Latest / The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History / Bismarck's Blood and Iron: The Unification of Germany
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've traced Germany from tribes to empire, through the Reformation and the turmoil of the Thirty Years War, right up to the failed Frankfurt Parliament of 1848. That was Germany's liberal moment, and it collapsed. But just over twenty years later, Germany was unified – not through liberal ideals, but through 'blood and iron'. That's the phrase Otto von Bismarck made famous. Luna: Blood and iron – that's the core of Realpolitik, isn't it? Lucas: Exactly. Bismarck was appointed Minister President of Prussia in 1862, and he gave a speech to the Prussian Landtag where he declared that the great questions of the day would not be decided by speeches and majority resolutions – that was a jab at the liberals – but by 'blood and iron'. And he meant it. He set about modernizing the Prussian army, often bypassing parliament to get funding. That set the stage for three wars in less than a decade. Lucas: The first was the Danish War in 1864. It was over the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which were ruled by the Danish king but had German majorities. Nationalism was stirring, and Denmark tried to annex Schleswig. Prussia and Austria – old rivals – allied to defeat Denmark. It was quick and decisive. But then they had to decide what to do with the duchies, and that led to tensions. Luna: So they used the war to create a pretext for conflict with Austria. Lucas: Exactly right. Bismarck engineered a dispute over the administration of the duchies – Prussia got Schleswig, Austria got Holstein – and then he provoked Austria. He also secured Russian neutrality by supporting them during the Polish uprising, and he got a promise of neutrality from Napoleon III of France. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was short – only seven weeks. Lucas: The decisive battle was at Königgrätz, also called Sadowa, in Bohemia. The Prussian army, under Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, used railways and breech-loading rifles – the Dreyse needle gun – to devastating effect. The Austrians were outfought. Prussia annexed several small German states and dissolved the German Confederation. In its place, they created the North German Confederation, which excluded Austria. Luna: That's when Prussia really becomes the dominant power in Germany. Lucas: Absolutely. The North German Confederation was a federal state under Prussian leadership. It had a common army, a common parliament elected by universal male suffrage – Bismarck was clever, he knew the liberals would be outvoted by the rural conservatives – but real power lay with the Bundesrat, controlled by Prussia. And it was only a matter of time before the southern German states – Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt – were brought in. Lucas: Bismarck knew that a war with France would galvanize German nationalism and bring the south in. He needed a pretext. The opportunity came in 1870 with a dispute over the Spanish throne. The Prussian king, Wilhelm I, was approached by the Spanish to allow a Hohenzollern prince to become king. France objected, and the French ambassador demanded that Wilhelm promise never to allow it again. Wilhelm politely refused and sent a telegram to Bismarck describing the meeting. Luna: The Ems Dispatch – Bismarck edited it, didn't he? Lucas: He sure did. He shortened it, made it sound more confrontational, and then released it to the press. France felt insulted and declared war on July 19, 1870. The German states rallied to Prussia's side. The war was a disaster for France. The German armies, again under Moltke, outmaneuvered the French. They captured Napoleon III himself at the Battle of Sedan in September, and then laid siege to Paris. Lucas: The Siege of Paris lasted from September 1870 to January 1871. Parisians endured severe shortages, eating rats and zoo animals. The city eventually surrendered. Meanwhile, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, the German Empire was proclaimed on January 18, 1871. Wilhelm I was crowned Emperor – Kaiser – with Bismarck as his Chancellor. The southern states joined the Confederation, and Germany was unified. Luna: It's ironic that the proclamation happened at Versailles, the heart of French royal power. Lucas: It was a deliberate humiliation. Bismarck wanted to rub it in. The new German Empire was a federal state of 25 states, with Prussia dominating. It had a parliament, the Reichstag, elected by universal male suffrage, but the Chancellor was answerable only to the Emperor. The military had a privileged position. And Germany emerged as the strongest power on the European continent, with a rapidly industrializing economy. Lucas: Bismarck's unification through 'blood and iron' was a triumph of Realpolitik. But it also sowed the seeds of future conflict. The annexation of Alsace-Lorraine from France created a lasting grievance. And the alliance system that Bismarck built to isolate France eventually contributed to the outbreak of World War I. But that's a story for another episode. Luna: So after all those centuries of fragmentation, Germany was finally united – but it came at a cost. Lucas: Exactly. It was an authoritarian unification, forged by the Prussian military and conservative elites. The liberal ideals of 1848 were sidelined. But it was also enormously popular. The newly unified Germany became an economic and military powerhouse. And that set the stage for the dramatic, and often tragic, events of the 20th century.