Historical Study: The Rise of the German Empire

Studying world history never gets old and with each phase I can dive deeper and deeper into an era. For me reading and writing about history is a magical experience, like lighting a match in a dark library, that offers a brief glimpse into the world long ago. This time it's yet another return to German history. I've been in numerous German phases now and wrote several posts back in 2012 (see German Culture and Study of German History). Ever since their role in WWI and WWII, the word "Germany" is quickly associated with military aggression and wickedness. However putting those events aside they still have a very rich history at the center of European politics, particularly at the turn of the 19th century. 

It's thru my continuous studies of the outbreak of WWI, that I now turn my attention from the Balkans to the Germans. It is a common understanding that Germany was the key instigator in WWI, with most to gain from the conflict. At that time they had become one of the main 5 powers in Europe alongside France, Britain, Russia, and Austro-Hungary. But what was the evolution of this powerful rise? How did the German Empire come to be? 

This central region of Europe has long been referred to as "Germania" but never was there a "German" kingdom to rival Britain or France during the middle ages. Instead there was the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia that oversaw this region of Germania. It was not until the 1800s that this new nationalist ideal of Germany was established. Although the German Empire was rather short-lived (approx 50 years) it briefly became a world superpower. So here I'd like to focus on the events leading to the establishment of the German Empire to it's eventually demise after WWI.    

The German Confederation

Throughout the middle ages from 962-1806 most of mainland Germania (and central Europe) was ruled by the Holy Roman Empire. By the 1600-1700s this territory became mostly disputed between the Austrian and Prussia kingdoms. In1806 Napoleon defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz which brought on the complete dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. At this point the land in Germania was broken up into smaller states that answered to France (known as the Confederations of the Rhine). This was only for a brief period up until the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. The boundaries of Europe were once again redistributed in the Treaty of Vienna. The German Confederation was thus established as the new defined territory of allied states, which included the Kingdom of Hannover, Saxony, Bavaria, and even the Austrian Empire. However it was the Kingdom of Prussia that oversaw this region and became the new power of central Europe. 

During this period Germany was made up of 39 sovereign states similar to the United States, however without a federal leader, like a president. The Federal Convention was it's main governing body of representatives based in Frankfurt. However this system was not always fair or balanced due to the superior and conflicting interests of Austria and Prussia. Both these kingdoms dominated the Confederation's political affairs. By the 1840s a new wave of nationalism swept across Europe, that witnessed a wave of political revolutions. From 1848-1849 German revolutionaries consisting of liberal and working class principles, pushed for the establishment of a new united German Empire. The revolution was eventually put down by 1850.

Following the revolutions, it was during the 1860s that Prussia began it's political moves to eventually establish the German Empire. King Wilhelm instituted a new increase in military production and appointed Otto von Bismarck as the new chancellor of his kingdom. It was Bismarck who oversaw key victories against the Danish and Austrian kingdoms. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866, lasted only for seven weeks and marked a new transfer of power in the German Confederation. The Prussian Kingdom dissolved the German Confederation into a new alliance known as the North German Confederation. Austria was removed from the alliance while parts of their land were acquired by Prussia. In 1870 France declared war on Germany to assert its dominance however was defeated and forced to give up land to Germany. A year later in 1871 Otto von Bismarck restructured the Confederation (including Prussia) into one centralized German Empire. 

Otto von Bismarck establishes the German Empire

The city of Berlin became the capitol of the newly established German Empire, with King Wilhelm as the de facto ruler and Bismarck as the proper head of government. The main reason for Germany's sudden rise to power was their booming industry. During the Industrial Revolution, Germany became one of the leading iron and steel producers in the world. They paved the way for new innovations and higher efficiency in industry, technology, science, physics, and chemistry. Thru their means of mass production and high efficiency, Germany quickly arose to become one of the largest economies in the world rivaling Britain and the United States. They also continued to expand it's military thru longer railways, a larger navy, and heavy production of weaponry. The German Manufacturer company Krupp became the largest distributor of military arms in the world. 

While the German Empire had a king, this was mostly symbolic, and the government was more of a constitutional monarchy, similar to Britain. Otto van Bismarck was the head of the government, referred to as the chancellor, and there was an elected body of parliament known as the Reichstag. Although it was now a federal government, there was still significant influence from the state of Prussia. The government was mostly authoritarian and preserved most power to noble and aristocratic family dynasties. However over time this slowly became more democratic as the general population were allowed to vote for their elected officials. 

The other powers in Europe quickly became threatened by the rising Germany, especially France. Having just been defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, France decided to establish an alliance with the Russian Empire in 1893 so as to pin Germany. In response to this move, Germany established an alliance with Austro-Hungary and strengthened it's ties with Russia. It developed an incredible railway system connecting much of Europe and reaching as far into the Ottoman Empire. By the late 1890s German steel production had surpassed Britain, who also had started to feel threatened by the rising superpower. In 1907 the Triple Entente alliance was established between France, Russia, and Britain so as to counter the rising strength of Germany.   

