The local nobility who ran the country opened the University of Göttingen in 1737; it soon became a world-class intellectual center.
King Frederick William I, known as the Soldier King, who reigned from 1713 to 1740, established the structures for the highly centralized future Prussian state and raised a standing army, that was to play a central role.
19th-century historians created the romantic image of the glorified warrior and accomplished leader and he served as heroic role model for an aggressive Germany militarism down to 1945 and beyond. Austrian empress Maria Theresa succeeded in bringing about a favorable conclusion for her in the 1740 to 1748 war for recognition of her succession to the throne.
However, the shift to practical mercenary infantry armies and military-technical advances led to a marginalization of heavy cavalry. From 1438 the Habsburg dynasty, who had acquired control in the south-eastern empire over the Duchy of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary after the death of King Louis II in 1526, managed to permanently occupy the position of the Holy Roman Emperor until 1806 (with the exception of the years between 1742 and 1745).
However, the shift to practical mercenary infantry armies and military-technical advances led to a marginalization of heavy cavalry. From 1438 the Habsburg dynasty, who had acquired control in the south-eastern empire over the Duchy of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary after the death of King Louis II in 1526, managed to permanently occupy the position of the Holy Roman Emperor until 1806 (with the exception of the years between 1742 and 1745).
19th-century historians created the romantic image of the glorified warrior and accomplished leader and he served as heroic role model for an aggressive Germany militarism down to 1945 and beyond. Austrian empress Maria Theresa succeeded in bringing about a favorable conclusion for her in the 1740 to 1748 war for recognition of her succession to the throne.
In order to address the demographic problem of Prussia's largely rural population of about three million, the immigration and settlement of French Huguenots in urban areas, of whom many were craftsmen, was supported. The total population of Germany (in its 1914 territorial extent) grew from 16 million in 1700 to 17 million in 1750 and reached 24 million in 1800.
In Bavaria they had controlled 56% of the land. ===Bourgeois values spread to rural Germany=== A major social change occurring between 1750 and 1850, depending on region, was the end of the traditional "whole house" ("ganzes Haus") system, in which the owner's family lived together in one large building with the servants and craftsmen he employed.
None developed a significant reputation for good government. In Hesse-Kassel, the Landgrave Frederick II, ruled 1760–1785 as an enlightened despot, and raised money by renting soldiers (called "Hessians") to Great Britain to help fight the American Revolutionary War.
George III, elector (ruler) from 1760 to 1820, never once visited Hanover.
The 1763 Treaty of Hubertusburg ruled that Austria and Saxony had to relinquish all claims to Silesia.
Prussia, that had nearly doubled its territory was eventually recognized as a great European power with the consequence that the politics of the following century were fundamentally influenced by German dualism, the rivalry of Austria and Prussia for supremacy in Central Europe. The concept of Enlightened absolutism, although rejected by the nobility and citizenry, was advocated in Prussia and Austria and implemented since 1763.
The noblemen handled external relationships and politics for the villages under their control, and were not typically involved in daily activities or decisions. The emancipation of the serfs came in 1770–1830, beginning with Schleswig in 1780.
Although the peasants were no longer tied to the same land as serfs had been, the old paternalistic relationship in East Prussia lasted into the 20th century. The agrarian reforms in northwestern Germany in the era 1770–1870 were driven by progressive governments and local elites.
the abolition of torture and the emancipation of the rural population and the Jews), the reorganization of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, the introduction of compulsory education for boys and girls and promotion of religious tolerance, among others, caused rapid social and economic development. During 1772 to 1795 Prussia instigated the partitions of Poland by occupying the western territories of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The movement, from 1772 until 1805, involved Herder as well as polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) and Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), a poet and historian.
The noblemen handled external relationships and politics for the villages under their control, and were not typically involved in daily activities or decisions. The emancipation of the serfs came in 1770–1830, beginning with Schleswig in 1780.
Karl Friedrich ruled well for 73 years (1738–1811) and was an enthusiast for The Enlightenment; he abolished serfdom in 1783. The smaller states failed to form coalitions with each other, and were eventually overwhelmed by Prussia.
Before 1789, the majority of women lived confined to society's private sphere, the home. The Age of Reason did not bring much more for women: men, including Enlightenment aficionados, believed that women were naturally destined to be principally wives and mothers.
However, the lower-class women were expected to be economically productive in order to help their husbands make ends meet. ===French Revolution, 1789–1815=== German reaction to the French Revolution was mixed at first.
War broke out in 1792 as Austria and Prussia invaded France, but were defeated at the Battle of Valmy (1792).
By 1793, the execution of the French king and the onset of the Terror disillusioned the Bildungsbürgertum (educated middle classes).
Prussia and Austria ended their failed wars with France but (with Russia) partitioned Poland among themselves in 1793 and 1795. ====French consulate suzereignity==== France took control of the Rhineland, imposed French-style reforms, abolished feudalism, established constitutions, promoted freedom of religion, emancipated Jews, opened the bureaucracy to ordinary citizens of talent, and forced the nobility to share power with the rising middle class.
the abolition of torture and the emancipation of the rural population and the Jews), the reorganization of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, the introduction of compulsory education for boys and girls and promotion of religious tolerance, among others, caused rapid social and economic development. During 1772 to 1795 Prussia instigated the partitions of Poland by occupying the western territories of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Prussia and Austria ended their failed wars with France but (with Russia) partitioned Poland among themselves in 1793 and 1795. ====French consulate suzereignity==== France took control of the Rhineland, imposed French-style reforms, abolished feudalism, established constitutions, promoted freedom of religion, emancipated Jews, opened the bureaucracy to ordinary citizens of talent, and forced the nobility to share power with the rising middle class.
