1871-1890 Bismarck's Germany: A-level AQA Germany 1871-1991

Year of the unification of Germany

1871

North German Confederation

An alliance of northern German states formed after the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. Led by Prussian leadership

How Germany unified

- All the states had slowly grown closer over a number of years

- In 1870 the German states agreed to support Prussia in the Franco-Prussian war

- When France was defeated, all the German states came together to form one country, King Wilhelm of Prussia, became Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany

German history pre-1871

800 - Holy Roman Empire founded (1st Reich)

1805 - Napoleon dissolves the Holy Roman Empire

1833 - The Zollverein, a customs union, is formed

1848 - Vormäz revolutions

1864 - Prussian-Danish War. Prussian victory

1866 - Austro-Prussian war. Prussian victory

1867 - North German Confederation founded

1870 - Hohenzollern crisis leads to the Franco-Prussian war.

1871 - Prussia wins the Franco-Prussian war and Germany is unified (2nd Reich)

German consitution

Founding document of the Second Reich

Government type: Federal monarchy

Head of State - Kaiser (also Kaiser of Prussia)

Head of Government - Chancellor (also PM of Prussia)

National Parliament - Reichstag

Federal Council - Bundesrat

- One of the most democratic in the world at the time

- No cabinet

Responsibilities of the federal government

- Defence

- Foreign policy

- Civil and criminal law

- Customs

- Railway

- Postal service

Responsibilities of state governments

- Education

- Transport

- Direct taxation

- Police

- Health

- Local justice

Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurttemberg kept their own armies

Reichstag

The democratically elected parliament of Germany (lower house) In theory it had extensive powers, but rarely used them. Elected by all males over 25 every 5 years

- Accepted or rejected legislation and the budget

- Limited ability to introduce new laws

- State secretaries couldn't be members

- Members weren't paid

Otto von Bismarck

Chancellor of Germany (1871-1890), Prussian Prime Minister (1862-1890), Foreign Minister (1862-1890), Prussian envoy to the Frankfurt Bundestag, Prussian Ambassador to Vienna

- Responsible for uniting Germany

- Held great power and influence while Chancellor

- Junker

- Conservative, militaristic, anti-democratic, monarchist

- Pragmatic, opportunistic, emotional, ruthless, ambitious, intelligent, determined

- Poor health, especially in later years

- Stormy relationship with Wilhelm I

- Dismissed by Wilhelm II

- Melodramatically threatened to resign whenever he didn't get his way

- Always emerged from crises appearing strong

- Very successful in foreign policy, less so in domestic policy

- Weakened other ministers and made sure they only followed his will

- Realpolitik

- Longest reigning German Chancellor

Bismarck's personality

- Intelligent, ambitious, ruthless, determined, tough

- Skilled fencer and crack shot

- Arch Conservative

- Pragmatic and opportunistic

- Monarchist and anti-democratic

- Rule through 'iron and blood'

- Emotional and aggressive

- Smoker and alcoholic

- Stormy and ill-tempered

- Often contradicted himself, and suffered from periods of depression and laziness, but could be delightful company, depending on his mood

- Deep mistrust of any potential rivals

- Thought the ends justifies the means

- Known to be very contradictory. Historians think this means he can't form a coherent thought, or is a desire to confuse friends and enemies, or his way of thinking out loud

Bismarck's career

Prussian representative to the Landtag 1847-1850

Prussian envoy to the Frankfurt Bundestag 1850-1858

- Became less reactionary and more pragmatic

- Became convinced of the need to oppose Austria

Prussian Ambassador 1858-1862

Foreign Minister and Prussian Prime Minister 1862-1890

- Only accepted the post on condition that he could 'play his own music'

Chancellor of Imperial Germany 1871-1890

By 1862:

- Reputation as tough, ambitious and ruthless

- Mistakenly viewed as a Conservative reactionary

- Correctly seen as a loyal supporter of the monarchy

- Viewed as an unpredictable maverick

- Appointment as PM seen as a deliberately affront to the LIberals as they thought he was a bigoted reactionary

- Not expected to stay in power that long

Kaiser Wilhelm I

First German emperor (1871-1888). Didn't take a large active role in running the country, instead letting Chancellor Bismarck have a larger role

- King of Prussia (1861-1888)

- Polite and gentlemanly

- Saw his role as Prussian King more important than German Emperor

- The forgotten man of Bismarck's Germany

- Had reservations about Kulturkampf and Bismarck's handling of subordinates

- Survived several assassination attempts and was largely popular in his later life

- Personified the values of 'old Prussia'

Bundesrat

The upper house of the German parliament, comprised of 58 representatives from the various German states. In theory, it had extensive powers but rarely used them.

