Unit 1: The Second

Reich
• Political Stability
• Economic Stability
• Social Change
• Foreign Policy
 The Kaiser
• Was always the Prussian King.
• Had full control of foreign and diplomatic
affairs.
• Could appoint and dismiss the Chancellor and
dissolve the Reichstag at any time.
 The Chancellor
• Was directly responsible to the Kaiser
• Was the Minister-President of Prussia
• Could ignore resolutions passed by the
Reichstag
• Even so, he had to have the support of the
Reichstag in order to successfully steer
legislation through the Reichstag
 The Bundesrat
• Was the Upper House of Parliament
• Could veto legislation and in theory, change
the constitution
• Dominated by Prussia who held 17 out of 58
seats
 The Reichstag
• Joint legislative power with the Reichstag
• Could only accept, veto or discuss legislation
• The Chancellor was not answerable to it
(Evident through the Daily Telegraph Affair
1908 and the Zabern Incident of 1913.)
 Steel Production
• New manufacturing method “Thomas-
Gilchrist” Method and the discovery of
Phosphorus ores in Alsace-Lorraine but steel
production in front of Britain
• In 1900, Britain had only 1 company that was
producing 300,000 tons of steel a year
whereas Germany had 10.
 Chemical production
• Stimulated by need for explosives in the
military and the need for dye in the textile
industry
• Britain imported 80% of its dye from Germany
and it was said that on the eve of war, Britain
were marching to battle in German dyed
uniforms
 Urbanisation
• Growth of industry saw large amounts of the
rural populations flock to the German cities
• Caused overcrowding and poor sanitary
conditions. In 1892 in Hamburg alone, over
8600 people died in just a 10 year period.
 Agriculture
• Refrigerated ships and lower prices meant
that people chose imported meat from the US
rather then German farmed meat.
• The migration into the cities also led to a
shortage of labour in the countryside. This gap
was filled by foreign workers, mainly Poles,
and by 1914 there were over half a million
foreign workers in the agricultural industry.
Consequences of the Economic Improvement

• Contradiction between economic

modernisation and lack of parliamentary
progress
• Uneven economic growth meant rising house
and unemployment. This led to clashes
between strikers and workers between 1912
and 1914.
 The Socialist Movement
• In 1910, there were over 720,000 members of
the SPD making it the largest socialist party in
Europe.
• It had transformed from a radical, revolutionary
and Marxist party to a moderate party
campaigning peacefully for parliamentary
reform.
• However, other parties still thought of the SPD
as a revolutionary party
 Nationalist Pressure Groups
• German Colonial League: Concerned itself
with Germany’s colonial expansion
• Pan-German League: Also concerned with
colonial growth but also campaigned for
German dominance in Europe
• Navy League: Successfully campaigned for
Naval expansion. One of the most popular
groups with a membership of 1 million
 Economic Pressure Groups
• The Central Association of German
Industrialists: concerned with the protection of
industrial interests through the
implementation of tariffs. One of the most
powerful pressure groups in Germany
• The Agrarian League: concerned with the
protection of agricultural interests. Led by the
Junkers but very popular amongst the
peasantry.
Political Developments up to 1900
•Demand for Constitutional Reform: Bismarck was
able to separate the Liberals by using the policy of
divide and rule. He orchestrated the passing of the
tariff laws in 1879 which pleased the National
Liberals while angering the Progressive Liberals
•Demand for Social Reform: Bismarck had
introduced anti-socialist laws which were voted
against in 1890. From then on, small amounts of
social reform were passed.
 Flottenpolitik
• Argued to be necessary to defend and maintain
Germany’s overseas colonies.
• Was an example of the synthesis of public pressure
(Navy League) and Government legislation.
• The 2nd Navy Law, 1900: Pledge to build 38
battleships over the next 20 years.
• The 3rd Navy Law, 1906: After the unveiling of the
British HMS Dreadnought., the pledge 6 Battle
Cruisers.
 Social and Economic Reforms
• Social: The Old Age and Invalidity Act, 1899
(extended to new occupations in 1900).
Sickness Insurance Law amended in 1903 to
cover 26 weeks as opposed to 13.
• Protectionist: New Tariff Law, 1902. Added
higher duty on imported agricultural products.
 Herero Uprising
• January 1904: Herero people of SW Africa rise up
against their German oppressors.
• Having been defeated at the battle of Waterberg in
August, the Herero people are subjected to a campaign
of genocide by the Germans.
• Prior to the uprising, the Herero population stood at
80,000 compared to 15,000 after 1911
• The whole episode highlighted the lack of control that
Germany had on her colonies as well as outrage that it
had cost over 400 million marks to stop the uprising.
 Hottentot Election of 26th May, 1906
• Plans for a railway and paltry compensation to
the settlers in South West Africa were opposed
by the Centre Party and SPD.
• Reichstag was dissolved and Von Bulow scared
the voters into voting for the “Bulow Block” of
parties. The election was fought on the issue of
nationalism.
• “Bulow Block” gained a majority. Event
highlighted the power of the Chancellor.
 Daily Telegraph Affair, 1908
• In October 1908, the Kaiser gave an interview
with the Kaiser where he mentioned his desire
to have an alliance with Britain.
• Reichstag were outraged that they were not
consulted about this and Kaiser blamed Von
Bulow for not censoring the interview.
• Von Bulow’s budget was rejected by the
Reichstag but it was the Kaiser’s vote of no
confidence that forced him to retire.
 1912 Election
• SPD became the largest party in the Reichstag
with 110 seats.
• Other parties were still reluctant to work with
them as they still were viewed as a
revolutionary party.
• In 1913, the SPD approved the Army Bill which
would increase the army by 136,000 troops in
attempt to not appear unpatriotic.
 Zabern Affair, 1913
• In October, 1913, a young lieutenant, von Forstner, made
disparaging remarks about the local populations. This led to
various incidents of unrest.
• The Kaiser refused the audience of the governor of Alsace-
Lorraine as he was on a hunting holiday.
• He banned the chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg from telling the
Reichstag that he had sent an investigative team to the region.
• As a result, Bethmann-Hollweg was asked many questions from
the Reichstag which he could not answer, which led to a vote of
not confidence, however this did not effect his position and was
ignored by the Reichstag
 Constitutional Reform 1900 - 1914
• There were no moves towards Parliamentary democracy
• Unbalanced voting system did not take into account of mass
urbanization of the past few decades.
• In the 1907 elections, the Centre Party and SPD won 3 million
votes between them yet still lost out to the Bulow Block in terms
of seats gained.
• No-one wanted to argue against the power of the Kaiser for fear of
being labelled unpatriotic and anti-German.
• Parties also tended to have a narrow interest, ie the Conservatives
= Landowners, National Liberals = Industrialists, SPD = urban
working class. This made progressive alliances very difficult.