
naïve. A general lack of training and cohesion made them no match for the
Prussians. It was an uneven conflict between an agriculturally based army, using
traditional close-order, muzzle-loading bayonet charges, and an industrial
army, equipped with rapid-firing breech-load rifles. The superior technology,
organization and leadership of the Prussian army made the simple bravery of
the Danish forces seem even more poignant amid the bloody carnage visted
upon the Scandinavian winter and spring.
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1.5 the Treaty of Vienna
By July 1864 Denmark’s brave but intrinsically limited resistance was at an
end. Bismarck attempted to offer Prussian control of the Duchies for a rather
vague commitment to help Austria in Northern Italy. This was unacceptable
to the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph but a compromise came when Bismarck
offered joint ownership of the Duchies which were formally surrendered to
Austria and Prussia under the Treaty of Vienna of October 1864. This passed
Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg to the King of Prussia and the Emperor of
Austria. Within two years the two leaders would be at war.
1.6 chronology of the Schleswig-Holstein issue


15 November
18 November
24 December

January–February
The Treaty of London sets out terms for the
relationship of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark, and
subjects the Duchies to international regulation
Death of the Danish King Friedrich VII without an
heir, followed by the accession of Prince Christian IX
of Schleswig-Holstein
Christian IX signs a new constitution which conflicts
with the terms of the 1852 agreement. Christian’s
position is challenged by the German Duke August of
Augustenburg, who was recognized in Germany as the
Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Without a formal declaration of war, German
Confederation troops from Saxony and Hanover
entered Holstein and Lauenburg – the Danes
withdraw their forces into Schleswig
An alliance of Austria and Prussia occupies Holstein
(January) and Schleswig (February), leading to war
against Denmark
18 April
Austro-Prussian forces storm Danish fortifications at
Duppel
20 April–25th June London conference on the Schleswig-Holstein crisis
26 June
Resumption of Austro-Prussian war against Denmark
20 July
New armistice signed
25 July
Peace conference opened in Vienna
1 August
Preliminary peace signed
30 October
Treaty of Vienna cedes control of Schleswig, Holstein
and Lauenburg to Austria and Prussia
November
Bismarck pushes the Diet into withdrawing federal
forces from Holstein, leaving Austria and Prussia in
control.
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1.7 the Gastein Convention, 1865
Although ostensibly the Austro-Prussian military intervention had ‘settled’ the
Schleswig-Holstein issue, in reality the question of the long-term future of the
Duchies actually became a source of rising tension between the two powers,
leading Bismarck to comment acidly that ‘our tickets are on diverging lines’
and the Austrian foreign minister to conclude that his pro-Prussian policy of
1864 had been a serious mistake. Indeed when war broke out between Austria
and Prussia in 1866 the immediate issue was the question of the future of the
Duchies. Despite Austria’s assistance Bismarck had no intention of loosening
Prussia’s grip over the Duchies and he remained convinced that Austria would
not sustain its interest in an area that did not directly concern her.
Temporary respite seemed to have been offered with the signing of an
Austrian compromise proposal under the Gastein Convention of August 1865
which placed Holstein under the administration of Austria and Schleswig under
Prussian authority. The duchy of Lauenburg was bought by Prussia, which
also secured new military and naval bases in Holstein. William Carr offers
this analysis of why Bismarck was prepared to sign the Gastein Convention:
‘The most likely explanation is that Bismarck was not ready for war and simply
accepted a favourable offer which loosened Austria’s hold over the duchies and
avoided all reference to Duke Frederick. Bismarck’s determination to force
Austria out of Holstein and dominate Germany remained unchanged.’9 A
further insight is provided by David Blackbourn who states: ‘Bismarck’s policy
towards Austria, for all its tactical twists and turns, was more single-mindedly
bent on a particular outcome than his policy towards France or the southern
states. Nothing is inevitable, but it is hard to see the Gastein Convention as
anything other than a truce before the willed conflict of 1866.’10
1.8 conflict with Austria, 1866
While some historians have claimed that Bismarck had already charted the
course of events, many others feel that he was not necessarily full of belligerent
intent. It seems most likely that the new minister-president was not immediately
fixed on a course of war with Austria. He was a much more multi-faceted,
nuanced diplomat than his sometimes direct or even beligerent statements
suggest. War was obviously one solution to the Austrian issue and probably the
most likely outcome as Bismarck scanned the horizon. However, he cannot be
accurately depicted as a bloodthirsty and aggressive Junker itching to commit
Prussia to war to satisfy his personal ambition. In fact, he saw war only as a final
resort when all hope of a peaceful solution had been exhausted. His diplomatic
instincts and personal religious convictions, added to his sense of caution,
meant that there was no immediate change of direction in Prussian policy when
Bismarck assumed power. In foreign affairs he continued the policy pursued
by Count Bernstorff, Prussian foreign minister since 1861, of antagonism with
Austria, while making overtures to Russia.
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It is clear in retrospect that Bismarck was able to take advantage of an
exceptionally favourable international situation. What Klaus Hildebrand called
the ‘Crimean moment’ – the weakening of Britain and Russia after the Crimean
War of 1854–56 – provided a window of opportunity for the advancement of
German unity. In the words of A. J. P. Taylor, ‘Both Russia and Great Britain
had virtually eliminated themselves from the European balance; this gave the
years between 1864 and 1866 a character unique in recent history.’11
Events now moved quickly, with an informal visit by Bismarck to Napoleon
at Biarritz in October 1865 designed to shore up the position of France in the
event of war. Although the meeting did not lead to any binding agreement it
was enough to convince Bismarck that if Venetia could be secured for Italy
then Napoleon was likely to remain on the sidelines in the event of a Prussian
war with Austria.
As tension between Austria and Prussia over the Duchies reached new
heights in 1866, Bismarck was able to conclude that from Britain, Russia and
Italy only the Italians could not be counted upon to keep out of a war between
Prussia and Austria. This was effectively neutralized when Italy formed an
alliance with Prussia in April 1866. This stipulated that in the event of war
between Prussia and Austria within three months, Italy would join in and take
Venetia. On 21 April amid rumours of Italian troop movements, Austria took
the dramatic step of mobilizing her armies in the south.
This was enough to convince the cautious Prussian king that he had no
choice but to order mobilization of his troops. As John Breuilly explains:
It took a great deal of Bismarck’s energy to persuade the king to break
at last with Austria, the old and legitimate ally both in Germany and
against France. Possibly it was one reason why Bismarck avoided war in
the summer of 1865. Once the king was persuaded that Austria sought
to deprive Prussia of her rightful standing in Germany, and that Austrian
mobilisation represented a serious military threat, he agreed to war. It
was typical of William that he now pursued the war in a spirit of selfrighteousness and the next big problem Bismarck faced was persuading
him to bring the war to a rapid end before international complications
could develop.12
American academic Dennis Showalter provides an interesting alternative
critique of the way the king’s part in the decision-making process that led up to
the war with Austria has generally been characterized by historians.
William – as usual – emerges as a more or less inert force, needing either
the repeated galvanic shocks administered by his minister-president or
the clearly presented calculations of his chief of staff to impel him into
action. William, in fact, was accustomed to making his own decisions,
and regarded both Bismarck and Moltke as what they were under the
Prussian constitution: royally appointed officials who served at his
pleasure.13
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This hierarchy is also reflected in the document that follows, a communiqué
from Moltke on the possibility of a war between Prussia and Austria.
SOURCE
Memorandum from Helmuth von Moltke, Berlin, 2 April 1866.
As a political question, the war against Austria, its probability or
inevitability, lies outside the scope of my judgment. But from my standpoint
I believe I must express the conviction that the success or failure of this
war essentially depends on our reaching a decision about it sooner than the
Austrians, and if possible, right now.
One advantage for us, which cannot be overstated, is that we can advance
our army on five railroad lines and thereby have it essentially concentrated
on the Saxon-Bohemian border within 25 days.
Austria has just one railway leading toward Bohemia, and allowing for the
troops it already has in Bohemia and Galicia, and assuming further that its
cavalry is already on the march, then it requires 45 days to assemble 200,000
men.
If Bavaria joins Austria, then it is not so much its army as the use of its
Regensburg-Pilsen-Prague railway line that will be disadvantageous for us,
since this shortens the above-mentioned Austrian concentration by about 15
days.
If the mobilization of the Prussian army is ordered right now, then
Bavaria – so ill-prepared for war in terms of arms, mobilization, and the
concentration of its approximately 40,000 men near Bamberg – will in all
probability not be ready when the first battle between Austria and Prussia
has been fought. Deploying the Bavarian armed forces can hardly serve the
purpose of laying siege to Coblenz, or Cologne, or even Erfurt, or of seizing
Prussian territory, but more probably of waiting for a successful outcome
and then showing up as an armed power on the side of the victor.
For us it all depends on defeating this one enemy Austria, [and] to this
end this we have to muster all [our] forces, and if anybody should ask for
my opinion, we have to enlist not only the VIIth, but also the VIIIth Army
Corps.
