1. At the Vienna Peace Settlement of 1815, it was decided that it was neither possible nor desirable to restore the 360 or so states that Napoleon's "mediatization" had reduced to 39. Furthermore, with the goals of rewarding the victors and creating barriers against any future French aggression, Austria was given domination of Italy, and Prussia received Swedish Pomerania and lands in the Rhine area. These Prussian acquisitions not only made Prussia more western but also gave it what became the industrial heartland and the means to power.

As for the Holy Roman Empire, which Napoleon had ended in 1806, it was not re-established. However, as it was felt that some form of co-ordinating of defences was needed, the new German Confederation (der deutsche Bund) was created. Although its diet met in Frankfurt-am-Main in Hesse, it was dominated by Austria.

The "Dualism" (the competition betwen Austria and Prussia for leadership of Germany) begun by Frederick II of Prussia (1740-80) was for a time in abeyance as the Prussian King Frederick William III (1797-1840) and even his successor, Frederick William IV (1840-1861), accepted Austrian leadership and there was no one in Prussia of Metternich's calibre until Bismarck emerged in 1862.

2. The restored rulers were generally hostile to both nationalism and liberalism. In particular, the Austrian leader, Klemens, Prince Metternich (Foreign Minister from 1809 and Chancellor from 1821 to 1848), by temperament and as a result of the French Revolution, was consumed with a hatred of revolution, and feared that liberal reforms would promote revolution.

Restoration rulers were especially alarmed by the Wartburg Festival of October 1817, when students (mainly from Jena University), and liberals met to commemorate both the start of the Protestant Reformation (1517) and Napoleon's defeat in 1813 in the Battle of Leipzig, but also made speeches in favour of national unity and liberalism. Eventually, in 1819, Metternich and Karl von Hardenberg (President of the Prussian State Council), got the German Confederation to issue the Karlsbad (modern Karlovy Vary in Bohemia) Decrees tightening censorship and control over universities. Then, in 1820, by the Final Act of Vienna, it was established that no German state might have a parliament, except those (Baden, Bavaria, Weimar, Württemberg) already in possession of one.

3. The 1830 French Revolution sparked off revolution in a number of German states, resulting in the removal of the two worst restoration princes, the Duke of Brunswick and the Elector of Hesse-Kassel, and the granting of constitutions by the rulers of Hanover and Saxony.

4. In 1832, students, journalists and radicals made fiery speeches at the Hambach Festival (south of Worms) in favour of a united Germany (which had little popular support) and the sovereignty of the people. The Diet (assembly) of the German Confederation decided on stricter repression, especially by the Vienna Conferences of 1834 and 1837.

5. From 1819, the Prussian Finance Minister, Friedrich von Motz, had been making tariff agreements with other German states, with the goal of facilitating trade between the various separate parts of Prussia. This led to the establishment on 1st January 1834 of the Zollverein (Customs Union), which eventually included 80% of Germany, but not Austria. This was not intended as a step to unity but to economic development.

The Communist Manifesto, written by the German intellectuals Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, was published in February 1848, too late to contribute to the outbreak of the revolutions of 1848.

2. The German revolutions began with the one in Vienna on 12th March 1848. As elsewhere in Europe, there were food shortages and unemployment. There had been poor harvests in Germany in and after 1846, and these coincided with, and possibly caused, a depression in manufacturing and trade. The catalyst for the Viennese disturbances was the Paris February revolution. This inspired certain Hungarian leaders on 3rd March to demand a measure of freedom for Hungarians, and this bold move, added to the Paris revolution itself, brought the demonstrations in Vienna on 12th March by discontented Viennese workers, many of them unemployed. When clashes between demonstrators and troops occurred, the Emperor Ferdinand (1835-48) lost his nerve; on 13th March, the Chancellor Prince Metternich, who had led Austria since 1809, and who had consistently fought revolution, left for England, and on 15th March Ferdinand promised the calling of a constituent assembly.

3. News of the events in Vienna sparked off in Berlin on 15th March a similar revolution, which, according to A.J.P. Taylor, amounted to no more than "glorified unemployment riots", although after a chance shot, fired by whom is unknown, barricades were erected and street fighting occurred. King Frederick William IV (1840-1861) panicked, withdrawing troops from Berlin, and promising not only a constitution for Prussia but the merging of Prussia in a united Germany. The King later commented that "in those days, we crawled on our stomachs".

4. After the events in Vienna and Berlin, which among other things meant that Austrian and Prussian troops were not available to crush disturbances elsewhere, revolutions occurred throughout Germany. Rulers quickly gave in to petitions and demands, which were often supported by demonstrations, and agreed to constitutions limiting their powers. Bloodshed occurred only in three states, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Prussia. Only the Bavarian King, Ludwig, was forced to abdicate, in favour of his son, Maximilian II (1848-64), and at that, only because of his affair with the dancer Lola Montez, who was in fact Irish and whose real name was Mary James. Rather surprisingly, there was no widespread demand for the establishment of republics.

5. Although taken by surprise, the liberals meeting in Heidelberg saw their chance to create a liberal united Germany and arranged the election of an assembly on the basis of universal male suffrage. On 18th May 1848, the 830 deputies who had been elected met in the Church of St. Paul in Frankfurt-am-Main for the first session of what came to be called the Frankfurt Parliament or the Frankfurt Assembly. There was no representative of the urban proletariat and only one peasant; 17 were men of the cloth, 16 were army officers, and 118 were higher civil servants; the rest were intellectuals, hence Sir Lewis Namier's description of the German 1848 revolution as "the revolution of the intellectuals".

The delegates elected Heinrich von Gagern as the Assembly's President and Erzherzog Johann (Archduke John), a liberal member of the Habsburg family, as the provisional Reichsverweser (Imperial Regent, that is head of executive).

Only by March 1849 had the intellectuals agreed on the terms of a liberal constitution for a united Germany.

The main sticking point had been over whether it should be Greater Germany (Grossdeutschland), which included the Austrian Empire, or Lesser Germany (Kleindeutschland), which excluded Austria, for the population of the Austrian Empire was predominantly Slav and only 25% German. In the end, it was decided to exclude Austria.

There was to be a bicameral legislature on the United States model, with a Senate representing the states and an assembly elected by universal male suffrage; the executive was to be headed by an emperor. It was decided to offer the new imperial crown to the Prussian King, partly as Prussia was the strongest state after Austria, and partly because Frederick William IV (1840-61) had displayed certain promising signs, notably in 1847 arranging a United Provincial Diet (Vereinigter Landtag).

However, Frederick was no liberal or nationalist and on 3rd April 1849 refused the position of "German Emperor", for he was not "Emperor of Germany", which implied real power, and the crown was "from the gutter", that is offered by the people, not by his peers, his fellow monarchs.

A German flag was adopted, although it was dropped when the revolution was overthrown in 1849. However, it was restored in 1919 with the inauguration of the Weimar Republic and is still the German flag.

6. As early as November 1848, the German rulers, following the Prussian and Austrian lead, had begun to reassert their authority and abrogate or water down the constitutions they had conceded. Finally, in April 1848, Prussian troops disbanded the Frankfurt Parliament, although a rump met in Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg, until June, when it too was forced to disperse.

7. There were a number of reasons for the failure of the revolutions.

In particular, the intellectual leaders made the mistake of not deposing the monarchs, partly because they were moderate and partly through misplaced confidence in the willingness of the old rulers to share power. Above all, too much faith was placed in the liberalism of Frederick William IV of Prussia.

The intellectual belief in persuasion and abhorrence at the use of force, while commendable, was perhaps unrealistic. Moreover, too much time was spent on arguing over the constitution, so that the ancien règime had the chance to recover first its nerve, and then its power. It was especially unfortunate that no decisive leader emerged.

There was no mass support for the Frankfurt Parliament, whose members were out of touch with ordinary people. The Parliament was unpopular too because it had been powerless to help the Germans in the Duchy of Schleswig against the encroachments of the Danish King Christian IX, whose government, in January 1849, attempted to incorporate Schleswig into Denmark; the Parliament had had to appeal to the Prussians to field an army, and could do nothing when the Prussians, without consulting the Parliament, arranged a compromise with the Danes.

Energies were divided between the local and the national revolutions. In addition, liberals were not always nationalists, and vice versa, so that there were bitter disagreements. There was also the complication of the Austrian Empire, and fear of Prussian domination should the Austrian Habsburgs be excluded from Germany.

8. The German revolutions of 1848 may have failed, but they were not without importance.

With regard to Austria, Prince Metternich, the symbol of conservatism, had fled to England in March 1848. Then, in December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand was persuaded, by the Chancellor Prince Felix Schwarzenberg, to abdicate in favour of his more presentable 18 year old nephew Franz Josef, who reigned until 1916. Ferdinand was "an imbecile, epileptic and rickety; his character was expressed in his only sensible remark, 'I'm the Emperor and I want dumplings'" (A.J.P. Taylor). The revolution also brought the end of feudalism within the Empire. The national revolutions within the Austrian Empire had been crushed, but Austria was increasingly plagued by nationalism.

In Prussia, King Frederick William IV chose to retain the moderate constitution which he had been forced by the revolutionaries to concede in December 1848. The King was no believer in democracy but he favoured some sort of consultation, and had earlier, in 1847, summoned the United Provincial Diet. In addition, a Diet could be a useful safety valve for protest. Although after 1848 the Prussian Diet survived, elected by universal male suffrage, elections were on a three-class system (until April 1917), and the King selected the ministers, who were not responsible to the parliament.

Many German intellectuals - lawyers, journalists and writers, teachers - despaired of reform and emigrated to the United States. Of those who remained, many were later ready to accept the illiberal system of Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian chief minister from 1862 to 1890, because he achieved Germany unity, which 1848 had made seem an impossibility. Other intellectuals concluded that a greater appeal had to be made to the masses, who had been generally ignored in 1848.

