Germany: history 1815–1919

A caricature of the emperors of Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary being manipulated by Prince Otto von Bismarck during the Dreikaiserbund alliance. The league crumpled under the pressures of renewed war in the East 1875–78.

For the earlier history of Germany see Germany: history to 1519 and Germany: history 1519–1815.

Following the final defeat of Napoleon, in 1815 the Congress of Vienna established the German Confederation, consisting of 39 German states under the nominal presidency of the Austrian emperor. At the time of the revolution in France in July 1830 there was a sympathetic wave of revolt in many parts of Germany, but it was not strong enough to extort any lasting concessions from the various rulers. Finally most of the German-speaking states, with the notable exception of Austria, entered into a commercial treaty with one another by which they agreed not to set up protective barriers between themselves, but to encourage free trade everywhere within German boundaries. This treaty became the famous Customs Union, or Zollverein, which was dominated by Prussia and which effectively isolated Austria from German affairs.

The revolutions of 1848 Once again in 1848, as in 1830, German liberals were inspired to attempt revolution in imitation of the French (see revolutions of 1848). In response, the governments of the smaller states carried into effect a series of liberal measures. In Austria, Chancellor Metternich was obliged to flee the country, and a representative diet (parliament) was summoned. The same process took place in Prussia: a national assembly was convened and Frederick William IV swore to observe the new constitution. But the all-German assembly that met in Frankfurt in 1848, with hopes of uniting Germany under a liberal constitution, ended in failure (see Frankfurt Parliament).

German unification William I ascended the Prussian throne in 1861, and soon made Otto von Bismarck his chief minister. Bismarck realized that Germany could never be united under Prussian leadership while Austria still retained its old position there. He seized on the disputes over the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein as an effective pretext for war (see also Denmark). In 1863 Austria and Prussia seized Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark, and three years later a quarrel about the administration of the conquered provinces led to the Austro-Prussian war that Bismarck had wanted. During the Seven Weeks' War of 1866 Austria was totally crushed at the Battle of Sadowa, and was debarred once and for all from future participation in German affairs.

In 1867 the North German Confederation was formed under Prussian leadership. Frankfurt, Nassau, and Hanover were now part of Prussia, and the only kingdoms of importance still outside the union were Bavaria, Baden, and Württemberg, that is, the Catholic states of the south. In 1870 Bismarck deliberately provoked a war with France, in which Prussia was victorious (see Franco-Prussian War, and also France: history 1815–1945). As a result of the war the southern states fell into Bismarck's hands, and in 1871 the North German Confederation was replaced by the German Empire (Reich) with the king of Prussia as emperor (kaiser). Germany, united at last, also acquired Alsace-Lorraine from France.

The constituent parts of the German Empire When the German Empire was established in 1871 Germany had a total area of some 540,789 sq km/208,745 sq mi, and comprised 26 states: the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony; the grand duchies of Baden, Hessen, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Mecklenburg-Strelitz; the duchies of Brunswick, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, and Anhalt; the principalities of Lippe, Schaumburg-Lippe and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Reuss-Greitz, Reuss-Schleiz, and Waldeck; the imperial territory of Elass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine); and the free towns of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck (the leading members of the former Hanseatic League).

Bismarck's policies from 1871 Bismarck became imperial chancellor in 1871. Broadly, his aims were to concentrate all power in the person of the emperor and to strengthen the dignity of emperor and Empire by diverting as large a portion of the national expenditure as he dared towards enlarging and strengthening the army.

Bismarck's policy towards the increasingly important socialists, who were constantly in revolt against his administration, was to disarm their criticism by remedying the social ills against which they protested. This led to the introduction of such measures as compulsory insurance of workers and old-age pensions, measures that are sometimes described as state socialism.

Bismarck's least successful struggle was with the pope. In 1872 the Jesuits were expelled, and during the next three years the May Laws were promulgated, their object being to undermine papal authority and to establish the legality of state interference in ecclesiastical affairs. This struggle, known as the Kulturkampf, ended in compromise, and Bismarck was eventually obliged to make substantial modifications in the laws.

The contest between the Reichstag (parliament) and the chancellor over whether or not the former should retain a constitutional control over the army was focused on the ‘Septennate’ (1874), by which the army grants were fixed for periods of seven years at a time. The second period would expire in 1888, and Bismarck was determined to make considerable additions to the German army in view of the rapid increase of the French military forces. The Reichstag refused to agree to his plans, and accordingly was dissolved in 1887. In the election that followed Bismarck triumphed, and subsequent budgets showed an enormous increase in army supplies, and the period of conscription was extended.

In 1888 the Emperor William II, the grandson of William I, ascended the throne, determined to continue his grandfather's and Bismarck's policy. But two strong personalities such as himself and Bismarck could not work together, and Bismarck resigned in 1890.

Industrialization and socialism Germany's industrial expansion continued under Bismarck's successors, and by the end of the 19th century Germany had overtaken Britain as Europe's leading industrial power. There was also further social legislation, but this did not prevent the steady rise of a strong socialist movement in the country in the form of the Social Democratic Party (SDP; see social democracy). In the elections of 1912 the SDP polled more votes than any other party. While many German socialists were not Marxists, Marxism did have a considerable influence on German socialism, and many former German socialists later formed the nucleus of the German Communist Party.

