Germany Issue 1
Factors That Led to the
Growth of German
Nationalism 1815 – 1850
Higher History
By the end of this unit we will…
• Identify how cultural factors helped
the growth of Nationalism in Germany
between 1815 and 1850
• Identify how political factors helped
the growth of Nationalism in Germany
between 1815 and 1850
• Identify how economic factors helped
the growth of Nationalism in Germany
between 1815 and 1850
By the end of this unit I can
• Make a plan for an essay on the growth
of German Nationalism
• Produce this essay under exam
conditions
Typical Questions
Questions usually focus on a particular
reason/factor that helped to unify
Germany but you must discuss them all.
• How important were cultural factors in
the growth of national feeling in
Germany between 1815 and 1850?”
• “To what extent was there a real
growth in nationalism in Germany
between 1815 – 1850?”
Background
• There had never been a united
Germany, the area we now know as
Germany had been a loose
collection of 400+ states called
the Holy Roman Empire up to 1789
• At this time nationalism (the
desire for a united state) was
weak.
• However there were factors that
would draw these states together.
.
• .
There were various things that members
of the Holy Roman Empire had in
common…
• LANGUAGE: In 1815 there were strong pro –
German feelings as most people within the
borders of the old Holy Roman Empire spoke
German, this was a powerful unifying force.
• BORDERS: There were distinct boundaries
that separated Germany from other states
e.g. Russian Empire, France
• HISTORY: Members of the Holy Roman
Empire had along history of struggles with
neighbours such as France, which they were
proud of e.g. helped to defeat Napoleon.
Main Reasons for the Growth of German
Nationalism
•
Between 1815 and 1850 nationalistic
feeling began to grow within the Holy
Roman Empire
• There were several reasons for this;
1. Cultural Reasons (to do with heritage
and history)
2. Political Reasons (political advantages
of a united Germany)
3. Economic Reasons (to do with money)
Culture
• There was distinctive German literature – writers
such as German writer such as Hegel, Goethe and
Schiller recognised common German characteristics –
things that identified a person as German.
• There were German folk tales compiled and published
by the Brothers Grimm. The first collection of fairy
tales Children's and Household Tales was published
in 1812 and it contained more than 200 fairy tales.
• In the original published forms, Grimm's fairy tales
were very dark and violent aimed at adults as well as
children, very different to the lighter, modern
"Disney versions" of those tales – e.g. Snow White or
Hansel and Gretel.
• The music of Beethoven also helped to inspire the
German people, German music for Germans.
Cultural Nationalism - Analysis
FOR:
• The biggest cultural factor was
undoubtedly the German language which
did unite all German speaking people’s and
gave them an identity.
• Few Germans could read, simple German
folk tales by the Brothers Grimm were
important inspiring a feeling of being
German.
. The growing popularity of German
musicians and writers gave people a sense
of belonging – in other words, a national
identity was growing, especially among the
educated elite of the towns and cities..
Cultural Nationalism – Analysis
contd.
AGAINST:
• Historian Golo Mann questioned the importance of
cultural nationalism when he wrote that most
Germans ‘seldom looked up from the plough’.
• In other words most did not know about big
national issues or German culture
• Cultural nationalism, especially language, was a
factor in the growth of German nationalism but
perhaps not the most important due to the lack of
interest by most ordinary Germans.
Political Nationalism
• Political nationalism grew with the
spread of new ideas about Liberalism
and Nationalism.
• Nationalism was the desire of people
with a common national identity to have
their own country.
• Liberalism was the desire to have a
parliament, like Britain’s, where rulers
were elected by the people of the
country as opposed to being ruled by a
king alone
The Napoleonic Wars
1789-1815
•
•
Between 1800 and
1815 the divided
German states had
been easily conquered
by the French leader
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon merged the
hundreds of German
states into 38 larger
states called the
Confederation of the
Rhine.
• At first German nationalists were inspired by
the French Revolution’s ideas of liberty and
nationalism, they hoped the invading French
would free them too.
• By 1813 it became clear Napoleon was a
conqueror, the Germans united to force the
French out of Germany, this provoked strong
nationalist feelings.
• The German people felt when unified they
were stronger and were proud to have beaten
Napoleon
The Deutscher Bund
(German Confederation)
•
•
•
After Napoleon’s defeat, and the
expulsion of the French, ‘Germany’ was
reformed in 1815 into 39 states.
The Confederation of the Rhine was
replaced by the German Confederation
- The Deutscher Bund
Nationalists hoped that this ‘Bund’
would be the beginning of a single
united German state.