The failure of the Frankfurt Parliament meant that the Austrian Habsburg dynasty had not only not been expelled from Germany but still dominated the region. The Prussian government, at the instigation of Joseph von Radowitz, challenged the Austrian dominated Frankfurt Diet by arranging in 1850 another union of monarchs, the Erfurt Union (or Prussian Union). The Austrians, however, demanded the end of this new Union; Radowitz and others were prepared to go to war, but in November 1850, Frederick William IV accepted the Austrian ultimatum and agreed to the Punctuation of Olmütz (modern Olomouc, in Moravia), which the Prussians regarded as the "Humiliation of Olmütz". Frederick William not only clung to the old tradition of Austrian leadership of Germany, but feared that the Erfurt Union might become democratic; in addition, Saxony, Hanover and other states had already deserted the new union.

I. Otto von Bismarck, 1815-98.

1. His father was a Prussian Junker (squire) but his mother came from a middle class bureaucratic family and Bismarck himself, after studying at various German universities, such as Göttingen (in Saxony), worked for a time in the Prussian civil service before returning at the age of 24 to help his elder brother manage the family estate of Kniephof near Schönhausen in Pomerania. He had disliked the civil service because he was expected to take orders, and his impractical father had allowed the estate to go to ruin.

2. In 1845, he was elected a deputy in the provincial diet (of Pomerania), and then, in 1847, to the new United Provincial Diet that King Frederick William summoned. In 1848, he vehemently opposed the Frankfurt Parliament. Between 1851 and 1859, he represented Prussia in the Frankfurt Diet (See above, Al.), an experience which made him anti-Austrian. Between 1859 and 1862, he served as Prussian ambassador in St. Petersburg. In 1862, he was sent to Paris as ambassador, but was recalled that same year to become Prime Minister of Prussia. By this time, he had gained considerable experience of bureaucracy, diets, and foreign countries.

3. As Prime Minister (Minister-President) of Prussia, he had by 1871 brought about the creation of the German Empire, which united the German states except for Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. From 1871 until 1890, he was Chancellor of the German Reich.

4. In his Memoirs, which were written in the 1890s, he claimed that he had always intended to unite Germany. This claim is still often taken at face value. However, the facts do not support this contention. For example, the German Empire was not a union of equals but a Prussian Empire. As Bismarck himself put it, "My map of Africa lies in Europe". He was not a German nationalist and his main goals seem to have been first to replace Austria as the dominant power in Germany and then to assert Prussian domination in Europe, which would mean overawing France. However, he seems to have come gradually to the conclusion that the union of Germany was not only possible but necessary. In particular, he seems to have feared that German liberals would eventually create a united liberal Germany in which Prussia would not only be dominated but would be dominated by the liberals, whom he despised. To prevent Prussia and its Junkers from being submerged in a liberal united Germany, his Prussia had to take over Germany. If he united Germany, he would win the support of those liberals who were also nationalists, and the liberal strength would be weakened. He had no specific timetable, but was a brilliant opportunist.

5. He was over 6 feet tall and was of considerable physical strength. He was also a man of courage and martial skill, having allegedly fought 26 duels, in which he was wounded only once. As a youth, he had won the epithet of "the Mad Junker" for acts such as releasing a fox in a lady-friend's drawing-room to watch the reaction. His insubordination, his extreme right-wing views, his unwillingness to forgive, and his intemperateness and rages prompted King Frederick William IV to consider him unsuitable for high office, and he only became chief minister in 1862 because there was a government crisis. He did not shrink from instigating wars to further his aims when peaceful methods failed. He was apparently the "Iron Chancellor", confident and ruthless, and the master of machiavellianism, which he termed "Realpolitik" (political realism); he believed that "Not kennt kein Gebot" (necessity knows no law), and asserted that "the great questions of the day are not to be solved by speeches and parliamentary votes, but by iron and blood" (which, oddly, is traditionally translated in English as "blood and iron").

6. However, he felt it necessary to relieve his conscience and feelings by smashing crockery against the wall, was deeply religious, and confessed: "What scoundrels we should be if we did for ourselves what we do for our country".

7. His excesses were also moderated by the passage of the years. He was a masterful opportunist and manipulator, himself pointing out that while the British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, felled trees as a hobby, he planted them! He knew when to stop or retreat; for example, in 1871, he said "We have done enough for our generation", and, in the 1880s, he retreated from his conflict with the Catholic Church. He was also a talented writer.

II. Bismarck became Prussian Minister-President (Prime Minister) in 1862 because of a government crisis so serious that the King even contemplated abdication.

The crisis resulted from the proposal in December 1859 by Albrecht von Roon, the Prussian Minister of War, for an increase in the size of the army, which he alleged was necessary because of the French threat. The liberal majority in the Diet (Landtag) agreed to the increase, but insisted that the time served by conscripts be reduced from 3 years to 2 years. This would mean that, rather than a larger army, there would be a larger body of trained men, who could be called on in an emergency, and that the Landwehr, the voluntary militia, which was dominated by the liberals, would remain important and strong enough to discourage the government from attempting to impose its will on them. When von Roon refused to compromise, apparently because he wanted to destroy the Landwehr, the liberals refused to vote the necessary budget increase. An impasse resulted as neither side would compromise, and reluctantly King William I (1861-88) was persuaded by von Roon, "as a last resort" (A.J.P. Taylor), to make Bismarck the Minister-President.

Bismarck pushed through von Roon's reforms, ignoring parliament, which took no action. As in 1848, the liberals believed in persuasion and peaceful methods.

III. In 1863, Bismarck blocked Austrian proposals for the reform of the Confederation, including an assembly of delegates from the parliaments of the member states and a greater degree of co-operation and unity. He did this by threatening to resign, and thereby forcing William to refuse to attend the congress of German princes held in Frankfurt-am-Main to discuss the Austrian proposals. Without Prussian participation and support, the congress could achieve nothing.

IV. In 1863, Bismarck secured good relations with Russia by means of the Alvensleben Convention (arranged by Konstantin, Count von Alvensleben). This agreement permitted Russian forces to cross into Prussian territory in pursuit of Polish rebels, the Poles having risen in 1863 in an attempt to throw off Russian rule. Bismarck's attitude contrasted sharply with that of the French and British, who were very critical of the Russians, and, as intended, made the Russian government favourably disposed to Berlin. Russian support was very useful in the years to come.

V. Between 1864 and 1871, Bismarck united Germany by means of three wars, the first in 1864 against the Danes, the second in 1866 against the Austrians, and the third in 1870-1871 against the French.

1. Although each of the three wars was limited with regard to the number of combatants and casualties, and to the duration of conflict, they had far reaching results, comparable to the results of the Napoleonic Wars and affecting not just Germany, which at last was united, but also the other countries of Europe, and even the world.

2. His first war was against the Danes in 1864.

i. The sequence of events leading to his first war, that against the Danes, began when the government of the Danish King, Christian IX (1863-1906), incorporated into the kingdom the Duchy of Schleswig, whose population, while predominantly Danish, also included a large German minority. Christian clearly hoped to take advantage not just of Austro-Prussian disagreement over the recent Austrian proposals for the reform of the Bund, but also of Prussian preoccupation with the constitutional crisis. However, Bismarck decided war was his best, if not his only course of action, for the incorporation had prompted the German Confederation to decide on joint action to preserve the independence of Schleswig and its union with the neighbouring Duchy of Holstein. Bismarck opposed such action by the Confederation for a number of reasons. In particular, he wanted Prussia to take the lead in Germany, not the Bund, which was dominated by the Austrians and by the liberals, both of whom he detested. Moreover, he coveted the Duchies for Prussia because they would make possible a Kiel Canal linking the Baltic to the North Sea and thereby obviating the passage round Jutland which was easily blocked. He also saw his chance to divert Prussian public opinion from the constitutional crisis over the Landwehr, and to win popular support. Consequently, Bismarck cleverly proposed joint action with the Austrians, whose leaders had to accept the Prussian lead, being unable not to act in defence of German nationals, and having no wish to see the Bund take the initiative.

ii. In February 1864, Prussian and Austrian forces invaded Schleswig, which was quickly occupied, although the Düppel forts fell only in April. Thereafter, Denmark was quickly overrun and in October Christian agreed to the Treaty of Vienna.

iii. The Danish forces had really had no chance against the extremely talented team of Albert von Roon (Prussian Minister of War) and Helmuth von Moltke (Prussian Chief of Staff), who, moreover, were strengthened by the growth of Prussian industry, and, with the Austrians as allies, had the advantage of superior numbers. In addition, as Bismarck had assumed, no other country came to assist the Danes.

iv. Although the war had in theory been fought to preserve the independence and unity of the Duchies, in the end, by the August 1865 Convention of Gastein (south of Salzburg), it was arranged that Prussia and Austria were to have joint responsibility for the Duchies, but that Prussia was to administer Schleswig, which made possible the construction of the Kiel Canal, and Austria was to administer Holstein.

v. However, the war had other more important results. Leadership of Germany had clearly passed to Prussia in place of Austria, and the 1850 "Humiliation of Olmütz" had been avenged; Bismarck had won liberal support in Prussia, and the constitutional crisis was largely forgotten; and an excuse later for war against Austria had been obtained.

