Lecture 5

German Unification

by ZEESHAN FIDA
 German Unification

•The German Empire was built more truly on “Coal and Iron” than
“blood and Iron.”
•“War was a national industry of Prussia.”
•“Germany was not unified but Prussianized”

•Germany in 1815:
 The German Confederation of 1815
 Factors Unfavorable to German Unification

i. The arrangements of Vienna Congress

ii. The Metternich system
 The Carlsbad Decrees of 1819
iii. Internal Divisions
iv. The fear of Russian intervention
 1848, the alliance of Austria with Russia. This was seen as the Austrian threat
causing Frederick William IV to refuse the crown to the Frankfurt Parliament and
to abandon the League of Princes at Olmutz
 Favourable Factors to German Unification

i. The arrangements of COV were significant

a. Prussia gained 3 million Germans, lost 3 million Poles
b. Leadership was first essential for German unification
c. The BOP in Germany was shifted in Prussian favour
d. Hanover, which was under England was included in the German Confederation
e. The Duchy of Holstein which was under the King of Denmark was also included
in the German Confederation
ii. Nationalistic agitation
 Wurttemberg Festival
iii. Metternich’s Suppression
iv. Formation of Zollverein
 The formation of the Zollverein under Prussia fostered Prussian leadership
 1818: The tariff reforms laws
v. Unexpected impact of July Revolution of 1830
 Prussian army was on alert, defending the Rhine. Thus in crisis, Prussia had
unwillingly became the defender of Germany
vi. Accession of Frederick William IV (1840-1861)
 Reforms introduced by F. William IV
vii. Ideological developments
 Hegel advised that submission to the Prussian state should be the choice of
every free man.
 German Revolution from 1848-1871

•William I, King of Prussia: (1861-1888)

 Frederick William IV became insane in 1857, his younger brother
i. He was industrious, honest, deeply religious, conservative and fully
convinced of the Divine Right of Kingship. He believed in the national
mission of Prussia to unify Germany
ii. William was a soldier. He had a devout belief in the army
 Military reforms
 Von Moltke as Chief of Staff of the army
 Von Ron as Minister of war
iii. Strong Prussian Monarchy
 He proposed to increase compulsory military service
 Demanded increase in taxes from the Prussian Parliament
 The lower house of the Prussian parliament was less eager for military reforms
 In order to express their opposite view of army reform, they refused to pass the
budget
 He saw no way but abdication. But Von Ron persuaded him to call in Bismarck
 At his first meeting with budget committee; “the great questions of the day will
not be decided by speeches and the resolutions of majorities but by Blood and
Iron.”
 Otto Von Bismarck 1815-1898

•1847: He was elected to Prussian Parliament

 “Nothing could be done without force”
•1851-1858; As Prussian representative in the reconstituted German Confederation
i. He was conservative and opposed democracy
ii. A strong supporter of Monarchy and opposed Republican form of government
iii. Prussianization of Germany
iv. Lessons learnt from the failure of the Frankfurt Parliament
v. Bismarck’s method was clear
 Force, war, blood and iron
 Nothing succeeds like success
 Might is right

vi. Economic Back-up

vii. Isolation of his adversaries
viii. Autocratic policies: he ignored the Parliament, collected the necessary taxes
ix. Inspiration of Nationalism by Wars: Conquest of Germany by Prussia
 Steps through which Bismarck brought the Unification of
Germany
1. Internal Reforms
A: Political Reforms
i. Might, not right that counts
ii. The formation of the German National Association of 1859: Northern and Central Germany
 It stood for the little German solution of Unification by which Austria should be excluded and
that the New Germany be United under Prussian leadership
 Better the stiffest Prussian military rule than the evil of the small states
 It was the liberal opposition at home that compelled him to take up the cause of German unity

