GERMAN UNIFICATION
Focus Questions
• What was the process of
German Unification?
• What role did Prussian
nationalism play?
Key Players
Otto Von Bismarck
Napoleon III
Wilhelm I
Prussian Leadership
• As the most powerful of the German states,
Prussia emerged as the leader in unification
• They were opposed by Austria and many
smaller German states which feared Prussian
domination of culture and religion.
• Prussia was industrialized and militarized
• King Wilhelm appointed Bismarck as Prime
Minister and he took the lead in uniting the
German states under Prussian control
• He believed it could only be done through
“Blood and Iron”
• He followed a policy of “Realpolitik” meaning
realism
• He took whatever action he thought
necessary, whether it was legal or ethical
STEPS
• 1864, Austria and Prussia seize SchleswigHolstein
• 1866 defeat Austria in Seven-Weeks War
• Began to annex former Austrian territory in
northern and southern Germany
Franco-Prussian War
• July 15, 1870 France declared war on Prussia
over a perceived diplomatic insult
• Prussia was better equipped, trained and
prepared as they had been long anticipating a
war with France
• Prussia quickly mobilized and easily defeated
the French Army
• By January 1871, French resistance was
crushed and they were forced to surrender
• France lost the territories of Alsace-Lorraine
• January 18, 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia was
declared Kaiser or Emperor of Germany.
• His new united Germany included all Northern
and Southern German states and AlsaceLorraine
• France was now a mortal enemy
Consolidation of German Empire
• After the war, Bismarck needed to bind the
German Empire together
• Was called the “Second Reich”
• Established a federation and constitution
• Prussia still dominated politics
• Bismarck modernized and industrialized
Germany
KULTURKAMPF
• Conflict between the state and the Catholic
Church
• Bismarck launched a “struggle for civilization”
• Expelled the Jesuit order
• Clergy banned from government
• Catholic schools closed
• Bismarck was determined to destroy Socialism
though social reforms were introduced in
Germany at the time
• Germany launched a program of Colonization
and military re-armament
• German nationalism soared…