Imperial Germany 1850-1918

by Feuchtwanger; Edgar

• ISBN13: 9780415207898
• ISBN10: 0415207894
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The German Empire was founded in triumph in 1871 and crashed in disaster at the end of the First World War.Imperial Germanyfocuses on the domestic political developments of the period, putting them into context through a balanced guide of economic and social background, culture and foreign policy. It explores the tension caused within an empire that was formed through war, against the prevailing liberal spirit of the age. * Recent debates on the topic are made accessible to English-speaking readers, and the book summarizes the important controversies and competing interpretations of imperial German history. This important study poses many questions: * Was the desire to unify Germany the cause of the aggressive foreign policy leading to the First World War? * To what extent was Bismarck's Second Reich the forerunner of Hitler's Third? * Did Bismarck's authoritarian rule permanently hinder the political development of Germany? Chronologically structured,ImperialGermanyprovides indispensable background reading on an important chapter in German history.

Table of Contents

Chronology	ix
Introduction	xv
Maps	xxi
Map 1: The German Confederation in 1815	xxi
Map 2: The Unification of Germany	xxii
Map 3: Europe: 1878	xxiii
German nationalism between failure and revival 1850-1862	1	(27)
The aftermath of the 1848 revolutions	2	(4)
Economy and society during the restoration	6	(3)
The politics of restoration	9	(5)
The economic struggle between Austria and Prussia	14	(1)
The Crimean War and changes in the European power balance	15	(3)
The New Era in Prussia	18	(1)
The Italian war of 1859	19	(3)
The Prussian constitutional conflict	22	(2)
Bismarck becomes prime minister	24	(4)
The wars of unification 1862-1870	28	(32)
The beginnings of the Bismarck regime in Prussia	28	(4)
The Schleswig-Holstein crisis	32	(4)
Revival of conflict between Austria and Prussia	36	(5)
The war of 1866	41	(2)
Domestic consequences of the war of 1866	43	(1)
The establishment of the North German Confederation	44	(3)
The North German Confederation and the South	47	(5)
The war of 1870	52	(5)
The creation of the German empire	57	(3)
Imperial Germany - the liberal phase 1870-1879	60	(24)
Constitution and political structure of the Reich	60	(3)
The Kulturkampf	63	(4)
Economic boom and bust	67	(3)
The end of the liberal period	70	(1)
The rise of the socialist movement	70	(2)
Bismarck breaks with the Liberals	72	(4)
Anti-socialist law and protection	76	(2)
Foreign policy during the first decade of the Reich	78	(4)
The dual alliance	82	(2)
Bismarck's system in decline 1879-1890	84	(15)
Domestic developments in the 1880s	84	(1)
Bismarck's social policy	85	(2)
Changes in party alignments	87	(3)
Foreign and colonial policy in the 1880s	90	(1)
Anti-Polish measures	91	(2)
The cartel elections	93	(2)
The fall of Bismarck	95	(4)
The Wilhelmine age	99	(20)
The growth of economic power	99	(3)
Modernity and cultural pessimism	102	(2)
The changing structure of politics	104	(3)
The political parties	107	(1)
The SPD and the free trade unions	108	(3)
The liberal parties	111	(1)
The conservative parties	112	(2)
The Centre party	114	(1)
Organized interests and lobbies	115	(4)
Towards Weltpolitik and social imperialism 1890-1909	119	(32)
Domestic policy under Caprivi	119	(6)
The chancellorship of Hohenlohe	125	(2)
Divisive social issues - lex Heinze and lex Arons	127	(2)
Towards Weltpolitik	129	(5)
The Bulow years	134	(2)
Social policy under Posadowsky-Wehner	136	(1)
Bulow's social imperialism	137	(5)
Domestic policy in the later years of Bulow	142	(4)
Germany's international position deteriorates	146	(1)
The Daily Telegraph interview and the fall of Bulow	147	(4)
Stagnation at home, `encirclement' abroad 1909-1914	151	(24)
The chancellorship of Bethmann Hollweg	151	(2)
The SPD between reformist pragmatism and revolutionary rhetoric	153	(1)
The minority problems of the Reich: Poles and Alsace-Lorrainers	154	(2)
Bethmann Hollweg's foreign policy	156	(2)
The repercussions of Agadir	158	(3)
Efforts to reduce Anglo-German tension	161	(1)
The Balkan wars	162	(4)
The Zabern affair	166	(1)
Cultural clashes	167	(3)
The coming of war	170	(5)
Germany during the war years 1914-1918	175	(22)
German war aims	178	(2)
The strains of war at the front and at home	180	(3)
Hindenburg and Ludendorff form the third Oberste Heeresleitung	183	(2)
1917: the turning point	185	(2)
The fall of Bethmann Hollweg and the Reichstag's peace resolution	187	(2)
The Russian collapse	189	(2)
The German army crumbles	191	(3)
The revolution begins	194	(3)
Conclusion	197	(2)
Appendix: Tables	199	(4)
Suggestions for further reading	203	(6)
Index	209