Bismarck's main incentive as chancellor was to win over and unite the general public from all states and wealth classes to accept Germany as their national land, a process known as Germanisation. For this he is often regarded as the true founder and hero of Germany's history. Some of the policies included eliminating foreign languages that weren't German and restructuring the education. Poles were affected most by these social changes, being forced to eliminate their customs and were seen as the ethnic minority. Bismarck also reformed the influence of the Catholic church, by limiting their power and control over education and political affairs. Also during this boom of German nationalism came an increase in antisemitism and racism against those that were different from the unified German community. This fervor would especially pick up after WWI, that led to the radical establishment of the Nazi Party. 

Kaiser Wilhelm II takes power

In 1888 King Wilhelm died and his son Frederick III became king, only for 99 days until he died. The throne then passed over to the next in line, Wilhelm II, the son of Frederick III. Right from the onset Wilhelm II wanted to take control of his empire (unlike most other constitutional monarchies) he wanted to lead rather then be a de factor leader. He thus saw Otto von Bismarck as his utmost rival, and the two came to frequent clashes early in his reign. Finally in 1890, the much older Bismarck decided to resign leaving Wilhelm II with total ruling power over the empire. This brought an end to the Russian-German non-aggression agreement, which would later become a terrible mistake. 

Unlike his grandfather, Wilhelm II wanted to be involved in all administrative and political affairs.  

Some of the Kaiser's most notable actions included strengthening relations with the Catholic church while squashing the rise of Socialism and Marxism. He also strengthened ties with the faltering Ottoman Empire by building the Baghdad railway to better connect Europe with Asia. Wilhelm II also pushed for the expansion of a colonial empire, similar to Britain or the United States, and established colonies in Africa. This eventually led to a dispute over Morocco between France and Germany in 1906, which made relations all the worse. Soon it had become clear that Germany had more enemies then allies. 

By the early 1900s Germany must have begun to feel the pressure building around it with the establishment of the Triple Entente. Furthermore it's only main ally Austro-Hungary was falling into hot water over Balkan disputes. Austro-Hungary quickly found itself in fierce opposition to the Russian Empire when it annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. This territory was disputed by Serbia who had the full support of Russia and only added to the Balkan hostilities. By this point it seemed eminent that a military conflict would begin with Austro-Hungary verses Russia, and Germany would be dragged in no matter what for it's alliance but more so the balance-of-power. 

All of Europe had become a game of chess between the main powers using their proxy states to show their intentions. Under Wilhelm II's leadership it appeared Germany had lost much of the diplomatic balance that Bismarck had established (especially with Russia and Britain). Now Germany found itself very isolated carrying three weaker allies in Austro-Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria also later joined with these central powers in hopes to reclaim lost land in the Balkans. With these alliances established all that remained was a spark, and that came with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914. After this event, Germany publicly supported Austro-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, which in some regards was the start of WWI. This led to the domino effect of the power balance, and what should have been a regional dispute blew up into a global dispute. Germany knew it's time to act had to come now or never if they were to survive the alliance of Britain, France, and Russia.

The war began favorable for the Germans who knew their greatest threat would be in France. They quickly moved thru Belgium and Luxembourg to establish their defensive lines. It was in eastern France that the infamous trenches were established due to the unforgiving weapons of both sides. The French were eventually able to push the invading Germans back, and thus Paris was never captured. In 1917 the Germans got a lucky break when the Russian Empire collapsed to the Bolshevik Uprising. They were able to acquire new land in the east and could now focus it's full attention on the western front. However even despite this event, it was too little too late, to oppose the combined allied forces of France, Britain, and the United States. Germany was forced to surrender in 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles harshly blamed them for starting the war. 

The German Revolution and Weimar Republic

Wilhelm II remained king after the war however he was very unpopular amongst the low morale of the German people. Their economy was harshly devastated by war reparations as well as a new influx of the Spanish flu epidemic. Towards the end of WWI a new political uprising was born in Germany that had spread from the Bolshevik uprising in Russia. With the transition of power in disarray in November of 1918 imperial soldiers disobeyed their orders and civil unrest spread throughout the nation. Shortly after Wilhelm II was forced to flee Germany and abdicate his throne. This marked the end of the German Empire and the dawn of the Weimar Republic. Wilhelm fled to Netherlands where he spent the rest of his days. 

There was a brief period of calm in Germany for about a month until a second uprising occurred in January of 1919. This was initiated by a socialist/Marxist movement led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht. Civil unrest once again took the streets of Berlin headed by the Spartacist communist league. The uprising was however quite disorganized and quickly squashed by the German militia. Furthermore their leaders Luxembourg and Liebknecht were discovered and executed on the spot. By the end of 1919 the civil unrest had been pacified however the nation remained in disarray. Aside from it's economic debts there were still underground political extremists at work on both the right and the left. The Weimar Republic remained shrouded by a cloud for most it's tenure by a majority of bitter Germans. At the onset of the Great depression in the 1930s gave way to the rise of a new extreme government, known as the Third Reich, that sought to reestablish the glory and might of the once German Empire.