In order to address the demographic problem of Prussia's largely rural population of about three million, the immigration and settlement of French Huguenots in urban areas, of whom many were craftsmen, was supported. The total population of Germany (in its 1914 territorial extent) grew from 16 million in 1700 to 17 million in 1750 and reached 24 million in 1800.
In the east the serfs were emancipated but the Junker class maintained its large estates and monopolized political power. Around 1800 the Catholic monasteries, which had large land holdings, were nationalized and sold off by the government.
The upper and middle classes first practiced birth control, soon to be universally adopted. ====Industrialization==== In 1800, Germany's social structure was poorly suited to entrepreneurship or economic development.
On the other hand, new problems arose, in the form of interrupted growth and new crises, such as urbanisation, 'alienation', new underclasses, proletariat and proletarian misery, new injustices and new masters and, eventually, class warfare. ====Urbanization==== In 1800 the population was predominantly rural, as only 10% lived in communities of 5,000 or more people, and only 2% lived in cities of more than 100,000 people.
Berlin grew from 172,000 in 1800, to 826,000 inhabitants in 1870, Hamburg from 130,000 to 290,000, Munich from 40,000 to 269,000 and Dresden from 60,000 to 177,000. ====Railways==== The takeoff stage of economic development came with the railroad revolution in the 1840s, which opened up new markets for local products, created a pool of middle managers, increased the demand for engineers, architects and skilled machinists and stimulated investments in coal and iron.
With the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars from 1803 to 1815, feudalism fell away by reforms and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
The movement, from 1772 until 1805, involved Herder as well as polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) and Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), a poet and historian.
The name, that was to identify with Germany continued to be used officially, with the extension added: Nationis Germanicæ (of the German nation) after the last imperial coronation in Rome in 1452 until its dissolution in 1806.
However, the shift to practical mercenary infantry armies and military-technical advances led to a marginalization of heavy cavalry. From 1438 the Habsburg dynasty, who had acquired control in the south-eastern empire over the Duchy of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary after the death of King Louis II in 1526, managed to permanently occupy the position of the Holy Roman Emperor until 1806 (with the exception of the years between 1742 and 1745).
The old Holy Roman Empire was little more than a farce; Napoleon simply abolished it in 1806 while forming new countries under his control.
Induced by the queen and a pro-war party Frederick William joined the Fourth Coalition in October 1806.
Between 1807 and 1871, Prussia swallowed up many of the smaller states, with minimal protest, then went on to found the German Empire.
To help the nobility avoid indebtedness, Berlin set up a credit institution to provide capital loans in 1809, and extended the loan network to peasants in 1849.
The University of Berlin, founded in 1810, became the world's leading university.
Ruler Frederick Augustus I was rewarded with the title of king and given a slice of Poland taken from Prussia. After Napoleon's military fiasco in Russia in 1812, Prussia allied with Russia in the Sixth Coalition.
Napoleon was decisively defeated in the Battle of Leipzig in late 1813.
In 1813, in return for guarantees from the Allies that the sovereignty and integrity of the Southern German states (Baden, Württemberg, and Bavaria) would be preserved, they broke with France. ===German Confederation=== During the 1815 Congress of Vienna the 39 former states of the Confederation of the Rhine joined the German Confederation, a loose agreement for mutual defense.
Coalition forces invaded France in early 1814, Paris fell and in April Napoleon surrendered.
With the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars from 1803 to 1815, feudalism fell away by reforms and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
Increasingly after 1815, a centralized Prussian government based in Berlin took over the powers of the nobles, which in terms of control over the peasantry had been almost absolute.
The other German states imitated Prussia after 1815.
Prussia as one of the winners at the Congress of Vienna, gained extensive territory. ==1815–1871== ===Overview=== In 1815 continental Europe was in a state of overall turbulence and exhaustion, as a consequence of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
In 1813, in return for guarantees from the Allies that the sovereignty and integrity of the Southern German states (Baden, Württemberg, and Bavaria) would be preserved, they broke with France. ===German Confederation=== During the 1815 Congress of Vienna the 39 former states of the Confederation of the Rhine joined the German Confederation, a loose agreement for mutual defense.
The union was undermined by the creation of the Zollverein in 1834, the 1848 revolutions, the rivalry between Prussia and Austria and was finally dissolved in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, to be replaced by the North German Confederation during the same year. ===Society and economy=== ====Population==== Between 1815 and 1865 the population of the German Confederation (excluding Austria) grew around 60% from 21 million to 34 million.
Domination by France during the French Revolution (1790s to 1815), however, produced important institutional reforms, that included the abolition of feudal restrictions on the sale of large landed estates, the reduction of the power of the guilds in the cities, and the introduction of a new, more efficient commercial law.
Between 1815 and 1873 the statistical distribution of wealth was on the order of 77% to 23% for entrepreneurs and workers respectively.
After 1815, the urban population grew rapidly, due to the influx of young people from the rural areas.
However Catholic memories remained deep and led to a sense that Catholics always needed to stick together in the face of an untrustworthy government. ===Politics of restoration and revolution=== ====After Napoleon==== After the fall of Napoleon, Europe's statesmen convened in Vienna in 1815 for the reorganisation of European affairs, under the leadership of the Austrian Prince Metternich.
