German Unification

Front 1

congress of vienna

Back 1

• 39 State German Confederation- controlled by Austria and Prussia
• The kingdoms, dukedoms and free cities controlled by Austrian appointed rulers
• Prussia’s influence also increased when gaining half of Saxony, the Rhineland which included the Ruhr which contained very significant raw materials such as coal, iron and steel
• Metternich used Austrian power to repress the spread of liberalism and nationalism from 1815 till his resignation in 1848

Front 2

failure of revolutions 1848

Back 2

• Frankfurt Parliament formed on the 5th March 1848 and consisted of Prussia, Bavaria, Baden and Württemberg
• Parliament failed in march 1849 when Friedrich Wilhelm refused to ‘pick up a crown from the gutter’
• Parliament failed due to lack of military power held so dependent on German princes, non-German nationalism shown when Denmark claimed Schleswig and Holstein in March 1848 and lastly, conflict between working class and middle class

Front 3

decline of austria

Back 3

• Economic decline; exclusion from renewal of Zollverein in 1865, inadequate tax system- excluded from free trade world, labour force 70% agriculture
• Huge debts; after war of 1859 with France over Piedmont, military budget split in half
• Imperial overstretch; after Congress of Vienna gaining a lot of territory in both German and Italian land, also had overseas empires
• Military decline; army decreased from 343,000 to 175, 000 from 1850 to 1866, muzzled loading rifles used,
• International relations; Russia not in good relations with after Austria considered joining Crimean War in 1834 and fighting with Russia’s rivals, France were neutral at Austro-Prussian War in 1866 but fought against Austria in War of 1859

Front 4

growth of prussia

Back 4

• Economic advantage; Zollverein, reform in banking system by Rother in 1846, more railways (8,000km more from 1850-75) which ‘shrank’ down Prussia and reduced significance of smaller states
• Military reforms; new war minister named von Roon appointed in 1860, army doubled in size, military budget steeply increased
• International relations; good relations with Russia after Polish Revolt in 1863, trade agreement with France in 1863
• Bismarck appointed in 1862

Front 5

economic factors 'coal and iron'

Back 5

• Zollverein- created Economic leadership within German Confederation which made German states look to Prussia for political strength but not everyone wanted this
• Natural resources from the Ruhr (coal, iron and steel from C of V)
• Output of iron rose sharply from 0.5 tons in 1852 to 1.239 tons in 1857
• Labour force 45% agricultural
• State debt low in 1860 at 290m Thalers
• Assessment: economic strength proved to increase Prussia’s strength a lot HOWEVER ‘coal and iron’ was already there in 1815 however there was lack of political strength still shown through the fall of the Erfurt Union in 1848 clearly proving this cannot be the cause of German unification.

Front 6

iron and blood- bismarcks wars

Back 6

• War with Denmark in 1864 – Denmark was defeated very quickly, Duchies passed to Prussia
• Austro-Prussian War in 1866 – through this war Prussia’s economic strength was clearly shown Austria had losses of 20,000 men while Prussia only had 9,000. This lead to the unification of North German as well as the end of the German Confederation
• Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1 – German states unified together to fight effectively, Won and lead to the unification of all of Germany
• Assessment; without this military strength and the wars of Bismarck, Austrian dominance would have not been eradicated since Austria still help some political power in 1850 shown through the Capitulation of Olmutz. By defeated Austria in 1866 war, there was a chance of German unification

Front 7

german nationalism

Back 7

• Karlsbad Decrees (1819) and Six Articles (1834) created to repress spread of German Nationalism and Liberalism. However repression of Metternich declined as soon as he resigned in 1848
• This gave way to an increase in German Nationalism. In early 1860’s liberal revival both in Prussia and across Germany, most liberals also nationalists.
• Popular between middle and upper classes and Protestant North
• Grimm Brothers- famous fictional German writers and academics were nationalists and believed German would be the superior state
• Danish War encouraged German nationalism since Prussia’s military skills
• Austro-Prussian War in 1866 was first time all German states worked together against Austria, this was not done with complete effectiveness but it increased nationalist feelings.
• Problem of southern states was a barrier to German nationalism since states such as Bavaria and Wurttemberg were hostile towards merging with Prussia to make a unified Germany

Front 8

bismarck: planner or opportunist

Back 8

• Planner; some historians believed he was an actual planner and his aims vaguely expressed a want for German Unification. Proof of this is in an alleged speech at Disraeli in1862 he talks of creating ‘German a national union under the leadership of Prussia’. Additionally, it is more than evident he provoked the Franco-Prussian war clearly showing us he had planned for German unification
• Opportunist; historians such as AJP Taylor believe him to have been an opportunist and his priorities laid more on the unification of the Northern German states and he took the opportunity to unify the rest of Germany.
• In conclusion, even though he was doubted by many, most appreciated his pragmatic nature and how he made the hard task of German unification seem easy.