GERMAN UNIFICATION

Germany had a unique geographical position. Areas to the west of the Elbe had patterns of
development that were closer to the Mediterranean. In the east, serfdom prevailed for much longer
with the onset of the period of ‘second serfdom’. Thus this region soon became the granary of
Europe. With industrialization, this divide deepened. The question of different economic and
geographical zones gave rise to a prolonged debate about German identity. The Roman Empire had
conquered the Rhineland which had become Romanised, and thus had a westward orientation. By
the 18th century, it was a region that was heavily Frenchified and a seat of high culture. In the east, a
pride, that the region was never part of the Roman Empire developed. The Rhinelanders’ concept of
Germany was thus western and brought with a contempt for the culture of the east. The east, on the
other hand, converted the contempt of the west into an aggressive anti-German identity. It was
perhaps accompanied by a sneaking admiration for the west.

The term ‘Germany’ was not prevalent at this time. It was referred to as the die deutschen lander.
Propagandists for national unity looked to the classical period for a pedigreed past. The image of the
German that had developed over time was not a flattering one. The Germans were presented as
being barbaric, coarse and uncultured. The discovery, in the monastery of Harsfeld, of a manuscript
of the Roman Tactics, a pamphlet called Germania, changed all that. Subsequent scholarship has
shown that this was a piece of propaganda. In the pamphlet Tacitus presents the Germanic tribes as
being crude but honest and noble – idea of a ‘noble savage’. German humanists used this manuscript
to tackle prevalent stereotypes about the Germans. It was around this time that the phrase
Deutschland began to be used.

Another important question was that of language, and here, the defining event was the Reformation.
It ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. North Europe was largely Protestant while the
south was Catholic, Germany, by being at the centre of the Continent was faced with a similar
dilemma. North Germany remained Protestant, while the south and west was predominantly
Catholic. The early German nationalists had used Latin as a mode of communication. However,
Martin Luther gave importance to the vernacular as an attempt to break the stranglehold of Latin.
The spread of the print culture in Germany at this time gave rise to high rates of literacy. The
language of Luther (who came from Saxony) gained pre-eminence. Thus the Old Saxon dialect was
elevated to the status of a national language.

There was also the famous issue of the dualism in Germany between Prussia and Austria. The lands
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were part of the old Roman Empire, of a Catholic world that
looked to the south and west for inspiration.

Geography determined that the Germaneness of the Austrian region was largely Mediterranean in
character. Its eclectic and syncretic culture was exemplified by its capital Vienna. In the north, the
kingdom of Prussia was extremely vulnerable with open frontiers and had an insecure culture of
militarism. Prussia included the territory of Brandenburg – the land between the Elbe and Older
rivers with its capital at Berlin. The other core region was the region around the Vistula. The union
of these territories took place in 1618. In 1701, the Elector of Brandenburg / Duke of Prussia
crowned himself king. These territories adopted the Protestant faith.

Napoleon forced the Germans to define themselves in terms of a French civilization. For some, the
struggle against Napoleon became a struggle against French culture. In the struggle, there were
two towering but opposing figures – Goethe and Arndt. Goethe (1749–1832) turned to Greek
antiquity not as ammunition against France but as an embodiment of balance. Thus his cultural
orientation was Mediterranean. He did not support the war of liberation against Napoleon and

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constantly emphasized his admiration for the man. He also showed little interest in the unification of
Germany. He revived the argument that the division of Germany would help maintain her cultural
diversity. At the other extreme was Arndt (a hyperpatriotic song writer) and Friedrich Jahn who
founded the Berlin Gymnastic Association which attempted to combine physical fitness and
character building. They combined this attitude with an assault on a corrupt decadent French
civilization. On strand of this was the use of the German term ‘volk’ (folk) as opposed to the French
notion of a nation. With Jahn came the notion that the German volk were culturally and spiritually
superior to the French. There was thus a demonizing of French culture. Some of the most famous
thinkers and intellectuals of this period like J. L. Fichte in a lecture argued that not only should the
Germans fight off French rule but that this was a battle of civilizations.

In 1853 as Napoleon’s Grand Army retreated from Russia implied a signal to the German people to
rise up against French rule. At the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 Napoleon was defeated and
this gave an indirect boost to the German national myth. This was also the first hint of a changing
balance between Prussia and Austria. Austria had suffered extensively at the hands of Napoleon, but
it was the Prussians who took the lead in the war of Liberation. Between 1862-71, Prussia rose to
prominence in Europe.

BISMARCK
Bismarck came to power as a result of a struggle between the King and Parliament over taxation,
control of finances and the size of the army. The king wanted to increase the size of the regular
army (dominated by the Junker aristocracy), and parliament wanted to increase the size of the
reserve army (dominated by middle class liberals). Bismarck was looked upon as a die hard
conservative who would help the king, and was thus appointed Prime Minister. He consciously
nurtured that reputation with a revolutionary foreign policy and a reactionary domestic policy.

In September 1862, at a meeting of the Budget Committee of Parliament he delivered his famous
`Blood and Iron’ speech. He argued that 1848 had demonstrated that democracy could not unify
Germany, only military force could. This bolstered his reputation of being a conservative. He told
Parliament that if he was refused the requisite finances he would obtain it through unconstitutional
means. As an enemy of Parliament, he became a hated figure, and was labelled an enemy of
liberalism. There were subtle reasons as to why he was promoting this conservative image. The
other powers in Europe mistakenly assumed that he would be conservative in his foreign policy as
well. This was especially useful in lulling the suspicions of the Emperor of Russia.