The member states largely went their own way, and Austria had its own interests. In 1819 a student radical assassinated the reactionary playwright August von Kotzebue, who had scoffed at liberal student organisations.
George III, elector (ruler) from 1760 to 1820, never once visited Hanover.
From the 1830s and 1840s, Prussia, Saxony and other states introduced agriculture based on sugar beets, turnips and potatoes, that yielded higher crops, which enabled a surplus rural population to move to industrial areas. In the early 19th century the Industrial Revolution was in full swing in Britain, France, and Belgium.
Early investments for the railway network during the 1830s came almost exclusively from private hands.
Political disunity of three dozen states and a pervasive conservatism made it difficult to build railways in the 1830s.
By the 1830s mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology had emerged with world class science, led by Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) in natural science and Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) in mathematics.
The union was undermined by the creation of the Zollverein in 1834, the 1848 revolutions, the rivalry between Prussia and Austria and was finally dissolved in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, to be replaced by the North German Confederation during the same year. ===Society and economy=== ====Population==== Between 1815 and 1865 the population of the German Confederation (excluding Austria) grew around 60% from 21 million to 34 million.
Among the persecuted were the poet Ernst Moritz Arndt, the publisher Johann Joseph Görres and the "Father of Gymnastics" Ludwig Jahn. In 1834 the Zollverein was established, a customs union between Prussia and most other German states, but excluding Austria.
A sharp controversy broke out in 1837–38 in the largely Catholic Rhineland over the religious education of children of mixed marriages, where the mother was Catholic and the father Protestant.
The high birthrate was offset by a very high rate of infant mortality and after 1840, large-scale emigration to the United States.
Emigration totaled at 480,000 in the 1840s, 1,200,000 in the 1850s, and at 780,000 in the 1860s.
From the 1830s and 1840s, Prussia, Saxony and other states introduced agriculture based on sugar beets, turnips and potatoes, that yielded higher crops, which enabled a surplus rural population to move to industrial areas. In the early 19th century the Industrial Revolution was in full swing in Britain, France, and Belgium.
Berlin grew from 172,000 in 1800, to 826,000 inhabitants in 1870, Hamburg from 130,000 to 290,000, Munich from 40,000 to 269,000 and Dresden from 60,000 to 177,000. ====Railways==== The takeoff stage of economic development came with the railroad revolution in the 1840s, which opened up new markets for local products, created a pool of middle managers, increased the demand for engineers, architects and skilled machinists and stimulated investments in coal and iron.
However, by the 1840s, trunk lines did link the major cities; each German state was responsible for the lines within its own borders.
In 1840, the new King Frederick William IV sought reconciliation and ended the controversy by agreeing to most of the Catholic demands.
Nonetheless, the Social Democrats grew stronger and Bismarck initiated his social welfare program in 1883 in order to appease the working class. Bismarck built on a tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as the 1840s.
Economist Friedrich List summed up the advantages to be derived from the development of the railway system in 1841: 1.
In 1844 alone, half a million pilgrims made a pilgrimage to the city of Trier in the Rhineland to view the Seamless robe of Jesus, said to be the robe that Jesus wore on the way to his crucifixion.
Finally in 1845 a new king Frederick William IV offered a general amnesty and allowed the Old Lutherans to form a separate church association with only nominal government control. From the religious point of view of the typical Catholic or Protestant, major changes were underway in terms of a much more personalized religiosity that focused on the individual more than the church or the ceremony.
The German revolutions of 1848–49 failed.
The union was undermined by the creation of the Zollverein in 1834, the 1848 revolutions, the rivalry between Prussia and Austria and was finally dissolved in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, to be replaced by the North German Confederation during the same year. ===Society and economy=== ====Population==== Between 1815 and 1865 the population of the German Confederation (excluding Austria) grew around 60% from 21 million to 34 million.
Young intellectuals often turned to politics, but their support for the failed revolution of 1848 forced many into exile. ====Religion==== Two main developments reshaped religion in Germany.
As industrialisation developed, the need for a unified German state with a uniform currency, legal system, and government became more and more obvious. ====1848==== Growing discontent with the political and social order imposed by the Congress of Vienna led to the outbreak, in 1848, of the March Revolution in the German states.
In May the German National Assembly (the Frankfurt Parliament) met in Frankfurt to draw up a national German constitution. But the 1848 revolution turned out to be unsuccessful: King Frederick William IV of Prussia refused the imperial crown, the Frankfurt parliament was dissolved, the ruling princes repressed the risings by military force, and the German Confederation was re-established by 1850.
Dissent was vigorously suppressed, and many Germans emigrated to America following the collapse of the 1848 uprisings.
To help the nobility avoid indebtedness, Berlin set up a credit institution to provide capital loans in 1809, and extended the loan network to peasants in 1849.
A bank was set up so that landowners could borrow government money to buy land from peasants (the peasants were not allowed to use it to borrow money to buy land until 1850).
In Bavaria they had controlled 56% of the land. ===Bourgeois values spread to rural Germany=== A major social change occurring between 1750 and 1850, depending on region, was the end of the traditional "whole house" ("ganzes Haus") system, in which the owner's family lived together in one large building with the servants and craftsmen he employed.
Emigration totaled at 480,000 in the 1840s, 1,200,000 in the 1850s, and at 780,000 in the 1860s.
Until 1850, the guilds, the landed aristocracy, the churches and the government bureaucracies maintained many rules and restrictions that held entrepreneurship in low esteem and given little opportunity to develop.