B: Military Aspects
C: Economic Reforms
 2. External Front: Skillful Diplomacy

A: Disraeli’s Report: In 1862, it was reported that Bismarck stated that

i. My first strategy will be to reorganize the army
ii. Then, I will take the first opportunity to declare war with Austria and give
Germany a national union under the leadership of Prussia
 Three Steps by which Bismarck achieved his desire end: A war with Denmark,
Austria and France. Bismarck, though constant in his aims, was always very
flexible in his tactics. One mistake he himself never made. It is proof of the
brilliance of his statesmanship that in spite of the obviously growing power of
Prussia, he succeed in preventing his enemy from allying with any major power.
His first aim in any war, the isolation of the enemy.
 B: The Prussian-Danish War 1864-1865

i. 1863: The Issue of Schleswig-Holstein Question

 1863, the King of Denmark had for centuries ruled over two duchies, Schleswig and
Holstein, not as the Danish King but as their Duke
 Schleswig: North: Danish Inhabitants
South: German Speaking
 Holstein: Largely German in character, was a member of German Confederation and
resented the Danish connection
 Danes wanted to absorb the two duchies completely into the Danish Kingdom
 1848: A dispute arose over the succession to the duchies- a German claimant, the
Duke of Augustenburg having challenged the rights of the heir to the Danish throne.
ii. 1852: Treaty of London
a. After Augustenburg had resigned his claim in return for a monetary
payment, a Conference of the Great Powers at London had settled the
succession in favour of the King of Denmark
b. The duchies should be kept as they were, an indivisible part of the
lands of the King of Denmark, but not subject to the laws of the Danish
Kingdom
iii. 1863: Danes tried to link Schleswig with Denmark
 1863: Danes came out with a new constitution which linked Schleswig in common
arrangement with Denmark, but treated Holstein separately
 In Holstein, Augustenburg was now claiming to be Duke, and the Confederation
voted to send troops to support him
 Nationalistic outcry from the Bundestag of Frankfurt on behalf of Germany
 Bundestag decided to go to war but Bismarck wanted it to be waged by Prussia and
Austria
 However, Bismarck wanted neither to break the Treaty of London nor to tie himself
too firmly to Augustenburg, so it was decided to send Saxon and Hanover troops,
who marched into Holstein on the behalf of the Confederation
 Prussia and Austria fight with Denmark, 1864
 Bismarck firstly secured the friendship of Russia by supporting the
Czar in every possible way during the Polish rebellion in 1863
 He concluded an alliance with Austria; “the terms that the two
powers would intervene unless Denmark withdrew the new
constitution, and the future of the duchies should be settled by Joint
Agreement between Austria and Prussia. This made the
Confederation powerless.
 Bismarck then demanded that Denmark should submit the whole matter
to a European Congress. Encouraged by Britain, Denmark refused, and the
Austrian and Prussian troops invaded Schleswig.
 Bismarck had seen that France and UK were not on good terms to cooperate in
stopping the invasion, had encouraged Napoleon III to abstain by hints of future
compensation for France in the Rhineland.
 Napoleon III had become convinced of the wisdom of inaction, enabling Prussia
and Austria to settle the future duchies.
 He dreaded German unification but was sympathetic to German nationalism and
dithered about solving that insoluble dilemma.
 Palmerston’s bluff that “if Denmark had to fight, she would not fight alone.”
 Great Britain was uneasy about the attack on Denmark but would need a
Continental ally to intervene, and France, its only feasible partner, inspired
little confidence.
 Britain, hastily backed down was humiliated before all Europe
 Danes surrendered their rights in the two Duchies
 Public opinion in Germany and the Duchies expected Augustenburg would
now be installed as Duke but Bismarck proposed that he should be installed
on condition which would have left him completely under the power of
Prussia
 The Austrian suggestion was that both of them should be handed over to
the Duke of Augustenburg but rejected by Prussia
 Eventually after they had quarreled violently over the joint administration,
it was agreed by the two powers, that for the time being, Austria should
administer Holstein and Prussia Schleswig.
iv. The Convention of Gastein: August 1865
 The Convention of Gastein agreed with above proposal.

