Higher history

HIGHER HISTORY

Bearsden Academy



GERMANY

Growth of Nationalism and the Unification of Germany 1815-1871


What will I do?

You will analyse the factors contributing towards complex historical developments, by drawing well-reasoned conclusions supported by evidence.

You will be required to give evidence of:

• 
  An ability to analyse the factors contributing towards complex historical developments, by drawing articulate, reasoned conclusions that have supporting evidence
  
• 
  descriptions, explanations and analysis demonstrating detailed and accurate knowledge and understanding of complex issues within an area of European and World history
  

You will cover the following learning outcomes:

Outcome 1

The learner will:

1 Evaluate the factors contributing to historical developments by:

1.1 Interpreting complex factors which have contributed to a historical development

1.2 Drawing a well-reasoned conclusion on the factors contributing to a historical development

1.3 Using detailed evidence to support a conclusion

Outcome 2

The learner will:

2 Draw on and apply knowledge and understanding of complex European and world historical issues by:

2.1 Describing, in detail and with accuracy, the context of a European and world historical issue

2.2 Explaining, with accuracy, a European and world historical issue

2.3 Analysing a European and world historical issue

Also covered are:

1 Literacy 4 Employability, enterprise and citizenship 5 Thinking skills

1.1 Reading 4.6 Citizenship 5.3 Applying

1.2 Writing 5.4 Analysing and
evaluating

In this unit you will focus on:

Germany, 1815–1939 A study of the growth of nationalism in nineteenth century Germany leading to the overcoming of obstacles to unification of the nation by 1871, and the development of extreme nationalism after 1918
Mandatory content	Illustrative areas
1. An evaluation of the reasons for the growth of nationalism in Germany, 1815–50	Economic factors; the Zollverein; cultural factors; military weakness; effects of French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars; role of the Liberals.
2. An assessment of the degree of growth of nationalism in Germany, up to 1850	Supporters of nationalism — educated middle class, Liberals; opponents of nationalism; attitudes of peasants; political turmoil in the 1840s; the Frankfurt Parliament, divisions; the collapse of revolution in Germany, 1848–49.
3. An evaluation of the obstacles to German unification, 1815–50	Divisions among the nationalists; Austrian strength; German princes; religious differences; economic differences; indifference of the masses; resentment towards Prussia.
4. An evaluation of the reasons why unification was achieved in Germany, by 1871	Prussian military strength; Prussian economic strength; the decline of Austria; the role of Bismarck; the attitude of other states; actions of Napoleon III.
5. An evaluation of the reasons why the Nazis achieved power, in 1933	Weaknesses of Weimar Republic; resentment towards the Treaty of Versailles; economic difficulties; social and economic divisions; the appeal of the Nazis after 1928; the role of Hitler; weaknesses and mistakes of opponents.
6. An evaluation of the reasons why the Nazis were able to stay in power, 1933–39	Establishment of a totalitarian state; the crushing of opposition; fear and state terrorism; social controls; propaganda; successful foreign policy; economic policies; social policies.

Unification of Germany - Timeline
1618 - 1648 The Thirty Years' War dividing central Europe into Catholic and Protestant countries

1803 - 1815 The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). Napoleon conquers central Europe and divides the old Holy Roman Empire of 400 states into just 16.

1815 Congress of Vienna: 39 states made up the German Confederation and was chaired by Austria (Austrian chief minister Metternich).

1818 Prussian Customs Union created, abolishing internal tariffs in Prussia and allowing her to develop her economy.

1819 Carlsbad Decrees – laws used by Metternich to restrict press and University freedoms, stopping spread of nationalist ideas.

1834 Zollverein created – a customs union of German states (not including Austria) that eventually allowed Prussia to dominate the German states economically. Started with 18 states. (by 1836 there were 25!)

1848 March 13^th – Metternich forced to resign in Austria. March – Riots in Berlin. Initially these radical revolutionaries were supported by King of Prussia, Frederick Wilhelm IV.

