Bismarck's effect on Germany and Europe

The success of the 1866 war against Austria dissolved the German federal union and was replaced by the North German Confederation, in which the newly enlarged Prussia joined with twenty-one states. However in the south, Bavaria, Baden, Wurttemberg and Hesse-Damrstadt remained independent. The political structure changed after the union of the northern states making it stronger and more reliable. The King of Prussia remained at the head of state, exploiting the role of Prussia in Europe. A parliament was created with two separate houses, the upper house, the Bundesrat and the lower house, the Reichstag. The creation of the Reichstag was an important step for Europe because it was elected by universal male suffrage and gave a sense of equality between the states. Engaging Germany in such democratic acts maddened the conservatives and the liberalist. But in truth it was only the appearance of a democracy because the branches of the government possessed the ultimate power of the state. France was the only other nation that illustrates universal suffrage and in the France of

Napoleon III, neither conservatives nor liberals could take much satisfaction.4 Later that year Britain also adopted the voting rights, but still less than half the population of adult males were entitled to vote. The ideas of the Reichstag were a bold step taken on the part of Germany and encouraged other nations to follow their example. However the effect of change in a nation is often unpredictable and many of the European powers feared the consequences of universal male suffrage and for the time continued with there own principals.

The Unification of Germany created another European power so that now five great powers were present in Europe. German security was Bismarck's major aim. The army had been used to forge Germany but it was also needed to maintain the unity. A type of military dictatorship was established in Germany were the uniform of the army commanded instant respect. But Bismarck used war as a last resort and as a non-violent means to keeping Germany safe, he created a complex web of alliances. Bismarck deemed it important to maintain peace at all costs because through war Germany could possibly be defeated. If Germany attempted to gain more territory, war would soon follow. Also to maintain new territory would require a larger, stronger army, that would threaten the safety of other nations. Bismarck therefore felt that Germany was saturated to the point of ultimate expansion. Bismarck feared that the French wishes for revenge after the Franco-Prussian war would lead to another, much more severe war between France and Germany. Bismarck wanted to isolate France so that it would have no alliances against Germany. Bismarck's greatest fear was an alliance between France and Russia. Due to Germany's unfortunate geographical location an alliance between the country to its east and to its west would force it to fight a two front war.

All of Bismarck's alliances were created with Russia in mind. The Dual Alliance was created in 1879, after the congress of Berlin. Because Bismarck feared that the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy would lead to Russian expansion into central Europe, he sought an alliance with Austria-Hungary. The arrangement that Germany and Austria would come to each others help to provide mutual assistance in case of an attack by Russia, was kept secret. The Three Emperors league was also created as a safeguard for peace and was a benevolent neutrality between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. To please Russia, Bismarck insured that the Three Emperors League could undermine the Dual Alliance. The contents of the Dual Alliance were revealed three times by Bismarck, to Britain, Austria and Russia. The contents were shown to Britain to prove that the alliance was purely defensive, causing Britain to change the Mediterranean Entente to guarantee the straits and the Turkish empire. Because of this action Bismarck no longer had to be involved in the Eastern Crisis. In 1887 Russia approached Germany seeking a defensive alliance against Austria. Bismarck knew that an alliance with Russia against Austria was impossible and therefore revealed the contents of the Dual Alliance to Russia. Although an alliance could not be made, Bismarck did arrange an agreement with Russia solidifying their friendship. The last time the text was revealed was to Austria because Bismarck was under pressure by the Austrian-Hungary generals to declare war against Russia. The text proved that the alliance was defensive and that Germany was not forced to fight Russia. The Reinsurance treaty of 1887 was the re-establishment of an alliance between Russia and Germany. With the eastern Crisis and the formation of the Mediterranean Entente, Russia was feeling threatened and had very little power in the Balkans. This treaty put Bismarck in a very dangerous place. He had created an alliance with Austria-Hungry against Russia but also an agreement with Russia against Austria-Hungry. In the Reinsurance treaty Bismarck agreed to Russian influence in the Balkans and that they were entitled to the control of the straits and Constantinople. On the other hand Bismarck had told the members of the Mediterranean Entente that the straits would be dangerous in the hands of the Russians and that Germany supported their actions.

It is important to look at the alliances created by Bismarck to explain his role in Germany and Europe because it illustrates his skill of negotiating and his intelligence that was required to maintain peace. To Bismarck alliances were merely convenient, and he did not hold true to them. His alliance system was successful for there were no major wars between 1871 and 1890, for the most part peace was maintained between the powers in Europe and Germany controlled the affairs of the continent. If his actions had been discovered at the time, there would have been conflicts between the nations of Europe with Germany at the centre. Germany would have been put in a position were no nation could trust her and no alliances would be made with her. Such actions would have isolated Germany from the rest of Europe and placed her in a dangerous position, vulnerable to war.

