German Unification 1815-71

• Before the Napoleonic wars - the German confederation was the Holy Roman Empire
• French troops came in with enlightenment ideas, replaced laws and judicial processes
  • Romanticism and national identity (shared language and heritage) emerged as a reaction to the french
• September 1814 - congress at Viena to reorganise Europe
  • scared of liberalism and nationalism
  • social and political conservatives
  • wanted to restore the rule of the old royal faminlies
  • Austrian foreign minister, Prince Klemens von Metternich
    • Austria was very big and varied, mostly loyal to the Pope
• Metternich System
  • • designed to keep the rule of absolute monarchy
    • against change
    • stationed troops away from where they came
    • network of secret agents
    • negative policy - repressive methods that stoked up resentment from the people
• June 1815 - German Confederation is established (solution from the metternich system)
  • loose association of states with a lot of freedom under the control of Austria
  • a purposefully not united Germany
  • based on the boundaries of the old Holy Roman Empire, including some non-german speakers and excluding german speakers
  • conference of ambassadors from the member states (Diet) met in Frankfurt
  • Diet controlled foreign policies but individual rules took care of internal policies
  • structure was biased towards Austria - Diet was always chaired by Austrian representative, Austria had a veto, had southern states’ support because it was Roman Catholic vs. Protestant Prussia
  • largest german state was rural Prussia
    • ruled by authoritarian Friedrich Wilhelm III supported by landowning conservatives, Junkers (core of the Prussian army officers)
    • it had won land in the 1815 peace settlement and doubled its population to more than 10 million
    • only state that could be a threat to Austria
    • both wanted to stop change because of their conservative natures
  • Liberalism was for the emerging middle class
    • business people and professionals
    • removal of guilds
    • more university students
    • higher newspaper press, literacy, awareness of public affairs and societies
    • middle class were excluded from upper levels of social order
    • they wanted to climb up the social ladder
    • constitutional monarchy, not republican democracy
    • guarantees of freedom - free speech and fair trials
    • laissez-faire economics - no government interference
    • remove tariffs
    • liberalism was for a limited circle of well-off people, working class tended to be radicals

Liberals believed that, if given freedom, people would work to improve their circumstances, and this would help society as a whole to make progress.

