Transcript The rise of German nationalism

The Rise of German
Nationalism
1830s-1870s
The Unification of Germany
• This is a map of the German Confederation,
which was established in 1815 and survived
until 1867.
Allies of nationalism
• The educated middle-class had become important to
German society. They were the doctors, lawyers and
business men, who helped make the German states
prosperous. Across all 39 states, this middle-class
wanted more rights and freedoms as German subjects to
reflect their contribution to German states' success.
• They wanted freedom of speech and an elected
parliament that would represent their interests.
• They thought these ideals would best be realised and
protected in a united Germany with a new constitution.
• By 1859, groups of doctors, lawyers, teachers and
businessmen formed the Nationalverein. This
organisation became the Liberal Party, which actively
campaigned for reforms such as parliamentary elections.
Economic nationalism
• Industrialisation was gaining pace in Germany. Businessmen
wanted to increase the markets available for their goods to
maximise profits. Most existing trade was between the 39
states but developing this was hampered by tariff barriers. A
single Germany without so many taxes and tariffs would help
trade and increase prosperity.
• In 1818 Prussia, the largest and most powerful German state,
scrapped its trade tariffs between its own territories.
• The following year, it offered an economic alliance (Zollverein)
with similar trade concessions to other German states.
• By 1836, 25 other German states had joined this economic
alliance. Prussia developed its road and rail networks to
maximise trade opportunities. This economic co-operation
was so successful it made people think of political union.
The opponents of nationalism
1) Austria
• The Austrian empire was extremely powerful in Europe
and was competing politically and economically with the
39 German states. German nationalism might lead to
unification of the states. This would make them stronger
and more of a threat to Austria.
• 20 % of the people in the Austrian empire were German.
The Austrian Emperor feared nationalism might make
them want to break away and join Germany. This would
leave Austria weaker and cause other national groups in
the Empire to demand their independence.
The opponents of nationalism
2) German Princes
• Many princes feared that if the German states
were unified they would lose power and
influence over their own territories.
• If the German states were unified, there could
only be one person in charge. Prussia, as the
dominant state, would be the prime candidate.
3) France and Russia
• These countries feared that a strong, united
Germany would be a political, economic and
military rival to them.
Political turmoil in Germany
• Throughout the 1840s many German states
were under pressure from nationalist and liberal
demonstrators wanting greater political
representation and reform. The reformers
recognised that a unified Germany with popular
elections and a constitution would be the best
way of guaranteeing political freedoms.
• German monarchs, such as Prussia's King
Frederick William IV, feared that if Germany
were to be united according to the demands of
the nationalists they would lose power and
influence in their territories.
A Prussian parliament
• Despite being a staunch opponent of
popular democracy and written
constitutions, the King of Prussia was
forced in 1848 to draft a Prussian
constitution and to allow an elected
parliament to meet and advise him.
• He agreed to this after witnessing
increasing civil unrest on the streets of
Prussia's capital city, Berlin.
The Frankfurt Parliament of 1848
• After widespread revolts, not only across
the 39 states but also across many other
European nations such as France, a
Parliament was called to discuss reforms
and attempt to draft a constitution for a
unified Germany.
• This was seen as being the best way of
stopping the political unrest.
A German constitution
• The constitution was completed in March 1849.
This would unite the German states as a
German Empire headed by a German Emperor.
• Government would be provided by an elected
parliament that represented the populations of
all 39 states.
• This new German Empire would replace the
existing Bund.
• The Crown was offered to Prussia's Frederick
William IV.
Victory for the old order
• Frederick William refused to accept the crown because it
had not been offered by the other German Princes,
stating that he would not "accept a crown from the
gutter".
• By late 1849, the movement for political reform had lost
its impetus and the German Princes and the Austrian
Emperor were able to regain control of politics in their
territories.
• After the failure of the Frankfurt Parliament, Prussia put
forward a plan to unify the German states under
Prussian control. The question was whether a united
Germany should contain Austria (Grossdeutschland) or
leave it out (Kleindeutschland).
Total victory for the old order
• The Prussians, as rivals of Austria, argued for
Austria's exclusion.
• The Austrians refused to agree with the Prussian
plan since it would eliminate their influence in
German affairs. The Austrians persuaded the
Bund's Federal Diet to threaten sanctions
against Prussia.
