THE GERMAN EMPIRE
Unification of
Germany
HOW LIBERAL WAS THE
GERMAN EMPIRE UNDER
BISMARCK?
1871- 1890
CONSTITUTION OF 1871: LIBERALISM
AND ABSOLUTISM
 Constitution was federal - individual states had self determination
 Local liberal regimes
 New Germany was not a version of Prussia - new national
currency, national weights and measures and all customs
barriers were eliminated
 National railway, a German business laws but no National Flag
(until 1891)
 Major political party - The National Liberal Party - main supporters
of Bismarck (Reichstag)
CONSTITUTION OF 1871: LIBERALISM
AND ABSOLUTISM
 Reichstag- universal male suf frage
 Wide electorate- means political parties must campaign for
votes
 Voting was done for all non - military elements of the budget
 Policies were debated
 There was importance in having a supportive Reichstag - it
demonstrates to foreign countries that the government
represents Germany
CONSTITUTION OF 1871: LIBERALISM
AND ABSOLUTISM
 Less liberal aspects- some come from the constitution itself,
some from developments after it was created
 Lack of Reichstag control over military issues - no elected
representatives had any say regarding military control/budget
 After 1871 the army and its of ficers became increasingly
separate and independent…and yet military values became
widespread
 Military parades, perpetual planning for wars, adoption of
military dress by all executive members, even Bismarck
WHAT DO YOU SEE…WHAT DON’T YOU SEE?
PRUSSIA AND THE BUNDESRAT
 The upper house- The Bundesrat had 43 seats- Prussia had 17
of them- always giving them the upper hand in votes
 Emperor was Prussian
 Army was led by Prussian generals
 Administration of Germany was Prussian
 Chancellor was Prussian
 The Prussian parliament sat in Berlin separate from the
Reichstag (it was also set up in an estates system)
PRUSSIAN AND THE BUNDESRAT
 Reichstag deputies were allowed to speak freely
 Were allowed to vote and discuss direct tax issues - however
there was almost no need for direct taxes due to the amount of
revenue from customs
 Reichstag structure was a semi circle
 At the front sat Bismarck and the ministers who were not part of
political parties
 1874 the Reichstag even passed a law imprisoning Newspaper
editors who published sensitive information - contradictory to
liberalism
THE DEBATES
 Bismarck’s parliament was a meaningless pretence that eroded
respect for genuine liberal values
 Bismarck’s parliament was a perfect example for the 19 th
century - open to new ideas, parliamentary debate was enjoyed
and encouraged by all, universal suffrage and the social reforms
of the 1880s
 Veiled form of monarchical absolutism or the fig leaf of
absolutism
 Liberal and progressive forces outside Prussia actually flourished
(more people voted in Germany than in Britain), Bismarck spent
a lot of time building majorities in the Reichstag for it to only be
a “fig leaf”
REGARDLESS…
 After 1871- distinctive German culture
 Economic development
 Technological development
 Military Power
 Increasingly Illiberal elements
POLITICAL CHANGE UNDER BISMARCK
 1870 The Centre (Zentrum) Party - Catholic- founded by a
lawyer from Hanover who had a strong dislike of Bismarck
(Hanover was annexed in 1866)
 The Centre party name does not reflect their beliefs - their
seating position was central in the Reichstag
 Any developments in Italy and Germany that were seen as in
opposition to the church and the Pope were stressed
 1864 Syllabus of Errors
 1870 Papal Infallibility
KULTURKAMPF
SYLLABUS OF ERRORS
 The following are errors:
 3. Human reason, without any reference whatsoever to God, is
the sole arbiter of truth and falsehood, and of good and evil;
it is law to itself, and suf fices, by its natural force, to secure
the welfare of men and of nations
 18) That Protestantism is nothing more than another form of
the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to
please God equally as in the Catholic Church
 67) That by the law of nature the marriage tie is not
indissoluble, and [that] in many cases, divorce, properly so
called, may be pronounced by the civil authority.
THE KULTURKAMPF
 Biggest struggle (politically) in the 1870s was between
Prussia and the Catholic Church
 ‘struggle of cultures’ - Catholic tradition versus liberal
modernisation
 1860’s- laws in limiting the church’s role and power in
education
 German Catholics rejected the Pope’s doctrine of papal
infallibility
 Bismarck decided to lend his support to this movement….why?
BISMARCK’S MOTIVATION
1 . Closer relationship between Liberals and Bismarck - side with
the liberals to gain their support
2. Genuine fears that German unity was threatened by the pope
and loyalty of Catholics to the pope
See source next slide:
SOURCE A:
 The Roman Catholic clergy is national in all other lands. Only
Germany is an exception. The Polish clergy align with the
Polish national cause, the Italian clergy to the Italian national
cause. Only in Germany is there a particular phenomenon that
the clergy has a more international character. The Catholic
church even when it obstructs the development of Germany is
closer to the heart of the clergy than the development of the
German Empire.
Speech given to the Reichstag by Bismarck, 10 Feb. 1872
BISMARCK’S MOTIVATION
 A .J.P. Taylor (that guy again) - Bismarck was determined to strangle the
“Centre in the Cradle”
 As much about politics as it is about religion - could the Centre become
a focus for all discontent in the Reich
 1 871 Bismarck appointed an anti -clerical liberal Adalber t Falk was
Prussian Minister of Religion - the May Laws of 1 873
-
Inspectors in schools
Priest’s education was now the responsibility of the state
Tribunal of ecclesiastical af fairs
Veto of clerical appointments
1 874 loss of priests’ endowments
Jesuits expelled
Civil marriage was compulsor y
EFFECTS OF KULTURKAMPF
 2412 Catholic Clergy were arrested/imprisoned
 Poles in Prussia, French speakers in Alsace and Lorraine were
forced to accept German as the language in schools
 Bismarck’s conservative allies were disgusted at this attack brought Liberals and Bismark closer
 Centre Party actually grew in size - 61 seats to 95 seats in
1874
HOMEWORK
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The Socialists
Changes in Politics
Repression and its failure
Reforms intended to reduce the appeal of socialism
 Please read 181- 186
 Make detailed notes about German Socialism and Bismarck’s
reaction and possible motivation behind his reaction.