Actual industrialization only took off after 1850 in the wake of the railroad construction.
In many cities, the new railway shops were the centres of technological awareness and training, so that by 1850, Germany was self-sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major impetus for the growth of the new steel industry.
In May the German National Assembly (the Frankfurt Parliament) met in Frankfurt to draw up a national German constitution. But the 1848 revolution turned out to be unsuccessful: King Frederick William IV of Prussia refused the imperial crown, the Frankfurt parliament was dissolved, the ruling princes repressed the risings by military force, and the German Confederation was re-established by 1850.
Many leaders went into exile, including a number who went to the United States and became a political force there. ====1850s==== The 1850s were a period of extreme political reaction.
Between 1994 and 1998, eight 380,000-year-old wooden javelins between in length were eventually unearthed. In 1856 the fossilized bones of an extinct human species were salvaged from a limestone grotto in the Neander valley near Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Prussia not only expanded its territory but began to industrialize rapidly, while maintaining a strong agricultural base. ====Bismarck takes charge (1862–1866)==== In 1857, the Prussian king Frederick William IV suffered a stroke and his brother William served as regent until 1861 when he became King William I.
The archaic nature of the fossils, now known to be around 40,000 years old, was recognized and the characteristics published in the first-ever paleoanthropologic species description in 1858 by Hermann Schaaffhausen.
Emigration totaled at 480,000 in the 1840s, 1,200,000 in the 1850s, and at 780,000 in the 1860s.
The Association of German Women's Organizations or BDF was established in 1894 to encompass the proliferating women's organizations that had emerged since the 1860s.
The BDF gave national direction to the proliferating women's organizations that had sprung up since the 1860s.
Prussia not only expanded its territory but began to industrialize rapidly, while maintaining a strong agricultural base. ====Bismarck takes charge (1862–1866)==== In 1857, the Prussian king Frederick William IV suffered a stroke and his brother William served as regent until 1861 when he became King William I.
His most significant accomplishment was the naming of Otto von Bismarck as Prussian minister president in 1862.
The cooperation of Bismarck, Defense Minister Albrecht von Roon, and Field Marshal Helmut von Moltke set the stage for the military victories over Denmark, Austria, and France, that led to the unification of Germany. In 1863–64, disputes between Prussia and Denmark over Schleswig escalated, which was not part of the German Confederation, and which Danish nationalists wanted to incorporate into the Danish kingdom.
The species was named Homo neanderthalensis – Neanderthal man in 1864. The remains of Paleolithic early modern human occupation uncovered and documented in several caves in the Swabian Jura include various mammoth ivory sculptures that rank among the oldest uncontested works of art and several flutes, made of bird bone and mammoth ivory that are confirmed to be the oldest musical instruments ever found.
The conflict led to the Second War of Schleswig in 1864.
The union was undermined by the creation of the Zollverein in 1834, the 1848 revolutions, the rivalry between Prussia and Austria and was finally dissolved in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, to be replaced by the North German Confederation during the same year. ===Society and economy=== ====Population==== Between 1815 and 1865 the population of the German Confederation (excluding Austria) grew around 60% from 21 million to 34 million.
The union was undermined by the creation of the Zollverein in 1834, the 1848 revolutions, the rivalry between Prussia and Austria and was finally dissolved in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, to be replaced by the North German Confederation during the same year. ===Society and economy=== ====Population==== Between 1815 and 1865 the population of the German Confederation (excluding Austria) grew around 60% from 21 million to 34 million.
The disagreement served as a pretext for the Seven Weeks War between Austria and Prussia, that broke out in June 1866.
The battle had also decided the struggle for hegemony in Germany and Bismarck was deliberately lenient with defeated Austria, that was to play only a subordinate role in future German affairs. ====North German Confederation, 1866–1871==== After the Seven Weeks War the German Confederation was dissolved and the North German Federation (German Norddeutscher Bund) was established under the leadership of Prussia.
The North German Federation was a transitional organisation that existed from 1867 to 1871, between the dissolution of the German Confederation and the founding of the German Empire. ==German Empire, 1871–1918== ===Overview=== Chancellor Otto von Bismarck determined the political course of the German Empire until 1890.
His aggressive and erroneous policies greatly contributed to the situation in which the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian crown prince would spark off World War I. ===Bismarck era=== ====The new empire==== In 1868, the Spanish queen Isabella II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution, leaving the country's throne vacant.
Berlin grew from 172,000 in 1800, to 826,000 inhabitants in 1870, Hamburg from 130,000 to 290,000, Munich from 40,000 to 269,000 and Dresden from 60,000 to 177,000. ====Railways==== The takeoff stage of economic development came with the railroad revolution in the 1840s, which opened up new markets for local products, created a pool of middle managers, increased the demand for engineers, architects and skilled machinists and stimulated investments in coal and iron.
However, German unification in 1870 stimulated consolidation, nationalisation into state-owned companies, and further rapid growth.
The matter evolved into a diplomatic scandal and in July 1870, France resolved to end it in a full-scale war.
Reasonably exact are the figures for the entire industrial production between 1870 and 1914, which increased about 500%. Historian J.
Kennedy argues that by far the main reason was London's fear that a repeat of 1870 – when Prussia and the German states smashed France – would mean that Germany, with a powerful army and navy, would control the English Channel and northwest France.
The unification of Germany (excluding Austria and the German-speaking areas of Switzerland) was achieved under the leadership of the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck with the formation of the German Empire in 1871.