• In 1850, with Russians supporting Austria, the
Prussians backed down.
• Another attempt at a unified Germany had failed.
Austria and Prussia
• During the early 19th century, Prussia was the
only German state that could match the power
and influence of the Austrian Empire.
• They were comparable in terms of size,
population and wealth. Austria opposed the idea
of German unification as it saw this as a threat to
its own empire.
• Although they were a minority, there was a
significant percentage of German-speakers in
the empire. If they broke away to join a unified
Germany, Austria would be smaller and weaker.
To this end, Prussia and Austria were rivals.
Austria in decline
• Austria had lost key allies and was losing
influence in Europe.
• Austria had refused to help Russia in its war
against France and Britain (the Crimean War,
1854-56) and lost a major ally as a result.
• Austria was defeated in a war against the
French and northern Italian states. As a result, it
had been forced to surrender some territories.
Prussia strengthened
• Prussia had become the most industrialised
state in Germany. She was now a force to be
reckoned with in Europe.
• Prussia was producing more key resources such
as coal and iron than Austria and it had surged
ahead of its rival in building road and rail
networks to help promote trade.
• Prussia had successfully set up an economic
alliance (Zollverein) with other German states
that made trade between states easier and more
profitable.
Images of Bismarck
• Two images of Otto
Von Bismarck
Enter Otto
•
The man who did most to unite the German states
was Otto Von Bismarck. He was the Prussian
Chancellor and his main goal was to strengthen
even further the position of Prussia in Europe. His
primary aims were to:
i. unify the north German states under Prussian
control
ii. weaken Prussia's main rival, Austria, by removing it
from the Bund
iii. make Berlin the centre of German affairs - not
Vienna
iv. strengthen the position of the King of Prussia,
William I, to counter the demands for reform from
the Liberals in the Prussian parliament (the
Reichstag).
Bismarck’s early career
• In 1849, aged 34, he was elected to the Prussian Diet.
• He was reactionary, intensely monarchist and class
prejudiced and rejected the whole idea of Liberal
parliamentary government.
• Despising the middle-class Liberals in the Prussian
parliament, he made it clear that his only interest
was the power of the Prussian monarchy.
• In 1851 he was appointed Prussian representative to
the Bund, the Austrian-dominated German
Confederation, in Frankfurt.
• There he pursued an anti-Austrian line, relentlessly
emphasising Prussia as Austria’s equal.
Bismarck’s hour arrives
• In 1862, having been Prussian ambassador to
Russia and then France, Bismarck was recalled
in a moment of constitutional crisis, Bismarck
was made Minister-President (Prime Minister) on
September 25th, 1862, aged 47.
• The King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, having witnessed
French and Austrian troops fighting in 1859,
insisted that Prussia needed to modernise its
army.
• However, the liberal majority in Parliament
objected to the length of service in the army and
the high expense.
Iron and Blood
• Von Roon, the Minister for War, advised Wilhelm
to send for Bismarck as a political ‘hard man’ to
push through his desired reforms.
• When the parliament refused to authorise
Bismarck to collect the taxes, he ignored them
and ordered the increased taxes to be collected
anyway. In a famous speech to the parliament,
Bismarck explained his ideas:
“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…”
Congress of Princes, 1863
• To counter Prussia's growing influence, Austria tried
to strengthen its position in the Bund. A Congress of
Princes was to be hosted by Austria to revitalise the
Bund.
• Since it was in theory the leading member of the
Bund, an increase in the power of the Bund would
strengthen Austria.
• Although Wilhelm wanted to attend, Bismarck
blackmailed him into not attending, pointing out that
to go would be to confirm Austria’s supremacy.
Wilhelm surrendered and stayed at home.
• Bismarck further thwarted Austria's plans by
insisting on popular elections to the Diet (the Bund's
parliament).
• Bismarck had successfully ruined Austria's plans
and was seen, ironically, as a defender of the Liberal
nationalists.
Isolating Austria
• Bismarck knew Austria was a major
obstacle to unification. To succeed in his
aims war seemed inevitable. Before he
fought the powerful Austrian empire,
however, he needed to weaken its position
in Europe.
Austria’s isolation, cont’d
• Prussia refused to help Poland when it rebelled
against Russian control. Bismarck then formed a
powerful alliance with Russia.
