A Brief History of Humanity: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Chapter 36 The Unification of Germany
At the same stage of the liberation and unification of Italy, most of the German states were also united to form the German Empire.Some of the wars and other forces used to achieve political unity in Italy were used for the same purpose in Germany.We have seen that Italy achieved national unity and soon afterwards democracy; while Germany achieved national unity but not democracy.

[-]. Customs Union and Confederation
Unlike Italy, Germany already had a form of political unity in the Confederation at the beginning of 1848, and also formed a joint force in the customs union (Zollverein).

The German Confederation created by the Vienna Conference of the German Confederation is mainly a morphological union. Before 1848, the leader of the Federation was Austria, and Metternich served as the Prime Minister of Austria.Metternich did not want any union of German states that would give the German people a little freedom or democracy.

Under the weight of the revolution of 1848, the German Confederation recognized the Frankfurt Parliament, and in May 1848, the Parliament convened in Frankfurt.They reasoned that the parliament would establish a united and democratic government for the whole of Germany.It does have a good plan.The German states would join the Reich with a liberal constitution.The king of Prussia should assume the office of emperor.

Prussia and Austria By the spring of 1849, the Prussian king and some autocratic rulers had recovered from the revolutionary panic of 1848.They regained their confidence and swaggered up.The King of Prussia proudly refused the title of Kaiser offered to him by the Frankfurt Assembly.He said that if he had been invited by the princes, he would accept the leadership of Germany, but he did not want to accept a title of Kaiser from a democratic parliament, which he described as "from the gutter".

Some German princes promised to invite him, either in a democratic way or not, but Austria stood up to block it, and the national unification plan finally failed, or basically failed.

The German Confederation, the customs union, did not unify the German states, and it was not prepared to do so.It thinks it recognizes national character, but it maintains the old power of the princes.The Frankfurt Assembly sincerely wanted unity, and also hoped for a democratic government; but because the autocracy was too powerful, it failed.But some of the essential gains towards unification were all achieved through customs unions.The customs union regards the principles of good business and mutual benefit as the basis for cooperation, which is conducive to the development of commerce.So its views are very useful for the powerful class.

We have seen that customs unions allow free trade among members of the union.For many years before 1848, the customs union was going quite smoothly, so it was one of the powerful factors in the unification of the German state.

From peace to war, many German nobles and some conservatives were also aroused to national patriotism.They blamed the Frankfurt Parliament, which advocated democracy, for not establishing a strong nation-state, and regretted that the Prussian king was so humble and weak.They thought he should have had the guts to despise Austria and be the leader of Germany.

These patriots who demanded a fight stood in an important position after 1850.They advocated that all attempts to unify Germany must abandon democratic methods and use force.They felt that the king of Prussia was the most suitable emperor, and they hoped that he would change his mind, or that there would be a strong-willed king in Prussia.They described their plans as "more realistic".This will naturally involve more bloodshed.

[-]. Bismarck and his King

Soon after, the patriots of the main battle found a strongman among them-Bismarck.At about the same time, Prussia also had a King William I who suited his heart.

Bismarck Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), born of the powerful landowner class (Junkers) in Prussia, was the most famous conservative who rose from the Revolution of 1848.Born in the year of the Viennese Parliament, he received a university education and was famous at an early age because he had been a curmudgeon.Then he became a successful farmer and a Prussian patriot.

During the turbulent period of 1848-1849, Bismarck did not miss an opportunity to express his deep-rooted ideas, such as: absolutism is the best form of government; the Frankfurt Parliament is ignorant; If you want to unify, you must accept the decree of the gods from the king of Prussia, coupled with the joint efforts of the army, nobles, political machines, and Protestant state churches.

He believes that Germany will be unified, but must give up democracy under the leadership of Prussia.Germany must be "Prussianized".

Bismarck in Parliament Bismarck for several years (1851-1859) represented the King of Prussia in the German Confederation's Parliament.He worked with some representatives in Parliament to suppress liberalism.His vehement dislike of Austria was reinforced in Parliament.He gained valuable experience, and with coolness and wisdom retained Prussia's equal status with Austria in the Commonwealth.

In Russia and France, Bismarck was sent to St. Petersburg as the Prussian envoy to Russia in 1859. He admired the tsarist autocratic system and made a lot of efforts to strengthen the close relationship between Russia and Prussia starting from Friedrich the Great. In 1862, he was commissioned to go to Paris, met Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III), and made an accurate judgment on the complex character of this man.

That same year, Bismarck was summoned back to Berlin to become Prime Minister of Prussia.As chancellor from 1862 to 1890, he expanded the territory of Prussia, established the German Empire, and instituted many policies.Most policies lead Germany until 1918.

