Even Adolf Hitler quoted Goethe when he stated, “He who will not be a hammer must be an anvil. An anvil we are today, and that anvil will be beaten until out of the anvil we fashion once more a hammer, a German sword” during a speech in opposition to the Treaty of Versailles (Hitler’s speech). Hitler used the concept of hammer and anvil to allude to the thought of German survival as he sought breathing room for his people. To Hitler, it was simply, eat or be eaten, conquer or be conquered. Although Hitler is typically a great example for one to turn to for this school of thought, it may come as a surprise that German history is ripe with other illustrations. Thus, leading to the ultimate question, has Germany been the hammer or the anvil throughout …show more content…
During the 17-19 centuries, Germany demonstrated itself as a hammer, that is, as a strong and progressive state with a successful economic system. However, the period of the twentieth century was a turning point in the history of Germany, in which German, on numerous occasions, acted as an anvil for other countries. Despite this, Germany was able to reach a high level and become a hammer that dictates strength in the political, economic, and social spheres of the …show more content…
After the Second World War, Germany was seized by a crisis, which was due to numerous human casualties in the war, the collapse of the economy, and ideas of National Socialism (Sheffer, Edith). To restore Germany, it was decided to occupy all of its territories by countries between the United States, Britain, Soviet Union, and France. At that time, America and the Soviet Union were in a state of Cold War. This led to Germany, especially Berlin, becoming a kind of platform for the distribution of spheres of influence. Consequently, Germany was wedged between the opposing fire of capitalism and socialism, forcing it to undoubtedly be the anvil for an extended period of time after the war (Sheffer). Despite this, Erhard's economic policy and the acquisition of materials from other countries, Germany started to restore its economy, eventually reaching a high level.
Democracy contributed to political reform within the German society and led to the construction of an efficient political apparatus (Kettenacker). Looking at the nation today, Germany has become one of the leading countries in the world, with a high standard of living. Amidst Germany’s current political aims is the rapprochement of national states, reinforcement of international organizations, and the desire to be a prominent member in world cooperation. The modern juncture
Following the conferences during World War Two, Germany was split up into two zones. Occupying West Germany and West Berlin was France, Britain and The United States, while the Soviet Union occupied Ea...
But the battle to control Berlin between, the United States and the Soviet Union, had been taking place since after the division of Germany. The German Democratic Republic wanted better control over its people to spread its communist ideas and tried taking its way around to get control of East Berlin by building the Berlin Wall. The creation of this “concentration camp” on a much larger scale, gave the GDR total control over the people. The reasoning that the German Democratic Republic provided for the creation of this gigantic wall was that many of its skilled labor were leaving to the “free land” or the West, causing an economic downfall in the East.
After World War II, many countries have serious problems in almost all areas, political, social and economic. At one of the winners of the major issues after the war were the German question and the reason for the conflict between them, and led to the division of Germany and Europe.
The period after World War One was very politically unstable. Many different kinds of governments, such as fascism and communism, were coming up all over Europe. One country that especially faced this political fluctuation was Germany. After the war, Germany was forced into a democracy known as the Weimar Republic, but this government soon collapsed and Hitler’s fascism took over. There were various factors that contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic, but three major ones were the lack of popular support for the government, the lack of efficiency and internal organization, and the competition of other, more conservative parties such as the Nazis.
German History Path The ‘German catastrophe’ that happened in the 20th century presented an unprecedented phenomenon that was difficult to explain given the previous historical development of the country. Specifically, the rise of Nazi Germany led to the radical changes in the country’s system of governance, social values, changes in social institutions etc that were unexpected from the point of view of history. The Sonderweg is a theory in historiography that emphasizes the idea that German path to democracy was unique, if compared to other counties in the West.
After the First World War Germany recognised her first ever democratic government, the Weimar republic lasted from 1918 – 1933 an astonishingly long time given its turbulent start. The November revolution saw the election of soldier and worker councils similar to that of the Russian revolution in 1917, it spread across Germany like wildfire and in turn split the country before a democracy could even be instated nevertheless on November 9th 1918 the German republic was established. From then on The Weimar Republic was set on unstable and insecure path and this is why it is one of Germanys most important historical periods; it was Germanys earliest form of non-imperial government and rule and its collapse in 1933 paved the way for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For these reasons there have been endless works published on the Weimar republic and the outpouring of literature post world war two focuses on the collapse of the Weimar republic and how the Nazi party came to power. However, to understand why the debate surrounding the Golden Era in the Weimar Republic is an interesting one and lacking in historical works, it is key to examine the historiography of the Weimar republic as a whole. Furthermore, to understand why historians focus on other periods in the Weimar’s history in particular the consequences of the treaty of Versailles and the consequences of the Wall Street crash in 1928 which led to its collapse.