3. The next of Bismarck's wars came in 1866 against Austria.

i. Bismarck had apparently hoped to assert Prussian leadership of Germany by diverting Austria to domination of southern Europe, for example, Venetia and the Balkans. Then, when the Austrians refused to go along with this, Bismarck decided on war, but only once he had made the necessary diplomatic moves to ensure that Austria not only had no allies but would have to fight a war on two fronts. This was achieved by April 1866. He had met Napoleon III at Biarritz in October 1865 and secured French neutrality by vague offers of compensation, and, in April 1866, he had arranged an alliance with the Italians, who, by providing a second front, would divert a large part of the Austrian army. He calculated that the Russians would be grateful for his support in 1863 against the Polish rebels.

ii. Thus, on 9th April, he proposed that the Frankfurt Diet should be elected by universal male suffrage, in the expectation not only that this would defeat the liberals since the bulk of Germany's population were conservative peasants and craftsmen, but would also lead to confrontation with the Austrians. Austro-Prussian relations indeed deteriorated, and both sides began to mobilize their armed forces, the Austrians at the end of April, and the Prussians in May.

iii. Then, when, on 6th June the Austrian governor of Holstein called a meeting of the Holstein Diet to discuss the future of the Duchy, Bismarck declared this a breach of the joint sovereignty clause of the Convention of Gastein, and on 7th June Prussian troops occupied Holstein.

iv. On l4th June, the majority in the Frankfurt Diet voted for general mobilization against Prussia, whereupon the Prussian delegates declared the Bund ended. On the night of 15th-16th June, Prussian forces invaded Hanover, Hesse and Saxony. On 20th June, the Italians declared war on Austria.

v. The Austrians and their allies were so quickly defeated that the Austro-Prussian War came to be called the "Seven Weeks' War". Field Marshal Ludwig Benedek was beaten decisively, on 3rd July 1866, between Sadowa and Königgrätz (modern Hradec Kralove, in the Czech Republic) by the Prussian commanders Prince Frederick Charles and Herwath von Bittenfeld. Prussian troops advanced to Vienna, and in July, peace preliminaries were signed. The Austrians had beaten the Italians at Custoza (near Verona) in June and in a naval engagement off the island of Lissa (modern Vis, in Croatia) in July, but this did not affect the final outcome.

vi. In August 1866, the Austrians signed the Treaty of Prague, which Bismarck made quickly to forestall any French intervention. Austria surrendered Schleswig to Prussia and Venetia to Italy, and agreed to pay Prussia a small indemnity of £3,000,000.

vii. The quick victory by the Prussians, which came as a surprise to many, for they had faced formidable odds, was the result of the same combination of factors that had beaten the Danes.

Bismarck had prepared the diplomatic ground, establishing friendly relations with France and Russia, and securing the Italian alliance. The best Austrian general, Archduke Albert, had been sent to the Italian front so that he, a Habsburg, would not risk defeat, and the less able Benedek had commanded at Sadowa.

Victory was very much the result of the ability of Roon and Moltke, which was clearly illustrated by the use they made of the new railway and telegraph systems, and by the way the Prussian troops were equipped with the needle-gun, the first successful breech-loading rifle. The Prussians also had the advantage of superior productive capacity as a result of their industrial revolution.

Napoleon III of France, who, expecting a drawn-out affair, probably clinched Prussian victory by failing to go to the assistance of the Austrians; and by the time he thought of intervening, the war was over and the Treaty of Prague made.

viii. The Austrian War had even greater repercussions than the Danish conflict.

Prussia gained 27,000 square miles and 4,000,000 people by taking over the North German states, such as Frankfurt-am-Main, Hanover and Hesse-Kassel, which had supported Austria.

The other north German states were forced to join the new North German Confederation (Norddeutsche Bund), which was set up in 1867. This new Bund of 21 states, which replaced the old Confederation, was dominated by Prussia, with Bismarck as Chancellor and the Prussian King as overall President. Bismarck had thus united most of Germany, but on his terms, and it was not a union really, but a Prussian conquest. Austria had not just ceased to be the leader of Germany, but was outside it as it was not a member of the new Bund.

Many liberals in Germany accepted Bismarck, despite his authoritarianism, because he had satisfied their nationalist aspirations; the liberal-democratic movement was thus weakened, never really recovering, and the way was paved in the long run for Hitler.

Not just Germany was affected by this war. The Italian House of Savoy gained Venetia, a late but important step in the Risorgimento (the unification of Italy). However, more important was the fact that the Austrian position was clearly weakened, which encouraged the nations within the empire. Initially, it was the Magyars of Hungary; in 1867, their leaders forced Vienna to concede the so-called Ausgleich (Compromise), whereby the Austrian Empire became the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, with Hungary sharing the same, joint, monarch as Austria, but otherwise being self-governing and sharing with the Austrians in ruling the other nations, the "subject nations", within the Empire, such as the Croats, Czechs, Poles, and Slovaks. These "subject nations" were also encouraged, although this only became clear later. For its part, Vienna, was encouraged to set its sights on the Balkans, as compensation for its exclusion from Germany; this contributed to the outbreak of the First World War.

4. The third and last of Bismarck's wars was the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 against Napoleon III's Second Empire.

i. Bismarck had probably not envisaged war against France, but the Spanish revolution of 1868 set in motion a train of events that Bismarck, an opportunist, could not let pass.

When Queen Isabella of Spain was deposed in 1868 for misrule, Bismarck, partly by means of bribes, supported the candidature of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen for the vacant throne. This would mean the encirclement of the French, who would thus be kept in their place, and would make the Prussian House of Hohenzollern dominant in Europe.

However, an accidental release of information alerted the French government leaders, who naturally were alarmed and protested. As a result, King William, weakly in Bismarck's opinion, knuckled down to the French and agreed that Leopold should let his candidacy drop.

Feeling that he and Prussia had been humiliated, especially in the face of exultant French jubilation, Bismarck edited the telegram he had received from the King, who was taking the waters at Ems. This "Ems telegram" made it seem that the King had broken off diplomatic relations with the French, which was not the case, and the French Assembly, against Napoleon's advice, declared war on Prussia on 19th July 1870. Bismarck referred to the telegram as a "red flag to the Gallic bull", but he was apparently surprised, although gratified, that the French had taken the bait.

ii. Prussian victory was quick, although not quite as rapid as in the two previous wars, although the final outcome was never in doubt. In September 1870, Napoleon capitulated at Sedan. In October, French forces led by Marshal François Bazaine, surrendered at Metz. At last, on 28th January 1871, Paris surrendered to the Prussians, who had besieged the French capital since September.

iii. Victory came for the same reasons as previously.

France fought alone as Bismarck had once again prepared the ground diplomatically and isolated the enemy. He leaked to the British Napoleon's proposals to him for the French acquisition of Belgium (in return for his neutrality in the Austro-Prussian War), which was not favourably received in London! The Austrians had not recovered from the war of 1866, and anyway, the Treaty of Prague with Austria in 1866 had been moderate, so that there was little interest in a war of revenge. The Italians were Prussian allies, especially as the war enabled them to take over Rome, which had been protected for the Pope by French troops. The Russian emperor was won over by Bismarck's support in 1863 during the Polish rebellion, and in 1870 over the revision of the Treaty of Paris of 1856, which had closed the Black Sea to the Russian fleet.

The Prussians also had the advantages of their industrial revolution and the ability of Roon and Moltke. The French "chassepot" rifle and "mitrailleuse" rapid-firing gun were superior to German infantry equipment, but Prussian artillery, training and organization were better.

iv. The main results of the war were the assertion of Prussian domination of Europe and the completion of German unity. In 1871, the south German states, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse, and Wurttemberg, joined the North German Confederation, and on 18th January 1871 the new German Reich (Empire) of 25 states and 40,000,000 people was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, with the Prussian King being crowned German Emperor, and Bismarck becoming Imperial Chancellor. Exactly why the south German states agreed to inclusion in the Reich is unclear. Their leaders were no doubt afraid of a French war of revenge, and feared for their security if they did not join the North German Confederation. However, the deciding factor seems to have been the way Bismarck won over King Ludwig II of Bavaria, apparently by offering him money for the continuation of his extensive castle building programme. Once Bavaria, the largest southern state, had joined, the others had little option.

The Italians shared in the Prussian triumph for they gained Rome as a result of the French being unable to protect the "Eternal City".

In contrast, Napoleon III lost his throne, the Second Empire giving way to the Third Republic. Moreover, the French felt humiliated, not just by their rapid defeat, but also by the relatively harsh Treaty of Frankfurt, signed in May 1871. Bismarck failed to repeat the moderation of the Treaty of Prague. The French did not object so much to the clauses imposing an army of occupation until an indemnity of £200,000,000 had been paid (in fact paid quickly by 1873) as this was traditional practice and the indemnity was modest; the problem was that they also had to cede most of Alsace and Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen), which, as Bismarck was aware, invited a war of revenge, and indeed contributed to bringing about the First World War. Possibly Bismarck deliberately antagonised the French to make another French war seem likely, as this would alarm the south German states, since they were on the likely path of any French attack. More likely, however, he felt he had no alternative to annexing Alsace-Lorraine, for exultant German nationalism would not easily permit the French to retain these German-speaking areas.

After 1871, Bismarck's Prussia fought no more wars, Bismarck wisely deciding that the gains of the 1860s had to be assimilated. Indeed, thereafter, Bismarck became the leading promoter of peace, working to prevent war on a number of occasions. However, his three wars had transformed the European and also the world scene, for Germany became not just the strongest European power but also a world power. In many ways, Bismarck unwittingly paved the way for the First and Second World Wars by uniting Germany, by weakening liberal-democracy, and by giving many Germans a superiority complex.

I. The nature of the unified Germany.

1. The 1871 Constitution was an extended version of that of the 1867 North German Confederation.

At the head was the German Emperor, a title which dissatisfied William, who would have preferred that of Emperor of Germany. The central executive power in Berlin was exercised by ministers, the chief minister having the title of Chancellor. The Emperor selected the chancellor and appointed the ministers, although William I in practice let the chancellor nominate the ministers. The central legislature was bicameral, with a Reichstag (Federal Diet) elected for 5 years by all males, and a Bundesrat representing the state governments. The Reichstag had the right to initiate and to veto legislation. However, the chancellor could in practice ignore parliament because he was responsible (that is, answerable) to the Emperor and not to parliament, and, as customs and excise revenues were fixed with individual states paying a matricular contribution to the central government, parliament had no financial control, except over the defence budget, which was voted every 7 years. As for the Bundesrat, it was never consulted on any important issue, and details of its meetings and votes were not made public. No state had the right to secede.