 Bismarck knew that he could now at any time pick a quarrel with Austria
over the government of Holstein

 Thus, he could finish up with the whole of North Germany under Prussian
control and Austria forever driven from her dominant position in
Germany.
 C. Road to Austro-Prussian War of 1866

i. Prussian leadership in little Germany

ii. Austria was isolated
iii. Bismarck was already in good terms with Alexander II
 Crimean War, Austria did not help Russia
 Bismarck had assured the Czar of support against the Polish
insurrection in 1863
 Napoleon III did not know on which side to place his bet. Having
expected a protracted struggle between Austria and Prussia, Napoleon
made himself ridiculous by asking Prussia, the victor, to compensate
him after the event. However, Napoleon III in fact encouraged an
Austro-Prussian war, partly because he was convinced that Prussia
would lose.
 Napoleon III at Biarritz in October 1865

• It appeared that Bismarck first raised the issue of the duchies and his willingness to fully
annex the territories, including Holstein, with compensation for Austria. This solution does
not seem to have bothered Napoleon III.
• The Minister-President Bismarck had also expressed his support for the detachment of the
Veneto from the Austrian Empire. This inclination favourable to the Italian cause, would
undoubtedly have pleased Napoleon III who had campaigned for this solution for years.
• If Napoleon remain neutral, he offered to take a benevolent attitude to French seizure of
Belgium, which would have had the additional benefit of embroiling France with Britain.
Napoleon probably did not take this offer too seriously since he expected Prussia to lose.
 Napoleon might expect territorial rewards in the Eastern frontier of France
 Feb 1866: Napoleon III told to the Prussian Ambassador to Paris: “I ask you to
tell the King of Prussia that he can always count in my amity. In case of a conflict
between Prussia and Austria, I will maintain the most absolute neutrality.

 I desire the reunion of the Duchies with Prussia…….should the struggle take on
dimensions that one can’t yet foresee, I am convinced that I could always reach
an understanding with Prussia, whose interests in a great number of questions
are identical with those of France, while I see no turf on which I could agree with
Austria.”
• The Napoleon III wanted to let Prussia be defeated, then to intervene and to
construct Germany according to his fantasies.
• What Napoleon had in mind was an updating of Richelieu’s machinations.
• Prussia was expected to offer France compensation in the West for
extrication from its defeat.
• Venetia would be given to Italy
• A new German arrangement would result in the creation of a North German
Confederation under Prussian leadership
• A South German grouping supported by France and Prussia.
vi: Kingdom of Italy
 Italy’s reward was to be Venetia
vii. Bismarck followed this up by proposing in the Frankfurt Diet that
the constitution of the German Confederation be reconstituted, a
reform that would exclude Austria from German affairs
viii. After the Revolution of 1848, Austria became progressively weaker and
its policy increasingly erratic, diminishing its usefulness as a key element in
the British policy in the Eastern Mediterranean.
• The focus of England’s policy was to prevent Russia from occupying the
Dardanelles.
• Austro-Russian rivalries largely involved Russian designs on Austria’s Slavic
province, which did not seriously concern Britain, while control of the
Dardanelles was not a vital Austrian interest.
• Britain therefore came to judge Austria an unsuitable counterweight
to Russia.
• This was why Britain stood by on the sidelines when Austria was
defeated by Piedmont in Italy and by Prussia in the contest over
primacy in Germany.

xi. Austria retaliated by accusing Prussia of breaking the Treaty of

Vienna and the Convention of Gastein, and demanding the mobilization
of the Federal German forces against Prussia. Austria was supported by
9 out of the 15 states
 June 1866: War was declared: The Seven Weeks War
•3rd July: Battle of Sadowa
 Austrians were entirely successful against the Italians
 Everything was over before Napoleon III could reap any advantage from it
 When he tried to claim territories as compensation, Bismarck encouraged
him to put her demands in writing and then turned them down
 The King and the army were anxious to march in to Vienna and punish Austria
but Bismarck instead demanded a halt
 His object was not to make Austria as a permanent enemy but simply to expel
her from German leadership
ix. 23rd August 1866: Treaty of Prague
a. Not a yard of Austrian territory should be annexed
b. Only loss suffered by Austria should be Venetia
c. Outside Austria, however, Prussia annexed Hanover, Hesse-Cassel,
Holstein, Nassau and the free city of Frankfurt
d. She also retained Schleswig
e. Four and a half million inhabitants, a very compact territory running across
North Germany, and an important outlet to the North Sea
 The North German Confederation, subject to Prussian leadership
 The object of this was to ensure the supremacy of Prussia. Most of the defeated
German states were compelled to enter the new organization
 The main South German states, notably, Bavaria, Baden and Wurttemberg had to
be left outside owing to strong local feelings and the attitude of Napoleon III
 William I President
 Bismarck Chancellor
 Military alliance with South German states: Revealing to them Napoleon’s III
plans for expansion at their expense.
 Their armies under Prussian military leadership in the event of a war
 D: Road to the Franco-Prussian War of July 1870

