Bismarck and German Unification 
by Russell Williams
Cheltenham and Gloucester College

Key aspects to consider

1. Different ideas: Grossdeutsch or Kleindeutsch?
2. The failure of the 1848 revolutions.
3. Development of Prussia from 1815 to 1862.
4. Bismarck‘s aims: planner or opportunist?
5. What Prussian problems faced Bismarck in 1862?
6. Relations with Austria, wars and 1866-71.
7. Relations with France.
8. The German and the imperial constitution, 1871.

Working with the information

Make notes on these items

1. What do you understand by the terms ‘nationalism’ and ‘liberalism’? Was Bismarck either a German nationalist or a liberal?
2. What was the role of Austria in Germany from 1815 to 1866?
3. Why was Prussia the strongest of the German states?
4. Draw a map to indicate the stages of unification from 1862 to 1871. Mark which countries supported Bismarck, which opposed and which were neutral.
5. What role was played in German unification by the following:

The Zollverein; 

William I;

Moltke and Roon; 

Napoleon III?.

6. Make brief notes on the following:

the 1815 German Confederation;

the Frankfurt Parliament;

the Prussian liberals from 1860; and

the North German Confederation.

7. Find books which claim that Bismarck

(i) favoured the unity of all Germany and 

(ii) sought to unite only North Germany.

 

How can we assess their reliability?

 

Are the two views contradictory?

Questions

These can be used either as topics for revision or as essay questions

1. To what extent was Germany ‘Prussianised’ rather than unified in 1871?

2. Why was Bismarck more successful than the revolutionaries of 1848 in unifying Germany?

3. Why did the balance of power between Austria and Prussia in Germany change during the years 1849 to 1866?

4. ‘Bismarck could not have united Germany without the Zollverein.’ Consider the arguments for and against this claim.

5. ‘What an extraordinary man Bismarck is! He meets me for the first time and he tells me all he is going to do.’ (Disraeli, 1862.) 
‘A brilliant opportunist, whose policy looks more clear-cut and coherent in retrospect than it was at the time.’ How far is it possible to agree with either, or both, of these descriptions of Bismarck? 

Supplementary reading further to your primary textbook

In addition to the material which can be found in standard textbooks, the following will be helpful:

J. Breuilly, The Formation of the First German Nation- State 1800-1871, Macmillan, 1996.

W. Carr, A History of Germany 1815-1990, Arnold, 1991.

M. Gorman, The Unification of Germany, Cambridge University Press, 1989.

B. Waller, Bismarck, Blackwell - Historical Association Studies, 1985.

B. Waller ed., Themes in Modern European History 1830-1890, Routledge,1992.

D.G. Williamson, Bismarck and Germany 1862-1890, Longman 1986.