Source: Helmuth von Moltke, Moltkes militärische Werke (1896–1912).
1.9 war with Austria, 1866
There can be no doubt that engaging in a war with Austria was a high-risk
operation. Many contemporaries held the view that following the rather
muddling performance of the Prussian forces in Denmark, Austria had
every chance of success in 1866. The allegiance of states from the German
Confederation including Saxony, Hanover and Hesse-Cassel with Austria made
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the situation even more challenging. So it may have been with some trepidation
that the German officers gathered at the Königswarder memorial to oversee the
departure of their units from Berlin, with forty military trains per day leaving
the capital for Bohemia through the first five days of June. In fact the war was
over by 22 July 1866. Although the Battle of Königgrätz is rightly regarded as
the decisive episode in the war, several other exchanges are worthy of attention
and remind us that both sides paid a heavy price in their terrible conflict.
thekeybattlesofthesevenWeeks’War
Battle of Custova
2 June
Battle of Nachod
2 June
Battle of Trautenau
2 June
Battle of Skalitz
28 June
Austrian forces in the south brought to a
standstill by the Italians, leaving Archduke
Albrecht’s army in no position to move north
against Prussia
-hour battle in hot, humid conditions.
Austria lost more than , men at a rate of
almost 2 per minute
Poor leadership meant that few of the
Prussian battalions were actually able to
engage with the Austrians, and although
Austrian casualties were heavy this was the
only Prussian battlefield defeat in the war
with Austria
Austria suffered its heaviest casualties of the
war. Bucholz provides vivid descriptions of
men drowning when trying to cross the river
to escape or being burnt to death in house-tohouse fighting1
1.10 the Battle of Königgrätz (Sadowa), 1866
More than half a million soldiers took part in the decisive engagement between
Königgrätz and Sadowa in Bohemia on 3 July 1866, evocatively described by
the Times correspondent W. H. Russell, when he saw the Austrian army, with
their bands playing, assume their positions in ‘Squares and parallelograms of
snowy white, dark green, azure and blue on the cornfields like checker work
of a patchwork quilt’.15 The scene may have looked picturesque but the reality
was a slaughter in which the Austrians suffered 64,000 killed, wounded and
taken prisoner. Under Moltke’s strategic command 280,000 Prussian soldiers
and 900 guns overcame Benedek’s forces of 245,000 men and 600 guns. The
lightning defeat of Saxony, Austria’s ally, at the outset of the war, the fact that
the Prussian breech-loading needle gun fired four or five times per minute
compared to the single shots of the Austrian’s muzzle-loading counterpart,
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the robustness of Moltke’s strategic planning and the failure of the Austrian
commander Benedek to utilise a potentially favourable defensive position,
all contributed to the Prussian victory. However, Richard Evans contends
that what was subsequently depicted as the next smoothly executed move in
a preordained plan was in fact more haphazard: ‘far from being the perfectly
planned and executed operation of Prussian historical legend, Moltke’s victory
at Königgràtz was, like most battles, a tale of muddle and confusion, in which
the great general was only saved from humiliation by the opportune arrival of
the Prussian Second Army led by the heir to the Prussian throne.’16
Nevertheless it was with some satisfaction that by the afternoon of 3 July
Moltke reported to the King ‘The campaign is decided, Vienna lies at your
Majesty’s feet.’ In the evening the Prussian generals sat down together for a
celebratory game of whist. The card players were in ebullient mood. The day’s
events on the Bohemian heights of Chlum had unfolded to their complete
satisfaction. Craig comments that ‘Inflamed by their triumph’,17 the Prussian
military and monarchy were now ready to push on to Vienna. Bismarck’s task
was to rein in the very people on whom he had depended to crush Austria. It
was a challenge elegantly summarized by Bismarck in a letter written to his wife
in July 1866: ‘If we are not excessive in our demands and do not believe that we
have conquered the world, we will attain a peace that is worth our effort. But
we are just as quickly intoxicated as we are plunged into dejection, and I have
the thankless task of pouring water into the bubbling wine and making it clear
that we do not live alone in Europe but with three other Powers that hate and
envy us.’18
Gall’s analysis is that ‘The real power of the empire was smashed at Königgrätz
and a complete conquest of the country only to be staved off by political means
with the conclusion of a swift peace.’19
In a brief but disastrous campaign Austria had suffered 52,000 men killed
and wounded, approximately 20 per cent of their total fighting force. This
compared to 9,000 Prussians. The victories over Denmark and Austria
reflected a period of rapid development for the Prussian army. Specialization
of labour, high-quality training and preparation, a rapidly expanding railway
network, meticulous attention to battle details such as the wording of military
orders, detailed planning and technical innovation all played a major part in the
emergence of the Prussian army as a major force.
1.11 the aftermath of the war with Austria
Bismarck’s political success in using his powers of persuasion to curb King
Wilhelm’s militaristic enthusiasm was helped by an outbreak of cholera among
the Prussian troops and the fact that lines of communication were already
sorely stretched. Rather grudgingly the King agreed to an armistice signed
on 22 July, which was followed by preliminary peace terms at Nikolsburg and
the final peace settlement, the Peace of Prague, signed on 23 August. This
brought substantial gains to Prussia and concluded the first substantial political
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unification of the German states to the north of the River Main. Although this
stage produced considerable initial satisfaction it was also soon evident that
nationalist and liberal tendencies within Prussia wanted to take the process of
unification to its ultimate conclusion. Bismarck had already begun the process
of engineering the military support of the southern states in a commitment to
side with Prussia if she came under attack. In 1867 the commercial development
of the new Zollparlament as an extension of the Zollverein marked a further
step forward for Prussian ambition.
William Carr sees the Austro-Prussian war as ‘a power struggle for mastery
in Germany, an eighteenth-century war fought with nineteenth-century
weapons’.20 The shattered remnants of Benedek’s army scurrying for cover on
the banks of the Elbe heralded the triumph of Bismarck’s anti-Austrian policy. He
had masterminded the crucial break with the traditions of Prussian diplomacy
as the means of dividing the parliamentary opposition that was threatening to
force the Prussian Government into a cul-de-sac when he came to power in
September 1862. He had strategically manoeuvred the Austrian Government
into circumstances in which it felt obliged to assume the responsibility for
beginning the war even though it lacked the resources to claim victory.
In the wake of the Prussian victory over Austria large sections of the German
people took part in an unprecedented outpouring of national sentiment. The
momentum towards German unification had substantial energy from the top
and from the bottom.
1.12 the North German Confederation
The creation of the North German Confederation in 1867 left the south
German states in a perilous position. Still historically committed to Austria,
to all practical intents and purposes they were beholden to Prussia in military
and economic terms. Hans-Ulrich Wehler states that the expansion of Greater
Prussia was viewed by the government in Berlin as providing
the best possible solution to the problem of uniting Germany while
excluding Austria. The Austrian defeat in the German ‘civil war’ and
the creation of the North German Confederation confirmed these
calculations. The opinion was often enough expressed that a war fought
in a common cause would soon overcome any resistance by the South
German states to a Prussian-dominated Germany. It was also bound to
have the effect of uniting the nation.21
The new North German Confederation was a federal state (Bundesstaat) as
opposed to a federation of states (Staatenbund). It excluded Austria as well as
the south German states of Bavaria, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt and Wurttemburg.
Prussia annexed Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse-Kassel, Frankfurt, Hanover and
Nassau. Bismarck’s constitution of the North German Confederation allowed
territorial rulers to retain the management of their own internal affairs while the
head of the Confederation, the King of Prussia, presided over foreign affairs and
14
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army issues. The largely impotent parliament (Reichstag) was complemented
by an upper house, the Federal Council (Bundesrat), effectively dominated by
Prussia. This constitution was to provide a template for that of the subsequent
German Empire.
1.13 chronology of the war with France and its consequences, 1868–71


June
A revolution in Spain deposes the monarch, Isabella
II, creating a vacancy for the Spanish throne
Bismarck secures the consent of Kaiser Wilhelm I
to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen’s
candidacy for the Spanish throne
July
Following negotiations between the French envoy
in Prussia, Benedetti and Wilhelm I at Bad Ems,
Wilhelm tells the French that he will not object if the
Hohenzollern nomination is withdrawn. However,
French Foreign Minister Gramont now insists on
written guarantees and a letter of apology from
Wilhelm I to Emperor Napoleon III
The Prussian king telegraphs a report of his
discussions with Benedetti to Bismarck. Bismarck
subsequently releases a carefully edited version of
the Ems dispatch. The edited version creates the
impression that the French envoy had been brusquely
treated by the German emperor. The doctored
telegram causes outrage in France, prompting
Napoleon to declare war
16 July
Mobilization of Bavaria and Baden on the Prussian
side
17 July
Mobilization of Württemberg on the Prussian side
19 July
France declares war even though her military
preparedness is behind the Prussian army
August
The Battle of Spicheren is greeted as a German
triumph even though the Germans take heavy
casualties.