i. Demand for territory on French Eastern frontier as compensation for having remained neutral
ii. The cession of territory belonging to the South German states
iii. The battle of Sadowa
iii. Acquisition of Belgium
iv. Issue of Luxemburg
 Napoleon III tried to buy the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg from the King of Netherlands
 Luxemburg was a member of the old German Confederation
 Prussian troops were still garrisoning the fortress
 Bismarck warned Napoleon off
 Neutrality of Luxemburg was agreed by the conference of powers
 Prussia withdrew its forces
 The King of Holland continued to be Duke
 v. Spanish succession crisis and Ems Telegram

 The opportunity came in 1870

 The throne of Spain being vacant
 A Hohenzollern relative of William I was encouraged by Bismarck to stand as a candidate
 The announcement of news caused the reaction in France. And a demand that a candidate should be
withdrawn
 William I advised the candidate to retire
 France had experience of Bismarck’s double dealing and was suspicious that the son the Prince might
become the candidate and also sought apology
 And an undertaking from the William I that Hohenzollern candidate would never in any circumstances be
renewed
 This demand William brushed aside
 French Ambassador in Prussia asked for an interview on the subject
 The King declined to receive the Ambassador for this purpose and informed Bismarck
 Bismarck issued the Telegram to the Press (EMS Telegram) but condensed it to leave out the politer aspect
and conveyed the impression of a Prussian snob to France
 In face of the mobilization of the Prussian army, France declared war
 Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
 Prussian troops crushed the French military powers. Strasburg, Sedan, Metz, France
was at Prussia’s feet
i. France had been isolated from all possible help
ii. Italy was no more than half a friend while France occupied Rome
iii. Russia was bribed not to interfere by the suggestion that she could repudiate the
clauses of the Treaty of Paris.
 Napoleon III advocated Polish independence as long as it involved no risk of war
iv. Britain was alienated by Bismarck’s publication at the critical moment of the French
proposal of 1866 to annex Belgium
 Napoleon alienated Britain by annexing Savoy and Nice in the aftermath of 1859 war
with Austria as well as by his repeated proposals for a European Congress to redraw
the frontiers of Europe.
 Britain was put off by France’s designs on Luxembourg and Belgium
v. Austria had been partly reconciled by Prussia by the lenient
treatment after Seven Weeks War.
 Too late, Napoleon III tried for an alliance with Austria, which he
had expelled from Italy by military action and from Germany by
Neutrality.
 Austria had lost interest in recovering either position, preferring to
concentrate first on rebuilding its empire as a dual monarchy.
vi. South German was bound by military alliance with Prussia
 Treaty of Frankfurt: 18th Jan 1871
a. Germany gained the province of Alsace and Lorraine
b. Indemnity of 5 billion Francs
c. A German army of occupation
d. Rome became capital of Italy
e. Creation of the autocratic Hohenzollern German Empire
f. Eastern Question: October 1870; Czar denounced the articles of Paris Peace Treaty
 “Europe had lost a mistress but had gained a master.”

German Empire was created in 1871

In the flush of enthusiasm for the common cause, the South German States were ready to unite with
the North German Confederation into a German Empire
• Benjamin Disraeli, who was about to become British Prime Minister in
1871 said the following about the Franco-Prussian war:
• “The war represents the German revolution, a greater political event
than the French Revolution of the last century……There is not a
diplomatic tradition which has not been swept away. You have a new
world……..the balance of power has been entirely destroyed.”