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HI 224 Raffael Scheck Colby College

HI 224 Raffael Scheck Colby College. Overview. My Home Page. http://www.colby.edu/personal/rmscheck/. German Unity as a Flaw.

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HI 224 Raffael Scheck Colby College

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  1. HI 224Raffael ScheckColby College

  2. Overview

  3. My Home Page • http://www.colby.edu/personal/rmscheck/

  4. 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)

  5. Debates on German Unity German “peculiarities:” Hans-Ulrich Wehler Critique: Geoff Eley and David Blackbourn

  6. Why did Germany Remain Divided for so Long?

  7. Historical Background • Who are the Germans? • The Germanic tribes • Conquest and Destruction of the Western Roman Empire (4th to 5th century CE)

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

  9. 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)

  10. German Cultural Awakening • Luther’s Bible translation • The cultural bloom of the eighteenth century (Goethe, Schiller, Kant) • High literacy (particularly in Prussia)

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. How to Define a German Nation • Absence of a state • Reference to the people (Volk) • Definition on cultural-linguistic terms • Anti-French bias

  14. Unification through War

  15. Obstacles to Unification • The German Confederation, 1814-1866 • The Princes • The Nobility • Prussian-Austrian Dualism • Foreign Influences

  16. 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

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

  18. Bismarck • A conservative Prussian Junker • Opponent of the liberals • A critical monarchist • The Prussian constitutional conflict 1862 • German unification under Prussian and conservative leadership?

  19. 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)

  20. Germany under Bismarck

  21. 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)

  22. The Territory and the People • Relative territories of the German states • Germans outside the Second Empire • Non-Germans inside the Second Empire • Regional disparities

  23. 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

  24. 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 war And domestic politics as a motivator?? A conservative foreign policy! Your socialist critic!

  25. Europe after 1871

  26. 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??

  27. The Dismissal of Bismarck: End of an Era?

  28. 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?

  29. The Power Issues • Constitutional problems • The political education of Wilhelm II • Temperaments

  30. The Substantial Issues in 1890 • Renewing anti-Socialist legislation • Renewing the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia • Bismarck‘s dwindling power base in the Reichstag

  31. The New Course: Weltpolitik

  32. 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)

  33. 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!

  34. 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

  35. 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?

  36. The Tirpitz Plan

  37. 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

  38. 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

  39. 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)!

  40. 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)

  41. Naval Strength in 1914

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

  43. 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

  44. The Rise of the Social Democrats

  45. 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!

  46. 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

  47. 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

  48. 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

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