- Dominated by Prussia

- Chaired by the Chancellor

- Required 14 votes to veto a proposal

- Prussia had 17 seats

- Rarely used powers, just rubber stamped the Chancellor's policies

25

The age a male had to be to vote for the Reichstag

Powers of the Kaiser

- Could appoint and dismiss chancellor

- Could dissolve the Reichstag

- Controlled foreign policy

- Could make treaties, alliances, war, and peace

- Supervised the execution of laws

Powers of the Chancellor

- Chief minister of the Reich

- Only responsible to the Emperor

- Decided policy outlines

- Chaired sessions of the Bundesrat

- Appointed state secretaries

- Could ignore resolutions passed by the Reichstag

Powers of the Bundestrat

- Consent was required to pass laws

- Theoretically able to change the constitution

- Heavily controlled by Prussia

Powers of the Reichstag

- Could accept or reject legislation and budget

- Approved budget

- Commanded loyalty of public

- Could publicly embarrass government officials

- Could censor the Chancellor

- Bismarck wanted to change constitution to limit their power, showing their strength

Weaknesses of the Reichstag

- Rarely used its power

- Could censor, but not dismiss Chancellor

- Bogged down by politics and technicalities

- No majority party

- Could be dismissed by Kaiser

- Chancellor and state secretaries weren't responsible to it

- Parties weren't used to - and didn't expect - power

Prussian domination

- Controlled 60% of Germans and 66% of German territory

- Enough seats in the Bundesrat to veto any law

- Senior officials were Prussian, including military

- Chancellor and Kaiser of Germany were Prime Minister and King of Prussia respectively

- Prussian and Imperial institutions were hard to distinguish

- Prussia's aristocracy dominated political, military and administrative structure

Prussian weaknesses

- Had to consider German interests, not just their own

- Non-Prussians began to integrate and assume senior positions

- Power weakened over time

- People were loyal to Germany, not Prussia

German military

- Made up of 4 armies: Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurttemberg

- Dominated by Conservative Prussian Junkers

- Mandatory conscription made them popular to public

- Independent budget from Reichstag

- Not bound by civilian control

- Large enough to rival Britain's by 1900's

- Huge army, and increasingly powerful navy

- Seen as the architect of unification

- Prestigious and well respected

Conscription

All German men had to serve for 2 or 3 years.

Ensured that values like discipline, militarism and monarchism were instilled in the public

- Led to a respect of uniform and military institutes

- Led to a militarised society

Wilhelm I and Bismarck's relationship

- Wilhelm often let Bismarck do what he want

- Stormy

- Frequently argued, sometimes led to tears

Bismarck's foreign policy

- Wanted peace as war would threaten the Reich

- Isolated France so they wouldn't be as much of a threat

- Allied with Austria and Italy (Triple alliance)

- Signed a reinsurance treaty with Russia in 1887

- Bismarck's strongest area

- Kept good relations with Russia and Austria to avoid fighting a war on two fronts

Democratic

The idea that the German constitution ensured that the will of the people is recognised via the Reichstag

- Larger franchise than any other country

- Delicate equilibrium that kept key institutions in check

- Bismarck routinely bowed to the Reichstag

- Reichstag had power just wasn't used to wielding it

Autocractic

The idea that the German constitution didn't follow the will of the people and was dominated by elites

- Absolute power was with Kaiser and Chancellor

- Reichstag routinely bowed to Bismarck

- Bismarck dominated for nearly 2 decades

- Constitution created major tensions between federal and state powers, and parliamentary and monarchical powers

1879

- Germany and Austria form the dual alliance. (Italy later joins in 1882)

- Tariff act

Liberal era

1871-1879

- Period when the NL were the largest party in RS

- Bismarck had to work with NL

- Reduced influence of Conservative Junkers

- Series of laws to unite the country

Political parties

Mainly pressure groups before unification, and so were not developed in the same way as their British equivalents, instead each one represented a different part of society, and they focused on furthering the goals of their own group, rather than ruling the country

- Even the left didn't expect to wield much control over government

German disunity

- Each state had their own traditions and culture

- 40% of population were catholic

- 10% of population were non-German (Poles, Danes)

- Economic divisions between rich and poor

- Industrial west and north, rural east and south

- Progressive before 1871, more conservative after unification

- Non-Prussians became more Prussian

- Prussians became more German

- Any criticism of Germany seen as unpatriotic

National Liberals

- Centre to centre-right

- Largest party in RS from 1870-1881

- Supporters of unification and Bismarck

- Wanted strong constitutional and Liberal state

- Supporters: protestant middle class, well educated

- Stormy relationship with Bismarck

- Frequently limited and curbed Bismarck

Centre party (Zentrum)

