How significant were the obstacles to German Nationalism between 1815 and 1919?

A significant obstacle to German Nationalism in the early part of the period being examined was a general consensus against nationalism from all influential parties, not simply Metternich.  The 1815 Vienna Settlement was a representative of the general feeling at the time of a want to preserve the European balance of power.  This meant the restoration of the pre-Napoleonic Wars monarchies in German states and the quelling of German Nationalist sentiment, as the emergence of a unified Germany would undoubtedly upset the balance.  In addition to this, German states such as Bavaria, Baden and Wurttemberg had expanded under the French and were not interested in either nationalism or unification.  Generally speaking, most Germans were happy with the German Confederation and were loyal to their ruling dynasties rather that to Germany as a whole.  However, this is not to say that there weren’t any outspoken nationalist figures such as Arndt and Father Jahn, there were some nationalist movements at the time, such as Young Germany, and overall, there was a growing nationalist awareness amongst the German people, culminating in the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 – though this is not to say that German Nationalism was a mass movement by this time.  During the early 19th Century, the fear of German Nationalism from powerful countries and states was a major obstacle to it, preventing the individuals and small groups that were in favour of it from having any impact.

An obstacle to German Nationalism that was consistently active up to World War One was the loyalty of the German people to their individual states.  Particularism was particularly evident in the pre-unified Germany, in which the German people did not generally consider themselves ‘Germans’.  For example, a Bavarian would consider themselves a ‘Bavarian’ and not a ‘German’.  This attitude was also present with the rulers of the individual German states who jealously guarded their sovereignty and blocked even modest moves toward the strengthening of common bonds.  This loyalty to the state and the state’s self-protection meant that nationalist feeling was difficult to cultivate.  However, most German states still entered into the Zollverein at some point, thus showing that they were not totally unwilling to accept some form of political unity – though the Zollverein was by no means set up initially as a form of political unity and few states joined it during its initial stages, but it did come to represent a sort of political union between German states and those that joined it at a later date were aware of this, the states were also clearly prepared to accept economic nationalism.  In addition to this, some nationalist organisations were set up in pre-unification Germany, showing that not all German people were subject to Particularism rather than nationalism, though these societies were certainly not mass movements.

Particularly evident in 1848, a significant obstacle to German Nationalism was the divisions between nationalist groups.  It is often argued that the main reason for the downfall of the Frankfurt Assembly was the fact that the Liberals spent the majority of their time arguing, particularly over the issue of Kleindeutsch vs. Grossdeutsch, rather than turning their moral authority into actual power.  There was also a distinct divide in the character of liberal nationalism as it was spread through Germany.  The North-German ‘historical’ liberals were characteristically Protestant, upper middle class and anti-French, whilst the ‘theoretical’ liberals of South-West Germany were generally Catholic, lower middle class and influenced by French ideals.  Though this is strictly a massive generalisation.  There was also a large conflict of nationalist groups after the end of World War One in the creation of the Weimar Republic, leading to a weak constitution and ultimately again, the failure of liberal German Nationalism.  During the era of Bismarckian Germany, a conservative form of nationalism arose in conflict with the liberal and radical one (propagated by such characters as Arndt).  This form of nationalism was one manipulated by conservative powers, most notably by Bismarck, in order to create a power base for themselves.  The fact that nationalism itself was so flexible in character meant that it was, in fact, an obstacle to itself.  The conflicts between these different forms of nationalism meant that there was never the full support of all nationalist groups behind it, and therefore its impact was limited.  However, clearly Bismarck’s conservative nationalism proved effective enough alone as it was able to gain mass German support for the Franco-Prussian and Austro-Prussian wars, and for a national German identity to be created by the start of World War One.

Catholicism was consistently an obstacle to nationalism throughout the period due to its removal of loyalties from the nation. Most significant was the fact that being a Catholic meant having a leader outside of Germany – the Pope.  This meant an acceptance that the nation could not fulfil certain spiritual needs of the people, and therefore the idea of an ‘all-powerful’ nation was lost.  A leader outside of Germany also meant that there was potential for disagreement between the Pope and the leader of Germany, especially in such integral nationalist activities like wars.  Hitler clearly recognised this potential obstacle as is shown by his Concordat with the Pope and his creation of a German Church.  The danger from the Catholics was more so in Germany as they were politically active in the form of the Catholic Centre Party.  However, the national culture created in Germany seemed to be able to subdue any Catholic opinion, as shown by the 1871 Kulturkampf.  It must also be noted that it was very easy for someone to consider themself both a Catholic and a German, and the two ideas would rarely come into conflict.

Another obstacle to German Nationalism that was present after World War One was the growth of Socialism.  Socialism became more of an obstacle toward German Nationalism at the start of the era of Bismarckian Germany, as it by this time Germany seemed to have defined itself as authoritarian in character, something that Socialism opposes.  Socialist groups presented a danger to German Nationalism by moving the loyalties of those that supported it away from the nation, and toward a political ideal that did not correspond with the nation at the time.  The 1871 Kampfzeit shows the fact that Bismarck recognised this danger.  The impact of Socialism on German Nationalism was also negative after the First World War as it was instrumental in the division of the German people through the German Revolution, and was responsible, in part, for the creation of an inherently weak constitution.  However, it seemed that Socialism was unable to hinder the sort of hyper-nationalism created by war.  A more extreme version of socialism was also an obstacle to German Nationalism – Communism.  This was especially true after the publication of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 and much later after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.  Communism was a threat to nationalism in that it split the people by class, rather than nation – its motto: ‘workers of the world unite’ ran completely contrary to the integral and racial nationalist ideal.  The proximity of Germany to Russia made Communism a distinct danger, it must also be noted that the most prominent Marxists of the time, Marx and Engels, were German.  However, the perpetual fear of Communism evident in Germany through the later part of the period meant that Communism was not a significant danger to German Nationalism.

The obstacles to German Nationalism were much more significant in the earlier part of the period than the later one of the late 19th Century onwards.  During the early 19th Century, there were numerous physical obstacles to German Nationalism, such as Metternich and the Treaty of Vienna, which were not in effect later in the period.  The divisions between German Nationalists were also, to a certain extent, overridden between 1870 and 1918 – though they did emerge again after the German defeat and the Treaty of Versailles.  The obstacles to nationalism that occurred in Germany after 1870 were more intangible than they had been previously, and mostly consisted of a drawing away of loyalties from the state – and not always effectively so.  These obstacles were much less significant than they had previously been.