1834

The
Germanic
Confederation

• German Field Marshal.
• The chief of staff of the
Prussian Army
• One of the great strategists of the latter
19th century,
• creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field.

Realpolitik The “Iron
Chancellor”
“ Blood
&
Iron”
Junker

[1864]
The Peace of
Vienna

Step #2: Austro-Prussian War
[Seven Weeks’ War], 1866
Prussia
Austria

Step #3: Creation of the
Northern German Confederation,
1867
Shortly following the victory of
Prussia, Bismarck eliminated the
Austrian led German
Confederation.
He then established a new North
German Confederation which Prussia could control  Peace of Prague

[1870]:
Catalyst for War
1868 revolt in Spain.
Spanish leaders wanted
Prince Leopold von Hohenz.
[a cousin to the Kaiser & a
Catholic], as their new king.
France protested & his name was withdrawn.
The Fr. Ambassador asked the Kaiser at Ems to apologize to Nap. III for supporting Leopold.
Bismarck “doctored” the telegram from Wilhelm to the French Ambassador to make it seem as though the Kaiser had insulted Napoleon III.

[1870-1871]
German soldiers “abusing” the French.

[1870-1871]

Bismarck & Napoleon III After
Sedan

[1871]
The Second French Empire collapsed and was replaced by the Third French Empire.
The Italians took Rome and made it their capital.
Russia put warships in the Black Sea [in defiance of the 1856 Treaty of Paris that ended the Crimean War].
-------------------
France paid a huge indemnity and was occupied by German troops until it was paid.
France ceded Alsace-Lorraine to Germany [a region rich in iron deposits with a flourishing textile industry].

[r. 1871–1888]

German for “Empire.”

Political Upheavals:
Nationalism and Unification
• The German Empire, also known as the
Second Reich, was established.
First Reich = Holy Roman Empire
(800-1804)
- Second Reich = The German Empire
(1871-1918)
- Third Reich = Nazi Germany
(1933-1945)

Bismarck’s Kulturkampf( literally, "culture struggle” ) :
Anti-Catholic Program, 1871-78
Take education and marriage out of the hands of the clergy  civil marriages only recognized.
reducing the political and social influence of the Catholic
Church.
The Jesuits are expelled from Germany.
The education of Catholic priests would be under the supervision of the German government.

Bismarck's program backfired, as it energized the Catholics to become a political force

Policies adopted after Unification
• Immediately after unification, German economic and military power was equal to Great Britain and France.
• Social reforms from (1871-1912) established the most generous government-sponsored welfare programs of that time period:
- universal healthcare
- universal education
- unemployment insurance
- pensions for retired workers
sick leave / workman’s compensation
• Since the establishment of a unified Germany, the country has had one of the strongest economies in the world.

Jewish Emancipation
1871 German constitution consolidated the process of Jewish Emancipation
– Abolished restrictions on marriage, occupation, residence, and property
• Stock Market Crash of 1873 led to resurgence of anti-Semitism
• Theodor Herzel - Zionism

was the last German Emperor ( Kaiser ) and King of Prussia, ruling the German
Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918.
grandson of the British Queen Victoria launched Germany on a bellicose "New
Course’…an aggressive dangerous course!
” abdicated in November 1918, and fled to exile in the Netherlands.

[1890]

"New Course" in foreign affairs.
Italian cartoon (1915)

German Unification: Then and Now

German Unification (1989)

Germany (1949-1990)
East & West Germany (1949-1989) Unified Germany (1990-)