Midterm Question about Germany - Essay Example

? Introduction and Thesis ment Germany’s unification came true on the 18th January 1871 in France at Versailles Palace’s Hall of Mirrors. During that period it was separated into 300 states from the middle ages. Germany had undergone through foreign wars like the Danish war, France’s war against Austria and Prussia. Napoleon was involved into Germany’s war as well, Napoleon’s rule led to development of nationalism, which eventually diminished the number of small states with only 38 states left (Pohlsander 19). In this paper, I aim to show that Europe had a major influence on Germany’s growth, development and emergence as a world power entering into two consecutive World Wars. There was competition in leadership between Austria and Prussia before the Napoleon’s domination. Prussia won as it was better organized and more progressive even though Austria had a larger territory. Prussian leader, Otto von Bismarck, is known to have led Prussia to Germany’s unification. He managed to bring reforms to Germany and strengthened its economic and military power. Later it helped Germany to win the war against France, which is known as the Franco-Prussian war in which the victory was on Prussian side. This showed how Otto von Bismarck had trained his army giving the military the up-to-date equipment and weapons to pursue the idea of German unity. Unification exposed cultural, political, religious, and social differences within the new nation, which Bismarck succeeded to reconcile (Pohlsander 52). Factors that Influenced the German Boundary Politics The westward shift from the French contributed to the German unification as the states joined to form one government. This would not have been achieved if France could have succeeded in the division of Baden and Bavaria states which governments were not strong enough. This could, in turn, have stopped the forces, which made the unification of these states possible. Nationalism The unification of the states created political borders which had to be protected. But the war against France was won, which proved these states had a strong military force. The idea of nationalism was needed and eventually had to be realized as the majority of the population in the Reichsland spoke various German dialects to which German justified its annexation on nationalistic grounds. Strategy The Germany’s military strategy was to control Alsace region up to the mountain range, the Thionville and Metz in order to protect the borders and sovereignty of Germany. The military had also planned to control the Thionville and Metz during the war. The developing of the strategy of taking over the aforementioned lands helped Germans to win in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 and contributed to the defeat of France and emergence of united German state. Economy According to Pohlsander (27), the military had interest in some states like the Alsace-Lorrain which had iron-ore and coal resources. With the help of these natural resources German leaders planned to develop the country’s economy. The main goal was military annexation since France had lost some land and inhabitants. It had also lost its mining and steel potential. The German Empire wanted to achieve growth of its economy and so the creation of a free independent nation-state able to wage war against its neighbors was a must at that time. Factors from European World that Contributed to Germany’s Development from 18 Century through 1871 Germany’s development was contributed to by different factors during that period; these included political and military factors, the factor of French culture and religious reforms among others. The Prussian State The German Prussian state played a major role in the development of Germany. Prussia was the biggest state and also most developed one which controlled Zollverein and most of the German states during that period. Zollverein was a union that was used to enable the states to compare their developments and statuses within the context of economic and political abilities (Pohlsander 33). This led to competition between states and contributed to bond formation. Through that there was an improvement in trade and economy. It also led to the unification of Germany as all the German states came together to have formed one country. French Culture The French revolution influenced German artists and also its intellectuals making a shift to Romantism. This contributed to interest in humanities within German society which led to formation of a different perspective as to political history, language, theology among others. This came to be seen from the emergence of University of Berlin founded in 1810. Intellectuals like Von Ranke set history at a different level. The youths were able to turn to politics though they failed because of lack of support and were forced into exile (Pohlsander 26). The Military The military forces of all the states were unified which led to a creation of a stronger military. Its reorganization by Roon and also the operational strategy by Moltke enabled its win over France (Pohlsander 8). The Prussian state had skillful, well trained military based on using Napoleon’s 1’s strategies of military development, which eventually led to its success. The Prussian troops were used to battle and were ready for war. They were able to defeat the forces of French empire. Their strength and sophisticated strategic ways enabled the defeat of France and raised the confidence of other German states, which made them join the Prussian state. The German leader was skillful and was able to create an environment