GERMAN UNIFICATION Focus Questions • What was the process of German Unification? • What role did Prussian nationalism play? Key Players Otto Von Bismarck Wilhelm I Napoleon III Prussian Leadership • As the most powerful of the German states, Prussia emerged as the leader in unification • They were opposed by Austria and many smaller German states which feared Prussian domination of culture and religion. • Prussia was industrialized and militarized • King Wilhelm appointed Bismarck as Prime Minister and he took the lead in uniting the German states under Prussian control • He believed it could only be done through “Blood and Iron” • He followed a policy of “Realpolitik” meaning realism • He took whatever action he thought necessary, whether it was legal or ethical STEPS • 1864, Austria and Prussia seize Schleswig- Holstein • 1866 defeat Austria in Seven-Weeks War • Began to annex former Austrian territory in northern and southern Germany Franco-Prussian War • July 15, 1870 France declared war on Prussia over a perceived diplomatic insult • Prussia was better equipped, trained and prepared as they had been long anticipating a war with France • Prussia quickly mobilized and easily defeated the French Army • By January 1871, French resistance was crushed and they were forced to surrender • France lost the territories of Alsace-Lorraine • January 18, 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia was declared Kaiser or Emperor of Germany. • His new united Germany included all Northern and Southern German states and Alsace- Lorraine • France was now a mortal enemy Consolidation of German Empire • After the war, Bismarck needed to bind the German Empire together • Was called the “Second Reich” • Established a federation and constitution • Prussia still dominated politics • Bismarck modernized and industrialized Germany KULTURKAMPF • Conflict between the state and the Catholic Church • Bismarck launched a “struggle for civilization” • Expelled the Jesuit order • Clergy banned from government • Catholic schools closed • Bismarck was determined to destroy Socialism though social reforms were introduced in Germany at the time • Germany launched a program of Colonization and military re-armament • German nationalism soared… .