• • first half of 19th century, nationalism and liberalism went hand in hand
    • people of the same race, language, culture or history should be united and independent
    • support for a united Germany was limited, student associations Burschenschaften (atypical)
    • most of the people were focused on day to day struggles
    • most germans felt a sense of loyalty to their region rather than a larger germany
    • strong central government was unattractive because it could impose more taxes, conscription and change civil codes
    • no religious unity
      • south Roman Catholic
      • north Protestants
    • industrialised Rhineland was very different from agricultural parts
    • newspapers focused more on local issues
    • nationalism came because of the french and settled in middle class people in big cities, but they remained a minority between 1815-1848
  • After a murder by a liberal student association, Metternich introduced the Carlsbad decrees
    • univerities were to have an ‘extraoridnary commissioner’ to control the programme, remove teachers and dissolve unofficial associations
    • the press was to be censored
    • a central investigation commission was to be set up to stop liberal and nationalistic ideas
  • liberalism took a stronger hold in the south after 1830’s replacing of Charles X by King Luis Philippe and a parliamentary monarchy
  • four german states were obliged to grant constitutions and increased freedom of press
• May 1832 - nationalists organised the Hambach festival and called for a united germany
  • organisers were acquitted by an ordinary court but imprisioned by a special police court
  • Metternich persuaded the princes to accept the Six Articles of June 1832
    • limited rights of elected assemblies
    • supremacy of federal law over individual state law
  • Ten Articles of July - banned political meetings and festivals
• No real danger from the liberals and nationalists
  • 1837 - constitution abolished in a state and seven professors who objected were sacked
• Princes made sure to retain the right to veto and limited the power of elected assemblies
  • different values
  • indirect voting
  • restricting votes
• significant economic development in the first half of the 19th century
  • Geographical position was advantageous, but industrialisation was still limited
  • around 70% of people still relied on agriculture
  • growth areas were in consumer goods
  • heavy manufacturing in the 1840s with railway development
  • economic growth had been held back by custom barriers
  • foreign products didn’t face duties at the external borders of the Confederation so german firms had no advantages
  • Prussia abolished internal customs in 1818 - create a larger market and reduce the prices of goods
• January 1934 - Zollverein is founded
  • customs union of 18 states
  • combined population of 26 million
  • income from tariffs was divided between state depending on their size
  • accommodate a common currency and measurements system
  • Austria didn’t join - preferred to rely on trade within its empire
  • it helped Prussia gain a predominant economic position but politically stayed the same
  • nationalists couldn’t decide on the borders of a unified germany
    • Grossdeutschland - with Austria
    • Kleindeutschland - without Austria
• June 1840 Freidrich Wilhelm IV becomes king of Prussia
  • complex and unstable character
  • he relaxed censorship and gave more powers to provincial Diets or assemblies
  • rejected demands for a single parliament for all Prussian territories
• March 1848 - Revolution begins in Austria and Germany
  • year of revolutions - a number of European countries faced uprisings
  • feb. toppling of the monarchy in France
  • march. metternich was forced into exile
  • social and economic causes
    • bad harvests 1846-47
    • rising food prices -> economic downturn -> lower wages
    • recession in the textile industry 1847
    • increased taxes
    • poor working conditions
  • outbreak of revolution in Germany
    • educated middle class wanted a higher social position
    • didn’t want to overthrow the monarchical regimes but wanted political change
    • Grand Duke Leopold, Baden - free press and trial by jury+
    • demands for a german national parliament in 1847
    • revolution in france urged liberal demands
    • various different princes agreed to similar demands throughout the whole of the german confederation
    • meeting in Heidelberg march 1848 to form a pre-parliament to create a constituent assembly to draw up a constitution for Germany
  • Prussia wanted to build a railway but needed money
  • Junkers didn’t agree so King Wilhelm IV called the Diet in 1847 but they were also against it
  • workers faced competition with factories
  • Diet demanded a constitution but the king said no and dissolved the Diet
  • metternich fall in vienna instigated disturbances in berlin
  • except prussia, most revolution was peaceful
  • lack of common ground between working and middle class was a fundamental weakness
• princes made concessions in short term and kept their armed forces
  • prussia offered military assistance to end revolts in other states
• weaknesses of the revolutions
  • divisions among revolutionary groups
    • working class wanted better conditions
    • middle class wanted abstract ideas
  • recovery of the Austrian monarchy
    • it was caught off guard in 1848 and with prussia restored monarchical rule in germany
• Friedrich Wilhelm IV was inconsistent and often changed opinion
  • after rioting in 1848 he appeared in red, white and black
  • he allowed the election of an assembly to draw up a constitution for germany
  • he then changed his mind and dissolved it
  • dec. 1848 new political settlement
    • feb 1850
    • two chamber parliament
    • king would retain power, change the constitution
    • ministers would respond to king
    • voting system for lower house, landtag, favoured conservative interests
    • three tier suffrage based on the taxes paid
    • 1 third chose 85% of the parliament
    • Herrenhaus was chosen by the king
• Frankfurt Parliament
  • may 1848 - june 1849
  • each state chose their voting system
  • all male and mostly well off professionals
  • ‘professor’s parliament’
  • mostly liberal in politics
  • small number of radicals
  • strong central government
  • more power over the states than the Diet had had
  • June 1848 - Provisional Central Power under liberal austrian prince until a constitution had been agreed on
  • dec. parliament approved 50 fundamental citizen rights
    • equality before the law
    • freedom of press
  • freedom from arrest without a warrant
• June 1849 - Collapse of the Frankfurt Parliament
  • members couldn’t agree on territorial bounds
  • parliament agreed on a constitution march 1849, support from an emperor
  • offered the crown to Friedrich Wilhelm IV but he didn’t accept it
  • prussia was the only state with enough military power to have a chance against austria
  • members lacked experience and took time to organise
  • couldn’t resolve differences between different opinions
  • lacked the means of enforcing any decision made
  • princes didn’t oppose the parliament at first
  • the delay in constitutions allowed them to recover
• March 1850 - Erfurt Union of German States is formed
  • promoting unity under prussian control
  • union of german states with a strong central government, assembly elected on a limited franchise and prussian control of the army
  • excluded austria but granted it a special position
  • Three King’s Alliance (Saxony and Hanover)
• November 1850 - Humiliation of Olmütz: Prussia abandons Erfurt Union plan
  • austria had a capable chief minister and proposed a Grossdeutschland, reviving the Diet of the confederation
  • Hanover, Baden and Saxony abandoned the Union
  • Hesse-Cassel had a problem between Elector and parliament
    • parliament asked Prussia for help
    • elector (prince) asked Austria for help
    • Prussia wasn’t strong enough to stop austrian troops
    • austria had russia’s support
  • humiliation of Olmütz in nov. 1850
  • prussia left the Union
  • Austria retsored int’s leadership among german states
  • smaller states rejected the schwarzenberg plan
  • may 1851 german confederation framework was restored

Revolutions of 1848-49 had demonstrated the weakness of liberal nationalism. The revolutions were unplanned and the leaders were unorganised and unplanned. The aims and methods were divided as working class weren’t influenced by middle class ideas.

