The Unification of Germany

The Road to German Unification

During the early nineteenth 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 weakened

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 industrialized

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.

Obstacles to German Unification, 1815-50

Obstacles to Unification

- Division among nationalists

- German Dualism (Austria vs. Prussia)

- Austria

- Opposition to unification: German princes felt threatened by

unification

- Opposition and suspicion towards Prussia

- Zollverein as a symbol of division, envy of Prussia’s economic

success(Industrialization)

- Religion – Catholicism in the South vs Protestantism in the North

1. Divisions among the nationalists

Many middle and working class Germans wanted unification of the states. But they had very

different reasons.

Middle class

For the middle classes, unification could bring:

an increased ability to influence government and decision-making

democratically elected parliaments

improved ability to trade

increasing economic benefits – building on the proven benefits of the Zollverein

Working class

The new working class that had emerged in the towns wanted:

significant social change

improved working conditions

improved living conditions

increased power in parliament to bring about these changes

The middle classes would have seen some of the workers aims as a threat to their economic

status. Concessions to the workers would have potentially affected income.

2. Scale of unification

Nationalists were also divided over the question of what territory should be included in a future

united Germany.

.

3. German Dualism

– constant power play over who has the dominant position in the Deutscher Bund – Austria or Prussia

4. Austrian strength

The Austrian Empire was extremely powerful in Europe. It was greatly opposed to unification

of the German lands:

unified German states would be stronger and more of a threat to Austria

20 per cent of the Austrian Empire’s subjects were German - the Emperor feared

they would break away and join Germany, leaving Austria weaker

German nationalism could inspire other national groups within the Empire to

demand independence

unification would strengthen Prussia politically and economically, at the expense of

Austria.

Scale of Unification

a united Germany should include Austria

(Großdeutschland / großdeutsche Lösung)

Austria and its empire should not be included in a united Germany (Kleindeutschland/

kleindeutsche Lösung)

5. German princes and resentment towards Prussia

- The German princes felt threatened by unification: - their power was based on the idea of absolute control of their individual states - liberal ideas would remove a great deal of their power - a written constitution and parliament elected by the people would shift policy away

from their interests - they would lose their status in a unified Germany - only one prince could rule a united

Germany with the rest subservient to him

6. Opposition to Prussia

Apart from Austria, Prussia was the strongest German state. It was the only state that showed

any real ability to unite Germany. It was clear that unification would mean being ruled by the

Prussian King. This was not acceptable to the other German princes. They felt threatened by

Prussia’s strength, particularly its military strength.

In 1850, the German states sided with the Austrians as they reasserted power over Germany

and re-established the German Confederation. This showed how opposed many German princes

were to Prussia.

7. Economic issues

The German states were independent of each other. In the Industrial Revolution they developed

at different rates. A division grew between the northern and southern states.

The more northerly states were under the influence of Prussia. While the development of the

Zollverein, a German Customs Union, in the 1820s and 1830s was most beneficial to Prussia,

the agreements with its neighbors to allow free travel of people and goods encouraged the

growth and prosperity of all the states involved. The Zollverein was a coalition of German states

that managed tariffs and economic policies facilitating and encouraging trade within their

territories. Prussia was the primary driver behind the creation of the customs union. Austria was

excluded from the Zollverein because of its highly protected industry and also because Prince

von Metternich was against the idea.

Development was furthered by the introduction of the railways in the 1830s. Rail

communication helped end the isolation of the northern states. Better transport of natural

resources and goods further benefited economic development.

However, the Zollverein was also a symbol of division:

many states in the south had not joined

Austria had excluded itself

Prussia can be seen to have used the Zollverein to further its own agenda and increase its

influence

the economic success of Prussia was envied by many of the German states

Industrialization was much slower in the southern states, which tended to fall under the

influence of Austria

8. Religious issues

The Reformation had begun in Germany in the 1500s. By the end of the movement, a significant

number of German states had converted to Protestantism.

This led to a major barrier to unification in the 1800s:

as the most recent protectors of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrians had remained

Catholic

Austria held great influence over the more southerly German states - they too remained

Catholic

Protestantism had originated and remained in the northern German states

Prussia was Protestant - as were the northern states it most influenced

This religious schism meant that unification would be difficult to bring about.