At Wissembourg both sides take heavy casualties
but the superiority of German numbers carries the
day. At the Battle of Froeschwiller-Woerth, towards
the end of August, France suffers more than 25,000
killed, wounded and taken prisoner
1–2 September
Crushing and decisive Prussian victory over France at
the Battle of Sedan and the capture of Napoleon III
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October–November Negotiations with the south German states at
Versailles
9 December

18 January
Proposals for constitutional change accepted by the
North German Confederation
Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles
February
Provisional peace terms with France stipulate the
annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. This was
to leave a bitter legacy for Franco-German relations
10 May
The Peace of Frankfurt
1.14 origins of the war with France, 1870–71
the Hohenzollern candidature
By 1870 Bismarck was ready, once again, to use his instinct for power politics to
‘engineer a war at a precise juncture which suited his plans’.22 France remained
as the clear obstacle to the southern states being absorbed into Lesser Germany.
While it could be argued that conflict between Prussia and France was highly
likely, the exact location of its immediate origins came from an unexpected
quarter. The cause was a disputed succession in Spain.
When the Spanish throne fell vacant in 1868 it was offered to the
Hohenzollern candidate Prince Leopold. In the face of French objections the
candidacy was withdrawn but France pushed further and demanded a pledge
that the candidature could never be renewed. When Prussia stood its ground
the French found themselves in a position where a declaration of war seemed
to be the only face-saving option. When the military test came the southern
states stood by their alliances with Prussia. Bismarck had manipulated the
provocative Hohenzollern candidature for the Spanish throne and clumsy
French lapses in protocol to illicit a French declaration of war. Craig states:
‘It cannot be said that Bismarck wanted a war in 1870, but, thanks to the crisis
that he had encouraged, to Gramont’s maladroitness in handling it, and to the
passions it released in French opinion, that was what he got’.23
SOURCE A
Original text of the Ems Telegram, from Heinrich Abeken to Bismarck,
1 JulY 18.
His Majesty writes to me: ‘Count Benedetti spoke to me on the promenade, in
order to demand from me, finally in a very importunate manner, that I should
authorise him to telegraph at once that I bound myself for all future time never
again to give my consent if the Hohenzollerns should renew their candidature. I
refused at last somewhat sternly, as it is neither right nor possible to undertake
6
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engagements of this kind à tout jamais. Naturally I told him that I had as yet
received no news, and as he was earlier informed about Paris and Madrid than
myself, he could clearly see that my government once more had no hand in this
matter.’ His Majesty has since received a letter from the Prince. His Majesty
having told Count Benedetti that he was awaiting news from the Prince, has
decided, with reference to the above demand, upon the representation of Count
Eulenburg and myself, not to receive Count Benedetti again, but only to let him
be informed through an aide-de-camp: That his Majesty had now received from
the Prince confirmation of the news which Benedetti had already received from
Paris, and had nothing further to say to the ambassador. His Majesty leaves it to
your Excellency whether Benedetti’s fresh demand and its rejection should not
be at once communicated both to our ambassadors and to the press.
Source: Eric Wilmot, The Great Powers 1814–1918 (1992).
S ource B
Bismarck’s text of the Ems Telegram, edited for publication.
After the news of the renunciation of the hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern
had been officially communicated to the Imperial government of France by the
Royal government of Spain, the French ambassador further demanded of his
Majesty, the King, at Ems, that he would authorise him to telegraph to Paris
that his Majesty, the King, bound himself for all time never again to give his
consent, should the Hohenzollerns renew their candidature. His Majesty, the
King, thereupon decided not to receive the French ambassador again, and sent
the aide-de-camp on duty to tell him that his Majesty had nothing further to
communicate to the ambassador.
Source: as source A.
S ource C
Bismarck, from Reflections and Reminiscences (1898).
I went on to explain: ‘If in execution of His Majesty’s order, I at once
communicate this text . . . not only to the newspapers but by telegraph to all our
embassies it will be known in Paris before midnight . . . and will have the effect
of a red rag on the French bull . . . Success, however, depends essentially upon
the impression which the origination of the war makes upon us and others: it is
important that we should be the ones attacked.
Source: as source A.
Q ues t i o n s
1 What diplomatic impact would the original text of the Ems telegram have
made?
2 How does this compare to the diplomatic impact of the second, edited text?
3 Which specific elements of the Ems telegram did Bismarck remove?
4 Why did Bismarck make these amendments?
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1.15 the Battle of Sedan, 1870
As the slightly chill autumnal mist lifted over the fields of Sedan, in northeastern France, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was able to take advantage of a
superb vantage point in a forest clearing to witness his moment of triumph.
The Prussian monarch was joined by his leading generals and his political
strategist Otto von Bismarck, flanked by a glittering array of German princes.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield they surveyed, the circumstances of the French
Emperor could hardly have been more different. Appalled by the carnage visited
upon his countrymen, Napoleon personally ordered the raising of a white flag.
This was the most significant battle of the Franco-Prussian War, culminating in
the armies of Emperor Napoleon III, under the military command of Marshal
MacMahon, laying down their arms to Prussia’s Third Army. The emperor
was taken into captivity at Wilhelmslöhe. More than 100,000 French soldiers
were taken prisoner amid the final collapse of the Napoleonic regime. On 2
September Emperor Napoleon III’s capitulation was formally accepted. Finally,
on 3 September the French troops watched through driving rain as their
emperor, followed by his extensive wagon train, rode off into captivity. The
Prussian victory had been comprehensively sealed and the moment of German
unification was almost at hand.
1.16 the Peace Treaty of Frankfurt am Main
The humiliation of France was completed with the signing of the Peace of
Frankfurt signed by Bismarck for Germany and by Jules Favre the French
Foreign Minister.
On 10 May the two countries concluded a treaty in which France ceded
Alsace (except Belfort) and German Lorraine, including the fortresses of Metz
and Strasburg. In addition, France was obliged to pay a war debt of 5,000
million francs, starting with 1,000 million francs in 1871. The final indignity
was that France was also subject to military occupation.
Alsace and Lorraine had passed from the Holy Roman Empire to France
during the seventeenth century. Following the victory at Sedan Bismarck
fuelled demands through the press for the cession of these two strategic areas
to Germany. Bismarck played on the fact that a German dialect was spoken
in Alsace and a section of Lorraine but there is no doubt that he was more
interested in the military and strategic implications of securing the salient in
the certainty of future French hostility. A subdued France had to accept the
surrender of one-third of Lorraine and the whole of Alsace. France retained
the fortress at Belfort but did agree to pay an indemnity totalling 5,000 million
francs, with 1,000 million due in 1871 and the rest within three years. It was
agreed that the payments would be accompanied by the progressive withdrawal
of the troops of German occupation. To the surprise of many observers France
paid the indemnity in full by 1873 and all occupying troops were withdrawn.
18
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To the immediate signs of French recovery Bismarck added his concern that
fear of Prussian strength could lead to an overwhelming alliance against the
new Germany.