Richard Bessel’s article stresses the political structure of Weimar Germany as the cause of its failure. Its structure was flawed in numerous ways, all of which contributed to its inevitable failure. First of all, the problems within Germany due to the First World War were massive. This caused economic, political and social problems which first had to be dealt with by the new Weimar government. The loss of the war had left Germany with huge reparations to pay, and massive destruction to repair. In order to gain the capital needed to finance efforts to rebuild, and repay the Allies, the economy had to be brought back to its prewar levels. This was not an easy task.
'Nazi Germany ' represented the period from 1933s to 1945s, which played an important role in prosperous German history and the modern European history. After Germany participated in First World War in the first half of the 20th century, the whole society was glutted with unemployment, poverty, hunger, inflation and moral corruption. The public couldn’t feel the republican democracy benefits.
... is good [,] what’s from the east is bad” (Kirschbaum). These sentiments clearly show the divide and discontent between the “Ossies”, East Germans, and the “Wessies”, West Germans, highlighting the rift in “united Germany.”
Even though Berlin lay deep within the Soviet sector, the Allies thought it would be the best to divide this capital. Therefore Berlin was also divided into four parts. Since the Soviet Union was in control of the eastern half of Germany, they made East Berlin the capital of East Germany. The other three counties were each in control of a small part of what was to be West Germany. The Allies decided that they would come together to form one country out of their three divided parts. Those three divided parts formed West Germany. After all the land was divided the Soviet Union controlled East Germany. Just like the Soviet Union, the economy in East Germany was struggling to get back on its feet after the war. While West Berlin became a lively urban area like many American cities, East Berlin became what many thought of as a ‘Mini-Moscow’. In East Germany there was literary almost nothing. The shelves in the stores were practically bare, and what was there was not in very good quality.
In 1947, the Western portion of Germany instituted a government under the watchful eyes of the Western Allies. The Soviet sector followed suit in 1949. During this period, the elaborate governance structure of greater Berlin broke under the strain of Cold War tensions. What emerged was West Berlin, which took up ties with West Germany, known as the Federal Republic of Germany. East Berlin, which comprised the ruins of the old and historic center of Berlin and outlying districts to the East, became the capital of the German Democratic Republic. After World War II, the Americans pumped capital into West Germany through the Marshall Plan, which resulted in one of the world's strongest economies, enormous prosperity and a stable democracy. Germany has been divided ever since and though at every opportunity, lip service was paid by all western nations to its eventual reunification, no one took the matter seriously.
The division of Germany into West Germany and East Germany emerged as a stopgap solution for the woeful state of the nation following its defeat in the Second World War. With the United States (US) ultimately gaining full control over West Germany, East Germany increasingly became alienated towards it, as it went under the influence of the Soviet Union (USSR). West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), rapidly grew into one of the most politically and economically influential nations in Europe representing the democratic interests of the US in the region, while East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), went seemingly the other way. East Germans became increasingly disillusioned by the way their politicians have promoted communism in the GDR, characterized by oppressive measures and sheer inequality in living standards. The Stasi, the secret police unit of the GDR, closely monitored East Germans and purged those who are suspected or proven dissidents, while politicians of the nation enjoyed living standards that are way superior compared to the average East German. West Germans, on the other hand, enjoyed the benefits of political and economic reforms brought forth by the democratic influence of the US. Therefore, discontentment among East Germans increased the prospect of unification of the FRG and GDR – an issue that was never written off in consideration, only further complicated by political differences. Nevertheless, eventual unification of the FRG and GDR following the symbolic collapse of the Berlin Wall did not completely result to favorable circumstances, as problems that continued to alienate matters between the Western and Eastern sections of Germany remain unresolved (Brockman ...
Under the democratic government, censorships were lifted and German people were free to express themselves. Cultural improvements were occurring throughout the country. There was greater production and use of literature, music, and theatre. Germany was beginning to get back on its feet after a harsh war; its relationships between the government and the people, and also with the allies were improving. Although Germany appeared to be recovering and getting prosperous again, there were many underlining problems which threatened its stability.
Despite the favourable outlook of Germans regarding reunification, its initial stages were unsuccessful in establishing a foundation which Germany could answer the people’s dreams of peace, prosperity and unity. The collapse of communism in Europe signified a change in people’s ways of thinking due to the fact East Germans had experienced suppression for forty years. Subsequent to the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the March 1990 free elections, a positive outlook for the future and belief in freedom began to proliferate amongst East Germans. German Chancellor Kohl took an optimistic outlook for the future, and believed German free enterprise would create ‘economic miracles’ . This new method of thinking was growing within the East of Berlin before the problems of reunification that soon grew within society.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Kitchen, Martin. A History of Modern Germany: 1800-2000. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Sprout, Otto.