Since the Commune of Paris in 1871, Bismarck had developed an uncompromising hatred for socialists and anarchists. At that time there were only two socialists in the Reichstag but their number of supporters increased with each election so that in 1890 they occupied 35 seats. Bismarck sought legislation to outlaw the party as soon as 1876, but had difficulty obtaining a majority. With two assassination attempts against Wilhelm I, Bismarck prorogued the Parliament and ran a campaign in which the socialists were blamed for the failed efforts to kill the emperor. As a result the conservative parties triumphed and the socialist party was banned but not eliminated. Bismarck's social legislation included winning over the working class with insurance, medical care and improved working conditions. Bismarck created the world's first well fare system to help impoverished Germans. Accident and old-age insurance were also introduced and implemented by the government. Despite all of his attempts of reforms and modern thinking, Bismarck had ultimately failed and the Social Democrats flourished. The election of 1890 was disastrous for Bismarck. The Centre, Social Democrats and the Progressives gained more than half of the seats in the new Reichstag.

In 1890 Bismarck was forced to resign from politics. Kaiser Wilhelm I had died a few years before and his heir Wilhelm II did not allow Bismarck the liberty and freedom in the running of the country as he had had before. Bismarck's resignation was a turning point in Germany and Europe. The new Kaiser had very different views on how the state should run and greatly enjoyed his position as leader of a powerful nation. He was an eccentric man, "who had so much power and believed in his own omniscience."5

Wilhelm's arrogant nature revealed to Europe that the system of government was far from a democracy and hereditary monarch was a reality. The first act after Bismarck resigned was to end the Reinsurance treaty to sever the relationship between Russia and Germany. Bismarck had centred his alliances around Russian friendship and Wilhelm's actions crumbled Bismarck's diplomatic foundations. France immediately saw this as an opportunity to create ties with Russia. A union was formed between these nations, focusing their attack on Germany and placing Germany in a dangerous position. France was no longer isolated and Germany was no longer the soul mediator between Russia and Austria-Hungary. Wilhelm also focused on colonial expansion, another element that Bismarck believed would create negative effects in Europe. To achieve expansion the navy was increased. The actions of the funding being put towards the navy and the colonial expansion were seen as threats to Britain. An anti-German feeling began to arise in Britain. The result was an expensive naval race between the two nations, draining them of resources. Britain began to frantically search for allies within the continent creating the Entente Cordiale, marking the end to Britain's policy of isolation.

Although the new Kaiser and Bismarck did not meet eye to eye on the issues of the state, this was not the only reason for the drastic change in Germany after Bismarck departure from politics. Bismarck had created such a tangle of alliances that only he could control them. Wilhelm certainly did not have the same mind as Bismarck and was unable to manipulate the nations of Europe in the same way that he had. The alliances began to fall apart when the Reinsurance treaty was dissolved. Bismarck had not foreseen his resignation in the near future and had created a situation that could not be controlled. The nations of Europe began to turn against German friendship, realizing that the alliances were created solely for German gains. Isolation began for Germany. The immense power that Bismarck had been able to maintain, began to fall apart and enemies arose from every corner of the Continent. The Dual Entente of 1894 between France and Russia was directed at Germany. Bismarck had insured Britain's neutrality if not friendship with the Mediterranean Entente and the conflicts with France in Africa. However Germany began to lose alliances with the creation of the Triple Entente as England, France and Russia worked together as potential allies. The friendship with Italy also falter so that Austria-Hungary remained Germany's last true friend.

The Causes for World War I can be traced back to Bismarck's "reign". Before the declaration of war in 1914, the tension mounted in Europe to unbearable levels. The balance of power was swaying as Great Britain gained immense amounts of foreign colonies, establishing the greatest empire and the most powerful navy. The navy was threatened by Germany, who under Wilhelm II, began to build up their navy with Britain in mind. With this navy competition, an arms race began in Europe. Bismarck had created the strongest army in Europe and was now threatening to have a strong navy. The other nations in Europe knew that one strong army would be disastrous if war were to break out. Therefore the nations of Europe began to build up their military forces to compete with Bismarck's Germany. As far as the balance of power, France felts that they should be the leading state, but after their defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 they became a less important European power. It was Germany that became the centre of power of the new Europe. However relations with Germany faltered as Wilhelm was unable to maintain the complex work made by Bismarck. The eastern crisis also created a great deal of tensions between the nations of Europe. Russia and Austria-Hungary in particular felt that they should control territory in the Balkans. Britain was felt that their imperial interests in the Mediterranean were threatened and began preparing for a war with Russia over the straits. There was also German/French arguments over Morocco and the mistrust that had developed between these nations after the war of 1871. Bismarck's alliance system did not help the matters in Europe. The system had been initially successful, in that there were no major wars between 1871 and 1890. However under the surface the tension was building up between the nations and the tangle of knots Bismarck left behind were impossible to unravel.

