German History and Industrialization Flashcards

Comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering German history from the Industrial Revolution to Unification.

Personal Freedom

A prerequisite for industrialization involving the abolition of serfdom.

Double free wage laborer

Laborer free from feudal ties and free from property ownership.

Adam Smith

Thought leader of the industrial revolution who demanded free markets and division of labor.

Invisible Hand

Economic concept where self-interest of producers and consumers regulates the market.

Laissez-faire

Economic liberalism principle asserting that the state only provides a framework like laws and infrastructure.

Division of Labor

Process of splitting tasks to increase effectiveness and prosperity for all.

Handelskompanien

Trading companies that served as an economic structure during industrialization.

Capital Accumulation

The saving and reinvestment of capital into production and technology.

Agricultural Rationalization

Economic structure factor in England where farming became more efficient.

Calvinism

Protestant denomination that served as a spiritual structure for English industrialization.

Colonial Empire

External factor providing raw materials, sales markets, and slave trade profits (Triangle Trade).

Particularism

State in Germany around 1800 with small markets and trade restrictions.

Absolutism

Political system around 1800 in Germany where a lack of a confident bourgeoisie hindered participation.

Mercantilism

Economic system around 1800 with customs barriers and export bans hindering initiative.

Feudal Standesgesellschaft

Social structure in 1800 Germany with guild restrictions and noble privileges.

October Edict 1807

Prussian measure by Heinrich Friedrich Karl von und zum Stein for peasant liberation.

Bauernbefreiung

Reform allowing peasants to move to cities, own land, and ending subjection.

Gewerbefreiheit

Reform from 1810 granting the right to run a business without guild restrictions.

Prussian Reforms

A 'Revolution from above' including military, administrative, and educational changes.

Jewish Emancipation

Reform beginning in 1812 to grant rights to the Jewish population in Prussia.

Population Explosion

Factor in German industrialization linked to medical improvements and increased demand.

Zollverein 1834

German Customs Union that abolished internal tariffs and created a unified economic area.

Polytechnic Schools

Technical colleges established during the educational reforms to provide technical know-how.

Railway Integration

Factor that brought the economic space closer together through fast, cheap transport.

Lead Sector: Textiles

The dominant industrial sector during the initial startup period (Anlaufperiode).

Lead Sector: Heavy Industry

The dominant sector during the breakthrough phase, involving iron and coal.

Take-off Phase

The breakthrough period of the industrial revolution in Germany (1835/50-1873).

Electrical Engineering

A key sector during the High Industrialization phase after 1873.

Friedrich List

Advocate for the railway and the Zollverein in early 19th-century Germany.

Werner von Siemens

The industrialist who developed the electric generator in 1867.

Nikolaus August Otto

Inventor of the internal combustion engine in 1876.

Gottlieb Daimler

Co-creator of the first motor wagon in 1886.

Social Question

The issue of how the working class, threatened by industrialization, could achieve secure living conditions.

Trucksystem

Exploitative practice of paying workers in goods or vouchers, prohibited in 1855.

Pauperism

Term referring to structural mass misery and poverty among the lower classes.

12-16 hours

The typical daily working time for factory workers at the start of industrialization.

Bismarck's Social Legislation

State policy providing health, accident, and invalidity insurance to bind workers to the state.

Sugarbread and Whip

Characteristic of Bismarck's system: social benefits mixed with the suppression of socialists.

Werkswohnungen

Company housing provided by entrepreneurs to bind workers to the business.

Kulturkampf

Bismarck's conflict with the Catholic Church over its political influence.

Historical Materialism

Marxist theory that history follows law-like development driven by production relations.

Bourgeoisie

Under Marxism, the class that owns the means of production and exploits the proletariat.

Proletariat

Under Marxism, the working class that must eventually overthrow the bourgeoisie.

Congress of Vienna

1814/15 meeting to reorganize Europe based on Restoration, Legitimacy, and Solidarity.

Divine Right of Kings

The principle of Legitimität where a ruler's power is granted by God.

Deutscher Bund

Loose military defensive alliance of 39 states founded in 1815.

Liberalism

Ideology placing individual freedom and constitutional government at the center.

Nationalism

Political principle where a nation sees itself as a community based on history and culture.

Wartburgfest 1817

First major national student festival demanding unity and freedom.

