HI 224Raffael ScheckColby College

Overview

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German Unity as a Flaw

“There are, it appears, some creations of the human hand, the establishment of states among them, upon which a curse weighs from the very beginning. The gods turn away and relinquish their place to the lesser demons. The Reich of 1871, the German national state, belonged to these creations. . . . [It] was too big and too mighty in achievement to fit reliably into the European balance of power and too limited to be a real world power. That was one part of the curse. And the attempt to base self-confidence of a nation on domination and hierarchy instead of freedom and equality, an experiment that contradicted European civilization, that was the second part.”

Christian Graf von Krokow (1990)

Debates on German Unity

German “peculiarities:” Hans-Ulrich Wehler

Critique: Geoff Eley and David Blackbourn

Why did Germany Remain Divided for so Long?

Historical Background

Who are the Germans? The Germanic tribes Conquest and Destruction of the Western

Roman Empire (4th to 5th century CE)

The Kingdom/Empire of the Franks Consolidated in the 6th century CE Division of Charlemagne’s empire in 843

The Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation) Very powerful around 900-1000 But: weakness of the medieval emperor (elective

monarchy); challenged by the princes and the Pope

The rise of Habsburg Austria (14th-15th century) The Reformation: Religious division The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) The Rise of Prussia (18th century)

German Cultural Awakening

Luther’s Bible translation The cultural bloom of the eighteenth

century (Goethe, Schiller, Kant) High literacy (particularly in Prussia)

The Impact of the French Revolution and Napoleon The French Conquest of “Germany,” 1793-1806 Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, 1806 Mediation: middle-sized states annex small and

smallest territories Standard weights and measurements But: Growing German resentment (draft, taxes,

trade embargo) Upshot: A German National Revolt, 1813

The Congress of Vienna 1814-15

Dynastic principle Fear of revolution Nationalism seen as democratic, hence as

revolutionary and dangerous The German Confederation - a poor

substitute Repression of nationalist feeling

How to Define a German Nation

Absence of a state Reference to the people (Volk) Definition on cultural-linguistic terms Anti-French bias

Unification through War

Obstacles to Unification

The German Confederation, 1814-1866 The Princes The Nobility Prussian-Austrian Dualism Foreign Influences

Failed Unification from Below: 1848-49

Hopes of creating a liberal Germany through revolution

What to do with Austria? Or: großdeutsch versus kleindeutsch

The Prussian army breaks the revolution

Economic Pressures

Small states bad for trade Division of Prussia (Map) Customs Union (Zollverein), 1834 Industrial Take-Off After 1850

Bismarck

A conservative Prussian Junker

Opponent of the liberals A critical monarchist The Prussian

constitutional conflict 1862

German unification under Prussian and conservative leadership?

The Wars of Unification

The German War Against Denmark (1864): Prussia as an Agent of the “German” Cause

Prussia Defeats Austria (1866) The North German Confederation (1867) A German War With France (1870-71)

Germany under Bismarck

The Constitution

Democratic elements: – Universal manhood suffrage– Budget right of the Reichstag

Conservative safeguards:– Supreme power of the emperor/Prussian king– The Bundesrat– Persistence of undemocratic state constitutions and

separate rights for the states– The status of the army

The Constitution is a princely insurance institute against democracy. (W. Liebknecht)

The Territory and the People

Relative territories of the German states Germans outside the Second Empire Non-Germans inside the Second Empire Regional disparities

Domestic Politics

Kulturkampf: Fighting the Catholics (Center Party); alliance with the liberals

Estrangement between Bismarck and the conservatives

The shift in 1879: high tariffs; break with the liberals; rapprochement with the conservatives and Center Party

Repression of the Socialists; social insurance and other welfare measures as a bait to the workers

Bismarck’s Foreign Policy

Germany as a “saturated state” Danger of geographic position French hostility Tactics: 1) balance of interests 2) deflection

of expansion 3) threat of warAnd domestic politics as a motivator??

A conservative foreign policy!

Your socialist critic!

Europe after 1871

Bismarck’s Alliances

Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary, 1879 Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and

Italy, 1882 Alliance with Russia: together with Austria-

Hungary, 1881-87; separately 1887-90

See what I mean??

The Dismissal of Bismarck: End of an Era?

The Pessimistic View: Dropping the Pilot Loss of experienced leadership Collapse of Bismarck‘s alliance system;

hence growing isolation and danger Impulsive and inconsistent policy of

Wilhelm II A powerful state in full speed but without a

rudder?