In his economic policy, he was upholding the very Parliament he was balting the criticizing by
following a policy of economic liberalism. He consolidated the customs union known as the
Zollverein and continued to exclude Austria from it. He also concluded a number of free trade
treaties with Britain, Belgium and Italy. He ensured that his policies did not hurt the interests of
financiers and industrialists.

Bismarck regarded the German national movement as subversive as it threatened existing

hierarchies. Nevertheless, he fell that he could harness this national movement for his foreign policy
by making concessions to it, thereby frightening conservative sections, and using it to promote
Prussian great power aims. In 1863 there was a revolt in Russia. This became a cause celebre all
over Europe. German nationalists expressed sympathy for the Poles who had revolted. Bismarck
deliberately took an opposing stand, offering military support to the Czar to suppress the Poles. He
was hoping for Russian support in a war against Austria.

A number of factors favouring German unification had emerged at this stage; the Russians were
willing to adopt an attitude of benevolent neutrality; Bismarck met Napoleon III in 1865 and he too
made it clear that he favoured limited unification under Prussia; the British who favoured a policy of

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a balance of power between Prussia and Austria felt that Austria was the stronger power, a
miscalculation, and decided to support the Prussian cause. Thus Austria, Bismarck’s key obstacle to
a revision of the map of Central Europe, was left isolated.

WARS OF UNIFICATION
1. The Danish war of 1864: The Danish problem centered around two principalities that lay
on the North European coast between the German territories and Denmark – Schleswig and
Holstein. These two duchies had become a bone of contention. In 1863 the King of Denmark
annexed Schleswig leading to an outcry among the German nationalists. They called for a
German war of liberation to liberate both the duchies, which would then be placed under a
German prince and incorporated into the Confederation of 39 states headed by Austria.
Bismarck ostensibly supported the King of Denmark at this moment of crisis, once again
opposing the stand taken by the German nationalists. He reassures the Great Powers that
he is a monarchist. He then finds an insignificant clause by which the King of Denmark had
violated the treaty by which he was overlord of the region. Thus citing the sanctity of
treaty, he does a volte face and calls for intervention. He does not term this a German
crusade but calls for combined Austrian and Prussian action. The two duchies were
liberated. Bismarck placed it under joint Austrian and Prussian control without consulting
the German Confederation. The entire issue threw the German national movement into
turmoil. While he had openly flouted the nationalists, he had gained control over the two
duchies. From this point on the national movement begins to crumble.

2. Austrian War of 1866: Bismarck had originally not contemplated war with Austria. He
had suggested a division of the German territories with Austrian control over the north and
Prussian control over the south. In 1866 war broke out (over a minor pretext) and ended
with Austrian defeat at the Battle of Sadowa. The Prussian Parliament was opposed to a war
against a fellow German state. Thus Bismarck found himself alone again. The war was
however a resounding success for Prussia, and a north German Confederation was created
under the overlordship of Prussia. The victory dazzled the nationalists who now completely
surrendered to Bismarck. Parliament, which had originally refused to release funds for the
campaign, now voted him an indemnity, in retrospective, for the taxes he had collected
illegally.

3. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. After the first two conflicts Bismarck hesitated.
Southern and Western Germany traditionally looked to France for leadership, and he knew
that Napoleon III would not permit easy annexation. However, his hands were forced by the
turn of events. In 1870, the Spanish throne fell vacant. French public opinion was a decisive
factor, and it pushed the French into attempting to stop further Prussian expansion. The
French made a number of intolerable demands - that the Prussian candidate for the throne
be withdrawn (a demand Prussia surprisingly accepted) and that Prussia would never lay
claim to the throne. Bismarck was pushed into war by this and rising German sentiment.
The war resulted in a catastrophic defeat for France, especially at the Battle of Sedan. The
Second Reich was proclaimed on the soil of defeated France in January 1871 at Versailles.

Post unification, many felt that what had been created was not a unified Germany but a Greater
Prussia. This was confirmed by the new German constitution. There were two houses – the
Reichstag (the lower House) and the Bundesrat (the upper House). Above this was the Imperial
Chancellor and then the Emperor. The lower House was largely a ‘debating council’ with little
legislate powers. Its only function was to give assent to the Budget. The Imperial Chancellor was
not answerable to the Reichstag. The Bundesrat had a federal structure, representatives from
various separate German states. Prussia, which was territorially dominant, could then dominate the
Bundesrat. Moreover, the first Emperor of Germany was the old King of Prussia. Bismarck

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combined his role as Chancellor with his position as Prime Minister of Prussia. The Prussian
Finance Minister was the Finance Minister of the Reich and the Prussian Commander in Chief was
also commander of the Reich’s army. The Government depended on contributions from various
states to function and here the Prussians were the biggest contributors. Even the bureaucracy was
dominated by Prussians. In cultural terms, this Prussianization meant that the stock image of the
Prussian militarist now became symbolic of the German stereotype.

Antara Datta
III History

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