In the words of Richard J. Evans:
The new country had been formed ‘not by an act of free will on the part
of its citizens’ but rather by a ‘revolution from above’. It was forged in the
heat of battle, and imposed by force. It was incomplete, excluding many
ethnic Germans from its boundaries, and it was divided, including many
people of other nationalities as well as different confessions, classes and
regional groups.24
Lothar Gall states that:
what is often referred to even today simply as Bismarck’s creation turned
out to have been one of the shortest-lived political creations of all time
. . . Bismarck achieved only a very limited measure of control over his
creation and over the problems and trends of development inherent
in it . . . He ultimately found himself in many respects faced with a
situation that was insoluble for him on his terms. In the end, perhaps like
every major actor on the stage of history, he was really no more than a
sorcerer’s apprentice.25
the creation of the German nation
0333_987101_04_Ch1.indd 19
19
28/9/07 6:11:53 pm
inde
x
Abeken, Heinrich (1809–72; German
theologian) 16
Abyssinia (1935) 238, 255
Adenauer, Konrad (1876–1967; Chancellor in GFR
1949–63) 328, 335–7
Adorno, Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund (1903–69;
German sociologist and philosopher) 125
AEG 102
Aehrenthal, Alois, Count von (1854–1912;
Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister 1906–
12) 86
Afghanistan 346
Agenda 2000 351
Agrarian League 64, 71
Albert, King of the Belgians (1875–1934) 111
Albertini, Luigi (historian) 98
Alexander III (1845–94; Tsar of Russia
1881–94) 58
Algeciras Conference 83
‘Alliance System’ 48
Allied Control Council 325
Alsace-Lorraine 16, 18, 21, 51, 73, 101, 130
Aly, Gotz (historian) 193
Andrássy, Gyula, Count (1823–90; AustroHungarian Foreign Minister 1871–79) 55
Andropov, Yuri (1914–84; Soviet leader
1982–84) 342
Anglo-German Naval Pact (1935) 242, 255, 257
Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902) 84
Anglo-Russian Entente 85
Anschluss with Austria (1938) 225, 238, 279,
283
anti-Marxism 234
anti-semitism 141, 217–34, 270, 299
appeasement 252
Ardennes 285
Attlee, Clement Richard (1883–1967; British Prime
Minister 1945–51) 325
Augustenburg, Prince Frederick of (1831–1917) 6
Auschwitz-Birkenau 291, 297, 315, 318, 341
Austria 1, 3, 6, 233
and the war with Prussia 2 (map), 11–14
annexation of 236
Austrian Freedom Party 347
Austro-Hungarian Empire 85, 97
Austro-Prussian military alliance 7
Austro-Russian Entente 86
autobahn (motorway) system 196, 241
Auxiliary Service Act (1916) 117
Baader, Andreas (1943–77) 339
Baader-Meinhof Gang 339
Babi Yar (Ukraine) 297
Baden, Grand Duchy of 14–15, 21, 46
Bad Godesberg 253, 256
Bad Kissingen 42
Bad Wiessee 182
Baggett, Blaine (historian) 106
Baldwin, Stanley (1867–1947; British Prime
Minister 1923–29, 1935–37) 254
Balkan Crisis 101
Balkans 53–5, 57, 60, 80, 85, 120, 269
Baltic States 263
Bamberger, Ludwig (1823–99; radical leader and
economist) 34
Barkai, Avraham (historian) 222
Bartov, Omer (historian) 299
BASF 29
Basic Law (1949) 331
Battle of the Atlantic 277
Battle of Britain 269
Battle of Kursk 286
Battle of Viaz’ma-Briansk 274
Bauer, Gustav (1871–1944; Chancellor in Weimar
Republic 1919–20) 141
Baumer, Gertrud (1873–1954; German politician
and feminist) 125
Bavaria, Kingdom of 14, 15, 21, 23, 220
Bavarian Democratic and Socialist Republic 127
Bavarian Farmers’ League 25
362
0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 362
28/9/07 6:13:03 pm
Bavarian Franconia 21
Bayer 29
Bebel, August (1840–1913; co-founder of Social
Democratic Workers’ Party) 24
Beck, Ludwig van (1880–1944; Chief of Army
General Staff 1935–38) 210, 264, 272
Beer-Hall Putsch 144, 148
Belsen 323
Belzec 315
Benedek 12, 13, 14
Benedetti, Count Vincent (1817–1900; French
Ambassador in Berlin) 15–17
Benz, Carl Friedrich (1844–1929) 29–30
Berchtesgaden 251, 253, 255–6
Berchtold, Leopold, Count von (1863–1942;
Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister
1912–15) 95, 98
Berghann, Volker (historian) 75, 95
Berlin 32–3, 222
Berlin-Grunewald 37
blockade of (1948–49) 332
Congress of (1878–9)
Wall 334, 343
Berliner Post 52
Bernstorff, Albrecht, Count von (1809–73; Prussian
Foreign Minister 1861) 9
Bessel, Richard (historian) 105–6, 118, 242, 246
Bethmann-Hollweg, Theobald von (1865–1921;
Imperial Chancellor 1909–17) 72–4, 79,
89–3, 95, 98–100, 104, 106, 122
Betinck, Count 78
Biarritz 10
Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto, Prince von (1815–98;
Prussian Minister-President and Imperial
Chancellor 1871–90) 26–8, 34–7, 43–5, 47,
61, 126, 342
and Gastein convention (1865) 9
‘blood and iron’ 5, 21
and Schleswig-Holstein 7
and unification 4–5
and War with Austria and War with Denmark and War with France 16
Bismarck, Herbert, Count von (1849–1904;
diplomat and son of Prince Otto) 28, 46, 336,
Bizonia 326
Blackbourn, David (historian) 5, 9, 26, 42, 59, 67
‘Black Hand’ gang 93
Black September 339
‘blank cheque’ 95
Blitzkreig 266, 269, 276, 295
Blomberg, Werner von (1878–1946; commanderin-chief of Wehrmacht 1933–38) 33, 182–3,
207, 228, 239, 240, 244, 246, 250
Blomberg–Fritsch Crisis 249–50
‘bloodless purge’ (1934) 250
Bolsheviks 120, 121
bomb plot against Hitler (1944) 294
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich (1906–45; Protestant
pastor) 202, 211
Bonn 33
book burnings 189, 221
Bormann, Martin (1900–45; head of Nazi Party
Chancellery 1941–45) 281, 288, 290–2
Bosch (engineering company) 65
Bosnia-Herzegovina 86
Boxer Rebellion 82
boycott of Jewish shops (1933) 220
Brandenburg Gate 345
Brandt, Willy (1913–92; Chancellor in GFR 1969–
74) 328, 338, 340, 345
Brauchitsch, Walter von (1881–1948; Commanderin-Chief of army 1938–41) 276
Braun, Eva (1910–45; mistress and later wife of
Hitler) 288–9, 291–2
Breitman, Richard (historian) 313
Bremen 33
Brenner Pass 239
Breslau 220, 229
Brest-Litovsk 121, 122, 273
Treaty of (1918) 120
Breuilly, John (historian) 10
Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich (1906–82; Soviet leader
1964–82) 334, 342
Briand, Aristide (1862–1932; French Foreign
Minister [several terms]) 152, 155
British Expeditionary Force 111
Brockdorff-Rantzau, Count Ulrich (1869–1928) 135
Broszat, Martin (historian) 298
Browning, Christopher (historian) 298
Brüning, Heinrich von (1885–1970; Chancellor in
Weimar Republic 1930–32) 141, 160, 165–6
Bucholz, Arden (historian) 7, 12
Bülow, Berhard, Baron von (1849–1929; Imperial
Chancellor 1900–09) 71–3, 80–1, 83, 86, 112
Bundesrat in North German Confederation 15
Bundesrat of German Empire 23, 44
Bundestag 327, 331
Burckhardt, Carl 263
Burgfriede 104
Burleigh, Michael (historian) 193
Bush, George Walker (1946–; US President
2001–) 346
Caprivi, Georg Leo, Count von (1831–99; Imperial
Chancellor 1890–94) 63–4, 70
Carr, William (historian) 9, 14, 25, 40, 59, 72, 81,
102, 110, 221, 228, 334, 336, 338
Carsten, Francis (historian) 211
Catholicism and Catholics 21–2, 24, 36, 40, 41,
202–4
Caucasus 276
oilfields in 276
Centre Party 24–5, 28, 36, 41, 42, 71, 161, 180–1
Chamberlain, Austen (1863–1937; British Foreign
Secretary 1924–29) 152
index
0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 363
363
28/9/07 6:13:05 pm
Chamberlain, Neville (1869–1940; British Prime
Minister 1937–40) 252–61, 263
Chancellery of the Führer (KDF) 205
Chelmno (Poland) 297, 298, 315
Chernenko 342
Chickering, Roger (historian) 118
Childers, Thomas (historian) 166
Chlum, Heights of 13