The constitution was criticised as "the fig-leaf of absolutism" and "fraudulent federalism" (Karl Liebknecht, 1871-1919, one of the socialist leaders). The Reichstag could admittedly be ignored, and, as Bismarck calculated, the masses could be manipulated; for example, he apparently caused a war scare with France in 1875 to help win support. Until 1879, Bismarck was able to count on the support of the National Liberal Party (Nationalliberale Partei), with 120 deputies in the Reichstag, led by Rudolph von Bennigsen. Then, when the National Liberals had split over the question of replacing free trade by protection, he came to rely on the Conservatives (Konservativen) and Free Conservatives. None the less, the Reichstag was elected by universal male suffrage (women gained the right to vote in 1919), and Bismarck found it increasingly hard to secure Reichstag support, especially in view of the growth of the Social Democratic Party, the heirs to Karl Marx, which, by 1912, was the largest party in the Reichstag. Thus, in 1890, Bismarck proposed ending the constitution and ruling by decree because of his difficulty in manipulating the Reichstag.

There is more truth in the criticism of "fraudulent federalism", for Prussia did dominate; in the Reichstag, it, as the state with the largest population, held 235 out of 382 seats, while in the Bundesrat, it had 17 out of 61 seats, which enabled it to block constitutional reforms. In addition, Prussian systems, for example in bureaucratic, military and educational affairs, were extended to the other states. However, Bismarck had had to make concessions to Saxony and the South German states of Bavaria, Baden and Wurttemberg; for example, they retained their kings, or in Baden's case, the Grand Duke, and Bavaria and Wurttemberg retained their own postal systems, and Bavaria its own army.

2. The different systems of the member states were harmonised. For example, in 1871, the seven separate currency systems (such as the Krone, Pfund, Schilling, and Thaler) were replaced by the Mark and the Pfennig. In 1873, uniform legal procedures were introduced, with the High Court of Appeal being sited in Leipzig. Uniform weights and measures, in the form of the metric system, were introduced. A Reich postal service was begun. In 1874, the armed forces were united.

II. Unification facilitated the German industrial revolution.

1. By 1900, Germany had overtaken Britain as the leading European industrial power and in the world was second only to the United States. According to the economist Lord Keynes (in his book The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1919), "the German Empire has been built more truly on coal and iron than on blood and iron".

German coal production increased from an average of 34,500,000 tons a year between 1871 and 1875, to 191,500,000 tons in 1913. Pig iron production increased from 1,600,000 tons in 1871 to 14,800,000 tons in 1910. German manufacturers also became the world leaders in the chemical, electrical, and engineering industries. The urban population increased from about 25% in 1871, to about 40% in 1880, and 60% in 1910. The 18,000 kilometres of railway in 1870 had grown to 61,000 kilometres by 1914. A large merchant marine was also built up.

2. As well as making Germany powerful, industrialization also brought the growth of socialism.

Ferdinand Lassalle (1825-64), the son of a prosperous Jewish Silesian merchant, was the founder of German socialism. In 1863, he had organized the General Union of German Workers, although this had fewer than 5,000 members at the time of his death in a duel. He opposed Marx, believing in the nation and state socialism, and seeing not violence but universal male suffrage and control of the state as the key to greater social justice.

German Marxism was begun by Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826-1900), a Hessian lawyer and writer, who in his early years was generally in exile in France or Britain. He was allowed into Prussia in 1862, but in 1865, he was expelled on Bismarck's orders, and went to Saxony. There he met August Bebel (1841-1913), a woodturner, who was won to the cause and proved himself an outstanding leader, complementing Liebknecht, the writer, by his oratorical skills. In 1869, a congress of workingmen's associations, meeting in Eisenach, established the Social Democratic Workingmen's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei), SDAP.

In 1875 at the Gotha Congress, the Lassallians and the followers of Liebknecht agreed on the united "Gotha Programme" and formed the Socialist Workingmen's Party (renamed the Social Democratic Party by the 1891 Erfurt Congress). Despite Marxist rhetoric, the Programme was in practice largely Lassallian.

In 1869, 2 Socialists were elected to the Reichstag, and thereafter socialist representation in the Reichstag slowly grew until by 1912 they were the largest single group.

In 1879, Adolf Stoecker established the Christian Socialist Workers' Party, appealing to the lower middle class. Stoecker was unfortunately anti-Semitic and proclaimed war on Jews.

3. Bismarck hated the socialists because of their belief in democracy, republicanism, pacifism and internationalism, which led them to oppose him. He tried to destroy them by a mixture of welfare legislation and repression.

In 1883, sickness insurance was introduced, with the employer paying 1/3 of the contributions. In 1884, accident insurance was begun, with the employer paying the contributions. In 1889, old age insurance was initiated, with contributions paid half by the workers and half by the employers, and Bismarck fixing 65 as the right retirement age. All this was pioneering welfare work, which was copied later elsewhere, for example, the retirement age of 65, and the system of contribution by the purchase of special stamps to be stuck on a special card.

In 1861, Saxony became the first German state to relax the anti-association laws by which unions were banned. In 1871, the new Reich had guaranteed workers the right to organize. However, in 1878, two assassination attempts were made on the Kaiser (Emperor), the first in January by Emil Hödel, a deranged radical, and the second in June by Dr. Karl Nobiling, another radical, who badly wounded William, and Bismarck took advantage of these to pass anti-socialist laws, despite the fact that there was no sign that the socialists had been involved! Thus the Socialist Party was declared illegal, and freedom of speech, press and association were ended by means of vague laws against those who "aim at the overthrow of the existing order of state or society".

4. Industrialization, and the depression of the 1870s, were powerful incentives for Bismarck to support protection and a colonial policy. Thus the German colonies in Africa were acquired: South West Africa, modern Namibia; West Africa - Togo and Kamerun; East Africa - Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika. In 1873, Germans occupied the first of the Caroline Islands in the Pacific.

III. Bismarck came into conflict with Catholicism, whose influence and power he disliked, especially as it challenged his position, above all in the church schools and sermons. The Protestants were less of a problem as they were divided, especially between Lutherans and Calvinists, and in general eschewed politics. There thus began what Rudolf Virchow (anthropologist, pathologist, and social reformer) of the Catholic Centre Party in 1873 called a "Kulturkampf" (a cultural struggle).

For example, in 1872, the Jesuits were expelled. Then the May Laws of 1873 of Adalbert Falk, the Prussian Minister of Public Worship, made the state responsible for training and appointing priests; required from Catholic clergy an oath of loyalty; and barred clergy from discussing political matters in sermons, from registering births, deaths and marriages, and from inspecting schools. Two archbishops, three bishops, and thousands of clergy refused to comply and were arrested. In 1875, the Prussian "Breadbasket Bill" cut off payments by the state to priests who failed to comply. In the same year, religious orders other than those caring for the sick were declared dissolved.

In May 1872, Bismarck had promised "We shall not go...to Canossa", referring to the surrender made by the German Emperor Henry IV at Canossa (Italy) to Pope Gregory VII in 1077. However, he gradually halted his campaign against the Catholic Church. It had not been especially successful; Pope Pius IX died in 1878 and his successor Leo XIII was more accommodating; and Pope and Chancellor both increasingly felt they needed an ally against the growing socialist challenge.

1. In contrast to the years 1864-71, Bismarck after 1871 was a man of peace, working not only to prevent German involvement in war but any European war involving other states. His Germany had no need for further war. He admitted "We have done enough for our generation", having achieved all, if not more than, he had hoped for, and being preoccupied with consolidating the gains of the 1860s. Moreover, he was busy with pressing new problems such as the challenge from the socialists and the Catholic Church, although of course foreign policy could be used to drum up support. As for wars between other European states, these might upset the balance of power, would be bad for trade, and might easily suck in Germany.

ii. None the less, the Near Eastern Crisis of 1875-78 (see 3 below) emphasised the danger of what Prince Metternich (the Austrian Chancellor between 1821 and 1848) had taught earlier in the century, namely that the main danger to peace came from Austro-Russian competition in the Balkans. Bismarck was also alarmed at the possibility of another Italian war against Austria with the goal of gaining those territories, for example the South Tyrol, which the Italians claimed, but were still held by the Austrians. He was also aware that competition for colonies overseas had in the past led to war.

iii. The main means to preserve peace employed by Bismarck was the organization of congresses and alliances. "Always try to be 'à trois' in a world of five powers" was his guideline. Also, as he pointed out, every alliance had to have a horse and rider; he, of course, was to be the rider!

iv. He was also alarmed at the spread of liberalism and socialism, and alliances would be a means to discourage their further growth.

2. In 1873, Austria, Germany and Russia became associated in the First Dreikaiserbund (Three Emperors' League). Bismarck had not in fact initiated this League, which resulted from meetings in May 1873 between Kaiser William I and Tsar Alexander II in St. Petersburg, where, to Bismarck's alarm, military support was promised if either went to war. When Bismarck refused to endorse this agreement, Austrian and Russian representatives in June met in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna and made an agreement to consult if any problem threatened to divide them and if either became involved in war. Bismarck approved of this agreement and secured German adhesion. The League restored the co-operation that the Holy Alliance and the Neo-Holy Alliance had brought between 1815 and 1853.

3. The 1875 war scare with France.

i. In March 1875, the export of horses from Germany was stopped and a German press campaign -"Is war in sight?"- inspired. The French Foreign Minister, Louis, Duc Decazes, published views that had been expressed by Josef von Radowitz, one of Bismarck's representatives, to the effect that certain circles in Germany favoured a preventive war against France. Decazes tried to enlist the support of Austria, Britain and Russia, whereupon Bismarck gave assurances that it was a false alarm, and the crisis disappeared.

ii. Bismarck's motives are unclear. He may have wanted to frighten the French; perhaps he was surprised by the speed of French recovery after 1871, and was annoyed by the sympathy shown by the right-wing French government for German Catholics struggling against his Kulturkampf. Possibly he hoped to bully the French into an alliance. Most likely, he wanted to divert German public opinion away from the Kulturkamnpf and to win electoral support.

