By 1890, Germany had been a nation state for almost 20 years. Liberal nationalism was dying from its own success, and a new brand of popular ideas on the German Volk and fatherland was emerging to represent the generation which had been born in the boundaries of a German state, and was now reaching adulthood. Necessarily, these ideas would adopt foundations of German cultural superiority and common identity which had been espoused at the start of the century, and this was encouraged by colonialism. This popular nationalism was encouraged by the more active climate of public debate and freer politics. They were also no doubt affected by the position of the army in German society and the interference of a government dominated by the military. The presence of minorities within the empire and growing anti-Semitism in Europe encourages racist views, and the growing political importance of the SPD stimulated fears of socialist threats to the nation. Above all, during this period, German nationalism became rooted in chauvinist masculine sentiments. By 1890, Germans felt their allegiance to a normal state at least as strongly as the citizens of France and other European countries. Germany had not only built up all of the required symbols of national identity such as a common currency, flag and anthem, it relied heavily on well integrated national machinery, including the post office, judiciary, and Reichstag. Even the Prussian Hohenzollerns who ruled over the empire had become symbols of national unity, for Wilhelm II was seen as a German emperor, not a Prussian, and although the man himself was disliked by many, the institution had become a symbol for national unity. Furthermore, a new generation of Germans had grown up with common cul... ... middle of paper ... ...gely military perspective, encouraging a masculine assessment of the situation. The numerous religious cults of the era commonly expressed a commitment to the all male Bund as essential to German cultural identity. Threats from within the state were not only political, but perceived as things which threatened manly virtues, such as homosexuality, and even the growing political and economic importance of women. German Nationalism during this period finally achieved the status of a mass popular movement. This movement was, however, greatly influenced by the state and the current establishment, and was charged with militancy. Ideas of German racial superiority had been perverted into widely held racism, and the nature of nationalism was defined as much by perceived threats to the state, as by positive views on the German Volk Works Cited History of Germany 1780-1918
The understanding of European politics during the latter half of the extended nineteenth century, particularly from 1848 onward to the First World War, is as much about the European political climate as a whole as it is about the key figures within this climate. For example, one cannot fully understand the multitude of independence and nationalist movements in the Balkans during this time without first understanding the outside pressures placed on these movements by the three competing empires of the Russians, Habsburgs, and Ottomans; and only then delving into the multitude of persons whom inspired the individual movements. Likewise, understanding the German situation at this time is just as much about the European picture as a whole, as it is about the people within the German system itself; of which, Otto von Bismarck is clearly the synonymous figure. With that said, it follows that a purely biographical approach to this turbulent time in German politics, focused on Bismarck, will leave one largely without the knowledge of the greater European situation; however, this same biographical approach also helps to understand the political interworking and personal relationships that forged a unified Germany, something that the study of the European climate as a whole fails to do.
There were a number of events that occurred before eventually resulting in the reunification of Germany in 1871. The first steps towards the unification of Germany began in 1814 after the downfall of Napoleon’s ‘Rheinbund’ this began the period of restoration, where princes and knights etc. reclaimed their political control over their territory that they had under the old ‘Reich’ before 1789 (Mark Allinson, 2002).
When Otto von Bismarck was recalled from Paris to become Minister-President of Prussia in 1862, German nationalism was already more than 40 years old. First apparent in the opposition to Napoleon´s occupation of the German states, national feeling grew into a movement after 1815. This feeling was encouraged by a growth of interest in German literature and music and by increased economic cooperation between the north German states. By 1848 it was strong enough to make the creation of a united Germany one of the main demands of the revolutionaries. Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian patriot who inherited the traditions of love of king, army and country from his family.
During World War I, many national militaries took control and the initiative to go into war and many citizens took pride in going to the war, they felt it was an honour to serve their country. The war was thought as a way to end all conflict in the future, but that was not true.This belief of the early 20th century would contradict the perspective shown in Arthur Schopenhauer because he believes it is foolish to think laying your life for a nation is preposterous, and undeniable absurd. A historic figure that would disagree with Schopenhauer’s views is Napoleon Bonaparte because his whole reputation was to conquer and he was a militant man, his whole persona was identified by his militant accomplishments and he believes that it was proud great nationalistic pride to his nation. “ To conquer a nation first disarm its citizens,’ Adolf Hitler’s quote here is a similar view that connects to the one Schopenhauer believes in. Both say that the be a successful it should not be a militant based foundation, but a calm and peaceful nation is the way to be prosperous. This national force could be deemed as a civic opinion. Schopenhauer civic values could be seen as peace, unity, or even pacifism. Nationalism is about a nation being connected to one another, one who sees pride in their nation, and has a sense of belonging thorough culture, geography, and in this case civic nationalism, and it is just one of the view driving forces in nationalism in the past, or modern
During the 19th century, there were many important political ideologies all across the European continent. There was Conservatism, which favored the old or traditional political ideas. The extreme opposite of Conservatism was Liberalism. During this time period, Liberalism was considered any idea that went against the ideas of Conservatism. However, the ideas of Nationalism, possibly the most powerful political ideology of the time, did not fall under Conservatism or Liberalism. Nationalism was its own ideology that happened to be very compatible with Liberalism. Nationalism was the idea that nations should be comprised of people who share common roots and should be under one government; however, the Vienna Settlement directly opposed their ideas. The Austrians saw nationalism as a threat to them because they were comprised of many smaller nations while there were nationalist movements in
The Songerweg emphasizes the particular model of history that Germany, unlike other Western countries, has gone through. Specifically, ‘proponents of this concept emphasize the peculiarities of German history, such as political institutions, social structures, or mentalities and experience, usually in comparison with other Western countries, to demonstrate the unique course of German history’ (Buse & Doerr, 1998, p. 934). Although initially the theory of Sonderweg viewed the characteristics of German historical development as positive, the situation has changed after the World War II. Specifically, in the 19th and early 20th centuries historians applied the Sonderweg model to stress a focus on the role of strong central state and military as the driving force of the development of the country (Buse & Doerr, 1998). In addition to this, historians regarded social reforms in Germany that were made from ‘above’ rather than being the outcomes of revolution to be a positive feature that depicted German state in a favorable way. Finally, the historical school viewed the course of German industrialization and culture as superior to similar processed in the rest of Western European
In this essay I will consider to what extent the German economy has been central to change regarding the development of Germany over the whole period, 1890-1991. I will consider the German economy under the Kaiser in accordance with World War 1, during Hyperinflation under the Weimar Republic in 1923, in Nazi Germany under Hitler and in East and West Germany leading to the building of the Berlin Wall. It appears that the German economy to a large degree has been exceedingly central to change in the country over this entire period. It is evident though that the economy itself has not solely been the derivation of precise events over the course of the period. There have been other ideas and proceedings that must be taken into consideration and I aim to assess the prominence of these notions in opposition to the German economy. These include the radical ideas of the Kaiser and Hitler leading to the occurrence of World War 1 and 2, the ‘Stab in the back’ theory strengthening support for radical parties and anti-fascist ideals prompting the construction of the Berlin Wall.