May – Frankfurt Parliament (aka National Assembly) begins – 596 liberals elected from the German Confederation meet to plan a constitution for a unified Germany.

Nov – Frederick Wilhelm IV rejected revolutions (became a conservative/ reactionary) and regained control of Berlin.

1849 March – Frankfurt Parliament agree on a constitution for Germany (‘Kleindeutschland’, without Austria), led by the King of Prussia.

April – Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia rejects the offer of a ‘crown from the gutter’.

June – Frankfurt Parliament ends. Erfurt Union – Prussia proposed leading a German Union, excluding Austria. This is rejected by Austria and Prussia is forced to back down
1860 New Prussian Minister of War Von Roon introduces military reforms; longer military service, Army twice as big, etc.
1861 Wilhelm I becomes King of Prussia.
1862 Otto von Bismarck made ‘Minister-President’ (Prime Minister/Chancellor) of Prussia.
1864 Jan – Prussian-Danish War Austria and Prussia go to war together against Denmark over the Schleswig-Holstein issue

July – Denmark surrenders.

1865 Aug – Convention of Gastein – Austria gets Holstein (nearer to Prussia), Prussia gets Schleswig. Bismarck knows that this solution will eventually lead to conflict with Austria.
1866 Austro-Prussian War – Bismarck provokes disagreements between Austria and Prussia over Holstein. 24^th June – Seven Weeks’ War begins between Austria and Prussia.

3^rd July – Austria badly defeated by Prussia at Battle of Sadowa.

August – Peace of Prague ends the war.
1867 July – North German Confederation created by Bismarck, made Prussia the most powerful German state. Southern German states (e.g. Bavaria) still follow Austria’s lead.
1870 Franco-Prussian War

Feb – Hohenzollern Candidate crisis – Bismarck offends the French by attempting to place Leopold of Hohenzollern (a member of King Wilhelm’s family) on the throne of Spain.

July 13^th – The Ems Telegram is published, edited by Bismarck to look as if King Wilhelm was rude to French Ambassador whilst discussing the Spanish throne issue.

July 19^th – France declares war – Franco-Prussian War begins. Sept 1^st – French defeated by Prussia at Battle of Sedan, Napoleon III captured.

Oct – French Army surrenders at Metz.

Nov – Southern German states (apart from Austria) agree to join a German Empire, influenced by nationalist excitement and threat of France
1871 Jan 18^th – German Empire declared in Palace of Versailles


Germany created!



Wilhelm I is Kaiser, Bismarck is Chancellor.

Jan 28^th – France signs an Armistice ending the war.

May – Treaty of Frankfurt. France gives up Alsace and Lorraine and has to pay Germany £200 million.
Introduction

Before 1871, Germany, as we know it, did not exist. Prior to 1815 the area known today as Germany, was part of the old Holy Roman Empire. There were more than 400 tiny states that made up this empire and each had its own autocratic leader. Napoleon Bonaparte (also known as Napoleon I), invaded, defeated and occupied much of central Europe from 1803 onwards. Napoleon condensed this huge collection of 400 states into just sixteen; naming the sixteen, the Confederation of the Rhine.

The invasion of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) by Napoleon's French Empire and the subsequent dissolution of the HRE, brought about a German liberal nationalism. This was advocated primarily by the German middle-class bourgeoisie who supported the creation of a modern German nation-state based upon liberal democracy, while opposing absolutism (i.e. a monarch having absolute power).

Fichte (a German nationalist) brought German nationalism forward as a response to the French occupation of German territories in his Addresses to the German Nation (1808), evoking a sense of German distinctiveness in language, tradition, and literature that composed a common identity.

Europe in 1789 Boundary of Holy Roman Empire

Napoleon was eventually defeated in 1815, and, determined to rid central Europe from as much of Napoleon’s legacy as possible, the leaders of the central European states held the Congress of Vienna; where German nationalists tried but failed to establish Germany as a nation-state.