- Centre to centre-right

- 58 seats in 1870

- Supported the Catholics and other minorities

- Constitution: Conservative; Social reforms: Liberal

- Particularly strong in southern states

- Wanted to preserve the power of the Catholic church, especially its influence over education

Social Democratic Party (SPD)

- Far left

- 2 seats in 1870

- Socialist

- Supported working class and trade unions

- Wanted reduction in power of elites and extension of welfare state

- Wanted to abolish the monarchy

- Seen as a threat by Bismarck

- Saw more support over time as urbanisation led to more industrial working class

- Target of the anti-socialist bill 1878

German Conservative Party (DKP)

- Far right

- 57 seats in 1870

- Supported by the Prussian Junkers

- Resented Reichstag due to universal male suffrage

- Dominated in Prussian parliament

- Almost entirely limited to Prussia

The Progressives (DFP)

- Moderate left

- 47 seats in 1870

- Wanted to extend Reichstag's powers

- Wanted Liberal constitutional state

- Disliked centrism and militarism

Free Conservatives (FKP)

- Right wing

- 37 seats in 1870

- Represented industrialists and businessmen

- Strong supporters of Bismarck

- Wider geographical base than DKP

Largest party in the Reichstag

National Liberals: 1871 - 1881

Zentrum: 1881 - 1887

NL & Zentrum (tied): 1887 - 1890

Zentrum: 1890 - 1912

Reichsbank

German national bank established in 1876

Nationalism

The desire for a united Germany. Bismarck only started supporting this because he thought it could be manipulated to benefit Prussia

Realpolitik

An aggressive style of politics that focuses on doing whatever is necessary to achieve an aim.

A practical political style, that avoided clinging to ideals and beliefs

- Characterised Bismarck's career

Legislation passed in the 1870's

- National system of currency

- Reichsbank established

- Internal tariffs abolished

- Legal standardisation

Army budget

- Responsible for 80% of German government expenditure

- Standing army of 400,000 men

- Bismarck proposed that it remain a fixed expenditure, automatically funded by federal expenditure.

Septennial law

1874

- Bismarck proposed that the army budget remained fixed

- National Liberals were outraged as it would be a serious reduction in the Reichstag's economic influence

- Bismarck accused them of trying to undermine the German military and threatened to call new elections

- A compromise was reached where the budget would be reviewed every 7 years

- Severely reduced the Reichstag's financial power

Press law

1874

Allowed the government to prosecute editors who produced anti-German material.

NL attempted to resist, but in vain

Kulturkampf

1871-1878

A struggle between cultures or civilisations.

In the 1870's Bismarck targeted minorities, most notably the Catholics

Causes of Kulturkampf

- 39% of Germans were Catholics

- Bismarck and NL both distrusted Catholics

- Zentrum party became a rallying point for reichsfeinde

- Zentrum wanted greater state independence

- Catholics controlled their own education, finance, etc

- Pope Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors went against all Liberal principles

- Bismarck thought it would increase unity

- Ejection of the Old Catholics was used as an excuse

Reichsfeinde

Those who Bismarck considered 'enemies of the state'

- South Germans

- Catholics

- Poles / Danes

- Rhinelanders

- Alsace-Lorraine people

Pope Pius IX

Pope during the unification who felt threatened by the weakening of the power of the Catholic church and issued the Syllabus of Errors which made it difficult to question the pope, as well as going against every Liberal principle.

Bismarck's primary enemy during Kulturkampf

Threatened to excommunicate those who submitted to Kulturkampf

Syllabus of Errors, 1864

A declaration by Pope Pius IX to increase the power of the catholic church, by limiting the freedom of thought of the people

Alsace-Lorraine

A province of France that was annexed by Germany during the Franco-Prussian war.

- Population was French and didn't like being ruled by Germany

- Run by Prussian civil servants

- Pro-French people were encouraged to leave, 400,000 did between 1870 and 1914

- Never truly integrated into Germany

Danes and Poles

- The bulk of the minority to the North (Schleswig-Holstein, Poland, etc)

1878 - German made the only language to be taught in schools

Austria

1879 - Bismarck abandoned an 1866 treaty by holding a vote in Schleswig to decide the area's future

1879 - Dual alliance created

East

- Experienced the most persecution of any area during Kulturkampf

1872 - German made the only language taught in schools

1876 - German made sole language of commerce

Land was loaned off to Germans to try and Germanise the area

Jews

Bismarck wasn't against them, but was prepared to exploit anti-semitic feelings when it suited him

1885-1886 - 34,000 expelled from East Germany

Catholics

Experienced the worst persecution from Kulturkampf

- Made up 39% of the population

- Concentrated in South and East states

- Represented by the Zentrum Party

- Targeted by the May laws

Old catholics

A group of 5,000 who were dismissed by Clerics and Bishops for refusing to accept the Syllabus of Errors.

