Transcript Unification of Germany

Zollverein, 1834
The
Germanic
Confederation
Kaiser Wilhelm I
Helmut von Moltke
• 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.
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
Realpolitik
Junker
The “Iron
Chancellor”
“Blood
&
Iron”
Step #1:
The Danish
War
[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
Step #4: Ems Dispatch [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France protested & his name was withdrawn.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.
Step #5: Franco-Prussian War
[1870-1871]
German soldiers “abusing”
the French.
Step #4: Franco-Prussian War
[1870-1871]
Bismarck & Napoleon III After Sedan
Treaty of Frankfurt [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].
Coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm I
[r. 1871–1888]
Prussian Junkers Swear Their Allegiance to
the Kaiser
German
Imperial Flag
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
Kaiser Wilhelm II [r. 1888-1918]
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
Kaiser Wilhelm II
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.
“Dropping
the
Pilot”
[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-)