Bizarre Borders - German Empire

Samanyu Ram

April 14, 2023

One of the most notorious empires of all time, the German Empire went from a group of feuding states with harshly different political and religious beliefs, to the strongest country in all of Europe. The controversy of the Empire lies deep within, as it may have arguably been the country to ignite the flame in the two most destructive wars in history. So how did plots of land, so broken and disconnected, form a superpower? 

In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded and defeated the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Austerlitz, which led to the breakup of the Empire by Francis II. Then, when Napoleon was defeated in 1815, the Congress of Vienna created an open league of 39 sovereign German states. Before dissolvent, the Holy Roman Empire had two powerful states, Prussia and Austria. Both of them held land within and outside the new borders of the 39 states. The two states were vastly different and did not want anything to do with each other. The Prussian state and the other Northern States all adopted Protestantism as their religion, while Austria and the Southern states adopted Catholicism. The feud between Catholics and Protestants was brutal and ongoing for centuries since Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. 

The Crimean War and the Franco-Austrian in the middle of the 19th Century both weakened Austria greatly. With the weakening came the strength of the Germans. In 1861, Wilhelm I took over as the King of Prussia and appointed Otto von Bismarck to be the Prime Minister. Bismarck wanted great things for Germany, and his brilliant mind and practice of politics helped him pave the way for a united German Empire. Bismarck first focused on Prussia's military might, upgrading technology and strengthening the forces. Then, Bismarck declared War against Denmark to gain the territory of Schleswig while Austria got Holstein. This angered the Austrians and created tension which led to the Austro-Prussian War. The war was a humiliating loss for Austria, and the Prussians gained all the Northern states in the German Confederation. Now that the North was unified, Bismarck focused all his attention on unifying the Catholicism-rooted, Southern states.  He did this through the Franco-Prussian War. He created a common enemy for both the South and the North, France. Since Austria was too weak to restate their claim over the South, Bismarck won the war and created the German Empire. The German Empire quickly became a superpower after a population boom, massive arms development, a heavily industrialized economy, and a series of brilliant treaties and alliances by Otto von Bismarck.