To what extent was German nationalism consistently a popular cause in the period from 1815 to 1919?

Although it can be argued that the elite ruling class could never control nationalism, their methods of manipulating the cause developed and improved over the period, ensuring their own longevity. In the Vormarz period there was an intense need for the upper classes to suppress and quash nationalism, as seen in Metternich’s reaction to the assassination of Kotzebue. Despite the fact that the 1848 revolutions failed, they did change the course of Germany towards a nationalist state. These ideals prevailed in the long term, however not in their original form. The elite, realising that this power could not be simply crushed, appropriated the cause to meet the elite’s own objectives. In this respect, popularity of nationalism did improve among the upper classes after 1848, due greatly to the success of the industrialisation (helped by the Zollverein) but only because this political ideology had been tailored to their own desires. Prussian militarism determined the aggressive foreign policy in the events leading up to 1914, which further perpetuated the new patriotic slant of nationalism as promoted by the Kaiser as a result of Bismarck’s realpolitik. The abandonment of Germany by individuals from the elite classes such as Ludendorff and Hindenburg after defeat left civilian socialists such as Ebert to pick up the pieces. In this respect it is no wonder that nationalism flourished under the weak provisional ruling of the Weimar republic, they had never been led to believe Germany’s fallibility by the elites and the fact that they were not there to cede defeat left the German populace a feeling of injustice. Therefore, nationalism under the control of the upper classes actually was strengthened by defeat and humiliation at Versailles in 1919.

Urbanization caused another good opportunity for the spread of radical ideals such as nationalism. The migration of many workers to the city created a new urban society in which these ideas could circulate with ease. Not only did social groupings and close working conditions contribute to this spread, but the workers of Germany also had their own newspaper. Not only did this provide the perfect forum in which to criticise the government, it created a mixed state subsection of society; thus the workers became more bonded to their town than their home state, in some cases. Among the effects of this were changes in population density and the nature of administration. While this developed the careers of many as civil servants, it also encouraged a synthesis of people from different states governmentally. However, it is important to recognize that there was no such group before the industrialisation of the 1850s, but they were to become an incredibly powerful and influential social group. There was very little representation of the lowers classes in the government. The Vorparlament had constituted of 80% degree holders, with only one peasant and 4 craftsmen. Industrialisation created a middle class who supported unification because of the potential commercial benefits it presented; the 1879 Tariff Law was passed placing taxes on imported iron, iron goods, luxury items and grain. The Frankenstein clause was a concession forced on Bismarck by the Centre Party and this gave some of the revenue to the states, rather than giving it all to the central government. Combined with the development of the railway , which "bound Germany together in a forceful and powerful body" according to Friedrich List. In this manner, Germans sought to modernize every aspect of society. The Zollverein was a customs union put in place to abolish inter-state trade tariffs. Easier and better trade between different territories provided new markets for the products of German industry, such as Krupp steel. In 1834 the Deutscher Zollverein was created, comprising of 18 states and 23 million people. In 1851 even the reluctant Hanover and Oldenburg were forced to join. This movement of goods and services, added to the migration of urban workers, contributed to a feeling of unity. The Union encouraged production. However, the Zollverein has been widely overestimated when described as one of the major causes of the popularity of nationalism. Railways were a very important part of German industrialisation. The first railway, the Prinz-Wilhelm-Eisenbahn, was opened on 20th September 1831. By 1871 much of the infrastructure was in place but it was in 1876 that the system reached its highest peak of investment. Although shipping remained very important, the railways took over as the leading form of industrial transportation; in 1903 4.1million tonnes were registered at German ports and they were important for importing and exporting goods. The railways helped to open up the coal industry in the Ruhr, and brought goods to the market place. The benefits of the railways transcended economics, and spread into social and political grounds.

To conclude, nationalism was a cause that affected many different social groups and classes in different ways at different times. It was transformed throughout the period from a revolutionary ideology from below, to a policy that was appropriated by the mainstream political groups into conservatism. Thus it did enjoy more popularity around the end of the 19th century, but this is, debateably, as a result of the fact that it was forced onto the people by the ruling classes. Nationalism endured the defeat of WW1 due to the Stab in the Back Theory, and prevailed as a popular cause even in 1919, although not in its original form.