Instead, the Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved and the collection of sixteen states replaced with thirty-nine, forming the German Confederation. This was a loose collection of independent German states that lacked strong federal institutions Although Germany was not yet united, this redesign from 400 down to sixteen, and then to thirty-nine, left a clearer Germanic region with clearly defined borders with their neighbours, Russia and France. This clearer geographical region arguably set the scene for a future united Germany.

Economic integration between the German states was achieved by the creation of the Zollverein ("Custom Union") of Germany in 1818. The move to create the Zollverein was led by Prussia and the Zollverein was dominated by Prussia, causing resentment and tension between Austria and Prussia.

Despite Nationalism in Germany growing substantially from 1815 onwards, the German states still were not able to unite until 1871. Many obstacles existed that prevented Germany uniting, including the obstinate Metternich (Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs), and divisions amongst the states. Both religion and alignment with larger, more powerful states divided the minor German states. Opposition from other European powers with the threat of war made it difficult to bring about unification. There even existed divisions amongst the Nationalists (those people who were angling for German unification), as it could not be decided what a unified Germany would look like; who would be included, who would be excluded, who would rule it? These were just some of the questions that Nationalists were faced with, and without the answers, they were unable to move forward.

Many argue that without Otto von Bismarck, unification would not have been possible. He was a ‘Junker’ (the Prussian name for an aristocratic landowner from old Prussia in the east) and was determined to ensure Prussia was dominant in the German area and some argue it was his mission to unite the German states under Prussian rule from the beginning. Upon his 1862 appointment by King Wilhelm I as Minister President of Prussia, Bismarck provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria and France, and aligned the smaller German states behind Prussia in defeating his arch-enemy France.

In 1871 he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the "Iron Chancellor". Whilst Bismarck was clearly extremely significant in the unification of Germany, a more modern historiography takes into consideration external factors that can also be credited with having a part to play in unification.

As the map of central Europe stood in 1850, Prussia competed with Austria for dominance over a series of small principalities fiercely keen on maintaining their independence and distinctive characteristics. Prussia stretched from modern-day Lithuania to central Germany. Prussia also controlled the German lands around the Rhine River in the west. In between, from Denmark to Switzerland, lay small provinces that Bismarck needed to incorporate under the Prussian crown to create a viable German Empire.

In 1862, Bismarck reorganized the Prussian army and improved training in preparation for war. In 1864, he constructed an alliance with Austria to fight Denmark over Denmark's southern provinces of Schleiswig and Holstein. Prussia received Schleiswig while Austria administered Holstein. That situation, however, could not stand for long, as Austrian Holstein was now surrounded by Prussian lands. Bismarck provoked a conflict with Austria over an unrelated border dispute and in the subsequent Seven Weeks' War--named for its brevity--Prussia crushed the collapsing Austrian army. The peace settlement transferred Holstein to Prussia and forced Austria to officially remove itself from all German affairs.

With Austria out of Bismarck's way, his next obstacle was the skepticism of the southern provinces. Overwhelmingly Catholic and anti-militaristic, the southern provinces doubted Prussia's commitment to a united Germany of all provinces. Prussia's Protestantism and historic militarism made the gulf between north and south quite serious. Therefore, Bismarck turned to realpolitik to unite the Germanic provinces by constructing a war against a common enemy. In 1870, Bismarck forged a note from the French ambassador, implying that the ambassador had insulted the Prussian king. After he leaked this letter to both populations, the people of France and Prussia, roused by nationalist sentiment, rose up in favor of war. As Bismarck hoped, the southern provinces rallied to Prussia's side without any hesitation. In July 1870, France declared war on Prussia.

Within a matter of weeks of fighting in Alsace-Lorraine, France lost this Franco-Prussian War. Alsace-Lorraine was transferred to Germany in the peace settlement, allowing Prussia to declare the German Empire, or Second Reich, on January 21, 1871.

Topic 1


Learning intentions:

To evaluate the reasons for the growth of nationalism in Germany, 1815–50 and come to a conclusion about the most important reason

Why did Nationalism grow in the German States after 1815?




