Prussia

As it would appear the First World War led to a rather distressing engagement and a vast number of post-war difficulties for the German race in the face of their defeat in 1918. It seemed that as a result of their loss, other more advanced, countries found the need to emasculate them further with a number of significant terms that came in the form of various treaties that forced the German people to take the blame or the War Guilt, and pay for the cost of the war itself in the form of reparation…

Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the largest of them all- The Russian Empire. Although these empires were flourishing and gaining many colonies- Europe was on the verge of a war with itself. Before 1870, Germany was a collection of small states- of which Prussia was the most powerful. In 1870, Bismarck, a Prussian statesman won a war against France. This war was for one of France’s important industrial areas known as Alsace-Lorraine. After the win, Germany became very ambitious and successful.…

defeat Wellington and Blucher who were located there, before the Austrian and Russian army could advance. Four other French armies were situated around France to delay any surprise attack on the French border whilst Napoleon was fighting Britain and Prussia. Napoleon crossed into Belgium on the 15th June at Charleroi, in south Belgium. His army numbered around 122,652. Napoleon had chosen Charleroi as it was near the road that led to Brussels, by taking it Napoleon would prevent Wellington’s…

European territories annexed by Napoleon. On June 18, 1815, Napoleon’s conquest of Europe officially ended at the Battle of Waterloo. The 1815 Treaty of Paris demanded indemnities from France, primarily land and money. The Four Powers, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain sought to redraw the map of Europe. Peace attempts established during the Congress of Vienna, aimed for the balance of power, according to which no country should be powerful enough to destabilize Europe. Essentially,…

Germany: A Land of Tradition and Contrasts Organization and discipline are evident in everyday life for Germans. Public transportation operates like clockwork; traffic lights are synchronized, even retail stores are subject to Ladenschlussgesetz (store-closing law) (Somers 20). Everything done in German lives is done with order and efficiency. While we consider the German people in this light, they give us the impression of drones, adamant about following rules and regulations, and striving for…

Three middle-aged European men single-handedly helped shape Europe to the land you see today. Before, Germany was a couple of Germanic states with no future of unification. Italy was seemingly worse, divided into three parts under three foreign rulers. During the 19th century the Germanic and Italian states, with the help of Garibaldi, Cavour, and Von Bismark, united using political and physical force through Nationalism. Count Camillo di Cavour used both physical and political force to unify…

Empire 1871-1918, which featured an in depth analyses of the social, political, and economic realities created by the establishment of the German Empire under Prussian autocratic rule. According to Wehler, the bourgeois revolution in 1848 failed in Prussia;…

In the nineteenth century, German and Italy both underwent radical unification movements to integrate the independent states. Each country’s unification efforts shared some similarities, in addition to some differences, due to the events occurring in Europe at the time, as a result of cultural diffusion. The consensus agreement of historians remains that the German and Italian movements drastically altered European society. Although the methods through which the newly formed nations contrast,…

He introduced more liberal reforms such as releasing political prisoners, abolishing censorship and giving increased powers to smaller areas in Prussia, these reforms however backfired and more opposition arose. Consequently he returned to the restrictive policies he previously enforced. A character who was very mixed in his effectiveness as a decision maker is Adolf Hitler, he was extremely successful…

The expansion was largely due to alliances made prior to the war. These alliances were made due to fear, revenge, common enemies, and a desire for protection. Otto von Bismarck of Germany formed numerous alliances during his time as chancellor of Prussia and then later Germany. Bismarck’s alliances included The Three Emperors League, which was instituted in 1873 then…