The Unification of Germany: A Turning Point in European History

Otto von Bismarck was the Prussian chancellor during the three wars mentioned earlier, an important politician and forward thinker during the rough beginnings for the German second Reich. “Bismarck was idolised by millions of his fellow countrymen who saw in him the embodiment of Germany’s will to be a nation” . His evident visions for a unified Germany were structured around the changes that industrialisation brought to Europe. He was a skilled politician too in that he could “square the circle by claiming to be furthering the cause of German nationalism as well”.

As Bismarck himself once said “The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood.”  In order for the Unification to take place, the Wars with surrounding powers, which had differing political interests, was necessary as a final diplomatic progression to becoming an empire. The wars eventuated in the physical gain of territory, of both Schleswig-Holstein and Alsace-Lorraine, but invoked the diplomatic change that saw Germany rise from a jigsaw of states to an Empire to be reckoned with.

Once the Unification process was over Germany was at an unprecedented highpoint. Austria and France were repairing after the wars, Britain was at a point of isolation and concentrating on their colonial interests and Russia was occupied with quarrels in Central Asia . Both the Austrians and the Russians quickly realised that the new Germany would be a key ally in the changing nature of European Diplomacy. They saw that the Balance of Power before the Unification was in many ways, held together by the way in which France, Austria and Russia were quite isolated from one another. However once Germany Unified it became geographically centred and politically motivated to forge an empire not only over seas, but in the Europe proper as well.

A “Balance of Power” was the political term that was central in 19th century diplomatic relations between Europe’s empires. In many respects, this notion was hinged on the fragmented state of the Germanic peoples. When Germany unified, many contemporaries noted that this political change would be detrimental to the European Balance of Power. What followed was the political concoction which produced the scene which kept Europe in discord and lead to the Great War. William Carr describes this situation as “the effect on Germany’s international position of any serious disagreement between Russia and Austria-Hungary mattered a great deal. For if Germany was compelled to choose between them, the rejected suitor would find a willing Ally in France”.

The Balkans became a diplomatic hotpot for the Russians and Austrians in 1877-78. The Russians felt threatened by the encroaching Turkish imperial moves. The Austrians promised neutrality if Russia mobilised against Turkey. Russia defeated Turkey in the war that ensued, however Austria became infuriated with the Russians as they had breached treaty over Bulgaria. The Congress of the Great Powers then met in Berlin on June 1878 to discuss the Balkan tensions. This affirmed that Germany had become a very important fifth European diplomatic power. We can see from this conference and the latter Berlin Conferences became an important diplomatic forum for the European powers to discuss issues with their domestic relations and colonial interests over the next 20 years.

By 1884, the German Empire began to acquire colonies in Africa thereby increasing its sphere of influence to where the other four empire’s had already expanded. She took South-West Africa, Togoland, the Cameroons, German East Africa, Northern Papua New Guinea and other Pacific island’s. These colonies, while small, provided the Germans with a foothold in important diplomatic locations around the world. These acquisitions of colonies had proved to the other powers that the new German Empire held diplomatic importance that would be a deciding factor in the 40 years that lead up to the Great War.