4. In 1878, Bismarck arranged the Congress of Berlin, which settled the Near Eastern Crisis and perhaps prevented a repeat of the Crimean war.

i. In July 1875, the Serbs of Bosnia-Herzegovina rebelled against Turkish misrule, and in May 1876 were joined by the Bulgars, who were quickly subjected to what became known in Britain as "the Bulgarian atrocities". In June 1876, the Serbs of Serbia (which in 1830 had been recognized as autonomous by the Turks), in the expectation of Russian help, declared war on the Ottoman Empire, with the twin goals of helping their fellow Serbs and making gains for themselves.

ii. Following the Sultan's rejection of Austro-German-Russian proposals for reform (for example, the Andrassy Note of December 1875 and the Berlin Memorandum of May 1876) and Ottoman victory against the Serbs, the Russians in April 1877 declared war on the Turks. Bismarck promised to support the Russians, but only if the Austrians agreed with the Russian action, which they did not. By December 1877, Russian troops were at the gates of Constantinople. This alarmed the Austrians and British, who demanded an armistice. The Russians, not being ready for war against both Britain and Austria, stopped fighting in March 1878, but imposed on the Turks the Treaty of San Stefano (modern Yesilkoy, a suburb of Istanbul). By this, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Rumania and Serbia were to gain full independence and Bosnia-Herzegovina was to achieve home-rule. Russia rewarded itself with Bessarabia at the mouth of the Danube and expected to dominate the big Bulgaria that had been created and which, by including Macedonia, stretched as far as the Aegean Sea.

iii. However, the Austrians and British refused to accept the terms of San Stefano and demanded a conference to revise them. In this situation, Bismarck arranged the Congress of Berlin, claiming to act as the "honest broker" between Austria and Russia. The Treaty of Berlin which resulted limited the Russian advance by creating only a little Bulgaria, about 1/3 the size of the big one, and without an Aegean littoral as Rumelia and Macedonia were returned to Turkey, albeit with a measure of self-government. Austria and Britain also gained a share of the spoils; for example, Britain gained Cyprus, and Austria gained the right to occupy Bosnia-Herzegovina.

5. In 1879, Bismarck arranged his first alliance, the Dual Alliance with Austria.

i. The Treaty of Gastein (in Austria, south of Salzburg), the terms of which were only published in 1888, promised mutual assistance if either was attacked by Russia, and benevolent neutrality if either was attacked by another power, by which was presumably meant France. The treaty was to last for 5 years, but was renewable, and was still in effect in 1914.

ii. Bismarck's motives for the alliance are unclear. The obvious motive was alarm at French recovery. However, the timing suggests that he was worried more by the prospect of an Austro-Russian war and hoped by means of the alliance to restrain Austria.

6. In 1881, Bismarck arranged the Second Dreikaiserbund, which was renewed in 1884, but allowed to lapse in 1887 during the Bulgarian Crisis. (See 10 below.)

i. The signatories promised benevolent neutrality if another went to war against a fourth country, unless the fourth were the Ottoman Empire, where special agreement was necessary. The Austrians agreed not to oppose the union of Bulgaria and Rumelia, and the Russians agreed that Austria might annex Bosnia-Herzegovina.

ii. The initiative for the League came from the Russians who pressed for it from 1879, but Bismarck supported the idea apparently as he saw in it a means to keep Austria and Russia from going to war over the Balkans.

7. In 1882, Bismarck arranged the Triple Alliance of Austria, Germany and Italy, which was still in effect in 1915. Austria and Germany were to help the Italians against a French attack; the Italians were to help the Germans against a French attack; and if any member was attacked by another power, there was to be benevolent neutrality at least.

Bismarck's obvious motive was to keep the French under control by making them fear that an attack on Germany would also involve war on the Italian front. However, Bismarck was also alarmed by the prospect of an Italian - Austrian war, which might give the Russians an opportunity to strengthen their position in the Balkans. For their part, the Italians were anxious for support against the French in colonial competition; in particular, the Italians disliked the French occupation in 1881 of Tunisia, which they themselves had coveted.

8. In 1884-5, Bismarck embarked on a colonial policy and arranged the 15 nation Berlin Conference on Africa, November 1884-February 1885. Bismarck had previously eschewed colonialism, asserting that his map of Africa lay in Europe. So his action is rather puzzling.

i. He was being pressed by German businessmen for colonies and it would be a means to gain popular support. In addition, German imperial claims would probably mean competition and bad relations with the British, thereby providing a common cause with Jules Ferry, the imperialist French Prime Minister (1880-1, 1883-5), and bringing better relations with France.

ii. However, if Bismarck had hoped for better relations with France, he was to be disappointed, for, in the event, the British Prime Minister of the day, William Gladstone, was no imperialist and made no objection to German acquisition of colonies in Africa, such as Kamerun, Tanganyika, Togo and South West Africa. The competing imperial claims in Africa by Germany and other countries were settled amicably in the Berlin Conference. Bismarck may also have hoped to show the heir to the throne, Frederick, who was married to Queen Victoria's eldest daughter Victoria and was Anglophile, that co-operation with Britain was not possible.

9. In 1887, Bismarck arranged the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, the Three Emperors' League having been allowed to lapse. Russia was to be neutral unless Germany attacked France; and Germany was to be neutral unless Russia attacked Austria. In addition, Bismarck agreed to support the Russians in their claims to the Balkans and the Straits, in the expectation presumably that the British would be able to deter any Russian advance. The Treaty was not renewed when it expired in 1890 as Bismarck had resigned and William opposed a renewal.

10. The Bulgarian Crisis of 1885-8 tested Bismarck's arrangements by once again raising the possibility of an Austro-Russian war over the Balkans.

i. In 1885, Eastern Rumelia (capital Plovdiv) selected as its king, Alexander of Battenberg, who had been King of Bulgaria from 1879. Milan, King of Serbia, having failed to gain compensation for his country following the increase in size of Bulgaria, declared war in 1885 on Bulgaria, but the Austrians stepped in and restored peace in order to stop the Bulgarians from exploiting their victory in the battle at Slivnitza, north of Sofia. However, that was not the end of the matter.

ii. The problem reappeared in August 1886, when Alexander was kidnapped by his opponents and forced to abdicate. It was not only assumed that the Russians had connived at Alexander's removal because he had declined to be their puppet, but it was also feared that they might invade and occupy Bulgaria. As a result, the Austrian government warned the Tsar not to intervene. Bismarck refused to support either side (cf. 1914) and, in 1888, published details of the Dual Alliance as a warning to the Russians that Germany would support Austria if war came.

iii. The crisis finally ended in 1888 when the Bulgarians selected as king Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, for, although the Russians persuaded the Turks to declare the appointment invalid, no-one took any notice, and the Russians did nothing!

11. Bismarck had apparently been responsible for preserving peace on a number of occasions, and Europe after 1890, lacking his moderating influence, drifted into the First World War.

However, even he had found it increasingly difficult to keep Austria and Russia together, and autocratic Russia and republican France were already moving closer before 1890. Would he have been able after 1890 to prevent the Russian defection and alliance with France, which meant the division of Europe into two hostile armed camps? Moreover, the creation of a crisis for domestic purposes, for example, the war scare with France in 1875, was underhand and dangerous.

V. In 1890, Bismarck was forced to resign. William I, whom Bismarck had found relatively easy to dominate, died in 1888. The new Emperor, Frederick, was a liberal Anglophile, but he died of cancer after three months. Frederick's son, William II (1859-1941) was young, determined to rule, and considered that Germany needed a "new course" and a younger chancellor than the 75-year-old Bismarck. Thus in 1890, as the Punch cartoon put it, "the pilot" of the ship-of-state was "dropped".

VI. Germany after 1890 lacked Bismarck's leadership. However, his authoritarianism meant that Germany had not begun to gain experience in operating a democratic system. He had accustomed Germans to the use of force as the solution to problems, and all Europe to the idea that war would be short and relatively painless. Despite his much vaunted success in foreign affairs, he was having increasing difficulty in preserving peace, and his alliance system was likely to provoke an opposing one.

I. Germany lacked direction after Bismarck's resignation, and in 1914, the Austrian Foreign Minister, Count Berchtold, asked: "Who rules in Berlin?" Bismarck himself was partly responsible for this situation as he had prepared no successor.

1. Wilhelm (William) II, Kaiser (Emperor) from 1888 to 1918, was blustering and impetuous and was determined to exercise personal influence, asserting that: "It is I who rule" and "I am the instrument of the Most High". The Reichstag was to be ignored and the chancellors were to do his bidding. Thus in 1890, "the pilot (Bismarck) was dropped".

i. He insisted on making appointments, but lacked the ability to select men of calibre and preferred men who would do as they were told. Thus, for example, none of his chancellors was outstanding (see 2 below) and, in 1906, despite the protests of the generals, he appointed Helmuth von Moltke as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, apparently in the belief that the name guaranteed that he would be as good as his uncle had been in the wars of the 1860s!

However, William lacked the ability to supervise, so that government officials were often able to do what they wanted, or persuade him to follow a course of action, so that there was often no cohesion. In particular, foreign affairs from 1890 to 1906 were largely in the hands of the Foreign Office official, Friedrich von Holstein, who was unknown outside the Foreign Office. Thus under William, Germany pursued what came to be called, thanks to a Punch cartoon, "Full steam ahead" policies, which were likely to take the country on a collision course.

ii. He was sensitive about his undeveloped right arm, which he had had from birth and which perhaps made him anxious to assert himself and display what he imagined was virility. He also believed in German superiority, saying on one occasion that "God has created us (the Germans) in order to civilize the world". He had a cruel sense of humour, for example, making old generals run around and do gymnastics, or turning his rings in and squeezing people's hands until they cried out. After 1918, in exile in the Netherlands, he seemed indifferent to accusations that he was responsible for war crimes.

