Kevin Pham, Brandon Choy Discussion Questions

Why would France fear Germany's growing power? France would fear Germanys growing power because Germany becomes a unified country, it would be more threatening than being several territories acting without cohesion. France would also be threatened by their growing military power and attempt to expand westward into their lands. Why was the loss of Alsace and Lorraine such a big deal to the French? The Alsace-Lorraine territory would affect the outcome of wars between France and Germany in the future. The acquisition of this region by the Germans gave them a strategic military advantage by moving the border away from the Rhine River. It allowed them to take over Metz and most of the iron resources available in the region. Why was it such a jewel to the Germans? The territory provided a defendable border between German territory and that of their French enemy. It gave Germany a military advantage over the French and considerable iron resources. How would Austria feel about Germany's unification? Austria would probably be against the unification of Germany because before Prussia arrived; she was the dominant power within Germany. Austria had bad relations with the new Prussian-dominated German Empire, clearly inferior to them. As a result of the unification Austria was thrown into war to determine who would be the dominant force in Germany. Austria ultimately ended up losing the Seven Weeks War and was excluded from German affairs. What about Russia? Would she fear Germany's unification? Why/not? Russia was a strong country and relatively indifferent to the unification of Germany in the beginning; some would say Prussias successes were owed mainly due to Russias lack of involvement. At first, after unification it seemed that the two countries could become allies, but began to fear each others vast industrialization. In the end, this conflict resulted in the rivalry between Russia and Germany during World War I as major economic powers. What was the relationship of Italy with Germany during this time? Italy and Germany maintained good relations during this time. Both these countries had unifications of their states in the same time period. During the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia and Italy formed a united front against the Austrian Empire, resuting in a beneficial shift of power towards the Prussian Empire. Italy also benefited by annexing some Austrian land.