Between 1807 and 1871, Prussia swallowed up many of the smaller states, with minimal protest, then went on to found the German Empire.
When the German Empire was established in 1871, the Junker nobility controlled the army and the Navy, the bureaucracy, and the royal court; they generally set governmental policies. ===Peasants and rural life=== Peasants continued to center their lives in the village, where they were members of a corporate body, and to help manage the community resources and monitor the community life.
After 1871, strict press laws were enforced by Bismarck to contain the Socialists and hostile editors.
The North German Federation was a transitional organisation that existed from 1867 to 1871, between the dissolution of the German Confederation and the founding of the German Empire. ==German Empire, 1871–1918== ===Overview=== Chancellor Otto von Bismarck determined the political course of the German Empire until 1890.
The starving city surrendered in January 1871 and Jules Favre signed the surrender at Versailles.
This conclusion left the French national psyche deeply humiliated and further aggravated the French–German enmity. During the Siege of Paris, the German princes assembled in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles on 18 January 1871 and announced the establishment of the German Empire and proclaimed the Prussian King Wilhelm I as German Emperor.
In the Kulturkampf (lit.: culture struggle) from 1871 to 1878, he tried to minimize the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and its political arm, the Catholic Centre Party, via secularization of all education and introduction of civil marriage, but without success.
After 1871, there was a systematic purge of the remaining Catholics; in the powerful interior ministry, which handled all police affairs, the only Catholic was a messenger boy.
These associations regulate competition and allowed small firms to function in the shadow of much larger companies. ====Women==== Germany's unification process after 1871 was heavily dominated by men and give priority to the "Fatherland" theme and related male issues, such as military prowess.
Finally, between 1872 and 1878, numerous Catholic newspapers were confiscated, Catholic associations and assemblies were dissolved, and Catholic civil servants were dismissed merely on the pretence of having Ultramontane sympathies. Bismarck underestimated the resolve of the Catholic Church and did not foresee the extremes that this struggle would attain.
Between 1815 and 1873 the statistical distribution of wealth was on the order of 77% to 23% for entrepreneurs and workers respectively.
He launched the Kulturkampf ("culture war") against the power of the pope and the Catholic Church in 1873, but only in the state of Prussia.
The League of Three Emperors was signed in 1873 by Russia, Austria, and Germany.
Russia fought a victorious war against the Ottoman Empire from 1877 to 1878 and attempted to establish the Principality of Bulgaria, that was strongly opposed by France and Britain in particular, as they were long concerned with the preservation of the Ottoman Empire and Russian containment at the Bosphorus Strait and the Black Sea.
In the Kulturkampf (lit.: culture struggle) from 1871 to 1878, he tried to minimize the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and its political arm, the Catholic Centre Party, via secularization of all education and introduction of civil marriage, but without success.
From 1878, Bismarck tried to oppose the growing social democratic movement by outlawing the party's organisation, its assemblies and most of its newspapers.
Historian Anthony Steinhoff reports the casualty totals: As of 1878, only three of eight Prussian dioceses still had bishops, some 1,125 of 4,600 parishes were vacant, and nearly 1,800 priests ended up in jail or in exile ...
Finally, between 1872 and 1878, numerous Catholic newspapers were confiscated, Catholic associations and assemblies were dissolved, and Catholic civil servants were dismissed merely on the pretence of having Ultramontane sympathies. Bismarck underestimated the resolve of the Catholic Church and did not foresee the extremes that this struggle would attain.
The conflict ended after 1879 because Pope Pius IX died in 1878 and Bismarck broke with the Liberals to put his main emphasis on tariffs, foreign policy, and attacking socialists.
Russia fought a victorious war against the Ottoman Empire from 1877 to 1878 and attempted to establish the Principality of Bulgaria, that was strongly opposed by France and Britain in particular, as they were long concerned with the preservation of the Ottoman Empire and Russian containment at the Bosphorus Strait and the Black Sea.
Germany hosted the Congress of Berlin in 1878, where a more moderate peace settlement was agreed upon. In 1879, Germany formed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary, an agreement of mutual military assistance in the case of an attack from Russia, which was not satisfied with the agreement of the Congress of Berlin.
The conflict ended after 1879 because Pope Pius IX died in 1878 and Bismarck broke with the Liberals to put his main emphasis on tariffs, foreign policy, and attacking socialists.
Germany hosted the Congress of Berlin in 1878, where a more moderate peace settlement was agreed upon. In 1879, Germany formed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary, an agreement of mutual military assistance in the case of an attack from Russia, which was not satisfied with the agreement of the Congress of Berlin.
By 1880, 9,400 locomotives pulled 43,000 passengers and 30,000 tons of freight a day. ====Newspapers and magazines==== While there existed no national newspaper the many states issued a great variety of printed media, although they rarely exceeded regional significance.
In the 1880s he introduced old age pensions, accident insurance, medical care, and unemployment insurance that formed the basis of the modern European welfare state.
Laws were toned down or taken back (Mitigation Laws 1880–1883 and Peace Laws 1886/87), but the laws concerning education, civil registry of marriages and religious disaffiliation remained in place.
In 1882, Italy, seeking supporters for its interests in North Africa against France's colonial policy, joined the Dual Alliance, which became the Triple Alliance.
Nonetheless, the Social Democrats grew stronger and Bismarck initiated his social welfare program in 1883 in order to appease the working class. Bismarck built on a tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as the 1840s.