Indifference of the masses

Nationalism was mainly the concern of the educated and business middle classes. There was

much popular apathy towards a united Germany.

Romantic ideals of nationalism grew through the works of writers and thinkers, such as Goethe

and the Brothers Grimm. But a large proportion of the German population were peasants. Many

were illiterate and would not be aware of these cultural influences.

Some nationalist aims were largely intellectual - they did not offer obvious benefits.

Economic benefits of unification would help the middle classes – increased profits and reduced

taxes would have little effect on the general population.

Improved social and working conditions in the towns and cities would not help rural workers.

It has been argued that peasants were too involved in the day to day struggle of subsistence

living to engage with the nationalist cause.

The Master Plan?

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. Bismarck was an incredible

strategist. He pursued a policy of “Blood and Iron”. He is also known as the

Iron Chancellor.

Bismarck on solving the German question:

“nicht durch Reden und Majoritätsbeschlüsse werden die großen Fragen der Zeit entschieden

– das ist der große Fehler von 1848 und 1849 gewesen –, sondern durch Eisen und Blut.“

According to Bismarck, "The great questions of the day would not be settled by means of

speeches and majority decisions, which was the greatest mistake in 1848 and 1849, but by

iron and blood.”

His primary aims were to:

unify the north German states under Prussian control

weaken Prussia's main rival, Austria, by removing it from the Bund

make Berlin the center of German affairs - not Vienna

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).

Strengthen Germany’s role in Europe – German hegemony but without being perceived

as a threat to other countries complex and ingenious alliance system

It is important to note that there is much debate about Bismarck's aims to unify all German

states under Prussian rule. Some historians argue that Bismarck only intended to unify the north

German states but the strength of nationalist feelings after 1866 led to German unification under

its own steam. According to this opinion, Bismarck actually reacted to political changes in other

German states and capitalized on it rather than pursuing a master plan from the beginning to

control all German states.

Army reforms

Bismarck wanted to build up Prussia's army in case his unification plans led to war. To do this

he needed money. The Prussian parliament refused to allow money to be raised for Bismarck's

military reforms.

Bismarck ignored the Reichstag and simply collected the money for army reforms through

general taxation. He never bothered to obtain permission from the Reichstag.

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.

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

Blood and Iron – The Wars of German Unification

The German-Danish War (1964) and the Austro-Prussian War (1866)

German states annexed by Prussia 1866

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.

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-Holstein 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.

Isolating Austria (Part 2) North German Confederation 1867 - 1871

Bismarck's plan to isolate Austria was working. As a result of the Seven Weeks War (Peace of

Prague):

Prussia kept all the territories it had captured.

A North German Confederation was set up under the control of Prussia.

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.

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.

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.

Franco-Prussian War 1870 – 71 Bismarck found his excuse for war when Spain offered its vacant crown to a

Leopold von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a relative of the Prussian King,

William I.

France was outraged since it didn't want Prussia to become more

powerful and feared an imbalance in Europe. The French insisted King

William make his relative refuse the crown and even went a step further,

and insisted the King denounce any right for the throne for eternity, which

the King refused.

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. As outraged as the French were, Bismarck was very pleased

as this was the opportunity he had long been waiting for.

In the Franco-Prussian war, France was heavily defeated and its ruler, Napoleon III, was

overthrown by a French rebellion.

Napoleon III and Bismarck after the Franco-Prussian War, 1871

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 Blacksmith of German Unity, 1880

German Unification German Empire 1871

In the build up to war, the southern confederate German states voluntarily joined the Prussian-

controlled Northern German Confederation. Germany was now unified.

Bismarck leads Alsace and Lorraine into the German Empire

An unbelievable humiliation for France was that the German Empire was proclaimed and the

German Emperor crowned in their most cherished symbol of power – the palace of Versailles.

This will play another important role in the future, as you already know, as Germany’s fate will

be decided in the exact same place after World War I in the Treaty of Versailles.

Summary - 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.

But did unification go before rights, justice and freedom?

Bismarck – Master Planner or Supreme Opportunist?

“Deutschlands Zukunft“, 1870

Bismarck and Hitler – What would Bismarck have thought of Hitler?

What was Hitler’s opinion of Bismarck?