• Bismarck then formed another key alliance with
France. In a meeting with Napoleon III, he
promised to support France in its plans to invade
and control Belgium.
• Bismarck also struck a deal with Italy. Italy
promised to help Prussia in any war against
Austria, providing Austria were the aggressor
and Italy gained Venezia in return.
Schleswig-Holstein
• Bismarck got his excuse for a war against
Austria during a territorial dispute over two small
German states, Schleswig and Holstein. These
were under the control of Denmark but not
technically a part of it.
• In 1863, the King of Denmark declared
Schleswig and Holstein to be a part of Denmark.
• In 1864, Prussia and Austria teamed up and
declared war on Denmark. They won easily.
Austro-Prussian war
• Bismarck then engineered a treaty with Austria (the
Treaty of Gastein) which he knew was unlikely to
work. Prussia was to control Schleswig and Austria
would control Holstein. This treaty was designed to
provoke, since Austrians would have to go through a
hostile Prussia to reach Holstein.
• The Austrians tried to use their influence in the
German Bund to pressure Prussia to address the
Schleswig-Hostein issue.
• The Bund backed Austria in the dispute over
Schleswig-Holstein.
• In response, Prussia said that the Bund was invalid,
declared war on Austria and invaded the German
states of Hanover, Hesse and Saxony. The Austrians
were quickly defeated by the Prussian army during
the Seven Weeks War, with the help of Italy.
Consequences of Austro-Prussian war
•
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Bismarck's plan to isolate Austria was working. As a result of
the Seven Weeks War:
Prussia kept all the territories it had captured. (See next
slide)
A North German Confederation was set up under the control
of Prussia. (See subsequent slide)
A federal Diet (parliament) was established for the states in
this North German Confederation. The Diet would be elected
and each state could keep its own laws and customs.
The southern German states formed their own independent
confederation.
Austria promised to stay out of German affairs.
Austria paid compensation to Prussia but did not lose land to
it. Prussia did not want to weaken Austria too much since it
might be a useful ally in the future against Prussia's enemies
Territory annexed by Prussia in 1866
North German Confederation 1867
Isolating France
• With Austria weakened, Bismarck now
turned his attention to the other great
stumbling block to unification - the French.
• France had watched Prussia's growing
power with alarm. As he had with Austria,
Bismarck tried to weaken France as much
as possible before war started.
The ‘national swindle’
• At the end of the Austro-Prussian war, France
demanded lands from Prussia as the price of her
neutrality.
• Bismarck was preparing for the North German
Confederation and explained to Napoleon III that he
could not grant German land to France as German
national feeling was running so high.
• In private, however, he spoke of the ‘national
swindle’: he was sceptical about the notion of a
German nation instead of separate states, seeing it
as a middle-class invention.
• In other words, his desire for a more united Germany
was dishonest, he was only using it as an excuse to
not weaken Prussia’s position, relative to France.
Isolating France, cont’d
• Officially, Russia was an ally of France but
Bismarck used diplomacy to make sure
Russia stayed out of the up-coming war.
• Bismarck also made sure Italy stayed
neutral and wouldn't fight for France.
• Bismarck gambled that the British would
stay out of the war since it didn't want
France to become any more powerful than
it already was.
Hohenzollern Candidature
• Bismarck found his excuse for war when Spain offered its
vacant crown to Leopold of Hohenzollern, a cousin of
Wilhelm I.
• France was outraged since it didn't want Prussia
becoming more powerful. The French insisted King
William make his relative refuse the crown. King William
refused to guarantee this.
• Bismarck used the King's refusal as a way to provoke the
French. He published a heavily edited and provocative
telegram, known as The Ems Telegram, of the King's
refusal, making it seem he had insulted the French
ambassador. The French Emperor, responding to fury
from the French press and public, declared war on
Prussia. In the Franco-Prussian war, France was heavily
defeated and its ruler, Napoleon III, was overthrown by a
French rebellion.
Victory
• In the build up to war, the southern confederate
German states voluntarily joined the Prussiancontrolled Northern German Confederation.
Germany was now unified.
• In the Treaty of Frankfurt, as a result of the
Franco-Prussian war France lost the territory of
Alsace-Lorraine on its border with Germany.
• It also had to pay Germany £200 million in
compensation. A new imperial constitution was
set up within the now unified German states,
with William I as Emperor (Kaiser) and Prussia
firmly in control.