• In 1815 Austria was the
strongest mainland
European power but new
ideas like liberalism and
nationalism threatened the
unity of the Austrian
Empire.
• The man associated with
protecting the unity and
power of the Austrian
Empire was Prince
Metternich.
• He was totally against any
form of German unification
Student Societies and the
Carlsbad Decrees
• Feelings of a common German
identity had grown under the French
occupation.
• With a common enemy first
Napoleon and later Metternich,
many German students were
attracted to the idea of a stronger
and more united Germany.
• Inspired by their university
teachers many set up nationalist
societies or held nationalist
meetings.
• In 1817, conflict between
Metternich and the students
reached a peak at the festival
in Wartburg Saxony when a
life sized model of Metternich
was thrown onto a fire.
• Metternich was furious and
worried. If nationalist and
liberal ideas spread, Austria’s
power would be weakened.
• The result was the Carlsbad Decrees of
1819, which banned student societies
and censored nationalist newspapers.
• The following year the power of the
Bund Parliament was increased so that
soldiers could be ordered to stop the
spread of new ideas in any of the
German states.
Political Nationalism Analysis
FOR:
• Although strong nationalist feelings had been
stirred fighting napoleon & the French, German
nationalists were still weak.
AGAINST:
• The princes of each German state crushed the
nationalists once the war was over, they had no
interest in giving up their thrones in a united
Germany with only one king.
• After the German Confederation’s Carlsbad
Decrees it seemed as if political nationalism were
dead.
• Germans were forbidden to spread nationalist and
liberal ideas, it would be very difficult for political
nationalism to take hold
Economic Nationalism
Analysis
• We know that political nationalism was
virtually dead between 1820 and 1848,
suppressed by the Confederation & the
Carlsbad Decrees.
• We also know that cultural nationalism
inspired only a few better off Germans but to
most Germans it was not vital to their
everyday lives.
• However, economic nationalism had a much
greater positive effect on the lives of most
Germans and as a result was an important
factor in encouraging nationalist feeling.
• As Germany was divided into so many little states
moving goods across Germany could be a slow and
expensive business as each small state imposed its
own customs or taxes on goods passing through their
borders
• This added to the overall price making goods
expensive e.g. moving goods like coal from West
Prussia to East Prussia meant passing through 4 other
German states, each state added its own taxes or
duties which could eventually double the price!
• In 1815 Prussia was lucky that it had coal and iron,
the vital ingredients for an industrial revolution. To
encourage trade, Prussia formed a customs union in
1818 called the ZOLLVEREIN
• This meant members of the union would not have to
pay taxes on goods as they were transported from
one state to another.
• By the 1830s the customs union was
called the Zollverein.
• This meant no country in the Zollverein
would put heavy taxes on its member’s
goods which made goods cheaper and
encouraged people to buy more
• By 1836 25 German states were in the
Zollverein and getting richer on the
increased trade.
• Soon 38 German states were
in the Zollverein.
•Only one German state was excluded –
Prussia’s great rival for the domination
of Germany - Austria
•As a result, the German states began
to look to more nationalistic Prussia for
leadership.
•At the same time Austrian trade lost
out and the Austrian empire became
weaker, it was slowly losing the power
to tell the others what to do
•Increasingly Austria was pushed out of
Germany the Zollverein made Prussia
rich and powerful.
Economic - Analysis
• The Zollverein showed even the poorest
German the benefits a united Germany would
bring.
• The Zollverein brought German states
together, excluded Austria who hated
nationalism and increased the power of
Prussia.
• Without the Zollverein, Prussia would not
have had the muscle to defeat the power of
Austria.
• Historian William Carr has called the
Zollverein the, ‘mighty lever of German
unification’.
The Growth of Railways
• As trade between German
states increased, the rail
network grew.
• The new rail network centred
in Prussia.
• Just like in Britain railways
e.g. post, newspapers spread
ideas of liberalism &
nationalism.
Analysis: The Growth of Railways
• Railways did not only spread goods but
also broke down barriers between
states and spread the idea of
nationalism.
• As Germans travelled on the railways
new ideas spread more easily.
• Germans now realised they
had a lot in common and a
good reason for uniting,
trade and money
Topic Summary
There were four important factors for the growth of German
nationalism:
1. Cultural factors especially a common German language did
make Germans feel close to one another, as well as German
writers, music, a common history etc .
2. Political developments such as the defeat of Napoleon or
the German Bund gave Germans an example of how
powerful they could be if they united.
3. Economic factors such as the Zollverein gave Germans a
reason for co-operating as they made a profit from trade.
4. The growth of the railway system did bring Germans
closer together and spread ideas e.g. travel, post,
newspapers etc.