Christian Democrats (CDU) 327–8
Christian of Glucksburg 6
Christian Social Union (CSU) 328
Christian IX of Schleswig-Holstein (1863–1906;
King of Denmark 1863–1906) 8
Churchill, Sir Winston (1874–1965; British prime
minister 1940–45, 1951–55) 258, 269, 323–5,
329
Clark, Christopher (historian) 63
Clemenceau, Georges (1841–1929; French prime
minister 1906–09, 1917–20) 134–7
Cold War 329
Cologne 32, 220
Colonies 56–57
‘Committee of Three’ 288
concentration camps 201, 206–7
Conrad von Hotzendorff, Franz, Count (1852–
1925; chief of Austrian General Staff 1906–
11) 95, 98
Congress of Berlin (1878) 54
Conti, Dr 205
Craig, Gordon (historian) 5, 13, 16, 45, 58, 73,
75, 109
Crimean War (1854–56) 10, 55
Cuno, Wilhelm (1876–1933; Chancellor in Weimar
Republic 1922–23) 141
Custova, Battle of 12
Czechoslovakia 136, 232–3, 239, 247, 256,
259–60, 265
Dachau 180, 208, 229, 231, 312
Daily Mail 241
Daily Telegraph 72
Daimler-Benz Corporation 29
Daladier, Edouard (1884–1970; French Prime
Minister [several terms]) 253, 261
Daleuge, Karl 312
Danzig 130, 136–7, 260, 264, 323
Das Schwarze Korps 303
Davies, Joseph Edward (1876–1958; US ambassador
to Soviet Union 1936–38) 326
Dawes Plan (1924) 151
Dawidowicz, Lucy (historian) 298
De Gaulle, Charles (1890–1970; French soldier
and patriot [later President of France 1959–
69]) 285, 338
denazification 324, 325
Denmark
Kingdom of 268
war with 5
364
Der Angriff 217
de-Stasification 348
Deutchsland Uber Alles 105
Diels, Rudolf (1900–57; Gestapo leader 1933–
34) 179, 312
Disney, Walter Elias (1901–66; US film
producer 189
Disraeli, Benjamin, Lord Beaconsfield (1804–81;
British Prime Minister 1868, 1874–80) 52
Dockrill, Michael (historian) 323, 325
Dogger Bank Incident (1904) 82
Dohm, Hedwig 23
Dolfuss, Engelbert (1892–1934; Austrian
Chancellor 1932–4) 238
Dönitz, Karl (1891–1980; Commander-in-Chief of
navy 1943–5) 289
Dortmund 33
Dresden 32, 38, 220, 282
Dresden General Health Insurance Company 39
Dreikaiserbund see Three Emperors’ League
Drexler, Anton (1884–1942; Nazi political leader of
1920s) 145
Dual Monarchy 86, 96
Duff Cooper, Alfred (1890–1954; British
diplomat) 254
Duisberg, Carl 125
Dukes, Jack 62
Durand-Viel, Admiral 243
Dusseldorf Industry Club 162
Eastern Front 116, 119
Ebert, Friedrich (1871–1925; president of Weimar
Republic 1919–25) 12–8, 141
Ebert–Groener Pact 128
Economic Union 25
Edward VII, King (1841–1910) 101
Egelfing-Haar 205
Eichmann, Adolf (1906–1962; high-ranking
Nazi) 308
Eidelweiss Pirates 209
Einsatzgruppen 297, 299, 303–5, 309
Einstein, Albert (1879–1955; German
physicist) 125, 229
Eisenhower, Dwight David (1890–1969; US
president 1953–61) 284
Eisner, Kurt (1867–1919; Bavarian Prime Minister
1918–19) 127, 129
El Alamein 285
Elbe, River 325
Elser,Johann Georg (1903–45; German opponent of
Nazism) 210, 250
Emmich, General von 111
Ems Telegram 15–17
Enabling Law (1933) 173, 180–1
Ensslin, Gudrun (1940–77; member of Red Army
faction) 339
Entente Cordiale (1904) 82–84
Epstein, Klaus 79
mastering modern German history
0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 364
28/9/07 6:13:07 pm
Equalisation of Burdens Law (1952) 335
Erhard, Ludwig (1897–1977; German Chancellor
1963–66) 328, 335
Ernst, Karl (1904–34; SA leader) 178
Erzberger, Matthias (1875–1921; Centre Party
politician) 138, 153
Essen 33
Eternal Jew, The (exhibition) 225
Ethiopia 243
Eulenburg, Philip, Prince of (1847–1921; German
diplomat) 68, 89
Eupen-Malmédy 130
Euro currency 347
European Alliance system 84
European Defence Community (EDC) 336
Evans, Richard (historian) 13, 19, 21, 40–1, 300
Falkenhayn, Erich von (1861–1922; Prussian War
Minister and Chief of General Staff
1914–16) 100, 111, 113, 115, 117, 120
Farben, I. G. (German dyestuff corporation) 156,
158, 317
Farmers’ League 25
Favre, Jules Claude Gabriel (1809–80; French
Foreign Minister 1870–71) 18
Feder, Gottfried (1883–1941; early member of
NSDAP) 146
Federal Republic of Germany (GFR) 331,
Fehrenbach, Konstantin (1852–1926; Chancellor of
Weimar Republic 1920–1) 141
Fergusson, Niall (historian) 85, 116–17
Fest, Joachim (historian) 142, 220
Feuchtwanger, Edgar (historian) 60, 76
Final Solution 205, 222, 290, 295, 316, 319
First Moroccan Crisis (1905) 83–4
Fischer, Conan (historian) 129
Fischer, Fritz (historian) 79, 87, 92, 94, 99–100,
121
Fischer, Joseph Martin ‘Joschka’ (1948–; German
foreign minister 1988–2005) 345
Flehinger, Arthur, Dr 226
Flick industrial empire 341
Foch, Ferdinand (1851–1929; Marshal of France
1918) 122
Fourteen Points 133
Four Year Plan 199–200, 242, 262
France 48, 52, 267
war with Prussia 3, 15–19, 51
Franco, General Francisco (1892–1975; Spanish
head of state 1939–75) 245
Franco-Prussian War 176
Franco-Russian Alliance (1892) 50, 51, 57,
84
Franco-Russian Entente 50, 84
Frank, Hans (1900–46; Nazi governor in Poland
1939–45) 266
Frankfurt 14, 33
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 341
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke (1863–1914; heir to
Franz Joseph) 93, 100
Franz Joseph (1848–1916; Emperor of Austria and
King of Hungary) 51, 86, 94–5
Free Conservative Party 24–5, 31
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 328
Freethinking Party 25
Freethinking People’s Party 25
Freethinking Union 25
Frei, Norbert (historian) 218
Freikorps 128–9, 138
Freisler, Roland (1895–1945; president of people’s
court 220, 229, 291
Frick, Wilhelm (1877–1946); Nazi Minister of the
Interior 173, 175, 221, 230, 312–14
Friedeburg, Hans-Georg von (1893–1945;
commander of U boats 1943–45) 289
Friedlander, Saul (historian) 219, 222–3, 225
Friedrich III 45, 60,
Friedrich VII 6, 8
Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1795–1861; King of Prussia
1840–61) 25–7
Frieser, Karl-Heinz (historian) 267
Fritsch, Werner, Freiharr von (1880–1939;
Commander-in-Chief of army 1934–8) 207,
228, 246, 249
Froeschwiller-Woerth, Battle of 15
Fulbrook, Mary (historian) 37, 344
Fulton, Missouri (USA) 329
Gall, Lothar (historian) 5, 13, 19, 43, 52, 59
Gamelin, Maurice Gustave (1872–1958; French
general) 243
Gastein Convention (1865) 9
General Union of German Workers 24
Genscher, Hans-Dietrich (1927–; German Foreign
Minister, GFR) 345
George V (1865–1936; King of the UK
1910–36) 101
Gerlach, Christian (historian) 306
German Communist Party (KPD) 128, 162–3,
166, 171, 179, 181, 202, 211, 327
German Confederation 1, 2 (map), 3, 6, 8
German Conservative Party 24–5, 43, 91
German constitution 22–4
‘Germany’s Aims in the First World War’ 79
German Democratic Republic (GDR) 333
German Empire, creation of 3 (map), 20
German Labour Party (DAF) 181,196
German Nationalists (DNVP) 159
German Paediatric Society (1883) 66
German People’s Party (DVP) 153, 161
German Protestant Association 21
German Revolution 1918–19 126
German Workers’ Party (DAP) 145, 146
Gersdorff, Rudolf von, General (1905–80; German
military officer) 289
Gestapo 190, 204, 209, 211, 249, 312–13
index
0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 365
365
28/9/07 6:13:08 pm
Geyer, Michael (historian) 244
Gilbert, Martin (historian) 221
Glasnost 342
Goebbels, Josef (1897–1945; Nazi propaganda
minister) 158, 162, 165–9, 177–8, 180, 182,
185–8, 196, 213, 220, 223, 226–9, 231, 250,
279–80, 293–4, 319
Goerdeler, Carl (1884–1945; Mayor of
Leipzig) 210
Goering, Hermann ((1893–1946) Nazi leader 147,
173, 175, 177–8, 180, 182, 198, 200, 225,
227–8, 235, 240–2, 244, 246, 248–50, 262, 269,
288, 292, 297–8, 312, 321, 324
Goldhagen, Daniel (historian) 232, 300
