germany depth study 1 1971-79

when was wilhelm I proclaimed german emporer

18 jan 1871

three key features of bismarks rule

-’blood and iron’ chancellor

-prussian dominance

-media manipulation

what was the zollverein

economic union between the 18 german states 1834 led by prussia

what was the Ems Telegram

a telegram which was altered and then published by bismark to give a false description of a meeting in which it was claimed that the french were trying to put a french candidate on the spanish throne

what was the result of the Ems telegram

created a sense of fear that france had expansionist aims, which bismark had orchestrated in order to make the southern states of germany want to join the north

what three elements were central to bismarks vision of germany

-prussian monarchy and aristocracy should control the gov

-he was not a german nationalist- wanted prussian dominance

-success of germany would rely on prussias increasing power

what was bismarks social class

junker

bismark political style

conservative but ‘realpolitique’

what was the political structure hierachy

kaiser

chancellor

bundestrat

reichstag lander

how many seats did prussia have in the bundestrat

why was this significant

held 17 seats

only 14 votes needed to reject a motion

total bundesraat seats

58

how was prussian dominance evident in the constitution

-prussia held 17 seats, only 14 needed to veto

-kaiser is always king of prussia

-kaiser elects chancellor

-kaiser has full control over foreign policy

how many germans were catholic

1/3 population

what was kulturkampf

bismark policy aimed to reduce catholic influence in germany

electorate in germany in 1871

men over 25 voted in reichstag elections every three years

where did the centre party draw votes from

all classes, anyone who was catholic or felt persecuted

bankers, peasants, workers, landowners

why was the centre party a concern for bismark

-attracted catholics and non german catholic ethnic groups

-had allegiance to the pope rather than the kaiser

-suspicion of catholics as they had sided with austria in the austro-prussian war 1866

key aspects of kulturkampf

-supression of all languages but german

-state aiuthorities could inspect catholic schools

-state appointed priests

-church property siezed

-ostracized the catholic community and removed them from gov posts

what was the Breadbasket Law

part of kulturkampf

withdrew financial support for any priest who did not publicly declare support for the german state

result of the kulturkampf

-reinforced catholic seperation from the german state

-centre party vote increased

-criticism from prussian elite

-ended 1879

how much did the centre party vote increase by during kulturkampf

18.6% in 1871 to 27.9% in 1874

equal to national liberals as the largest party by 1878

who were the national liberals

-main party up to 1878

-support came from protestant industrial and proffessional middle classes

-wanted to create a strong nation state, promotion of civil liberties and strong advocates of free trade

who were the SDP

-predominately a working class party

-close links with the trade unions

many became attracted to the party during the economic depression

who were the centre party

-created in 1870

-represented catholic interets

-support came from southern catholic states

-gained support due to kulturkampf

-main opposition

who were the german conservative party

-represented interests of the junkers

-opposition to economic liberalism

evidence of authoritarianism in the consitiution

-kaiser commanded all armed forces

-kaiser directed foreign policy

-chancellor was not accountable to reichstag

-imperial gov not accountable to reichstag

-prussian vote system ensured domination of the upper classes

evidence of a democratic constitution

-bundestrat could make changes to constitution

-reichstag elected by universal male suffrage

-each state allowed to retain its own constitution

evidence of prussian dominance in constitution

-king of prussia was automatically kaiser

-prussia held 17 seats in bundestrat and only 14 needed to veto

-prussian electoral college ensured delegates always represented junker interests

-kaiser controlled military

evidence of german unity in constitution

-states held responsibility for education, health and justice

-states allowed to retain own constitutions

where did support for the national liberals come from

north of germany e.g. saxony and baden

educated and wealthy middle class

where did support for the centre party come from

german areas of the south e.g. bavaria

catholics

where did support for the conservative party come from

prussia

junker class

why did Bismarck work with the liberals

-largest party in the reichstag so their policies couldnt be ignored

-feared catholic support for the centre party as they were the second largest party yet he believed them to be a threat to national unity

what policies did Bismarck pass to please the liberals

-laws restricting the charging of interest on loans were removed

-freedom of movement restrictions removed

-reichsmark became the sole legal currency

why did Bismarck split the national liberals

liberals wanted a more democratic germany and were pushing for these policies which bismark disagreed with

why did the national liberals split

-split over vote concerning the introduction of more protectionistic tarrifs

-split into the national liberal party (conservative right) and the Liberal union (left)

what were the consequences of the split for the national liberals

became more conservative in ideology

-decline in popularity and power as the vote was split

consequences of splitting the liberals for bismark

-made the reichstag more difficult for him to manage

-weakened overall support for his policies

-politically isolated

what was the 1878 campaign against socialism cause

assassination attempts on the kaiser falsely linked to socialism which gave bismark an opportunity to move against them and pass the anti socialist bill

terms of the 1878 anti socialist bill

-socialist meetings banned

-socialist societies and publications banned

-police given powers to expel socialist agitators

-each state could declare a state of siege for up to a year due to socialist disturbances

consequences of the campaign against socialism

-socialists pulled together in the long term

-seats in reichstag increased by 24 by 1884

-became more tightly structured and highly organised

what is realpolitik

policies or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations

what was voter turnout in 1871

50.7%

what was Dreikaiserbund

alliance between germany austria and russia

effect of the 1879 Tarriff Law

-caused political divisions

-stimulated the growth of the market

-consolidated the regions of the reich

what was the 1879 Tariff Law

protectionist law which imposed tariffs on industrial and agricultural imports into germany

what caused the war in sight crisis

-failure of kulturkampf (france sided with the vatican against german domestic policy)

-preventative war (articles published) as france began to build up its army which bismark saw as a threat

-france wanted to purchase 100,000 horses (seen as a sign of preparation for war)

what happened 5 april 1875

german newspaper Kolnische Zeitung published an article that described catholic conspiracy against germany which was published with bismarks encouragement

what happened 9 april 1875

The Berlin Post publish article titled ‘Is war in sight?’ which made it clear to the public that many in the gov thought war was inevitable

effect of the articles

caused considerable alarm in germany and major european countries

german diplomatic action indicated that they believed a war was imminent

Tsar of Russia meets with Kaiser (backing of Britain) and assures peace

Bismark humiliated and other countries became wary of him and germany

population working in factories growth 1855-1873

4%-10%

centre party vote in 1874

doubled (result of attacks on catholicism)

what factors influenced the anti socialist campaign 1878

-bismark wanted to curtail growth of SPD

-faslsely linked two attempts on the kaisers life to socialism

-more people voting for socialist reichstag candiates

when was the law against the Publicly Dangerous Endeavours of Social Democracy passed?

october 21 1878

why did bismark want to create an appeal to nationalism

-wanted to unite the german people

-gov wanted to create an appeal to nationalism

-reichdeutsche identity

what nationalist policies were enforced

-schools and unis were required to teach nationalism as a subject

-curriculums focused on instilling loyalty to the kaiser

-bismark believed in a strong policy of cultural nationalism in order to ‘germanise’ groups such as the polish

-late 1870s schools and military were used to enforce a german identity

-gov policy focused on creating a homogeneous nation

why did bismark focus on nationalism

wanted to divert attention away from the call for greater democratic reform

-national identity became based around militaristic ideals

-wanted to promote superiority of the german culture

law for combatting the criminal aims of social democracy

prohibited socialist meetings, gave police power to search arrest and exile socialist politicians