Before William I of Prussia became Prime Minister of Prussia before Bismarck, the king of Prussia, who had lost his great chance in 1848-1849, died.His younger brother William succeeded to the throne in 1861.William I was conservative, religious, and firmly believed that his royal power was granted by God.He had a strong will and a penchant for military affairs, both of which were very much like Friedrich the Great and some of the eighteenth-century Hohenzollern kings.William I was not a man of talent, but he was honest and honest, and he had absolute confidence in his ministers.

This was just the kind of king Bismarck and his party wanted.

[-]. Bismarck and his country

His policies in Prussia One of the first things Bismarck did when he became Prime Minister of Prussia was to support King William's idea of ​​creating a Prussian army.Bismarck understood that a strong and well-trained army could become a strong support for an autocratic system and a powerful tool for the unification of Germany led by Prussia.

It so happened that the majority of the House of Representatives in the Prussian Parliament was a section of liberals who sympathized with the democratic will of 1848 and wanted a British-style constitutional government in Prussia.Fearful of militarism and eager to bring the king and his ministers under parliamentary control, they voted against the cost of the increase.

Bismarck was very angry. He said to the parliamentarians: "Germany does not rely on Prussian liberalism, but on its power... At present, major issues cannot be decided by speeches and more than half of the votes. It was 1848 and 1849. The disadvantages. Now it depends on iron and blood to decide!"

The MPs expressed dissatisfaction with this, and Bismarck began to levy taxes and increase troops without their nod.Members of Parliament expressed resistance to his high-handed tactics, so he blocked the newspaper and imprisoned the opposition.He knows that he has the support of the king and the army, so what is he afraid of?For four years thereafter, the constitution of 1850 became a dead letter in Prussia.

His foreign policy At a time when military service was widely implemented in Prussia, Bismarck formulated a foreign policy in response to the future Prussian-Prussian war that could vie for German leadership.Austria has shown that it cannot lead.It also stated that it is absolutely impossible to give up its leadership without a war.Bismarck carefully prepared a plan to bring Austria down.

In 1863, he helped the tsar suppress the Polish uprising, making the tsar aware of his obligation to repay Prussia.He fooled Napoleon III by suggesting that France would be "rewarded" for not interfering with Prussia's actions in Germany.

[-]. Iron and blood
The day of iron and blood will come soon.Bismarck fought three wars to create the German Empire.He is known in history as the "Iron Prime Minister" because of his war policy.

Danish War In 1864, under Bismarck's tactful leadership, Prussia took part in Austria's war against Denmark.The cause of the war was Schleswig-Holstein, that is, the two principalities in northwestern Germany, whose inhabitants are mainly Germans, but under the rule of the Danish king.

If this disputed land is divided according to national boundaries, the northern quarter inhabited by the Danes belongs to Denmark, and the southern three-quarters inhabited by the Germans belong to the German Confederation, then the problem will be easily resolved.However, the King of Denmark insisted that he would occupy all the land, and the German Confederation also expressed that he would not give up.As a result, Austria and Prussia, the two main German states, took the two duchies from Denmark by force.

The main consequence of the quarrelsome Prussian-Austrian-Danish war, as Bismarck had predicted, was the seizure of Schleswig-Holstein which immediately sparked another dispute between Prussia and Austria.Austria wished to make it an independent member of the German Confederation, Bismarck wished to annex it to Prussia.

After long and noisy negotiations, in June 1866 Bismarck proposed several proposals for a radical reform of the Confederation, one of which was the expulsion of Austria from the Confederation.At the same time, he also ordered the Prussian army to assemble and stand by.Austria just fell into the trap and immediately persuaded the smaller German states to unite with it and declare war on Prussia together to preserve the old form of the German Confederation.

The Seven Weeks War In June-July 1866, Prussia gained the upper hand thanks to a strong army equipped with new muskets and the wise leadership of King Wilhelm and Count von Moltke.In addition, it has the active help of Italy, which is also fighting hard to overthrow the power of Austria.

Prussia soon defeated the smaller German states, and on July 7, defeated Austria overwhelmingly at the bloody battle of Königlitz (Sadowa). In August, the two sides signed a peace treaty.Since then, Prussia has been able to manipulate Germany as it pleases.

A New Germany Over the next year or two, Bismarck reorganized Germany by: (1) dissolving the German Confederation in 1815; (2) cutting the Austrian Empire out of Germany and forcing it to The Venice area was ceded to Italy; (3) Prussia immediately annexed the two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, the Kingdom of Hanover, the Free City of Frankfurt and other areas.As a result, the previously separated territories of Prussia were connected, and the population increased by 450 million; (4) the remaining small German states north of the Main River formed a "North German Confederation" under the leadership of Prussia. "A close alliance.The King of Prussia was elected as the "head" of the new federation, and the Prussian military system was extended to all the allied states.In addition to continuing to serve as the prime minister of Prussia, Bismarck has now become the prime minister of the North German Confederation; (5) recognized the four German states south of the Main River, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden and Hesse, as independent states ; but they are closely linked with the North German Confederation through the trade relationship of the customs union and through the military defense alliance.