2. None of his chancellors was outstanding.

i. General Leo von Caprivi, Chancellor from 1890-1894, was an able soldier, honest, well meaning, and a capable administrator, and the best of William's chancellors, but he was inexperienced and not an outstanding politician. His "New Course" upset too many influential groups and he was soon forced to resign. His reduction in 1893 of military service from 3 years to 2 upset the militarists, even though this was intended as a sop to gain acceptance of a much larger army, which upset liberals, especially because of the cost. His reduction of tariffs upset the farmers. The imperialists disliked his July 1890 agreement with Britain whereby Britain gained from Germany the island of Heligoland in the North Sea and in return ceded to Germany Zanzibar and Pemba Islands off East Africa. His attempts to win over the Poles inside the Reich upset the German nationalists.

ii. Chlodwig, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Chancellor from 1894 to 1900, was William's 75 year old uncle, with some experience as a diplomat and in Bavarian politics, but he was too old and did not oppose William, who tried to act as both chancellor and foreign minister.

iii. Count Bernhard von Bülow, Chancellor from l900 to 1909, a former diplomat who had advised William since 1897, was a considerable orator and not without ability, but he was a reactionary sycophant.

iv. Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, Chancellor from 1909 to 1917, had been the Minister of the Interior and was a bureaucrat, industrious, honest, and well-intentioned, but lacking brilliance, imagination, and experience in foreign affairs. From August 1916, the military, and especially General Erich Ludendorff, were the de facto rulers of Germany.

v. Georg Michaelis, an obscure official (July-October 1917), and Count Georg von Hertling (November 1917-30th September 1918) were also dominated by Ludendorff, who in September 1918 decided that the liberal Prince Max von Baden should be Chancellor and should transform Germany into a constitutional monarchy, which, it was assumed, would make peace talks easier.

II. Bismarck's political system remained intact.

1. This occurred despite the growing socialist strength. In 1892, there were 35 Social Democrat deputies in the Reichstag, but by 1912, there were 110, and the SDs were the largest single party, with about 1/3 of the seats. However, most SDs were moderate, believed in peaceful political change, and voted for war credits in 1914.

2. Caprivi saw the need for political reform but did nothing. In 1910 Bethmann-Hollweg's modest proposals were blocked by conservatives. "Fraudulent federalism" and "the fig-leaf of absolutism" remained.

3. Germany in fact moved further from a democratic constitutional monarchy as William tried to dominate. In 1913, a local Chamber of Deputies was permitted in Alsace-Lorraine, but when this tried to assert itself, William threatened to "smash your constitution to atoms and reduce you to a province".

III. As in Bismarck's day, an attempt was made to wean the proletariat from socialism by means of social reform. However, these reforms were considered inadequate by the workers, and socialist support increased.

1. Social reforms were instituted especially by Caprivi, with the support of the Kaiser. Above all, Bismarck's anti-socialist laws were ended. This made possible the 1891 socialist Congress at Erfurt, which re-established the socialist party, called the Social Democratic Party. The Erfurt Programme drawn up by the Congress began with a statement of Marxist principles, but went on to commit the party to working with the state.

In 1890, laws regulated the hours of work for women and children, and established industrial courts to mediate in wage disputes. In 1891, government inspection of factories was improved to ensure that companies were complying with government regulations concerning working conditions. In 1892, a government Labour Department was created to provide information on labour matters.

2. William lost interest in reform when it did not, as he had hoped it would, win the urban proletariat away from socialism. None the less, there were still some reforms. In 1895, a housing programme was begun. In 1899, it was made legal for societies to join together, which greatly strengthened the hand of the unions as they could now combine. In 1899 and 1900, accident and old age insurance reforms increased the compensation and pensions paid, and extended the system to occupations previously excluded; in 1903, health insurance laws were improved, to give greater cover for a longer period (26 weeks instead of 13); and in 1910, the National Insurance Code consolidated and extended the previous regulations. A 1908 Act prohibited children under 13 from working, and fixed the maximum working hours per day for young people age 13 to 14 at six and those age 14 to 16 at ten.

IV. Germany continued to develop industrially and to increase its lead in Europe, despite the reimposition of tariffs.

When, in 1887, Bismarck increased tariffs on Germany's imports, this not only raised food prices in Germany, but also reduced exports as Germany's trading partners, especially Austria and Russia, had retaliated. In 1892, there were bread riots in Berlin, the situation not having been helped by a succession of poor German harvests. Caprivi therefore negotiated tariff reduction treaties with a number of countries, including Austria, Italy, and Russia. He was bitterly opposed by the very influential German farmers, and all those who felt that reliance on foreign imports of food would be dangerous should Germany have to go to war. In 1902, the powerful Farmers' League was able to force Bülow to raise tariffs.

V. There were worrying signs of excessive self-confidence and national feeling.

l. Efforts continued to Germanize the Danish and Polish minorities. The attempt to use German only in Polish elementary schools was thwarted by passive resistance. However, in 1908, the Expropriation Bill created a Land Commission, which was empowered to buy up land at its price to foster German settlement.

2. According to the anthropologist Alfred Woltmann, "All European civilization, even in the Slavonic and Latin countries, has been brought about by the German race". The famous Berlin University professor of history, Heinrich von Treitschke (1834-96), extolled military virtues and German nationalism in his books and teaching.

3. From 1890, anti-Semitism increased, associated most with Adolf Stöcker, leader of the Christian Socialists. In 1893, sixteen representatives pledged to anti-Jewish policies were elected to the Reichstag.

VI. German foreign policy especially lacked direction after Bismarck's "resignation".

1. Wilhelminian Germany followed a particularly disastrous course in foreign policy.

i. Germany adopted a "Weltpolitik" (world-wide policy) of world-wide involvement in place of Bismarck's limited commitment. For example, Bismarck had eschewed a colonial and a naval policy in order to avoid futile conflict with France and Britain.

ii. German diplomatic methods were those of the "big-stick" (the build up of and threat to use force) and "full steam ahead". A cartoon in Punch described German policies as "Full-steam ahead", that is, rapid advances despite the danger of collision resulting. (See the Chapters on International Relations from 1848 to 1918 and on the First World War).

2. Far Eastern affairs.

i. In 1897, following the murder of two German missionaries, Germany forced the Chinese to grant them a 99 year lease on Jiaozhou (Kiaochow) Bay. This caused a certain amount of tension with the other European powers and sparked off a European "scramble" for similar leases; for example, the British arranged a 99 year lease on the New Territories opposite Hong Kong Island.

ii. The European powers managed to co-operate in crushing the Chinese anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion in 1900, the International Force being headed by a German.

3. Relations with the Ottoman Empire. In 1898, the Kaiser visited the Sultan. In Damascus, he made a speech in which he said he was the friend of the 300,000,000 Moslems. The visit also brought about the start of construction in 1899 of the Berlin-Bagdad Railway.

4. Relations with Britain.

i. Minor colonial differences were settled in 1890, when the Germans gave up claims in East Africa and the British ceded Heligoland, which they had gained in 1815 from the Danes.

ii. In January 1896, William sent a telegram to President Paulus Kruger of the Transvaal (capital Pretoria) congratulating him on the failure of the Jameson Raid, a British attempt to take over in the Transvaal. In 1899 and 1900, the Germans proposed a Continental League of European powers against Britain to help the Dutch settlers of southern Africa fight the British in the Boer War (1899-1902).

iii. In 1898, the Minister of the Marine, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, supported by the Kaiser, secured passage of the German Navy Bill. This had the goal of building a fleet that equalled the greatest fleet of the day, that is the British Royal Navy, with the avowed purposes of protecting German colonies and trade, and of making Germany's weight felt internationally.

iv. Despite the above, Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary between 1895 and 1903, in 1898-9, and again in 1901, proposed an alliance. However, the Germans refused, convinced of the permanent hostility of Britain with regard to France and Russia, and wary of any co-operation with a democratic state.

v. Alarm at German "Weltpolitik" was one reason why Britain came out of its diplomatic isolation and made the Entente with France in 1904, followed by that with Russia in 1907. (See the chapter on International Relations, section IV.6 and 8.)

vi. The acceleration of the German naval building programme in 1908 caused great alarm in Britain. There was a popular cry of "We want eight and we won’t wait", the eight being eight Dreadnoughts, the most advanced warships of the day. Relations were not improved when the Kaiser said: "Good relations with England at the price of the building of a German fleet are not desired by me. The German fleet is not built against anyone and also not against England but according to our need". Respect for the Kaiser did not increase when, in October 1908, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he announced that he was Britain's only friend in Germany, and in the Boer War had suggested to Britain the outline of the successful strategy adopted by Lord Roberts to win the war! The interview also helped bring Bulow's resignation in 1909.

vii. The Morocco Crises of 1905 and 1911 (see below, points 5 and 7) alarmed the British, who felt that the Germans were interfering in matters that did not concern them, just to show their power. The 1905 crisis resulted in Anglo-French military talks in 1906, which marked the beginning of the transformation of their Entente into something more formal. The 1911 crisis resulted in a war scare following the speech at the Mansion House in London by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George. It also brought about in 1912 the first firm military British commitment to France; by this, in the event of war, the Royal Navy would be concentrated in the Channel and the French fleet in the Mediterranean. This meant that although there was no formal Anglo-French alliance, Britain would presumably support France in the event of a Franco-German War.

viii. All British attempts after 1909 to halt the naval arms race with Germany failed. The Germans consistently, and ominously, offered a deal only in return for a British promise of neutrality in the event of war.

ix. However, the Kaiser's visits to Britain for the funerals of his relatives, Queen Victoria 1901 and Edward VII 1910, were friendly occasions.

5. The First Morocco Crisis 1905.

i. In March 1905, the Kaiser, while on a Mediterranean cruise, was pushed by Bülow into making a speech in Tangier in favour of Moroccan independence, which seemed threatened by French imperialism.

ii. According to the Bülow, the "aim was to show that Germany was not to be treated as a negligible quantity". Presumably, the Germans also hoped to show the French that the recent entente with Britain was valueless, and to bring about the resignation of the French Foreign Minister, Théophile Delcassé. Possibly, they also hoped to make gains from a grateful Morocco, in particular a naval base on the Moroccan Atlantic coast. The French Premier, Maurice Rouvier, was ready to concede the Germans a Moroccan port, but the Germans insisted on a conference, where they presumably hoped to humiliate the French. Such a conference met at Algeciras in Spain between January and April 1906, but only the Austrians and the Turks supported the German cause, and the Algeciras Conference arranged indirect French domination while guaranteeing the Sultan's authority: Morocco was to be policed by a Franco-Spanish force under a Swiss Inspector General; and the Moroccan state bank was to be internationalized, with France having the largest share.