Consequently, Bismarck initiated the Berlin Conference of 1885, a formal meeting of the European colonial powers, who sought to "established international guidelines for the acquisition of African territory" (see Colonisation of Africa).
Laws were toned down or taken back (Mitigation Laws 1880–1883 and Peace Laws 1886/87), but the laws concerning education, civil registry of marriages and religious disaffiliation remained in place.
The establishment of the Dual Alliance led Russia to take a more conciliatory stance and in 1887, the so-called Reinsurance Treaty was signed between Germany and Russia.
German industrial and economic power had grown to match Britain by 1900. In 1888, the young and ambitious Kaiser Wilhelm II became emperor.
As advocates of free trade, they objected to Prussian ideas of economic integration and refused to sign the renewed Zollverein (Custom Union) treaties until 1888.
Its outcome, the General Act of the Berlin Conference, can be seen as the formalisation of the "Scramble for Africa" and "New Imperialism". ===Wilhelminian Era (1888–1918)=== ====Wilhelm II==== Emperor William I died in 1888.
Observers found that even as late as 1890, their engineering was inferior to Britain.
The North German Federation was a transitional organisation that existed from 1867 to 1871, between the dissolution of the German Confederation and the founding of the German Empire. ==German Empire, 1871–1918== ===Overview=== Chancellor Otto von Bismarck determined the political course of the German Empire until 1890.
He rejected advice from experienced politicians and ordered Bismarck's resignation in 1890.
He early on decided to replace the political elite and in March 1890 he forced chancellor Bismarck into retirement.
In exchange for the eastern African island of Zanzibar, Germany had bargained the island of Heligoland in the German Bight with Britain in 1890, and converted the island into a naval base and installed immense coastal defense batteries.
This confirmed French control over Morocco, which became a full protectorate of that country in 1912. ====Economy==== By 1890 the economy continued to industrialize and grow on an even higher rate than during the previous two decades and increased dramatically in the years leading up to World War I.
In 1913, the German Chemical industry produced almost 90 percent of the global supply of dyestuffs and sold about 80 percent of its production abroad. Germany became Europe's leading steel-producing nation in the 1890s, thanks in large part to the protection from American and British competition afforded by tariffs and cartels.
German feminists began to network with feminists from other countries, and participated in the growth of international organizations. ====Colonies==== By the 1890s, German colonial expansion in Asia and the Pacific (Kiauchau in China, the Marianas, the Caroline Islands, Samoa) led to frictions with Britain, Russia, Japan and the United States.
The Association of German Women's Organizations or BDF was established in 1894 to encompass the proliferating women's organizations that had emerged since the 1860s.
Russia promptly formed a closer relationship with France in the Dual Alliance of 1894, as both countries were concerned about the novel disagreeability of Germany.
Founded in 1894, it grew to include 137 separate women's rights groups from 1907 until 1933, when the Nazi regime disbanded the organization.
This agreement was hampered by differences between Austria and Italy and in 1915 Italy left the alliance. In 1897 Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, state secretary of the German Imperial Naval Office devised his initially rather practical, yet nonetheless ambitious plan to build a sizeable naval force.
Tirpitz started the program of warship construction in 1898 and enjoyed the full support of Kaiser Wilhelm.
Germany joined the other powers in colonial expansion in Africa and the Pacific. By 1900, Germany was the dominant power on the European continent and its rapidly expanding industry had surpassed Britain's while provoking it in a naval arms race.
During the second half of the 19th century the German industry grew exponentially and by 1900, Germany was an industrial world leader along with Britain and the United States. Historian Thomas Nipperdey remarks: On the whole, industrialisation in Germany must be considered to have been positive in its effects.
German industrial and economic power had grown to match Britain by 1900. In 1888, the young and ambitious Kaiser Wilhelm II became emperor.
Published documents provide numbers such as: The proportion of goods manufactured by the modern industry was approximately 25% in 1900, while the proportion of consumer related products in manufactured exports stood at 40%.
Germany quickly adopted the concept and by 1910 the arms race again escalated. In the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905, Germany nearly clashed with Britain and France when the latter attempted to establish a protectorate over Morocco.
The harsh treatment of the Nama and Herero in what is now Namibia in Africa in 1906–07 led to charges of genocide against the Germans.
In the middle of the decade, the country faced the European migrant crisis as the main receiver of asylum seekers from Syria and other troubled regions. ==Prehistory== The discovery of the Homo heidelbergensis mandible in 1907 affirms archaic human presence in Germany by at least 600,000 years ago.
The British, however, resolved to keep up the naval arms race and introduced the highly advanced new Dreadnought battleship concept in 1907.
Founded in 1894, it grew to include 137 separate women's rights groups from 1907 until 1933, when the Nazi regime disbanded the organization.
Germany quickly adopted the concept and by 1910 the arms race again escalated. In the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905, Germany nearly clashed with Britain and France when the latter attempted to establish a protectorate over Morocco.
A compromise was brokered by the United States where the French relinquished some, but not all, control over Morocco. The Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911 saw another dispute over Morocco erupt when France tried to suppress a revolt there.
This confirmed French control over Morocco, which became a full protectorate of that country in 1912. ====Economy==== By 1890 the economy continued to industrialize and grow on an even higher rate than during the previous two decades and increased dramatically in the years leading up to World War I.
In 1913, the German Chemical industry produced almost 90 percent of the global supply of dyestuffs and sold about 80 percent of its production abroad. Germany became Europe's leading steel-producing nation in the 1890s, thanks in large part to the protection from American and British competition afforded by tariffs and cartels.