The rise of European nationalism in the 19th Century brought with it an overabundance amount of change that would definitively modify the course of history. The rise of nationalism in one country would rouse greater nationalism in another, which would in turn, motivate even greater nationalism in the first, progressively intensifying the cycle that eventually concluded in a World War. Nationalism as an ideology produced international competition which inspired absolute allegiance to an individual’s nation state. The ideology was fueled by industrial commerce and imperialistic developments which led to nation-states pursuits of outcompeting rival nations.
Nationalism is an idea and way of life that has been in existence since the beginning of many early civilizations. Nationalism is not merely developed over time within cultures of the same historical heritage, but is developed through the will of the people that long for their own nation. The nationalism of Germany in the 1930s and 40s illustrates the similar ideas of both Renan and Kedourie that shows how it was the will of the German people that caused such an extreme form of nationalism to rise.
Poland is located in between former territories of Russia, Czechoslovakia and Germany. Historically, these countries were stronger than Poland during the 19th and 20th centuries. As a result this lead to nationalism and a change in the view of the nobility in Poland. Overall, nationalism is described as a feeling people have of being loyal and proud of their country. In regards to the people of Poland, they felt proud and loyal to Poland, but were often controlled by other countries. This feeling of nationalism became as a strong gradual movement in the 19th century due to the control. The following themes of the political background, type of nationalist feelings and movements, and wars fought affecting nationalism in Poland will be analyzed in this essay.
- German nationalism was divided at the end of the Second World War as a result of the division of areas to be administrated and controlled by the British, French, Americans and Soviets. As a result of ideologies of the controlling countries, naturally the three areas controlled by Western Democracies would grow closer due to a shared ideological methodology. This further divided German nationalism as it created a pro-democratic Western Germany, and a Soviet controlled Communist Eastern Germany. This mentality manifested itself into a western vs eastern nationalism, which was the reason for the Cold War between the West allies and the Communist bloc.
However, to a great extent nationalism can hinder a nation’s purist for national interest. Take Germany during world war one and the treaty of Versailles for an example. With Germany’s nationalism and military branches support they allied with Austria-Hungary and took up arms to help defend against potential treats that may occur from the assignation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the declaration of war against Serbia. Germany took arms because it would mean an increase in their national interests of power, security, and an even greater increase in their national interests if they won. However, this rising of arms led to many other nations taking up arms especially in retaliation to the Germans plan called Schilieffen. Nonetheless, in the
The Napoleonic Wars and the unification of the northern German states were examples of a dictatorial leadership aiming to conquer foreign countries, but not necessarily using nationalism as their motivation. Nationalism emerged during the French Revolution and played an integral role in many of the wars between 1792 and 1914. During the last steps of the unification of Germany initiated by Bismarck, the Alliance systems, and the assassination of the Austrian archduke, Nationalism acted as a driving force for war.
Nationalism was referring of oneself as a nationality, this was a big deal since before many had referred to oneself as a one's own religion. Referring to oneself as a nationality meant that there was pride in which one was born or lived. As more regions had begun to refer to themselves as a Nation, many had been in a competition to be the best that there is, causing the arms race, the rush to industrialize, and overall become the best nation. In the late 19th century, the Archduke was assassinated because of a group wanting to revolt against their country and gain independence from Austria-Hungary. Consequently, this sort of nationalism was not appreciated, the only way to stop it was to kill the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ultimately breaking off any Alliances that were
The growth of the European super powers during the 19th century consisted of the great powers vying for territorial attainments, developing their international influence, and ensuring positive domestic attitudes of their diplomatic actions. Attempting to cement their hegemony of international politics, the Prussian Empire sought to create an ethnically and politically unified German state to rebuff the prominence granted to Austria at the Congress of Vienna. Through the machinations of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and his determination to unite the German lands through “blood and iron”, Germany quickly rose to become the epicenter of European politics and forever changed the geopolitical landscape of Europe. In examining the unification of Germany and its implications for the international system, this paper will explore the prehistory of the unification, significant diplomatic successes and failures during the bolstering of Germany’s power, and the change in the power structure of Germany that ultimately changed the military landscape of the international system and became the precursor for World War I.