• Prussia after 1849
  • prussia’s position in north-central germany was advantageous
  • austria’s army was busy controlling nationalist movements within its empire
  • russia wasn’t backed by austria during the crimean war, and this made their relationships break down
  • prussia economically advanced the most during the next 10 years - good for middle class
    • railway network increased by 46% - partnership between state and private sector - rapid troop mobilisation
    • iron and steel sectors were stimulated - materials for arms production
    • output of coal increased by over 400%
    • the government was able to increase its income by interest payments (railway) and the Zollverein workings so it needed less taxes
    • rapid population growth and good banking system
    • 1862 - Franco-Prussian treaty allowed Prussia to integrate into western economy
    • they were readier to compromise with traditional authority to achieve change
    • austria - economic downturn 1850s, lacked direct access to trade routes, reied on prestige and diplomatic means to dominate
    • prussia resented austria since the humilliation of olmütz
  • Zollverein becomes fourth largest economy in europe - prussia has achieved economic domination of germany
    • austria tries to join but is inefficient and would mean high protective tariffs
    • reaches a deal with zollverein in 1853 but would never actually join
  • Zollverein didn’t mean political leadership as it allowed smaller states to retain power and independence
• Otto von Manteuffel’s reforms 1850-58
  • conservative, wanted economic and social development without making concessions to radicals
  • blocked traditionalists
  • he supported private enterprise by reducing state control over coal and iron
  • discouraged poor from supporting liberal ideas by giving loans, offering better conditions after willing displacement, and introducing measures to better working conditions
• January 1861 - Wilhelm I becomes king of Prussia
  • not a liberal but accepted the constitution
  • military man focused on bettering the army
  • wanted an increased military budget
  • Franco-Austrian war showed militar weaknesses in organisation and modernisation
    • 150000 soldiers
    • 40000 young men underwent 2 years of training and spent 2 years in reserve - changed to 3 training yrs + 5 years in the reserve
    • Landwehr - semi-civilian militia separate from the army - questionable effectivity and loyalty - solution -> merge with army
    • 25% tax increase - but economy was booming
  • plans alarmed the liberals which feared military overpowering so they agreed to fund it for one year only
• September 1862 - Bismarck becomes Minister-President of Prussia
  • his intentions are still questioned - methodical or opportunistic?
    • methodical - Disraeli conversations
    • opportunistic - Junker and conservative, just wanted the best for Prussia. If unification was to happen it had to be in Prussia’s best interest
  • stormy relations minster-king
    • often passed policies against the King’s wishes
    • good at manipulating Wilhelm
    • ‘my way or the highway’
  • resolved army crisis by collecting taxes without parliamentary agreement
  • did so by a speech, ‘blood and iron’, to show they had common interests
  • liberals - unite germany without austria // bismarck - it can only be done with a strong army
  • ruthless politician - repressive measures
  • Bismarck had no problem to disregard the parliament even if liberals had won 40%
  • only thing in common was the unification of germany
• Prussian arm was well-respected and organised
  • army officers received proper training instead of buying their places
  • Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke - chief of the general staff
  • Albretch von Roon - minister of war
• 1863 - Bismarck gave diplomatic support to Russia in an uprising in Poland
• January 1864 - Austro-Prussian war against Denmark breaks out
  • dispute over the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein
  • (1848, Jutland peninsula. German speaking population rebelled against an attempt to fully integrate them into Denmark)
  • 1863 new danish king - Christian IX wanted Schleswig integrated into Denmark
  • German confederation didn’t and offered another duke
  • Bismarck wanted them for Prussia
  • Denmark didn’t think Prussia and Austria would work together
  • Austria had no interest but couldn’t decline because of prestige
  • After losing Denmark didn’t want to compromise so it lost all sympathy
  • Duchies had to be organised - Gastein Convention 1865
    • Holstein for Austria
    • Schleswig for Prussia
  • bismarck wasn’t really responsible for the outcome; denmark hadn’t compromised
• June 1866 - Austro-Prussian war
  • Bismarck started looking for foreign allies
  • he went to meet Napoleon III and he decided to stay neutral
    • prussia would hand over venetia to italy if it won
    • Bismarck was scared so he made vague promises about land concessions but didn’t go through with them after the war
  • Bismarck made an alliance with Italy - three month follow into the war
  • only took seven weeks to secure victory
  • austria was slow to mobilise -> made the first move -> seen as aggressor
  • austria sent 100000 troops to its southern border
  • austria asked the confederation to revise the treaty of Schleswig-Holstein but Prussia said it was a breach of the Gastein Convention and went into Holstein
  • Hanover, Hesse and Saxony sided with austria -> Prussia invaded them
  • Decisive major battle at Köningrätz in Bohemia
  • prussia headed south in three sections
  • Moltke wanted to use the railways to move quickly in Austria’s direction
    • moltke had 5 lines
    • austria only had 1
  • result depended on the Prussian Second Army to arrive
  • electric telegraph was also significant
  • austria’s commander was indecisive and a bit useless
    • lacked effective command structure
    • didn’t know how to adapt
    • very static strategy
    • didn’t know how to combine forces with other states
  • austria had better quality guns but were less modern and caused more casualties
  • prussia had superior infantry tactics and weapons and groups were smaller (needle gun)
• August 1866 - Treaty of Prague
  • austrians wanted quick peace as they feared for internal conflicts
  • Bismarck didn’t want to humiliate austria - didn’t want a permanent enemy
  • austria’s dissolution could create a power vacuum and Bismarck didn’t want to risk it
  • replaced the German Confederation (austrian led) with the North German Confederation (prussian led)
• June 1867 - North German Confederation set up under Prussian leadership
  • political union
  • prussia took over the states north of the river Main
  • various kings were depose in fear of opposition
  • special concession to austria - Saxony kept its king and certain liberties
  • king of prussia had control over the foreign policies of the confederation
  • Federal council - bundesrat - states
  • Parliament - reichstag - elected by universal male suffrage
  • unofficially, prussia dominated the confederation under Bismarck’s rule
  • Reichstag had no control over military budget - around 90% of annual budget
  • southern states were independent - possibly didn’t want to risk it and wanted the confederation to properly establish
  • he took steps to strengthen relations between north and south
  • southern states agreed on a military deal - if they faced a common threat, army and railways would come under prussian control
  • sept. 1866 - indemnity bill - raise taxes without parliamentary approval
  • Bismarck created an alliance between moderate liberals and flexible conservatives - isolated both extremes