Gollwittzer, Heinz 34
Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich (1931–; Soviet
leader 1985–91) 341–2
Gramont 16
Grand Alliance 325
‘Great Crash’ (1873) 28
Great Depression 156
‘Greater German solution’ 3
Green Party 328, 341, 349
Grey, Sir Edward (1862–1933; British Foreign
Secretary) 83, 98
Griff Nach der Weltmacht (Grasping at world
power) 94
Groener, Wilhelm (1867–1939; soldier and
politician) 127, 128, 166
Gropius, Walter Adolph Georg (1883–1969;
German architect) 125
Grotewohl,Otto (1894–1964; East German
politician) 333
Grynszpan, Hershel (1921–?; Jewish political
assassin) 227, 232
Guardian, The (newspaper) 323
Guderian, General 291
Habermas, Jürgen (1929–; German
philosopher 341
Habsburg Monarchy 1
Haffner, Sebastian (historian) 29
Haldane, Richard (1856–1928; British War
Minister) 62
Halder, Franz (1884–1972; chief of army general
staff 1938–42) 271, 277, 305
Halifax, Edward Wood, Lord (1881–1959; British
Foreign Secretary) 253, 263
Hamburg 32–3, 44, 283, 290
cholera outbreak in (1892) 33
Hamburger Fremdenblatt 105
Hamburgische Correspondent 107
Hammerstein, Kurt von (1878–1943; Commanderin-Chief of army 1930–4) 172
Hankey, Colonel Sir Maurice (1877–1963; British
civil servant) 135
Hanover 8, 11, 14
Harnath, Arvid and Mildred 209
366
Harvard University 330
Haymerle 55
Helgoland (German cruiser) 126
Helmholtz, Herman von 20
Henderson, N. 255
Hess, Rudolf (1894–1987; Hitler’s deputy) 221,
324
Hesse-Darmstadt, grand duchy of 14
Hesse-Cassel, electorate of 11, 14
Hesse, Prince Philip of 283
Heydrich, Reinhard (1904–42; head of
Reichssicherheitshauptamt) 201, 227, 271,
281, 297–8, 303, 306–7, 309–13
Hilberg, Raul (historian) 298
Hilderbrand, Claus (historian) 10
Himmler, Heinrich (1900–45; Reichsfuhrer
SS) 171–2, 180, 182, 201, 208, 216, 227, 250,
271–2, 288, 290–1, 297, 305, 309–15, 321,
324
Hindenburg, Oskar von Beneckendorf und (soldier
and son of president) 172–3
Hindenburg, Paul von Beneckendorf, field marshal
(1847–1934; President of Weimar Republic
1925–34) 73, 115, 117, 120, 125, 127, 132,
160–1, 165–6, 171–5, 183–4, 215, 239
Hindenburg Programme 117
Historikerstreit 341
Hitler, Adolf (1889–1945; Führer and Chancellor of
Third Reich 1933–45) 126, 140–1, 156, 167,
171–2
anti-semitism 217–31
becomes Chancellor 165–9
destruction of Germany 322
domestic policy 175–215
electoral appeal 159, 162–4
foreign policy 234–63
Holocaust 296–318
Munich Putsch 147–9
origins of political ideology 140–3
rise to leadership of National Socialist
Party 144–6
. Second World War 265–92
Hitler Youth 190, 209–10, 279, 292
Hödel, Max 42
Hoess, Rudolf (1900–47; commandant of
Auschwitz) 316
Hoffman, General 121
Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst, Chlodwig (1819–1901;
Imperial Chancellor 1894–1900) 70–1, 76
Holocaust, the 288, 296–321
Holstein, Duchy of 6, 130
Holstein, Friedrich von (1837–1909; Foreign Office
official) 63, 83, 89
Holy Roman Empire 1, 18
Home Front 116
Honecker, Erich (1912–94; GDR leader 1976–
89) 334, 341, 343, 344
Hore-Belisha 253
mastering modern German history
0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 366
28/9/07 6:13:10 pm
Horne, John, historian 111
Hossbach, Friedrich (1894–1980; German colonel,
adjutant) 246–8
Hossbach Conference (1937) 245–9
Hossbach Memorandum 248
Hugenberg, Alfred (1865–1951; leader of German
Nationalists 1928–33) 156, 159, 172
Hull, Isobel (historian) 63, 66, 83
Hussein, Saddam (1937–2006; president of Iraq
1979–2003) 351
Huttschin 130
Independent Socialists (USPD) 127
Isabella II (1830–1904; Queen of Spain 1836–
68) 15
Italy 238, 243, 245, 254, 284
alliance with Prussia 10
Jameson, L. (1853–1917), Jameson Raid 81
Japan 254, 277
Jarausch, Konrad (historian) 100
Jehovah’s Witnesses 201, 229
Jesuits 41
Jewish Question 146
Jodl, Alfred (1901–46; chief of operations
OKW) 268, 295, 305
Johnson, Eric (historian) 223, 225
Joll, James (historian) 104, 109
‘July Crisis’ 73, 92, 94, 98, 100
‘July Plot’ 210, 294
Jutland, Battle of 113
Kaiser, David (historian) 80
Kamer, Alan (historian) 111
Kapp, Wolfgang (1858–1922; instigator of Kapp
Putsch) 138
Karageorgevich family 86
Keitel, Wilhelm (1882–1946; chief of OKW) 236,
250–1, 288, 324
Kellogg, Frank Billings (1856–1937; US Secretary of
State 1925–29) 155
Kellogg–Briand Pact (1928) 155
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917–63; US President
1961–63) 337
Kennedy, Paul (historian) 49, 103, 109–10
Keppler 171
Kerensky, Alexander (1881–70; Russian Prime
Minister 1917) 121
Kershaw, Ian (historian) 206, 219, 221, 234
Khrushchev, Nikita (1894–1971; Soviet leader
1953–64) 336, 337
Kiao-Chow 80
Kiderlen-Wachter, Alfred von (1852–1912; Imperial
Foreign Minister 1910–13) 90
Kiel 33, 126,
Kiel Canal 91
Kiesinger, Kurt (1904–; Chancellor of GFR 1966–
69) 338
Klemperer, Victor (1881–1960; Jewish
journalist) 224
Kluck, Alexander von (1846–1934; Prussian
general) 111
Knox, MacGregor (historian) 284
Kohl, Helmut (1930–; Chancellor of GFR
1982–98) 328, 340, 344–5, 349–50
Koller, Ernst von (1841–1928; Prussian Minister of
Interior) 70–1
Kollwitz, Käthe (1867–1945; German artist) 125
Kölnische Zeitung 52
Königgrätz, Battle of (1866) 12–13, 176
Königsberg 33
Königswarder 12
Kraft durch Freude 197
Kreisau Circle 210
Kremmer, Johann, Dr (1883–1965; German
doctor) 317
Krenz, Egon (1937–; GDR politician) 344
Kruger telegram 81
Krupp, Alfred (1812–87; steelmaster) 96, 102
Kubis, Jan (1913–42; Czech soldier) 310
Kulturkampf 21–2, 28, 40, 52
Kursk, Battle of (1943) 286–7
(Kyoto Agreement 346
Lafontaine, Oskar (1943–; Chairman of Social
Democratic Party 1995–99) 345, 350
Lammers, Hans (Nazi general) 288
Lander 333
Landerkammer 333
Landsberg, Otto (1869–1957; Socialist
minister) 149
Lassalle, Ferdinand (1825–64; Socialist) 24
Lauenburg, duchy of 8, 9
Law against the Overcrowding of German
Schools 221
Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased
Offspring 221, 230–1
Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased
Offspring 194
Law for the Protection of German Blood 223, 232
Law for the Reduction of Unemployment 193
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil
Service 221, 230
Law on Malicious Gossip 212
League of Air Sports 241
League of Nations 133, 150, 154–5, 238
League of Red Front-Line Fighters 210
Lebensraum 142, 234, 236, 271
Lehrter 45
Leibermann, Max (1847–1935; German
painter) 125
Leipzig 32, 311
Lenin, Vladimir Illich (1870–1924; Russian
statesman) 120–1, 151, 275
Leningrad 274, 276
Lentin, Anthony (historian) 135
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0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 367
367
28/9/07 6:13:12 pm
Leo XIII (Pope 1878–1903) 42
Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
(prince) 15–17
Lerman, Katherine (historian) 34, 60
Level of Industry Agreement 326
Ley, Robert (1890–1945; Nazi labour leader) 196
‘Liberal Era’ 35
Liberal Union 25
Libertas 209
Lidice 311
Liebknecht, Karl (1871–1919; Spartacist
leader) 128
Liebknecht, Wilhelm (1825–1900; co-founder of
Social Democratic Workers’ Party) 24
Lipstadt, Deborah (historian) 224
Lithuania 130, 260, 263
‘Little German’ Solution 3
Litvinov, Maxim (1876–1952; Russian Commissar
for Foreign Affairs) 262
Lloyd George, David (1863–1945; British Prime
Minister) 90, 135, 151
Locarno Pact/Conference (1925) 152, 154, 243
Lodz 297, 303
Loewenberg, Peter (historian) 227
London Conference 139
Longerich, Peter (historian) 205, 304–5
Losener, Bernhard (1890–1952) 223, 231
Lubbe, Marinus van der (1910–34; Dutch