Bismarck used this as an excuse to start the Kulturkampf in the name of religious toleration

Kulturkampf, 1872

- Series of newspaper articles against the Catholic church

- Catholic schools brought under control of government

- Jesuits banned from setting up establishments

- States can expel individual Jesuits

May laws

1873

A series of laws made by Dr Adalbert Falk to target Prussian Catholics:

- Only those who studied in Germany could become priests

- Trainee priests had to attend a non-religious university

- Religious appointments made subject to state approval

- Priests had to prove loyalty to Reich

- Appointment of clergy made by state

- Financial aid to the Catholic church was ended

- Prussian Catholics deprived of some legal rights

- States had the power to restrict the freedom of movement of clergy

Kulturkampf, 1874

Obligatory civil marriage introduced, shifting power from the Church over people's lives to the state

Kulturkampf, 1875

Prussia could suspend subsidies to the Church in parishes where clergy resisted

Dr Falk

- Prussian Minister for religion and education

- Pivotal in introducing the May laws

- Used as a scapegoat by Bismarck when Kulturkampf failed

- Dismissed in 1879

30

The number of priests (total: 10,000) who submitted to the laws of the Kulturkampf

Result of the Kulturkampf

- Support for catholicism increased

- Jews and protestants opposed it, as they feared they would be next

- Only 30 out of 10,000 submitted to the legislation

- Support rallied for the Zentrum party

- Increased disunity

- Prosecution created martyrs

Why Bismarck ended Kulturkampf

- Didn’t achieve goal of decreasing power of the Catholics

- Catholics rallied against Bismarck

- Strengthened Bismarck’s political enemies (Catholics, Zentrum, etc)

- Bismarck wanted Zentrum support for protectionism and anti-socialism

- New Pope Leo XIII opened negotiations

- Bismarck wanted an alliance with Catholic Austria

- Bismarck wanted to abandon the National Liberals

- Protestant and Jewish populations were against it

Pope Leo XIII

Succeeded Pius XI as pope.

More Liberal than his predecessor, opened negotiations with Germany, which improved relations

Successes of Kulturkampf

- Bismarck became less dependent on NL

- Dual alliance, 1879

- Bismarck appeared a strong and capable politician

- Some laws remained in place (Jesuits banned, civil marriage compulsory)

- Centre party start to favour unification

Failures of the Kulturkampf

- Failed to achieve goals

- Strengthened Bismarck's enemies

- German unity decreased

- Zentrum became 2nd largest in RS

Free trade

A foreign trade policy with little to no tariffs, taxes, or restrictions on imports

Advantages of free trade

- Competitivity keeps prices low

- Encourages efficiency and innovation

- Better relations with other countries

- Promotes specialisation on a macro level, allowing for more efficient use of resources

Disadvantages of free trade

- Foreign imports undercut home producers, increasing unemployment

- Dependency on other countries

- Imports are a leakage from the economy

Protectionism

A foreign trade policy with tariffs, taxes, or restrictions on imports

Advantages of protectionism

- Reduces trade deficit

- Encourages growth of smaller businesses, through less competition

- Increased revenue for the government through increased taxation

- Allows for greater independency and self-sufficiency

Disadvantages of protectionism

- Lower choice leads to monopolies

- Less competition decreases innovation

- Could lead to a slump in relations with other countries

- Higher prices

- Isolates from other countries

Central association of German manufacturers, 1871

A group of industrialists and businessmen who advocated for protectionism

Economic reasons for protectionism

- Cheap imports from USA and Russia were undercutting German producers

- German agriculture was suffering from a depression

- Slow in industrial growth after 1873

- Growing deficit

- Federal government becoming dependent on state loans

- Relying on imports would weaken Germany in a war

Political reasons for protectionism

- Reliance on food imports could cause famine during a war

- Severe lack of confidence in economy

- Federal government becoming dependent on state loans, Reich was losing control

- Other countries had adopted protectionism

- Conservatives outnumbered Liberals in RS

- Bismarck wanted to distance himself from NL

- Bismarck wanted German self-sufficiency

29

The number of seats that NL lost after Bismarck called a general election over tariff reform

Tariff act

1879

A bill to introduce tariffs on iron, grain, and luxury goods.