The Power Issues

Constitutional problems The political education of Wilhelm II Temperaments

The Substantial Issues in 1890

Renewing anti-Socialist legislation Renewing the Reinsurance Treaty with

Russia Bismarck‘s dwindling power base in the

Reichstag

The New Course: Weltpolitik

Germany after Bismarck

Chancellor Leo von Caprivi (1890-94) Reversion to free trade Failure of German-British alliance Chancellor Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst

(1894-1900) Foundation of the Bismarck cult Sum: more freedom, less press control, less

manipulation of parliament, but failures in policy and crisis of monarchic authority (inability of Kaiser Wilhelm II to rule effectively)

Motives for Weltpolitik

The rapid spread of news The changing character of public opinion Rise or decline: the influence of Darwinism Massive industrial progress Prestige This is social imperialism.

Governments want success abroad to prevent the inevitable socialist

revolution!!! Another form of opium for the masses!

Signals and Policies

Max Weber‘s inaugural lecture (1895) Bernhard von Bülow (foreign minister

1897-1900, chancellor 1900-1909) Alfred von Tirpitz (naval minister 1897-

1916) Powerful affirmation by Wilhelm II

The Effects of Weltpolitik

More confrontational diplomacy. Germany turns from honest broker to assertive claimant for a place in the sun

Strengthening of anti-German alliances (France-Britain in 1904 and Britain-Russia in 1907)

Futile attempts to split the anti-German alliances (Morocco, 1905 and 1911)

Increasing isolation; stereotype of the „ugly German“

Was Weltpolitik morally wrong?

The Tirpitz Plan

The Situation Before Fleet Building Geographic situation: good for defense but not good for an

offensive navy. Vulnerability to naval blockade No chain of overseas coaling stations and trade posts to

support a global naval presence The Reichstag: the Left and the Conservatives against

fleet-building Priority of the army YET: Growing dependence on imports of raw materials

and food

Tirpitz‘s Plan

Commitment to large battleships concentrated in the North Sea rather than overseas cruisers

Focus on Britain as potential enemy Strategic expectations:

– Large-scale battle to win sea power (Mahan)– Close enemy blockade near the German coast

The battlefleet as a lever and deterrent– Risk theory– Alliance Value– Danger Zone

Building the Fleet

Naval propaganda (Navy League) Building a supportive coalition in the Reichstag The Navy Laws (1898, 1900) Did fleet building benefit heavy industry? Domestic motives? Hey class: don‘t believe what Scheck is saying! Fleet building was a panacea against Social Democracy. Tirpitz said

so!!!Yes, he did. But it was also a

protection against the Kaiser (although Tirpitz did not say that)!

The Failure of the Tirpitz Plan

Arms race with Britain: Dreadnought building Increasing German isolation (failure of the risk

theory; no alliance value of the fleet) Cost explosion and growing deficit: higher taxes

threaten to split the pro-navy coalition Growth of Social Democracy (SPD) Neglect of the army Lessons of World War I (Battle of Jutland;

submarines)

Naval Strength in 1914

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NewBSh

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BritainGermany

Tradition vs. Modernity: Politics, Culture, and Society before 1914

Politics

The parties:– The rise of the social democrats– The decline of the conservatives– Center party, Liberals (Progressives), National

Liberals Chancellors between Kaiser and Reichstag

The Rise of the Social Democrats

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1890 1893 1898 1903 1907 1912

Elections 1890-1912

Conserv.SPD

The Big Political Issues

Taxes and tariffs (conservatives for tariffs and against property taxes)

Suffrage reform in Prussia and other states Role of the army (military justice) Demand for accountability of the government to the

Reichstag, not the Kaiser Crisis of monarchism

The emergence of a radical right (anti-Semites, Pan-German League, Agrarian League)

Vote of no confidence against the chancellor in 1913!

In sum:

Old-fashioned structures of authority based on conservative institutions and old social classes

versus

New, democratically legitimated, claims, represented by the more modern groups

Culture and Society

Rapid industrialization and technological progress A highly advanced university system and high literacy Large white-collar sector Large women‘s movements (socialist and bourgeois) Crisis of traditional religious beliefs State-sponsored counter-measures

The Pessimistic View (Wehler)

Bismarck‘s constitutional settlement remained unstable and could only be preserved by manipulative politics

Democracy is the „modern“ norm, but Germany cannot democratize because of the dependence on pre-modern groups (Junkers)

By 1914: pre-revolutionary situation and escape into war Long-term trend: call for a new Bismarck, a powerful

charismatic leader

The Optimistic View (Eley)

Stress on the modern aspects of late Wilhelmine society Latent parliamentarization? Thriving economy and culture Reformist Social Democrats No need for revolution Foreign policy problems were not the outcome of a

domestic crisis. Hence: no escape into war