By 1913, American and German exports dominated the world steel market, as Britain slipped to third place. In machinery, iron and steel, and other industries, German firms avoided cut-throat competition and instead relied on trade associations.
In order to address the demographic problem of Prussia's largely rural population of about three million, the immigration and settlement of French Huguenots in urban areas, of whom many were craftsmen, was supported. The total population of Germany (in its 1914 territorial extent) grew from 16 million in 1700 to 17 million in 1750 and reached 24 million in 1800.
The 1914 German diplomatic corps consisted of 8 princes, 29 counts, 20 barons, 54 representants of the lower nobility and a mere 11 commoners.
Reasonably exact are the figures for the entire industrial production between 1870 and 1914, which increased about 500%. Historian J.
Intensive methodical farming of sugar and other root crops made Germany the most efficient agricultural producer in Europe by 1914.
Historians are examining the links and precedents between the Herero and Namaqua Genocide and the Holocaust of the 1940s. ===World War I=== ====Causes==== Ethnic demands for nation states upset the balance between the empires that dominated Europe, leading to World War I, which started in August 1914.
The stalemate lasted from 1914 until early 1918, with ferocious battles that moved forces a few hundred yards at best along a line that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border.
This agreement was hampered by differences between Austria and Italy and in 1915 Italy left the alliance. In 1897 Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, state secretary of the German Imperial Naval Office devised his initially rather practical, yet nonetheless ambitious plan to build a sizeable naval force.
Germany was the leader of the Central Powers, which included Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and later Bulgaria; arrayed against them were the Allies, consisting chiefly of Russia, France, Britain, and in 1915 Italy. In explaining why neutral Britain went to war with Germany, author Paul M.
The winter of 1916–1917 was known as the "turnip winter", because that vegetable, usually fed to livestock, was used by people as a substitute for potatoes and meat, which were increasingly scarce.
Germany led the Central Powers in World War I (1914–1918) against France, Great Britain, Russia and (by 1917) the United States.
Food scarcity became a serious problem by 1917.
The United States joined with the Allies in April 1917.
The breakdown of Russian forces – exacerbated by internal turmoil caused by the 1917 Russian Revolution – led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk the Bolsheviks were forced to sign on 3 March 1918 as Russia withdrew from the war.
Spencer Tucker says, "The German General Staff had formulated extraordinarily harsh terms that shocked even the German negotiator." When Germany later complained that the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 was too harsh on them, the Allies responded that it was more benign than Brest-Litovsk. ====1918==== By defeating Russia in 1917 Germany was able to bring hundreds of thousands of combat troops from the east to the Western Front, giving it a numerical advantage over the Allies.
MacNeil: By 1917, after three years of war, the various groups and bureaucratic hierarchies which had been operating more or less independently of one another in peacetime (and not infrequently had worked at cross purposes) were subordinated to one (and perhaps the most effective) of their number: the General Staff.
The German Revolution of 1918–19 put an end to the federal constitutional monarchy, which resulted in the establishment of the Weimar Republic, an unstable parliamentary democracy.
Austria and Russia resolved to acquire the remaining lands with the effect that Poland ceased to exist as a sovereign state until 1918. ===Smaller states=== Completely overshadowed by Prussia and Austria, according to historian Hajo Holborn, the smaller German states were generally characterized by political lethargy and administrative inefficiency, often compounded by rulers who were more concerned with their mistresses and their hunting dogs than with the affairs of state.
The stalemate lasted from 1914 until early 1918, with ferocious battles that moved forces a few hundred yards at best along a line that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border.
The breakdown of Russian forces – exacerbated by internal turmoil caused by the 1917 Russian Revolution – led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk the Bolsheviks were forced to sign on 3 March 1918 as Russia withdrew from the war.
On 9 November 1918, the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a Republic. On 11 November, the Compiègne armistice was signed, ending the war.
In December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was founded, and in 1919 it tried and failed to overthrow the new republic.
The Nazis (formerly the German Workers' Party), with a mostly rural and lower middle class base, overthrew the Weimar regime and ruled Germany in 1933–1945. ===The early years=== On 11 August 1919, the Weimar constitution came into effect, with Friedrich Ebert as first President. On 30 December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany was founded by the Spartacus League, who had split from the Social Democratic Party during the war.
The British imposed a tight naval blockade in the North Sea which lasted until 1919, sharply reducing Germany's overseas access to raw materials and foodstuffs.
Spencer Tucker says, "The German General Staff had formulated extraordinarily harsh terms that shocked even the German negotiator." When Germany later complained that the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 was too harsh on them, the Allies responded that it was more benign than Brest-Litovsk. ====1918==== By defeating Russia in 1917 Germany was able to bring hundreds of thousands of combat troops from the east to the Western Front, giving it a numerical advantage over the Allies.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919.
Germany was also required to pay reparations for all civilian damage caused during the war. ==Weimar Republic, 1919–1933== ===Overview=== The humiliating peace terms in the Treaty of Versailles provoked bitter indignation throughout Germany, and seriously weakened the new democratic regime.
In December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was founded, and in 1919 it tried and failed to overthrow the new republic.
Adolf Hitler in 1919 took control of the new National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), which failed in a coup in Munich in 1923.