6. The 1908 Bosnian or Near Eastern Crisis. In September 1908 at Buchlau (modern Buchlovice in the Czech Republic), Austrian and Russian representatives apparently agreed that the Russians would support Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in return for Austrian support for the revision of the 1841 Straits Rule to permit the passage through the Dardanelles of Russian warships. When in October 1908, the Austrian Foreign Minister, Count Alois Aehrenthal, announced the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolski protested because there had been no revision of the Straits Rule. The Germans, after their initial annoyance with Austria, supported Vienna and, in March 1909, by means of veiled threats, forced Russia to accept the annexation.

7. The Second Morocco Crisis 1911. In 1911, French forces occupied Fez following a revolt which forced the Moroccan Sultan to seek shelter with the French consul. This was just one of a number of instances of the French breaking the 1906 Algeciras Agreement which had guaranteed Moroccan independence. The German Foreign Minister, Alfred von Kiderlin-Wächter, consequently instructed the German gunboat "Panther" to go to Agadir to protect the German business community there, one German having to be brought from Mogador to be protected! The Germans presumably hoped that a show of strength would make the French see that Britain could not be relied on for support, and would bring Germany gains. The German government demanded compensation, which was finally agreed on in November 1911 when the French ceded to Germany part of the French Congo. However, war had seemed likely in September, not just against France but also against Britain. Moreover, instead of separating Britain and France, the Crisis had brought them closer together.

8. The Balkan Wars 1912-13. When Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia fought the Turks to gain the remainder of the Ottoman lands in Europe, and then fought among themselves over the spoils, it seemed likely that the Austrians and Russians would intervene and fight for control of the Balkans. At the December 1912 meeting of William with his military commanders, the general view expressed was that war against Russia was inevitable, and that the longer it was delayed, the more difficult it would be to beat a Russia that was rapidly modernizing. However, the Navy Minister, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, pleaded for a postponement of war until the completion of the widening of the Kiel Canal, which came in June 1914. Without German support, the Austrians decided against risking war with Russia. The Russians also decided against war and the conflict remained limited.

9. The crisis of June 1914 and the outbreak of the First World War.

i. When the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist on 28th June 1914 in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, there was no immediate expectation of war. However, on 28th July, the Austrians declared war on Serbia and by August the First World War was underway.

ii. While the German government was not solely responsible for causing the First World War, it did play the leading role.

iii. At first, Bethmann-Hollweg and the Kaiser seem to have thought that Austria was not ready for war. When this was shown not to be the case, Bethmann-Hollweg felt he had to support the one sure ally, Austria. Moreover, he had to prevent a Russian victory, as this would mean Russian supremacy in Europe. In addition, the Germans had growing commercial interests in Turkey, highlighted by the construction of the railway link from Berlin to Bagdad in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where there was oil. Indeed, this German interest in Turkey had resulted in a German general, Liman von Sanders, being seconded to advise and help command the Ottoman Army.

iv. The Chancellor also seems to have concluded that war against Russia was inevitable as, sooner or later, Russia would try to expand into the Balkans, and a general European war would result. Moreover, the longer war was delayed, the harder it would be to beat Russia, which was rapidly modernizing. Indeed, according to his secretary after the war, Bethmann-Hollweg had been pessimistic in 1914 about the chances of victory. Moltke, the Chief of the General Staff, seems also to have considered war inevitable and to have been doubtful about whether Germany could win.

v. In his September Programme (1914), Bethmann-Hollweg laid out an ambitious expansionist plan. Parts of France and Belgium and all Luxembourg were to be annexed to Germany. The Netherlands were to enjoy a special "relationship". Western Russia was to be dismembered, parts being annexed to Germany and parts becoming independent under German domination. An extensive African empire was to be acquired. Such gains would weaken Russia permanently, secure German domination of Europe, and help pay for the war. However, expansion was not the cause of war, but a consequence.

vi. It has been alleged that Bethmann-Hollweg saw a short successful war as a means to overawe the Social Democratic majority in the Reichstag and prevent the establishment of a real parliamentary system. However, there was no guarantee that the Social Democrats, being socialists and internationalist, would support a war, which would be difficult without popular support.

vii. When, belatedly, William sought a diplomatic solution in an attempt to avoid war, he was deliberately kept in the dark and encouraged to go on a holiday cruise, so that he could not interfere and prevent war. This does not excuse him entirely from helping to bring about war; not only had he failed to give the necessary leadership to promote peace, but his vacillatory, arrogant, and aggressive approach previously had created a climate of mistrust in the capitals of Europe.

viii. The German government took the responsibility for spreading the war to the west. It was assumed, especially in view of bellicose statements by certain eminent Frenchmen, that the French, would support the Russians to avenge the humiliation of 1871 and regain Alsace-Lorraine. Consequently, on 3rd August 1914, Germany declared war on France and issued an ultimatum to the Belgians to permit the transit of German troops. The German government had inherited the 1839 Treaty guaranteeing Belgian independence and neutrality, but the Kaiser dismissed the Treaty as "a scrap of paper". As the Germans knew, Belgium, "the dagger pointing at the heart of Britain", would be defended by the British. Right enough, on 4th August, following the German failure to give guarantees about respecting Belgian independence (in line with the Treaty of London of 1839), Edward Grey, the British Foreign Minister, reluctantly announced the British declaration of war on Germany.

VII. The war years.

l. The early popular support for the war waned as fighting unexpectedly dragged on with appalling casualties, growing shortages, and no prospect of victory. From the start, the radical Social Democrats, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, had denounced the war. In the spring of l9l5, the Social Democrats split; the Majority Socialists led by Philip Scheidemann and Friedrich Ebert supported the continuation of the war, while the Minority Socialists, led by Hugo Haase, opposed the war and the grant of further war credits, and eventually in 1916 formed the Independent SD Party (USDP - Unabhöngig SD Partei). The winter of 1916-1917 was the "Turnip Winter", and from 1916, there were more and more strikes; sending the strike leaders to the front did not help as they merely stirred trouble! In July 1917, the Reichstag passed a resolution in favour of a compromise peace.

2. After August 1916, General Ludendorff, on behalf of General Hindenburg, was virtually running the government and exercising a veiled military dictatorship. Ludendorff had no political ambitions but considered it necessary for the war effort. Walther Rathenau, appointed head of the German Raw Material Department in August 1914, had created the successful Kriegswirtschaft (War Economy) controlling the German economy. Then, from 1916, Ludendorff extended government controls, in what came to be called "War Socialism" (cf. War Communism in Russia). Control of companies increased, workers were drafted wherever necessary for national defence, and strikes were ruthlessly suppressed, although efforts were also made to placate workers if possible.

3. By 1917, the Majority Social Democrats and the Catholic Centre Party, the latter led by Matthias Erzberger, were also beginning to turn against the war. In July 1917, Bethmann-Hollweg resigned as Chancellor, being replaced by Georg Michaelis, who served only from July to October 1917, before being replaced by Count Georg Hertling, who was in office from November 1917 to September 1918.

4. In October 1918, with discontent increasing, Ludendorff arranged the appointment as Chancellor of the liberal Prince Max von Baden. This was partly the consequence of the United States President Woodrow Wilson having made it clear that he would make peace only with a democratic Germany. The Prince converted Germany into a constitutional monarchy, for example, establishing ministerial responsibility, and giving the Reichstag responsibility for making war and peace. He also permitted freedom of speech, press and assembly, granted an amnesty to political prisoners, and promised electoral reform.

5. In November 1918, the German government agreed to an armistice on the assumption that the eventual peace treaty would be based on the generous "Fourteen Points" proposed in January 1918 by President Wilson.

VIII. The aftermath of war.

1. The German revolutions of 1918 and the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919.

i. The end of the First World War saw revolution and fear of revolution in a number of countries. One of the most important revolutionary situations occurred in Germany.

ii. The revolution broke out in Germany when failure in the war added to pre-war dissatisfaction and acted as a catalyst for revolution. The chief causes of dissatisfaction before 1914 had been the "fig-leaf of absolutism" (Karl Liebknecht), fraudulent federalism, and inadequate social reform. Then came the hardships and shortages of war, without the compensation of victory. Consequently Germany from 1916 was plagued by a series of strikes and in 1916, Hugo Haase had led the more radical SDs into the Independent SD Party (USPD), dedicated, among other things to the immediate end of the war. Not surprisingly, revolution seemed more likely after the inspiration of the successful ones in Russia in March and November 1917.

iii. A revolution might have been averted in Germany had the German government, which really meant the Kaiser William II, reformed itself in time into a constitutional empire. Belatedly, under pressure from Ludendorff and Hindenburg, themselves influenced by pressure from the United States President, Woodrow Wilson, the Emperor on 4th October 1918 appointed as Chancellor the liberal Prince Max von Baden, who at once set about transforming Germany into a constitutional empire.

iv. Prince Max's reforms might even at this stage have averted revolution had it not been for the mutiny by the Kiel sailors on 28th October. This was the result of Ludendorff's call for resistance "… l'outrance", which prompted A.J.P. Taylor to write that "Ludendorff ....was the sole author of the October Revolution". The mutiny, being badly handled by the authorities, spread on 4th November to the towns and civilians, first near Kiel, and then over much of industrial Germany. Soviets (Councils) of Soldiers and Workers, on the Russian model, were set up, and soon a Congress of Soldiers' and Workers' Soviets, which appointed a Council of Six People's Commissars to run Germany. The question was now whether the Reichstag could prevent the Soviet from taking over.

v. While the workers' revolution was proceeding, the SD majority in the Reichstag were carrying out a revolution of their own. The moderate SD leaders, Friedrich Ebert and Philip Scheidemann were opposed to a workers' or radical revolution, partly as they feared this would bring disorder. Ebert and Scheidemann were extremely capable and managed to retain control although not without difficulty. While they were ready to co-operate with the old order, they were fortunate in that the leaders of the old order saw the need to co-operate and compromise with the moderate Socialists. The German employers in the Ruhr, for example, agreed to shorter working hours and General Wilhelm Groener, who had replaced Ludendorff on 26th October as the head of the German armed forces, agreed to support the SDs to crush Bolshevism. Thus, with a combination of political skill, force and luck, radical revolution was averted.