Imperial aspirations and alliances By the 1880s Germany had developed aspirations towards colonial expansion. In 1882 a German colonization society was started in Frankfurt, and from that date Germany began to acquire possessions in Africa and the Pacific, but the colonies did not on the whole prove a successful enterprise financially. The scramble to acquire overseas possessions led to tensions with the other European powers, most notably with France over Morocco (see Agadir Incident). (For details of Germany's overseas colonies, which were all transferred to other powers after World War I, see under ‘the peace settlement’ below.)

In 1879 Bismarck had publicly renewed amicable relations with Austria. In 1883 Italy agreed to join the two empires, so forming the Triple Alliance that was to last until World War I. Germany had, since the days of Frederick the Great, feared encirclement by the other European powers, and Bismarck was guided by the consideration that with Austria at his back there would be less danger of a combined attack by France and Russia. However, in 1893 France and Russia formed the Dual Entente, and in 1904 Britain and France allied in the Entente Cordiale.

Germany's naval policy in the early 20th century rested on its belief that it was a world empire, and needed a great navy to defend its trade and exports. This desire for naval expansion was stimulated by the knowledge of the huge fleet that Britain possessed. German naval expansion aroused suspicion and hostility in Britain, which was already resentful of Germany's growing competition economically. There had been considerable anti-British feeling in Germany at the time of the Boer War (1899–1902), but by 1913, despite the arms race, relations between Britain and Germany had improved.

The road to war During the Austro-Serbian crisis – which followed the murder by a Serbian nationalist of the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo (June 1914) – Germany at first refused to aid Austria against Serbia. However, Germany did endeavour to prevent Russia from mobilizing in aid of its fellow Slavs in Serbia (see also Austria).

There was in Germany a division between the diplomats and the military, and at a council meeting at Potsdam on 29 July 1914 the latter evidently triumphed. Immediately after this meeting the German chancellor made overtures to the British ambassador to secure British neutrality, but this was rejected. On 31 July Germany demanded complete demobilization of Russia within 24 hours, but did not require the same measure from Austria.

Receiving no reply from Russia, Germany declared war on 1 August. France stood by its alliance with Russia, but Germany's declaration of war against France did not arrive until 3 August. The neutrality of Belgium and Luxembourg was violated by the German armies on their way to attack France. Britain, which had guaranteed Belgian neutrality, declared war on Germany on 4 August.

Germany in World War I For details of the course of the war see World War I. Germany was one of the Central Powers, the others being Austria, Turkey, and, from 1915, Bulgaria.

The German people showed a strong unanimity over the question of war, and all parties, including most of the socialists, supported the government policy. As the war progressed the conflict of opinion between ‘Easterners’ and ‘Westerners’ became more marked, and the rivalry between the eastern and western commands was a handicap to German military aims.

After the First Battle of the Marne (6–9 September 1914) had stalemated the German offensive in the west (see Marne, Battles of the), both sides dug in, and there followed four years of trench warfare, with both sides launching offensive after offensive with little success but at the cost of desperately high casualties. The war in the east was much more mobile, and the initial German victory at the Battle of Tannenberg (August 1914) was followed by a series of advances and retreats. From 1916 German commanders largely took over control of the Austrian army on the eastern front.

By the end of 1916 it appeared that Germany no longer looked forward to a decisive military victory. Peace negotiations were tentatively proposed by the German chancellor on 12 December, soon after the defeat of Romania by the Central Powers. The peace offers were rejected by the Allies, and the intervention of the US President Woodrow Wilson as arbitrator was cut short by the decision of the German military to pin their faith to the submarine. The ‘sink at sight’ U-boat campaign against Allied and neutral merchant shipping (which brought America into the war against Germany in April 1917) was at first comparatively successful, and this, combined with the February Revolution in Russia, raised German hopes at the beginning of 1917. Austria, however, since the death of Franz Joseph in November 1916, was anxious for peace, but the Emperor Charles was unable to come to terms with Italy, and Austria was forced back into line with Germany.

As domestic privations increased in Germany, the ‘minority socialists’ who had been agitating for peace and parliamentary reform were joined by the ‘majority socialists’. At the beginning of 1918 there was a strike in the munition factories, fostered by the communist Spartacists. The liberal-minded Prince Max von Baden was called upon by the kaiser to form a cabinet and introduce truly parliamentary government.

The German collapse After the failure of Erich von Ludendorff's German Spring Offensive in 1918 and the Allies' successful counter-offensive in the autumn, Prince Max signed the petition for an armistice. On 5 November 1918 the Allies announced the conditions with which Germany had to comply. They included evacuation of all occupied territory, withdrawal beyond the River Rhine, together with a neutral zone on the right bank, and the surrender of all guns, aeroplanes, and ships.

The German naval mutiny at Kiel, which had broken out on 4 November, marked the collapse of the will to war, and on 9 November a republic was proclaimed in Berlin. The same day the kaiser abdicated and fled to the Netherlands. A provisional government under the moderate socialist Friedrich Ebert replaced that of Prince Max, and the terms of the armistice were accepted. The majority and minority socialists united in this government, and in January 1919 crushed an attempted Spartacist revolt in Berlin, during which Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, the leaders of the Spartacists, were killed.

For details of the peace settlement following World War I, and subsequent developments, see Germany: history 1919–49. For German history since 1949 see Germany.