arsonist) 179–80
Lübeck 32
Ludendorff, Erich (1865–1937; army Quartermaster
General 1916–18) 73, 109, 115, 117, 120, 123,
127, 132, 138, 148-9, 176
Luftwaffe 198, 200, 236, 264–5, 269
Lusitania 113
Luther, Hans (1879–1962; chancellor of Weimar
Republic 1925–26) 141
Luther, Martin (1483–1546; Protestant
reformer) 202
Luxemburg, Rosa (1870–1919; Polish-born
Marxist) 128
MacMahon, Patrice de (1808–93; French President
1873–79) 18
Madagascar plan 296, 304, 309
Maidanek 315
Mallmann, Klaus-Michael (historian) 208
Manchuria 82, 255
Mann, Thomas (1875–1955; writer) 105
Mansion House Dinner (1911) 90, 125
Marks, Sally (historian) 135
Marshall, George C. (1880–1959; US soldier) 330
Marshall Plan 329
Marx, Karl (1818–83; Communist theorist) 51
Marx, Wilhelm (1863–1946; chancellor in Weimar
Republic) 141
Masella-Aloisi, Gaetano (1826–1902; papal nuncio
in Munich) 42
368
Masurian Lakes (1914–15) 115
Mawdsley, Ewan (historian) 287
Max, Prince of Baden (1867–1929; Imperial
Chancellor 1918) 127
May Laws 28, 41
Mayer, Arno (historian) 299
Mefo Bill 242
Meinhof, Ulrike (1934–76) 339
Mein Kampf 142–3, 149, 218, 227, 236–7, 250,
315
Meisner, Otto (1909–92; German diplomat) 167,
171
Memel 130
Memelland 260
Merkel, Angela (1954–; Chancellor of Germany
2005–) 328, 350–2
Miklas, Wilhelm (1872–1956; Austrian President
1928–38) 238
military budget (1874) 36
Military Service Act 231
Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and
Propaganda 186
Miquel, Johannes von (1828–1901; National Liberal
leader and Prussian Finance Minister) 70–1
Modrow, Hans (1928–; SED politician) 345
Molotov,Viacheslav (1890–1986; Soviet Foreign
Minister 1939–49, 1953–56) 262, 271
Moltke, Helmuth, Count von (1800–91; Chief of
Prussian General Staff 1858–91) 6, 7, 10–13
Moltke, Helmuth, Count von (1848–1916; Chief of
Prussian General Staff 1906–14 and nephew
of James) 91, 92, 97, 98, 99, 100, 111, 112,
114–15
Moltke, Helmuth James Count von (1907–45;
founder of Kreisau Circle and descendant of
Molotov) 210–11
Mommsen, Hans 298,
Mommsen, Wolfgang 41, 92
Montgomery,Bernard, Viscount (1887–1977;
British field marshal) 285
Moroccan Crisis (1911) 79
Müller, Admiral George Alexander von (1854–
1940) 92–3, 104, 108
Müller, Hermann (1876–1931; Chancellor in the
Weimar Republic 1920, 1928–30) 141, 160
Müller, Klaus-Jürgen (historian) 194, 242
Munich 32, 129, 222
Conference (1938) 239, 253, 260
Putsch (1923) 147
Mussolini, Benito (1883–1945; Italian
dictator) 204, 238–9, 243, 253–4, 261, 264,
269, 283
Nachod, Battle of 12
Napoleon III (1808–73; Emperor of the French
1852-70) 10, 15, 18
Nassau, principality of 14
National Democratic Party (NDP) 338
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0333_987101_20_Indx.indd 368
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National Liberal Party 24-25, 152,
National Liberals 31, 35–6, 41, 43, 327
National Socialist German Workers Party
(NSDAP) 162–3, 169
National Socialists 129, 327
National Socialist Women’s Section (NSF) 192
naval race 87, 91
Navy League 152
Nazi euthanasia programme 205
Nazi–Soviet Pact 266
Near-Eastern crisis 53-4
Neuhaus, Agnes (1854–1944) 125
Neurath, Konstantin, Freiherr von (1873–1956;
Foreign Minister 1932–38) 228, 239, 244–6,
249
New Forum 343
Niemoller, Martin (1892–1984; Protestant
pastor) 202–3
‘Night of the Long Knives’ 185, 212
Nikolsburg, Preliminary Peace of (1866) 13
Noakes, J. and Pridham, G. (historians) 270
Nobiling, Karl (1848–78; German anarchist) 43
Nolte, Ernst (1923–; German historian and
philosopher) 341
Normandy landings 284–5
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 332
North German Confederation 2 (map), 14, 16
North German Plain 163
Norway 268
Nuremberg Laws (1935) 222–3, 225
Nuremberg Rally 231, 255
Nuremberg Trials 171 186, 189, 235, 246–8, 297,
324
Oder–Western Neisse line 326
O’Dochartaigh, Pol (historian) 334–5, 345
Olympic Games (Berlin,1936) 224, 232
Open Door Policy 165
Operation Anthropoid 310
Operation Barbarossa 271–2, 318
Operation Citadel 286
Operation Sea-Lion 269
Operation Typhoon 274
Orlando, Vittorio (1860–1952; Italian Prime
Minister 1917–19) 135
Otto-Peters, Louise (1819–1895; founder of
German Women’s Movement) 23
Ottoman Empire (Turkey) 85
Overy, Richard (historian) 263, 270, 286
Pact of Steel (1939) 239, 264, 283
Padfield, Peter (historian) 311
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) 339
Pan-German League 94
Pan-Slavism 57
Panther, German cruiser 90
Papen, Franz, Freiherr von (1879–1969; Chancellor
in Weimar Republic 1932) 141, 160, 166–72,
252
Paris Conference (1919) 140
Pasewalk 142, 145
Pastors’ Emergency League 202
Paul, Gerhard (historian) 208
Paulus, Friedrich, Field Marshal (1890–1957) 277,
285
Peace of Frankfurt am Main 16, 18, 37
Pearl Harbor 277
‘People’s War’ (Volkskreig) 112
Perestroika 342
Peukert, Detlev (historian) 217
Pflanze, Otto (historian) 54
Pieck, Wilhelm (1876–1960; president of GDR
1949–60) 333
Pipes, Richard (historian) 120
Pius IX (Pope 1846–78) 41–2
Pius XI (Pope 1922–39) 232
Plebiscite Campaign (1934) 185, 212
Plotzensee Prison 211
Poincaré, Raymond (1860–1934; French Prime
Minister, various terms) 96, 132
Poland 41, 43, 63, 120, 232–3, 265, 270
Poliakov, Leon (historian) 297
Polish Corridor 261
Polish independence 261
Poncet, François (1887–1978; French politician and
diplomat) 258
Port Arthur 80
Potsdam 323–4, 326–7
war council 79, 91
Prague, Peace of (1866) 13
Princip, Gavrilo 93
Progressive Party 24–5, 36, 41, 43
Prokhorovka 287
Protestantism, Protestants 21, 202
Prussia 1, 3, 4, 6
Prussian army 7
Prussian Landtag 41
Prussian Poland 21
Prussian Westphalia 21
Puttkamer, Johanna von (1824–94; wife of
Bismarck) 27
Quisling, Vidkun (1887–1945; Norwegian
fascist) 268
Raeder, Erich Johann Albert (1876–1960; German
admiral) 246, 268
railways 30–1
Rastenburg 293–4
Rath, Ernst von (1909–1938; German
diplomat) 227
Rathenau, Walther (1867–1922; industrialist,
Foreign Minister in Weimar Republic
1922) 94, 147, 153
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28/9/07 6:13:15 pm
rearmament 197, 241
recession (1937) 246
Red Army 288
Red Army Faction 339
‘Red Election’ (1912) 22
Red Flag, The 211
Red Orchestra 209
Rees, Lawrence (historian) 266
Reich Chamber of Architects 189
Reichsbank 31
Reichskristallnacht (1938) 226–7, 232, 300
Reichstag 31, 35–6, 41, 44, 54, 104, 129, 139, 141,
149, 162, 243, 265, 269, 300
fire 177–81, 220, 250
in North German Confederation 15
of German Empire 23
Reichswehr 129, 138, 145, 166, 170, 182, 184, 239,
241
Reinsurance Treaty (1887) 28, 49, 58
Reitlinger, Gerald (historian) 298
Remak, Joachim (historian) 62
Rentenmark 140, 153
Reparations Commission 139
Resettlement Department 304
Retallack, James (historian) 46, 63
reunification (of Germany) 342
Rhineland 21, 130, 139, 279
Pact 154
reoccupation of 243–6, 255
Ribbentrop, Joachim von (1893–1946; Nazi Foreign
Minister 1938–45) 171–2, 242, 244, 255,
262
Riefenstahl, Helene Bertha Amalie ‘Leni’
(1902–2003; German film director) 189, 324
Ritter, Gerhard (historian) 110
Robson, Stuart (historian) 62
Rock, William (historian) 256
Rohl, John (historian) 46, 63, 66, 69–70, 76, 92,
100
Rohm, Ernst (1887–1934; SA leader) 146, 172,
181–5
Rome–Berlin Axis 239
Romer, ‘Beppo’ 211
Rommel, Erwin, Field Marshal (1891–1944) 285
Roon, Albrecht, Count von (1893–1979; Prussian
War Minister 1959–73) 6, 26
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882–1945; US
president 1933–45) 323
Rosenberg, Alfred (1893–1946; Nazi
