1871: The FORMATION
Before 1871, the area of Europe we call Germany had been made up of many separate Germanic states. These states shared a common history, culture and language but had never been united as a single nation. Prussia was the largest and strongest of the German states and in 1870-1871, it defeated France in a short war. Victory over France marked Prussia as a major European power and the German states united behind Prussia to form the German Empire. The formation of the German Empire created a new super-state which stood to dominate both Eastern and Western Europe. The Empire covered a vast area, had fertile farming land, rich natural resources and the largest population in Western Europe. Prussian power ensured that the German Empire was also possessed of a very formidable military.
GOVERNMENT
As Prussia was the driving force behind the unification of the German states, its leaders dominated the Empire. The King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, became the Kaiser (‘Emperor’) of Germany while the Prussian Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck, became the Chancellor of Germany.
Bismarck created the Constitution of the German Empire which at face- value did include a degree of democracy. The title of Kaiser was hereditary and was to be passed down through the Prussian House of Hohenzollern. The Kaiser would appoint his Chancellor, but the Empire was to have an elected Reichstag. Only the Kaiser could write laws but the Reichstag had the right to approve, amend or reject these laws. In practice, democracy in the Empire was very limited as the Kaiser and the Prussian aristocracy ensured that they retained ultimate political power.
WILHELM II – ROAD TO WAR
Wilhelm II became the third Kaiser of Germany in 1888. In 1890, he entered into a quarrel with Bismarck which resulted in him dismissing ‘The Iron Chancellor’. Wilhelm’s treatment of Bismarck was typical of the manner in which he ruled Germany, consistently rejecting the counsel of his advisers and the Reichstag, preferring to rule in the manner of an absolute monarch.
Wilhelm II was an enthusiastic supporter of German militarism and in the 1890s he supported a massive build-up of the German military, especially its navy. At the same time that Germany increased its military power, Wilhelm pursued aggressive foreign policy toward Britain, France and Russia whilst affirming Germany’s alliance with Austro-Hungary and Italy. Alarmed by Germany’s aggression, Britain, France and Russia formed their own reciprocal alliances. In 1914, tensions between the two power blocs erupted into war.