Essay Factors

• 
  Cultural factors
  

• 
  the Romantic movement - the influence of writers and thinkers and of a common culture
  
• 
  the unifying force of language
  
• 
  the influence of students e.g. the Hambacherfest festival 1830.
  

• 
  Economic factors
  

• 
  Prussian economic expansion and the attitudes of Businessmen,
  
• 
  the Zollverein
  
• 
  Railway and road development.
  

• 
  Political factors
  

• 
  the impact of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars,
  
• 
  the 1840 Rhine crisis
  
• 
  the 1848 revolutions.
  

Information

After a quarter of a century of war instigated by Napoleonic France, Europe had witnessed many changes in terms of rulers, governments and territories. During this time ideas of nationalism and liberalism spread throughout Europe. German nationalism was gaining ground through political, cultural and economic beliefs of a greater and stronger nation bonded by a common language.

Task

1. 
   What is meant by the term “nationalism”? Discuss with your group and give as full and detailed a definition as you can.
   

2. 
   Read first paragraph (page 82) and discuss with class
   

3. 
   Unscramble the words in the box and use them to copy and complete the passage below.
   

dripe sivral gelganua voreluniot noram rafcen, negram rultcue ginnoij poruee detinu, deorgeranis yetquali, yemen

In the immediate years before 1815, E_ _ _ _ _ was dominated by _ _ _ _ _ _ under the leadership of Napoleon. Napoleon was a gifted military commander who had led his country to victory against their _ _ _ _ _ _ . One result of this was control of the _ _ _ _ _ _ states. These states were not _ _ _ _ _ _ . but they did have some things in common such as the same _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. The states also enjoyed the same _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Napoleon was defeated in 1815, but he had _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the states from 400 individual states into 16. The 400 German states had previously been grouped together in the Holy _ _ _ _ _ Empire. This process helped to inspire the German people to think about _ _ _ _ _ _ _ together. Napoleon was also a common _ _ _ _ _ who brought the states closer together in their hatred of him.

One further effect of Napoleon’s rule was the spreading of the ideas of the French
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ which had happened in 1789. The French had overthrown their king and ideas of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and nationalism spread across Europe. Nationalism is having _ _ _ _ _ in your country.

4. 
   Quiz Quiz Trade on Napoleon – complete the Quiz Quiz Trade and then answer as many of the questions as you can on the sheet.
   

1. 
   
   1. 
      Cultural Factors
      
   
   

The German states possessed many of the pre-requisites to form a united nation state and these forces gathered strength as the 19th century progressed. These were a common racial background, common traditions, heritage, culture and language. This feeling is reflected in the writings of late 18th century and early 19th century intellectuals eg Herder, Hegel and Fichte. Cultural Nationalism – unity is more important than individual rights and that what mattered was the preservation by the State of German identity and culture.

The Romantic Movement

• 
  the influence of writers and thinkers and of a common culture
  

According to the Romantic movement, emotion supercedes reason. In Germany, the influence of the Romantic movement encouraged feelings of nationalism. In this sense it promoted the Germanic culture and encouraged unification under the banner of a shared culture. Many turned for inspiration to landscape and heroic figures from the past. In Germany this took the form of a revival of interest in German history, folklore and myths; especially the idea of an enduring and older German identity that had defied the Romans. This ultimately strengthened the appeal of nationalism. In particular, the Romantic movement greatly influenced the educated classes in the towns. There was distinctive German literature – writers such as Hegel, Goethe and Schiller recognised common German characteristics – things that identified a person as German. There were also German folk tales compiled and published by the Brothers Grimm. The first collection of fairy tales ‘Children's and Household Tales’ was published in 1812 and it contained more than 200 fairy tales, which were popular. Whilst few Germans could read, these simple German folk tales could be told aloud and were important inspiring a feeling of being German.

Poets such as Goethe and musicians like Beethoven made educated Germans aware of a shared identity.