He had shown that the forces of German nationalism could be allied to the interests of the Prussian state.

• July 1870 - Franco-Prussian war begins
  • an external enemy could fully unify germany
  • Napoleon was under domestic criticism and was pressured to gain some compensation
  • Bismarck rejected his attempt at the Rhineland and offered his attention to the Duchy of Luxembourg
  • the king was willing to be transferred into France with Prussia’s approval
    • Bismarck stirred up german nationalism
    • a conference in London 1867 declared Luxembourg a neutral state
  • south german states were horrified that Napoleon wanted Luxembourg so they turned against france
  • Spanish succession crisis
    • 1868 - queen Isabella was forced to abdicate
    • selected prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as their new ruler
    • he was Catholic but related to Prussia so Bismarck encouraged it
    • Jul. 1870 - document announcing Leopold’s acceptance arrived in Madrid when the parliament wasn’t in session
    • Napoleon wasn’t supposed to know about this until concluded, and decided it was a prussian plot to encircle france
    • made Wilhelm persuade Leopold to withdraw
    • king sent Bismarck a telegram about his meeting with the french ambassador, Benedetti
    • Bismarck reworder it to make France seem unreasonable
  • Bismarck released the Ems Telegram in Germany and France
  • cause uprisings on both sides
  • public opinion urged Napoleon to war
  • france was relatively isolated - his attempts at alliances hadn’t seen much success
  • it was seen as the aggressor
    • britain didn’t think it was justified to go to war over the spanish throne
    • italy wanted their troops off rome
    • russia was swayed by Bismarck’s offer to revise the Crimean war treaty
    • austria was busy with its empire
  • german national movement supported prussia
  • prussia mobilised quickly and effectively
  • france was slow and ineffectively - lacked maps and training
    • Garde Mobile only undertook 14 annual days of training
  • france had some advantages in weaponry - chassepot riffle was better than the prussian needle gun - and an early model of a machine gun but troops lacked training
  • french - defensive // german - mobile
  • Napoleon III surrendered and abdicated - a republican government to be set up in Paris
  • french leaders didn’t know whether to fight a defensive or offensive war
  • siege of paris showed prussian ruthlessness
  • showed Bismarck and Moltke’s abilities as leaders
• January 1871 - German empire is established
  • kleindeutschland
  • bismarck had to make some concessions for some southern states to join
  • bavaria wanted to keep independence and bismarck had to give money to the indebted king
• France post war
  • 5 billion francs in reparations
  • german army was posted in northern france until they were paid
  • Alsace-Lorraine were given to Germany
  • anexed territory was a buffer
  • france could never develop an alliance with germany so being harsh wasn’t bad
• Constitution of the new Reich
  • the crown was being offered by fellow princes
  • constitution modeled after the North German Confederation
  • Prussia had a deciding voice in the Bundesrat
  • majority of votes in the Reichstag
  • king of prussia - kaiser and commander-in-chief of the armed forces
  • Bismarck was appointed as Imperial Chancellor - foreign affairs
  • states retained some powers - direct taxation, education, welfare policies
  • the reichstag never had power over the army or the budget

The new Germany reflected the authoritarian, monarchical, military culture of Prussia.