in which his state was the first to declare war enabling the other states aid in the external aggregation. The Prussian military was far much better than that of Austria and at the same time was the strongest among the other states in that territory. This made the other states form the alliance with Prussia by 1870 making its army and economy even better (Pohlsander 46). Religious Reform The emergence of the Jewish community since 1780 had a great importance. Jews had advantage to enjoy the legal and economic privileges that the German speaking territories were deprived of. They were given the freedom of owning land, live in Judengasse, attend universities and become licensed professionals (Pohlsander 35). Everything changed after the revolutionary period and Napoleonic eras, which created hatred and barriers between Jews and Christians. This situation helped reform the religious views among Jews. By the time of unification Germans were able to enjoy the reforms which gave them the same possibilities as Jews had before. The religious reform led to diversification of religions in Germany. Through religion people were able to interact at a higher level of tolerance, which led to unity in the system. Political Influence The German kingdom comprised of twenty five states. The 1866th North Germany’s Constitution had some Semitic adjustments to which in 1871 it became the constitution of the German empire. According to Pohlsander (71), this constitution made the country democratic state enabling citizens to vote and be chosen during elections unlike the case with Otto Von Bismarck. Prussia being a powerful state was known for its influence on other regions and with its king Kaiser Prussia was delegated the right to appoint the federal chancellor. This, however, required Bundesrat’s consent and the federation council of deputies from the states. The political disunity of Germany created a favorable environment for the formation of new leaders obsessed with the unification of the states and the idea of joining them into one country to form one nation. The German system was able to develop a solid judicial system due to leaders who governed the provinces (Pohlsander 11). There was the emergence of hierarchy of leadership among the Germans, the state unity led to development of new politics in the region. Growth in Cities There was a population increase after 1815, especially in the urban areas, due to the migration of youths from rural areas. Most of the people who migrated to the urban regions contributed to industrialization of those, which, in turn, led to economic growth. Emigration was also seen to the United States: 480,000 of people moved to the USA in 1840’s, 1,200,000 in 1850’s and 780,000 in 1860’s. Through this we can clearly see that the rate of economic development increased and the economic growth was steady. The cities’ population increased rapidly. Berlin grew from 172,000 people in 1800 to 826,000 in 1870; Hamburg grew from 130,000 to 290,000; Munich from 40,000 to 269,000; Breslau from 60,000 to 208,000; Dresden from 60,000 to 177,000; Konigsberg from 55,000 to 112,000 (Pohlsander 62). The Rise of Prussia Prussia was a strong state with Otto Von Bismarck being the ruler. He was a hardworking man who wanted to pursue his dreams and create a strong country with a strong nation; he used military forces in order to fight with the French and make his dream come true. Through his organization he was able to facilitate equipment which was needed for the military training to protect his territory (Pohlsander 5). Due to this Prussia grew stronger and was joined by other cities and provinces to come up with one nation and government; although some states were either reluctant or tried to resist the realization of the idea of united Germany, they later joined Prussia to form one nation-state. Economic Growth German economy developed partially due to the railway network and constant improvement of the transportation system. Trade between different states intensified as well as interaction among people of different regions leading to marriages and growth of the population, which helped Germany to strengthen its territories and become a powerful nation in the European world. Pohlsander (30) states that most of the people who developed businesses came up with ideas on how to start a government which Germany needed during that period. The victory was the country’s satisfaction and brought unity among the Germans. Through Prussian state had the economy settled down on agricultural needs, business activities of other German regions boosted the development of the united Germany. Conclusion The European world contributed majorly to the development of Germany. The victory in the war made the nation stronger as from 1871 the military forces continued becoming more powerful and grew in number as the French wanted revenge (Pohlsander 53). There was economic growth due to the unification of the states, which enabled them to trade and contributed to civilization growth. Despite the fact that a lot of citizens lost their lives either in war or due to epidemics like different diseases, Otto von Bismarck was able to defeat France in war. Germany established its own state which it is still among the most powerful nations in the world. We have learnt that the economic development from 1815-1871 contributed to Germany’s unification as only after the war with the economic boom Germany became the nation as it is today. Work Cited Pohlsander, Hans A. National Monuments and Nationalism in 19th Century Germany. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2008. Print. Read More