The Nazis (formerly the German Workers' Party), with a mostly rural and lower middle class base, overthrew the Weimar regime and ruled Germany in 1933–1945. ===The early years=== On 11 August 1919, the Weimar constitution came into effect, with Friedrich Ebert as first President. On 30 December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany was founded by the Spartacus League, who had split from the Social Democratic Party during the war.
Following a plebiscite, the territory was allotted to Belgium on 20 September 1920.
In 1920, about 300,000 members from the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany joined the party, transforming it into a mass organization.
The Communist Party had a following of about 10% of the electorate. In the first months of 1920, the Reichswehr was to be reduced to 100,000 men, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles.
In an attempt at a coup d'état in March 1920, the Kapp Putsch, extreme right-wing politician Wolfgang Kapp let Freikorps soldiers march on Berlin and proclaimed himself Chancellor of the Reich.
On 9 January 1923, Lithuanian forces invaded the territory.
Adolf Hitler in 1919 took control of the new National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), which failed in a coup in Munich in 1923.
Under the Treaty of Rapallo, Germany accorded the Soviet Union de jure recognition, and the two signatories mutually cancelled all pre-war debts and renounced war claims. When Germany defaulted on its reparation payments, French and Belgian troops occupied the heavily industrialised Ruhr district (January 1923).
Following negotiations, on 8 May 1924, the League of Nations ratified the annexation on the grounds that Lithuania accepted the Memel Statute, a power-sharing arrangement to protect non-Lithuanians in the territory and its autonomous status.
The merger of several major firms into the Vereinigte Stahlwerke (United Steel Works) in 1926 was modeled on the U.S.
Until 1929, German-Lithuanian co-operation increased and this power sharing arrangement worked.
Electoral support for both parties increased after 1929 as the Great Depression hit the economy hard, producing many unemployed men who became available for the paramilitary units.
In the early 1930s, the worldwide Great Depression hit Germany hard, as unemployment soared and people lost confidence in the government.
In the process, Prussia became too heterogeneous, lost its identity, and by the 1930s had become an administrative shell of little importance. ===Nobility=== The nobility represented the first estate in a typical early modern kingdom of Christian Europe, with Germany being no exception.
In January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany.
Founded in 1894, it grew to include 137 separate women's rights groups from 1907 until 1933, when the Nazi regime disbanded the organization.
The Nazis (formerly the German Workers' Party), with a mostly rural and lower middle class base, overthrew the Weimar regime and ruled Germany in 1933–1945. ===The early years=== On 11 August 1919, the Weimar constitution came into effect, with Friedrich Ebert as first President. On 30 December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany was founded by the Spartacus League, who had split from the Social Democratic Party during the war.
Remilitarization of the Rhineland came in 1936, then annexation of Austria in the Anschluss and German-speaking regions of Czechoslovakia with the Munich Agreement in 1938, and further territory of Czechoslovakia in 1939.
Remilitarization of the Rhineland came in 1936, then annexation of Austria in the Anschluss and German-speaking regions of Czechoslovakia with the Munich Agreement in 1938, and further territory of Czechoslovakia in 1939.
Remilitarization of the Rhineland came in 1936, then annexation of Austria in the Anschluss and German-speaking regions of Czechoslovakia with the Munich Agreement in 1938, and further territory of Czechoslovakia in 1939.
On 1 September 1939, Germany initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland.
After forming a pact with the Soviet Union in 1939, Hitler and Stalin divided Eastern Europe.
After a "Phoney War" in spring 1940, German forces swiftly conquered Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France, and forced the British army out of Western Europe.
Historians are examining the links and precedents between the Herero and Namaqua Genocide and the Holocaust of the 1940s. ===World War I=== ====Causes==== Ethnic demands for nation states upset the balance between the empires that dominated Europe, leading to World War I, which started in August 1914.
In 1941, Hitler's army invaded Yugoslavia, Greece and the Soviet Union. Racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the Nazi regime.
In 1942, the German invasion of the Soviet Union faltered, and after the United States entered the war, German cities became targets for massive Allied bombing raids.
Following the Allied invasion of Normandy (June 1944), the German Army was pushed back on all fronts until the final collapse in May 1945.
Following the Allied invasion of Normandy (June 1944), the German Army was pushed back on all fronts until the final collapse in May 1945.
19th-century historians created the romantic image of the glorified warrior and accomplished leader and he served as heroic role model for an aggressive Germany militarism down to 1945 and beyond. Austrian empress Maria Theresa succeeded in bringing about a favorable conclusion for her in the 1740 to 1748 war for recognition of her succession to the throne.
West Germany was rearmed in the 1950s under the auspices of NATO but without access to nuclear weapons.
The Franco-German friendship became the basis for the political integration of Western Europe in the European Union. In 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened, the Eastern Bloc collapsed, and East Germany was reunited with West Germany in 1990.
The Franco-German friendship became the basis for the political integration of Western Europe in the European Union. In 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened, the Eastern Bloc collapsed, and East Germany was reunited with West Germany in 1990.
Between 1994 and 1998, eight 380,000-year-old wooden javelins between in length were eventually unearthed. In 1856 the fossilized bones of an extinct human species were salvaged from a limestone grotto in the Neander valley near Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.
In 1998–1999, Germany was one of the founding countries of the eurozone.
Between 1994 and 1998, eight 380,000-year-old wooden javelins between in length were eventually unearthed. In 1856 the fossilized bones of an extinct human species were salvaged from a limestone grotto in the Neander valley near Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.
In the early 2010s, Germany played a critical role in trying to resolve the escalating euro crisis, especially concerning Greece and other Southern European nations.
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