The German Empire 1871
Summary of Bismarck’s
contribution to Unification
• Economic co-operation meant that unification
may have happened eventually anyway, but
Bismarck made sure that it happened.
• He made sure that the army reforms took place.
• He successfully isolated other countries by
making them look like aggressors.
• He made Prussia appear to be the defender of
the German states and protector of their rights.
Historiographical debate #1
Did Bismarck plan for war with France?
• The secret treaty he signed with the Southern
states came into effect in the event of mutual
danger- war with France was just such a danger.
• Recent elections in these southern states had
shown a resurgence of anti-Prussian feelingBismarck had motive to assert his control over
them quickly
• France had no allies at this stage- a situation
that was only likely to deteriorate with time as
they were negotiating with Austria
Historiographical debate #1
Did Bismarck plan for war with France?
• However, the NGC did not need the southern states- it
was an economic success and they would only increase
the religious tension between the mainly Protestant north
and the predominantly Catholic south.
• There was no guarantee that a war with France would be
brief- they had a reserve of nearly a million men and
much new equipment.
• Bismarck himself said,
“Arbitrary interference in the course of history has never
achieved anything but to shake down unripe fruit. That
German unity is not yet a ripe fruit is obvious.”
• Also, Bismarck had no way of knowing that the Spanish
throne would become an issue of contention at that time.
• Finally, he had been much distressed by the grim realities
of the Austrian war that had left thousands dead or
crippled.
So what do the historians say?
• A.J.P. Taylor, writing in 1958, said that the war came
about not because of plans, but because events overtook
them and they were forced to react (Hohenzollern at the
heart of this argument).
• D.G. Williamson (1998) attributes the war to short term
events- the appointment of the strongly anti-Prussian
Gramont as French foreign secretary and the
Hohenzollern Candidature being two central ones.
• Otto Pflanze (1963) has spoken of Bismarck having ‘a
strategy of alternatives’, having a number of different
possible paths and options and thus being able to
respond to developments. This replaced the idea of
Bismarck as having a master plan which many of his
early biographers had claimed.
• Bismarck himself cast doubts on any notion of a master
plan for unification when he said
“Man cannot create the current of events; he can only float
with it and steer.”
Historiographical debate #2
Was Bismarck alone responsible for unification?
• Quite simply, no.
• Firstly economic developments were important: ‘iron
and blood’ needed a vibrant industry to produce the
iron (railways and weapons), for the army to be able
to shed the blood
• Had Austria been slightly stronger the Zollverein
would not have happened- denying Prussia much of
the economic might on which its successes of the
1860s were built
• D. Blackbourn claims that
“Prussia was always likely to come out on top. Austria
not only had chronic financial problems and nonGerman distractions; it also lagged well behind
Prussia in economic development.”
Historiographical debate #2
Was Bismarck alone responsible for unification?
• Secondly, as noted at the beginning, German
nationalism was a growing force and was
certainly one that Bismarck made use of (quite
cynically if the ‘national swindle’ idea is to be
believed).
• In addition, the Prussian ‘war machine’ (initiated
by Von Roon and Wilhelm) gave Bismarck the
necessary means for success and
simultaneously rendered some of the smaller
states vulnerable/insecure enough to come
under Prussia’s auspices.
Historiographical debate #2
Was Bismarck alone responsible for unification?
• International developments were certainly
favourable to German unification.
• J. Breuilly (1996) points out that in the FrancoPrussian war, Britain and Russia were very
unlikely to intervene, Italy was anxious to secure
Venice; French policy was undone by the rapid
and unexpected Prussian military success and,
“any ordinary statesman in Berlin bent on war with
Austria would not have done significantly worse.”
Historiographical debate #2
Was Bismarck alone responsible for unification?
• The Zollverein is worthy of attention
• Was it merely a means to increase revenue or a
precursor to national unity?
• Historians are divided; Bohme argues that it gave
Prussia an important instrument of control over the
German states.
• Sheehan, however, suggests it was mainly an
instrument of taxation and was not an important
factor- in either economic or political terms.
• It certainly increased collaboration between states,
allowed them to see ‘common cause’ and was, of
course, a way of increasing Prussian influence at the
cost of Austria.
Versailles, 1871
• The new Emperor is on top of the steps. The figure in white stands
proudly surveying what he has achieved. It is Bismarck.