vi. On 6th November, the SDs in the Reichstag threatened to leave the government and arrange a general strike if William did not abdicate. William refused to abdicate, even though this did not necessarily mean the end of the monarchy. However, on 9th November, Prince Max, on his own initiative when faced with the walk out of the SDs and the start of the general strike, declared Williams's abdication and arranged Ebert's appointment as the new chancellor. That same day, Scheidemann declared Germany a republic; this declaration annoyed Ebert, who thought the question should have been settled by a constituent assembly, but it probably saved the moderates as it deflated the radicals, especially the Independent SD, Emil Barth, leader of the Obleute (shop stewards), and Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, who eventually on 30th December 1918 formed the German Communist Party. These German communists usually called themselves Spartacists after Spartacus, who led the slave revolt of 73-71 BC against the Romans.

vii. A radical revolutionary situation persisted but Ebert arranged two important deals. First, he made his deal with General Groener and the Army for support against Bolshevism. This had the added advantage of discouraging an attempted military coup, which would have been supported by the "Freikorps", the right-wing bands of demobilized soldiers; it also discouraged the possibility of civil war, for, as the existence of the Freikorps shows, there was considerable right wing support in Germany. Then, secondly, Ebert dealt with the Congress of Soviets. Luckily, Ebert and Scheidemann were both members of the six man Council of Commissars appointed by the Soviet, and managed to persuade the Congress on 19th December 1918 to agree to the election of a Constituent Assembly, which had been arranged for January 1919, and to let this decide on the form the new government should take. The demand for nationalization of the main means of production and distribution was deflected by the appointment of a commission.

viii. Barth, Liebknecht and Luxemburg were still a danger, but none of them was of Lenin's calibre, and they missed their chances, especially on 23rd December 1918. In fact, the radical revolution failed very much because the leaders were too slow to act and gave the supporters of the right a chance to recover from their surprise and to organize.

ix. The crisis of 23rd December began when sailors in Berlin rose on being ordered to leave their billets in the palace. The soldiers stationed in Berlin refused to crush the sailors, who seized the Chancellery, making Ebert a prisoner. However, loyal soldiers on 24th December crushed the sailors. In protest at this, on 27th December, the Independent SDs committed political suicide by leaving the government and so giving up any influence they had; they had thus missed the chance to call for radical revolution. At the same time, Gustav Noske, an ex-basket weaver and union leader, became Minister of Home Defence and at once supplemented loyal troops with the right wing Freikorps.

x. Eventually, between 5th and 15th January, much too late to have any real chance of success, the Spartacists rose, in an attempt to impose a Bolshevik system. Liebknecht and Luxemburg, according to A.J.P. Taylor, knew they had little chance of success and were not rising but responding to attacks organized since December by Barth, Groener and Scheidemann. In the event, in January, the Spartacist leaders were slow to act, Noske used the Freikorps, and the Spartacists were crushed, about 1,200 dying in the process in Berlin, with Liebknecht and Luxemburg being killed on their way to prison.

xi. On 19th January 1919, the elections for the Constituent Assembly were held as planned, with the SDs emerging victorious. (For the details, see 2 below.) In February 1919, Ebert was elected Provisional President by the Assembly, and in July 1919 the new constitution was approved, coming into force in August. Germany became a democratic republic but little else changed, for the old officials and the wealthy landowners and industrialists retained their influence in the new Weimar Republic, to which they generally transferred their allegiance.

xii. While Berlin was obviously the centre of the revolutions, important events took place elsewhere, notably in Bavaria, Baden, and Saxony. On 7th November 1918, King Ludwig III of Bavaria was deposed and the King of Saxony and the Grand Duke of Baden abdicated. In Munich, capital of Bavaria, following mass demonstrations, Kurt Eisner, the radical Independent SD and socialist editor of the newspaper, Vorwärts (Forward), established a "Democratic and Socialist Republic". However, in February 1919, Eisner was murdered by a right wing fanatic. This unleashed a period of confusion, with a Soviet Republic being established for a short time in April, until Franz, Ritter von Epp, who used Freikorps forces, restored order. Bavaria, like Saxony and Baden, became states or "Lands" of the new democratic federal republic set up in August 1919.

xiii. Thus while there was revolution, it was a very moderate one; indeed, some would deny that it was a real revolution as in general the old elite remained in authority. That Germany did not go the same way as Russia was very much because of popular German fear of disorder and the fact that German workers were not badly off as their Russian counterparts. However, this cannot detract from the capable lead given by Prince Max, Ebert, Scheidemann, Noske, Groener, a sharp contrast with the weak leadership of the radical left.

2. The establishment of the Weimar Republic.

i. On 19th January 1919, the elections for a constituent assembly were held, on the basis of proportional representation, with all those over 19 years of age, including women, who were voting for the first time. The Social Democrats, with 163 out of 421 seats, were the largest single party; the Independent Socialists won only 22 seats. The draft constitution, largely the work of the eminent Jewish Berlin lawyer, Hugo Preuss, was completed by July 1919 and was officially adopted on 11th August 1919.

ii. Germany was a democratic federal republic of 18 Länder (states), the smaller ones of the Second Reich having been merged with larger neighbours, and Prussia having been reduced in size (although it still had about half the total German population). The federal government had extensive powers, being responsible for national matters such as defence, foreign policy, finances, taxation, communications, welfare and education. The central (federal) Parlament was bicameral: the Reichstag, elected every 4 years by all over 20 years by proportional representation , represented the people; the Reichsrat represented the state governments, the number of representatives depending on the number of people in the state, with the proviso that no state (that is, Prussia) should have more than 40% of the seats. The Reichsrat could delay measures but not veto them. The federal executive was headed by a Chancellor and Cabinet, who did not have to come from parliament, who were responsible to the parliament, and who were appointed by the President. The President was elected by the people every 7 years, and was invested with considerable powers; for example, he could dismiss parliament (although fresh elections had to be held within 60 days) and was empowered by Article 48 to rule by decree in an emergency.

iii. Instead of holding fresh elections, the Constituent Assembly (that is, an assembly with the task of drawing up a constitution) declared itself the Reichstag and extended to 1925 the term of office of Ebert, who had been elected as Provisional President in February 1919.

3. The new republic was generally unpopular, and the epithet Weimar was appended initially as a pejorative.

i. The fact that from 1919 to 1920 the government met in Weimar to escape the instability in Berlin was taken as the symbol of its general weakness.

ii. The new Weimar Republic was especially unpopular because it signed the Treaty of Versailles. Philip Scheidemann resigned as Chancellor rather than accept the treaty, but Matthias Erzberger, the Catholic Centre leader and Foreign Minister, signed on 28th June 1919 because there was no alternative; it would have been impossible to resume hostilities, and Germany was starving because of the British blockade, which was lifted only on 12th July 1919 once the treaty had been signed.

iii. At Versailles, Germany had to accept sole responsibility for causing the war; limit its army to 100,000 and forgo a navy and an airforce; pay reparations, which were fixed in 1921 at œ6,600,000,000; surrender its empire (for example, in Africa, Burundi, Kamerun, Rwanda, South West Africa, Tanganyika, and Togo; its Chinese possessions like Jiaozhou (Kiaochow) and Liaodong; and the Caroline, Mariana and Marshall Islands in the Pacific); cede 13% of its European land area, especially Alsace Lorraine to France and the Polish Corridor to Poland (the latter meaning that East Prussia was cut off from Germany proper), and forgo union (Anschluss) with an Austria now bereft of its non-German peoples, who had become independent. Germany thus lost 74% of its iron ore, 68% of its zinc and 26% of its coal.

Although the Germans generally complained about the harshness of Versailles, it was in fact less harsh than the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which they imposed in March 19l8 on Russia, and the Treaty of Bucharest of May 1918, which they imposed on Rumania; for example, the Russians lost 1/3 of their population, 1/3 of the their farmland, and about 1/2 of their industry. Moreover, the Hungarians, who were forced to sign the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, lost even more, about 2/3 of their population and 3/4 of their land.

iv. The Weimar Republic was also unpopular because of the worsening economic situation, the result of defeat and the attempt during the fighting to finance the war effort by printing worthless money, on the assumption that victory would be achieved and the defeated made to pay for the war. The situation became even worse in 1923 when French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr because of German default on reparation payments; the German workers in the Ruhr responded by going on strike and were supported by the government, which printed more paper money. As a result, the dollar, which had been worth 4.2 Marks in 1913 by November 1923 was worth 4,200,000,000 Marks!

v. Until 1923, the Republic was assailed from both right and left, with assassinations and risings. For example, in 1921, right-wing nationalists murdered Matthias Erzberger, who had signed the armistice agreement at Compiègne and the Treaty of Versailles. In March 1920, the right-wing banker, Reichstag member and monarchist, Wolfgang Kapp, with military support, nearly succeeded in seizing power, being foiled only when a general strike was called. (When Hitler began his dictatorship in 1933, he was very worried by the prospect of a similar general strike, but none was called.) In October 1923, in Saxony and Thuringia, the communists tried and failed to seize power. Then, in November 1923, Hitler and the Nazis staged their right-wing Beerhall Putsch in Munich.

As a result of the danger, the government between 1919 and 1920 worked in the quiet Saxon town of Weimar, which was safer than Berlin, but which earned the regime the pejorative epithet "Weimar".

vi. After 1923, matters improved, with both economic and political stability being achieved. This was very much the work of Gustav Stresemann, the leader of the German People's Party (Volkspartei), who was Chancellor in 1923 and the dominant force in German politics until his death in 1929. The adoption in 1924 of the "Dawes Plan" (named after the American banker, Charles Dawes) solved German economic problems and, in 1925, the Treaty of Locarno, which among other things gave Germany a coveted seat on the League of Nations Council, apparently marked the end of anti-German feelings in Western Europe and brought recognition of German status as a power. In short, Germany was reconciled with its neighbours and the bitterness that the Great War had brought seemed a thing of the past.