War with France From 1867 to 1870, Bismarck orchestrated an elaborate scheme to induce the southern German states into a voluntary political union with the north.He knew they did not trust Prussia and were afraid of France.Napoleon III, who sought "reward" for France after the Seven Weeks War, fell into Bismarck's trap.Bismarck gradually annoyed the French emperor with clever but underhanded diplomacy until, in July 1870, France finally declared war on Prussia.

At this time, the states in southern Germany were being stirred up by the wave of national patriotism, and joined forces with the Northern Federation to join Prussia's "defensive" war.

与法国的战争是激烈、短暂而具有决定性质的。发动战争的俾斯麦，再次获得了战争胜利者冯·毛奇的大力拥护。在1870年9月2日的色当大战中，拿破仑三世以及10万士兵都被俘虏了。1871年1月28日，巴黎在积极防守了127天以后，还是投降了德意志。俾斯麦现在可以随心所欲地创建德意志帝国了。

[-]. German Empire
The decisive victory of Bismarck's war machine over France in 1870-1871 was the final step that had to be taken so that Bismarck and Wilhelm I could jointly achieve German unification in addition to the German mainland, which of course did not include Austria.While the German army was still attacking Paris, the four southern states of Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, and Hesse were granted voluntary political union requests in time.The name of the joint was changed from "North German Confederation" to "German Empire"; on January 1870, 1, in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles in France, King William of Prussia, the German Emperor, was publicly announced.

The 1871 Treaty, ruthlessly imposed on France, brought the German Empire $10 billion in war reparations and Alsace-Lorraine in France.

Achievements of iron and blood What the Frankfurt Parliament could not obtain by relying on speeches and votes, Bismarck obtained through iron and blood through three struggles.With the defeat of Denmark in 1864, Austria in 1866, and France in 1870, the German Empire was finally established under the leadership of Prussia.But it does not include Austria or Switzerland, although both have some parts in the German region.

Imperial Constitution The formation of the new German Reich is somewhat similar to that of the North German Confederation.Because the empire is a federation, the states still maintain their own governments in charge of internal affairs.The largest and most powerful state in the empire, Prussia, still retained the undemocratic 1850 constitution.Among the 25 states, only a very small number of states have adopted a British-style parliamentary government in the true sense of the political system.

The Federal Assembly The Federal Assembly has the highest power in the empire, which is an institution formed by personal representatives appointed by the princes of the states of the empire.

The Imperial Assembly The Imperial Assembly, that is, the National Assembly, which is widely elected by the adult men of the country, is almost a debate meeting, because its resolutions may encounter opposition from the Federal Assembly at any time and cannot be put into practice.

The Emperor The King of Prussia was the Kaiser of Germany, a true despot.He appointed the Prime Minister of Prussia without consulting the Prussian Diet, and the Reich Chancellor without the advice of the Reichstag.

Chancellor Bismarck was Chancellor of the Reich and Chancellor of Prussia for many years (1871-1890).As Prime Minister, he presided over the Federal Parliament, started the legislation of the Imperial Parliament, and also dealt with the affairs of the Empire.As the Prime Minister of Prussia, he instructed the Prussian members of the Federal Assembly how to vote, and these votes were enough to reject every disarmament bill, or every tax cut bill, or every amendment to the Constitution.

It is impossible for the prime minister and some ministers of the emperor to be forced to leave their posts because of the parliament or the people.As long as the emperor believes in them, they can stay in office.The German imperial regime was very powerful, but not democratic.

German militarism, despite its lack of democracy, was very strong.In fact, Prussia's old admiration for force has gradually become the most precious tradition of the new empire.The new empire was created by militarism.The patriotic populace believed that only through militarism could the empire last and expand.

Effects on Europe The phenomenon of a country so well armed in peacetime is not unique. In five years, Germany, a model of militarism, was emulated by neighboring powers France, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Italy.When they expanded their armaments one after another, Germany used diplomatic means to prevent them from uniting against it.

The closely allied Germany feared that other nations would unite against it, and sought allies. In 1879 Bismarck concluded a close military alliance with Austria-Hungary, which developed into the Triple Alliance in 1882 with the addition of Italy.The Triple Alliance, which lasted until 1915, collapsed in World War I because the old feud between Italy and Austria was indeed too deep.