theorist) 146, 149
Ruhr 33, 130, 139–40, 153–4, 159, 214
occupation of 147, 153
Russell, W. H. (1821–1907; British journalist) 12
Russia 20
Saar 136
Saarland 33, 130, 137, 139
Sachsenhausen 202
370
Sakharov, Andrei (1921–1989; Soviet
physicist) 342
Salomon, Alice (1872–1948; German
feminist) 125
Sammlungspolitik 71
Samoan Islands 80
Samsonov, Aleksander Vasilyevich (1859–1914;
Russian general) 115
San Stefano Treaty 53–4
Sarajevo 93
Saxony 8, 11, 12, 33
Scandanavia 267
Schacht, Hjalmar (1877–1970; financial
expert) 228, 242
Schauble, Wolfgang (1942–; Minister of
Interior) 349
Scheidemann, Philipp (1865–1939; Chancellor in
Weimar Republic 1919) 127, 129, 141
Schenkel, Daniel (1813–85; Swiss theologian) 21–
2
Scheubner-Richter, Ludwig Maximilian Erwin
von (1884–1923; early member of Nazi
Party) 149
Schiller, Karl (1911–94; federal Finance
Minister) 339
Schleicher, Kurt von (1882–1934; Chancellor in
Weimar Republic 1932) 160–1, 166, 169–72,
184, 240–1
Schleswig 6, 130
Schleswig-Holstein, duchy of 5, 8–9, 14, 21, 109,
163–5
Schlieffen, Alfred, Count von (1833–1913; Chief of
Army General Staff 1891–1906) 98, 109
Schlieffen Plan 109
Schliemann, Heinrich (1822–90; archaeologist) 74
Schmidt, Helmut (1918–; Chancellor of GFR 1974–
82) 328, 339–41
Scholl, Hans (1918–43) and Sophie (1921–43;
members of White Rose Resistance) 210
Schröder, Gerhard (1944–; German Chancellor
1998–2005) 328, 346, 349–51
Schroeder, Kurt von 171
Schulze-Boyen, Harro 209
Schumacher, Kurt (1895–1953; SPD leader 1946–
53) 327
Schuschnigg, Kurt (1897–1977; Austrian
Chancellor 1934–38) 238, 251–2
Schutzstaffel 312 see also SS
Schwarz, Meier (historian) 227
Second Moroccan Crisis 89–91
Second World War 265–95
Secret Service (SD) 281
Sedan, Battle of (1870) 15, 18, 30, 49
Seldte, Franz (1882–1947; founder of
Stahlhelm) 159
Serbia 86, 94, 96
Seyss-Inquart, Arthur (Nazi official) 251–2
Shirer, William (historian) 243
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Shore, Zachary (historian) 244
Showalter, Dennis (historian) 10
Siege Laws (1871) 104
Siemens (engineering company) 65, 102
Siemens, Werner von (1816–92; industrialist) 29
Silesia 21, 265
Simplicissimus 105
Sixth German Army 277
Skalitz, Battle of 12
Sobibor 315
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) 22,
24–5, 38, 42, 91, 161, 171, 180, 202, 211–12
Social Democratic Workers’ Party 24
Socialist Unity Party (SED) 327
Socialist Youth League 107
Socialists 36, 43, 63
social welfare legislation 36
Somme, Battle of the (1916) 116, 117, 122
SOPADE (SPD in exile) 213–14
South Africa 81
South Tyrol 136
Spanish Civil War (1936–39) 245
Spanish-American War (1898) 80
Spartacists 127–8
Speer, Albert (1905–81; Nazi minister of munitions
and armament) 186, 189, 197, 213, 290, 293
Spicheren, Battle of 15
Spiegel, Der 338, 347
SS 226–28, 232, 250, 267, 287, 296, 309, 311,
314 see also Schutzstaffel
Stahlhelm 159
Stalin, Josef (1879–1953; Soviet leader
1941–53) 246, 261–2, 268, 272–3, 323, 325,
333
Stalingrad 276, 286–7
Stasi 343
Sterilisation Law 205
Stauffenberg, Claus von (1907–44; German army
officer and bomb plotter) 294
Stoiber, Edmund (1941–; German
politician) 350–1
Storm Detachments (SA) 146–7, 166–7, 181–2,
226, 240
Strasser, Gregor (1892–1934; prominent
Nazi) 163, 169–71, 181
Streicher, Julius (prominent Nazi) 147, 217, 220
Streit, Christian (historian) 299
Stresa 239
Stresemann, Gustav (1878–1929; Foreign Minister
in Weimar Republic) 125, 141, 150, 152–3,
156, 159, 336
Stuart-Wortley, Edward (1857–1934; English
soldier) 72
Subversion Bill (1894) 71
Sudetenland 252–3, 256–7, 261
Supreme War Office 117
Surkov, Alexsei (Russian poet) 276
Sussex Pledge 113
swing groups 209
Syllabus errorum of 1864 40
Tannenberg, Battle of (1914) 115, 176
Tariff Act (1879) 64
Taylor, A. J. P. (historian) 10, 132
Taylor Thesis 248
Thalman, Ernst (1886–1944; communist
leader) 161, 166
Theatre Law 189
Third Reich 215
Thompson, A. J. (historian) 132
Three Emperors’ Agreement 28
Three Emperors’ Alliance (1881) 55–6
Three Emperors’ League (1873) 28, 51, 53–4, 56
Thuringer, German cruiser 126
Tirpitz, Alfred von (1849–1930; Imperial Secretary
of State for Navy) 87, 91, 113
Tooze, Adam (historian) 195,197, 240, 244
Trautenau, Battle of (1866) 12
Treaty of Alliance (1939) 264
Treaty of Brussels (1948) 331
Treaty of London (1852) 8, 98
Treaty of Neutrality (1926) 262
Treaty of Rapallo (1922) 140, 151
Treaty of Vienna (1864) 8
Treblinka 297, 315
Tripartite Pact (1940) 277
Triple Alliance (1882) 28, 51, 56–8, 84, 86, 94
Triple Entente (1907) 81, 85–6, 89
Trittin, Jurgen (1954–; federal Minister for the
Environment 1998–2005) 350
Triumph of the Will 189, 324
Trotsky, Leon (1879–1940; Russian
revolutionary) 120–1
Truman Doctrine 329
Truman, Harry S (1884–1972; US president 1945–
53) 325
Turkey 53–4
‘turnip winter’ 118
Twain, Mark (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835–
1910; US writer) 20
Ukraine 264, 273–4
Ulam, Adam B. (historian) 121
Ulbricht, Walter (1893–1973; communist leader in
GDR) 327, 333–4, 337
Ulm 31
Unification Treaty 345
USA 274
Upper Silesia 33, 139
Vatican Council (1870) 40
Venetia 10
Verdun 113
Versailles 120, 129, 138
Treaty (1919) 130, 136, 139, 150, 152, 241–2,
250, 254
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Vichy 269
Vienna peace settlement 1, 2 (map)
Vogel, Hans-Jochen (1881–1945; German
politician) 341
Völkischer Beobachter 146
Volksempfanger 189,196
Volksgemeinschaft 196, 214, 218
Volkskammer 333, 345
Volkswagen (VW; car) 196–7
Wagner, Walter (?–1945, notary) 223
Waldersee, Alfred, Count von (1832–1904;
Chief of Army General Staff 1888–91) 71,
82
Wall Street Crash 155–6, 158, 160
Wannsee Conference (1942) 297, 299, 306–7,
311, 320
War Food Office 116
‘War in Sight’ Crisis (1875) 28, 52, 53,
War with Austria (1866)
Warsaw 291, 304
Pact (1955) 332, 336
Weber, Max (1864–1920; sociologist) 207
Wehler, Hanz-Ulrich (historian) 4, 14, 34,
69–70
Wehrmacht 250, 260, 267, 287
Weimar Republic (1919–23) 125
Weizsacker, Ernst Freiherr von (1882–1951;
Secretary of State, Foreign Office 1938–
45) 262
Wels, Otto (1873-1939; socialist politician) 180
Weltpolitik 69, 79–80
Western Front 111
White Rose (resistance group) 210
Wilhelm I (1861–88; King of Prussia and German
Emperor 1871–88) 4, 7, 10, 13, 14, 18, 25–28,
44–5, 48, 60
Wilhelm II (1888–1918; King of Prussia and
372
German Emperor 1888–1918) 28, 45–6, 60,
67, 78, 104, 111–12, 113, 117, 123, 127, 132,
141
Wilhelmine Germany 62, 126
Wilhelmine New Course 58
Wilhelmshaven 126
Wilmot, Eric (historian) 31
Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924; US President
1913–21) 113, 114, 132–3, 135–6, 153
Windthorst, Ludwig (1812-91; Centre Party
leader) 41
Winter Help 196
Winter Olympics (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) 224
Winter, Jay (historian) 103, 106
Wirth, Joseph (1879–1956; Chancellor in Weimar
Republic 1921–2) 139, 141
Wissembourg 15
Wohltat, Helmut (head of Four-Year Plan) 262
Wolf ’s Lair 288, 289, 291, 294
Württemburg 14, 15, 21
Wyneken, Gustav (1875–1964; educational
reformer) 75
Yalta 323–5
Yangtze Agreement 82
Yergin, Daniel (historian) 323
Yom Kippur War (1973) 339
Young German Order 209
Young, Owen (1874–1962; US banker), Young Plan
(1929) 155, 156, 159, 161
Zabern incident (1913) 73–4
Zegota 297
Ziemann, Benjamin (writer) 109
Zollverein 1, 4, 14, 31, 35
Zollparlament 14
Zuber, Terence (historian) 110
Zuchmayer, Carl (writer) 105
Zyklon B 317
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