-German unification worksheet-

1. What, according to source #1, were the main differences between

Austria and Prussia towards the idea of a unified Germany?
When unifying a region, sharing things are crucial to complete the unification. These
could be religion, language, traditions… Austria Prussia had lots of differences and
that’s why they couldn’t unify. On the one hand, Prussia had a manly German
population who shared the same ethnic, language, traditions, culture... On the other
hand, in Austria there were different ethnics groups which tore the empire apart. The
approach on the economic growth.

2. Why, according to source #2, was it necessary for Bismarck to follow

Realpolitik to unify Germany?
Realpolitik was a type of politic which consisted of acting and not just saying that
things will be done (pragmatism). It was necessary for Bismarck to follow Realpolitik to
unify Germany because acting is the way get things done, this includes the unification
of Germany, in which it is necessary to take actions to unify it and not just saying that
they will do one thing or the other thing.

3. Compare and contrast sources #2 & #3 to explain how Realpolitik and

the Unification Wars are connected.
Realpolitik and the Unification Wars were connected because it was the first time that,
as realpolitik describes, action was taken to perform and achieve the great issues,
which in this case was the unification of Germany.
4. According to source #4; To what extent could the Franco-Prussian war
be considered the last step in the unification of Germany?
The Franco-Prussian war was a strategy from Bismarck to take control of the southern
German states by having a face from the outside. This would unite the kingdoms.
On the one hand, even before annexing the southern states, Prussia had already
unified most of Germany, and, as the German unification ended without the
unification with Austria, which was part of the Ger. Confed, the German unification
could have also ended without the unification the southern states as they orbited
around Austria.
On the other hand, even though the southern states orbited around Austria, they were
independent, and it did not mean that they could unify. Therefore, without the
annexation of those southern states the unification would have not been complete.
To conclude, I strongly believe that the Franco-Prussian war could be considered the
last step on the unification of Germany, as after unifying with those states, the only
one left was Austria which they couldn’t unite with due to political reasons.
Minimum extent -> No possibilities
Medium extent -> Medium possibilities
Large extent -> A lot of possibilities
Those who were not under the control of Prussia before the Franco-Prussian war got
under it after the war.

5. Using sources 1- 5, Assess the importance of Otto von Bismarck in the

Unification of Germany.
Otto von Bismarck was crucial and indispensable for the unification of Germany.
Without Otto von Bismarck the German unification probably wouldn’t have happened
and, it wouldn’t have happened in that way and that early. Otto von Bismarck was the
one to start taking action with the unification with the Unification Wars. He also was
the mastermind behind the plans to unify the states without properly conquering the,
like the annexation of Holstein, in which Holstein was annexed as well as the north of
Germany without declaring the war to Austria. Or the Franco-Prussian war, in which
they annexed the southern states not by conquering them but creating a war which
will create in them a nationalist feeling, and in this way, they will unify with Germany
happily without being forced to. Without such a mastermind helping with the
unification, this unification couldn’t have occurred or would’ve been temporal, as the
states wouldn’t have unified, or would have been forced to unify and they wouldn’t
have finally separated.