As long as Bismarck was in power (until 1890), Germany had the most friendly relations with Russia, as well as with Britain.However, because of German militarism and Bismarck's diplomacy, the entire period from 1871 to 1914 became the era of "armed peace".Armaments never decrease, but everywhere increase.National resentment is becoming more and more acute, and military expenditures are becoming larger and larger.

German paternalism Another important feature of the unified Germany is paternalism, that is, a policy that feels that the government must actively provide economic welfare to the people.Bismarck's paternalistic policies consisted of two aspects: (1) the consolidation of the federal national government; (2) the promotion of material prosperity for all classes of the nation.

The national government took over all the coinage, put the banking in order, and strengthened itself.It also improved the railway systems of several states to make them more adaptable to the rapid rule of the empire.It raised tariffs to protect German industry and agriculture, and at the same time received a lot of money as federal revenue.

In order to promote the material prosperity of the people, the government tried its best to implement the law of customs protection tax, and also formulated many social regulations.These regulations regulate working hours and workers' sickness, injury and pension insurance.As far as these laws are concerned, Germany is the forerunner of the modern states.Excellent vocational schools were also created.Another way Bismarck sought to advance economic prosperity was to establish colonies. From 1884 to 1885 he brought under imperial rule a number of vast areas of Africa where German merchants and missionaries had staked their ground.

The uneasiness of the non-Germans was not satisfied by all groups in the German Empire.From 1871 to 1914, powerful groups within the Reich, often somewhat disturbed, blamed the Reich for its militarism, paternalism, and other idiosyncratic practices.Among the opposition were non-Germans who absolutely did not want to belong to the German Reich.To the north of Schleswig live hundreds of thousands of Danes; in Prussia three million Poles; and in Alsace-Lorraine, conquered by Germany and wrested from France in 300, A very large number of French people look forward to belonging to France.

The uneasiness of some Germans lies among the Germans, and there are some people who are more or less dissatisfied, such as: (1) Democrats or radicals.They still maintain the revolutionary ideas of 1848 and expect the German Empire to become a truly democratic country. (2) Catholics.Although these people were only a minority, they were a large group. They regretted that Catholic Austria was expelled from the empire. Of course, they also hated the Protestant rule of Prussia. They advocated freedom and democracy more than the government.They formed the so-called "central party".In the early days of the empire, Bismarck waged the so-called "cultural struggle" against them.Until 1886, he repealed many anti-Catholic initiatives.The Center Party still holds an important place in Germany, retaining a quarter of its seats in the Reichstag.Sometimes it supported the government, but until 1914 it was almost always against it. (3) Socialists.This group developed into a powerful party after 1875.They said a lot about "revolution," that is, the destruction of militarism, the establishment of a democratic republic, the abolition of private property, and the management of factories and farms by the working class, etc.By 1914, these socialists (Social Democrats) had become the largest political party in Germany.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) is considered the founder of modern socialism. Before the end of the nineteenth century, the pamphlet The Communist Manifesto, published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 19, had become the creed of millions of workers around the world and the political program of powerful socialist parties.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiser Wilhelm I died in 1888 at the age of 91.His son, Friedrich III, known as a liberal, had only been on the throne for three months.In the same year, Frederick III's son, Wilhelm II, grandson of William I, became King of Prussia and Kaiser of Germany.He reigned until the end of World War I in 3.

The warlord Wilhelm II was a typical Hohenzollern ruler.He loves power and the decorations that symbolize power.He eulogized militarism, claiming that "it was the soldiers and the army, not the majority of the Reichstag, that established the German Reich—I put my trust in the army."At the same time he pretended to be a zealous Protestant, affirming in unquestionable terms that his right to rule was divine.He asked questions, traveled, and spoke constantly.

Bismarck's dismissal Although William II fully agreed with Bismarck's iron policy, he could not work with Bismarck.In the autocratic government of Germany there could be no room for two figures like them at the same time.The result is that the prime minister must resign, and the prime minister is the emperor's servant (or master).The young emperor soon decided that the Hohenzollerns, not the Bismarcks, should rule Germany.Bismarck was removed from office in 1890, and the great ship of the country has since been steered by a new helmsman.

But there are many hidden reefs ahead.

At sea and on land After 1890, Germany expanded the scope of its colonial empire in Africa, annexed some islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forcibly occupied China's Jiaozhou Bay.It planned to build a railway from Constantinople to Baghdad and bring the entire Ottoman Empire under its rule. In the early 20th century, in order to protect commerce and colonies, it extended militarism to the high seas and created a navy second only to Britain in size and strength.

The technical schools of Germany have trained thousands of skilled workmen, and established one of the most perfect systems for their placement.Labor unions have increased markedly, and tariff protection has benefited industry.In manufacturing, Germany became one of the most fruitful countries, and at the same time it became one of the most successful countries in commerce.

(End of this chapter)