It's passing split NL as they were divided on whether or not to support it

Supported by the Conservatives, Zentrum, and a portion of NL

- Committed Bismarck to the conservative parties

Effect of the tariff act on the National Liberals

- The party was split in two, as half supported free trade, and half supported protectionism

- The protectionist bloc joined the Conservatives

- The free trader bloc joined the SDP

- The party was never the majority again

Count George Von Frankenstein

A Zentrum deputy who put forward a scheme (under the Tariff act) that all Reich revenue over 130 million marks should be divided equally among the states

Frankenstein clause

A scheme put forward (under the Tariff act) that suggested that all Reich revenue over 130 million marks should be divided equally among the states

- Prevented Bismarck from gaining full financial independence from the Reichstag and states

Effect of the tariff act

- North and South states worked closer, increasing unity

- Accelerated growth of internal market

- Higher prices of basic necessities

- Protected German jobs

- Bismarck didn't gain economic independence from states and Reichstag due to Frankenstein clause

Alliance of rye and steel

Coalition of interests between industry and agriculture who supported protectionism

Anarchist

A person who believes in a society without any form of government. Often turn to terrorism and violence to achieve their aims

1875

ADAV and SDAP meet at Gotha to form the SDP

ADAV

General German Workers Association.

A socialist group established in 1863 to redistribute wealth and abolish private property.

- 15,000 members by mid-1870's

- Merged into SDP in 1875

Ferdinand Lasalle

Founder of the ADAV

- Imprisoned for involvement in the 1848 revolution

- Didn't believe in marxist theory

- Flamboyant

- Believed the working class needed a political party

SDAP

Social Democratic Workers Party. Marxist-socialist party established in 1869 with a revolutionary manifesto.

9,000 members in 1875

- Merged into the SDP in 1875

Max Hodel

First anarchist to try and assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm I in May 1878. Didn't injure the Kaiser.

Portrayed as socialist by Bismarck

Dr Karl Nobiling

Second anarchist to try and assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm I in May 1878. Seriously wounded the Kaiser

Portrayed as socialist by Bismarck

Result of the assassination attempts

- Bismarck blames the left-wing parties for failing to pass the anti-socialist bill that may have saved the Kaiser.

- Bismarck dissolves the Reichstag

- NL and SDP lose seats

- Bismarck is able to pass the anti-socialist bill

Socialism timeline

1876 - Bismarck fails to pass a bill preventing the publication of socialist propaganda

May 1878 - Max Hodel tries to assassinate Wilhelm I. Bismarck attempts to push an anti-socialist bill through the Reichstag, but is defeated by the National Liberals

June 1878 - Karl Nobiling tries to assassinate Wilhelm I. Bismarck accuses the NL of failing to pass a bill that could have protected the Emperor and dissolves the RS

July 1878 - Federal election, NL and SPD lose votes

October 1878 - Anti-Socialist bill passed

1883 - Sickness Insurance act

1884 - Accident Insurance act

1889 - Old Age and Disability act

1889 - Bismarck tried to make Anti-Socialist permanent. Wilhelm II wanted it watered down

Jan 1890 - Reichstag rejects making the Anti-Socialist bill permanent

Feb 1890 - Wilhelm promises new social legislation, Bismarck doesn't agree. Right do badly in elections and Left gain

1890 - Bismarck proposes altering the constitution to be very anti-socialist. Wilhelm refuses

1878 election

Bismarck dissolved the Reichstag after the assassination attempts Wilhelm I

- National Liberals lose 130,000 votes and 29 seats

- SPD lose 181,000 votes and 4 seats

Conservative parties now outnumber the NL, allowing Bismarck to pass the anti-socialist bill

1876

Bismarck tries and fails to pass an anti-socialist bill

Anti-socialist bill

1878

- Socialist organisations, including trade unions are banned

- Socialist meetings are broken up

- Socialist publications banned

- Socialist sympathisers fined, imprisoned or expelled

Short term effects of the anti-socialist bill

- 67 leading socialists expelled

- German government purged of socialists

- SDP membership declined

- 45 out of 47 socialist newspapers suppressed

- 15,000 imprisoned

- 600 socialist candidates arrested before the 1881 general election

Long term effects of the anti-socialist bill

- Socialist newspaper the 'Social Democrat' smuggled in

- Trade Unions revived, membership reached 278,000 in 1890

- Strong leadership rallied the SDP

- SDP rose to 1.5 million

- SDP electorate doubled by 1890

- Bismarck fails to contain Socialism

State socialism

When the government brings in welfare reforms

Sickness Insurance Act

1883

Provided medical treatment and 13 weeks sick pay to 3 million workers. Workers payed 2/3, employers payed 1/3