Being a practitioner of the policies of realpolike, Bismarck saw an advantage in going to war. Bismarck thus bestowed the idea of war to the nations of Europe. Austria-Hungary in particular would use the ideas of war as a necessity to initiate the First World War. In the wars prior to unification, Bismarck had the illusion of innocence. He carefully provoked wars using an incident as a spark. With the war against France in 1871 this spark was the Ems Dispatch. The great powers, would use this idea in World War I. Bismarck was an extreme nationalist to Prussia. Nationalism spread through out Europe giving the nations a reason for war. What better way to die than fighting for your country, became a key philosophy for leaders and civilians.6 This is one of the reason for the increase in the armies. With war in sight, nationalism was an excellent reason to insure that your country became more powerful than the others. Also after the unification of the German states the desire for independence grew within other areas such as the Balkans. There was a contrast in ideas of the major powers attempting to gain more land and the minor nations or states challenging the nations for independence. This created a great deal of chaos in Europe. By 1914 the tension in Europe was so high that all that was needed was a small incident to initiate a great war. This incident was the murder of Franz Ferdinand. Although the war began with the death of the crown prince, the ultimate causes for World War I can be followed back some thirty years.

Bismarck created a great change in Germany and Europe. But he does not deserve all the credit/blame for the events of the continent from 1860s as far as World War I. The unification of the German states although accomplished by Bismarck was an inevitable step for Germany. In the past there had been mild attempts of unification for the German states with Napoleon's confederation of the Rhine and German land had be claimed through conflicts and war by many nations. As individual states the duchies, principalities and others had little to no power over the affairs of Europe. Although the states wished for independence and their own nationality, they also felt that security was needed to prevent annexation and complete dissolution. As a result the various areas of Germany did not put up much of a fight when Bismarck united them. Not only were they willing but they did not have sufficient military power to compete as a single state. Although the Congress of Vienna in 1814 stated that unification was out of the question for it would threaten the balance of power, if Prussia had not taken the initiative to unite Germany another nation would have. Bismarck did take the initiative because he felt that Prussia had stayed in the shadows of the major powers for too long. His idea was that through German unification, Prussia would become one of the most powerful nations on the continent. Also Europe was becoming industrialized and the need for efficiency was increased. The states of Germany were far from efficient. Each state had its individual governments and policies that made it next to impossible to communicate effectively.

Bismarck is often criticized for his tangle of alliances. Although Bismarck did seem to be playing with the nations of Europe, there was little else that could be done. After unification, the new Germany was in a vulnerable position. France was resentful towards them for the actions in the Franco-Prussian war and many other nations were weary of the strong power now present in Central Europe. Bismarck was forced to create alliances with nations such as Austria-Hungary and more importantly Russia, to insure the well-being of the nation. It is fortunate that Bismarck was such a strong and intelligent character, for another man would have crumbled under the pressure of making such necessary alliances. As a consequence of Bismarck's alliances, Germany remained a world power with large territory, large population, great industrial potential, a strong armed forces and a vibrant culture.

Bismarck did a great deal to effect Germany and even all of Europe. Although eventually inevitable, he unified the German states, creating the largest German empire since the middle-ages, and one that would remain. Under Bismarck the face of Europe changed. To compete with Germany the other nations expanded their military, and began to think with democratic ideas. With the creation of the Reichstag and anti-Socialist acts, new ideas began to spread throughout Europe giving the continent a modern approach to politics. The balance of power also changed significantly with the arrival of a new major power. The alliances and treaties were desperate attempts to maintain the peace in Europe. The result however was endless tension that led to the Great War. In history one persons actions always affect the next great events. Bismarck is an excellent example of this. The unification of Germany created a downpour of emotions and conflicts in Europe that eventually led to war. Although powerful men like Napoleon had control before him and men like Hitler would gain authority after him, it is just to say about Bismarck that, "no man has had so great an effect on Germany and none a more profound effect on Europe."

Otto Friedrich, Blood and Iron, p.107

2 ibid p.108

3 Gordon Brook-Shepherd, The Austrians, p.112

4 R.R. Palmer. A History of the Modern World p.556

5 Haberman the Making of the Modern Age p .196

6 Otto Friedrich op.cit p.367