In the mid-nineteenth century, the German state struggled with developing a national identity. When Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species in 1859, it heavily influenced German culture and played a pivotal role in the surge in German nationalism. Darwin’s theory had contained features that gave comfort to the proponents of racism and slavery.
One could argue that Darwin’s research was misinterpreted by the Germans, and unfortunately, Darwin did nothing to combat their brutal take on his work. The theory of evolution was open for interpretation, and one could argue that Darwin left things this way out of fear of backlash over an already controversial topic. Darwin also withheld his findings for over a decade, which may add to his unwillingness …show more content…
In his 1806 address to the German nation he justified why Germans needed to resist French rule and prevent the degradation of their culture. Fitche’s solution was to educate the youth of Germany and establish a “powerful love” of the fatherland. He wanted Germans to be seen as an eternal people whose destiny was in their own hands, and not property of the French. What is interesting about Fitche was that he characterized the German spirit as universal and cosmopolitan, not narrow and exclusive. It is important to note that Fitche’s vision of Germany did not include the unification of German states like other German nationalist would demand later. The unification of Germany would create the exclusive society that Fitche fought …show more content…
The Congress of Vienna created the German confederation which was composed of thirty-nine individual sovereign states of central Europe. German nationalist began to demand that the individual countries transform in to one unified German nation. Ernst Mortiz Arndt was a German nationalist and author who wrote the poem, “The German Fatherland” in 1813. The poem served as the basis for early German nationalism. The poem united German’s in two ways; They all disliked the French and had love for the nations where the German language was spoken. In the poems first five stanzas Arndt asked, “Where is the German Fatherland”, and proceeded to follow with one of the sovereign states of the German confederation. In the seventh stanza Arndt revealed that the German fatherland was “As far’s the Germans accent rings/And hymns to God in heaven sings,/That is the land,/There, brother, is thy fatherland!” Arndt established language and culture as the basis for German nationalism throughout the first half of the
One could argue that Darwin’s research was misinterpreted by the Germans, and unfortunately, Darwin did nothing to combat their brutal take on his work. The theory of evolution was open for interpretation, and one could argue that Darwin left things this way out of fear of backlash over an already controversial topic. Darwin also withheld his findings for over a decade, which may add to his unwillingness …show more content…
In his 1806 address to the German nation he justified why Germans needed to resist French rule and prevent the degradation of their culture. Fitche’s solution was to educate the youth of Germany and establish a “powerful love” of the fatherland. He wanted Germans to be seen as an eternal people whose destiny was in their own hands, and not property of the French. What is interesting about Fitche was that he characterized the German spirit as universal and cosmopolitan, not narrow and exclusive. It is important to note that Fitche’s vision of Germany did not include the unification of German states like other German nationalist would demand later. The unification of Germany would create the exclusive society that Fitche fought …show more content…
The Congress of Vienna created the German confederation which was composed of thirty-nine individual sovereign states of central Europe. German nationalist began to demand that the individual countries transform in to one unified German nation. Ernst Mortiz Arndt was a German nationalist and author who wrote the poem, “The German Fatherland” in 1813. The poem served as the basis for early German nationalism. The poem united German’s in two ways; They all disliked the French and had love for the nations where the German language was spoken. In the poems first five stanzas Arndt asked, “Where is the German Fatherland”, and proceeded to follow with one of the sovereign states of the German confederation. In the seventh stanza Arndt revealed that the German fatherland was “As far’s the Germans accent rings/And hymns to God in heaven sings,/That is the land,/There, brother, is thy fatherland!” Arndt established language and culture as the basis for German nationalism throughout the first half of the