Carlsbad Decrees 1819

Laws establishing strict censorship and surveillance of universities.

August von Kotzebue

Conservative writer and Russian spy whose murder led to the Carlsbad Decrees.

Hambach Festival 1832

Mass demonstration of 30,000 people for national unity and press freedom.

March Demands

1848 revolutionary requests for press freedom, civil rights, and a national state.

Friedrich Wilhelm IV

Prussian King during the 1848 revolution who honors fallen demonstrators.

Paulskirche

Location of the Frankfurther National Assembly that drafted the 1849 constitution.

Kleindeutsche Lösung

A unified German state excluding Austria.

Großdeutsche Lösung

The proposed unification of German states including the Austrian Empire.

Battle of Königgrätz

Decisive 1866 Prussian victory over Austria leading to the North German Confederation.

Emser Depesche

Shortened telegram used by Bismarck to provoke war with France in 1870.

January 18, 1871

Date of the proclamation of the second German Empire at Versailles.

Negative Integration

Bismarck's strategy of defining 'enemies of the Reich' to unify supporters.

Pulpit Paragraph

1872 law banning political statements by clergymen.

Socialist Law

The 1878-1890 ban on socialist organizations, assemblies, and publications.

Zivilehe

Mandatory civil marriage introduced by the state during the Kulturkampf.

Militarism

The high prestige of the military in Kaiserreich society, featuring the officer as a role model.

Chauvinism

Radicalized nationalism in the late Kaiserreich claiming 'German essence shall heal the world'.

Sperrminorität

The 14 votes in the Bundesrat needed to block constitutional changes (Kaiserreich).

Reichstag

Parliament of the Empire, elected by male citizens over 25, with mainly budget powers.

Schlieffen Plan

1905 military plan for a two-front war against France and Russia.

Sarajevo Assassination

Assault on June 28, 1914, that served as the trigger for World War I.

Trench Warfare

Static defensive warfare (Stellungskrieg) characteristic of WWI.

Total War

Warfare involving all state resources, the entire population, and the 'Home Front'.

November Revolution

1918 uprising ending the monarchy and establishing the republic.

Kiel Mutiny

October 1918 sailor uprising against a final suicidal battle against the British.

Friedrich Ebert

SPD leader who took over as Chancellor on November 9, 1918.

Philipp Scheidemann

Politician who proclaimed the 'German Republic' from the Reichstag window.

Karl Liebknecht

Spartacus leader who proclaimed a 'Free Socialist Republic' in 1918.

Ebert-Groener Pact

Secret 1918 deal between the state and military to suppress radicalism.

Stinnes-Legien Agreement

1918 accord between business leaders and unions on social improvements.

Article 48

Constitution article allowing the President to rule by emergency decree without parliament.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 peace treaty imposing reparations and 'War Guilt' on Germany.

Kapp Putsch

Failed 1920 right-wing coup attempt to overthrow the Weimar government.

Hyperinflation

1923 economic crisis caused by mass money printing during the Ruhr occupation.

Hitlerputsch

Failed Nazi attempt to seize power in Munich in November 1923.

Rentenmark

Currency introduced in November 1923 to end hyperinflation.

Locarno Treaty

1925 agreement where Germany accepted its western borders with France.

Golden Twenties

Period from 1924-1929 noted for cultural bloom and relative economic stability.

Young Plan

1929 plan for the final settlement of German reparations.

Black Thursday

October 1929 stock market crash in the US triggering the Great Depression.

Heinrich Brüning

Chancellor from 1930-1932 known for his deflationary tax and wage policies.

Franz von Papen

Chancellor in 1932 who triggered the 'Preußenschlag' against Prussia.

January 30, 1933

The date Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor.

Reichstag Fire Ordinance

Feb 28, 1933 decree suspending basic civil rights like speech and assembly.

Enabling Act

March 23, 1933 law allowing Hitler to pass laws without the Reichstag.

Gleichschaltung

The Nazi coordination and control of all public and social life.

Boycott Day

April 1, 1933 state-organized boycott of Jewish businesses.

Röhm Putsch

June 1934 purge of the SA leadership and other political enemies.

Polycracy

The overlapping and competing centers of power in the Nazi state structure.

Schutzhaft

Tool used by the Gestapo to imprison people without judicial review.

Nuremberg Laws

1935 laws stripping Jews of citizenship and forbidding intermarriage.