Nationalism in Gernany

Throughout history, civilizations had problems with unification of the people. Some of these countries have used a successful strategy called nationalism. Nationalism is a love for one’s country. In many countries, nationalism was used to overthrow oppressive governments and to unite countries. In Germany nationalism had many political, economical, and social impacts. Nationalism in Germany grew rapidly; a main reason for this rapid growth was the conquering of Germany under Napoleon. This caused the people of Germany to want to be free and part of a unified German country.

The tactic of nationalism was starting to spread with Otto Von Bismarck the chancellor of Prussia, who was trying to make Germany independent. He was extremely successful in making Germans want to be free, which led to the unification of Germany.

Germany had many political changes when it came to nationalism. Nationalism played a very important role in the independence of Germany. The Franco-Prussian war was a key component in the unification of Germany. However, the cause of the Franco-German War, was the candidacy of Prince Leopold (who was related to the Prussian royal house) for the Spanish throne. The Prussian chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, persuaded Leopold to accept the Spanish throne. This move scared France, who felt threatened by a possible combination of Prussia and Spain’s army directed against it. Leopold’s candidacy was taken away under French pressure, but the Prussian king William I was not agreeing to follow the French ambassador’s demands. He infuriated the French government and provoked it into a declaration of war. This shows a clear role in nationalism with Otto Von Bismarck. He wanted to create an independent German Empire and used the army of Prussia to do it.

There were many changes to the economy that came with the unification of Germany. Germany was declared independent at the end of two decades of rapid economic growth, during which the, German states surpassed France in steel production and railway building. After the German independence, the cutback to economic growth was quickly taken away. A currency based on gold was created by Bismarck and his allies, this was called talers. A central bank was created. The tough regulations creating problems for the joint-stock corporations were taken away. Combined with the excitement of the Germans over unification, Germans started to invest in stocks. These changes led to a boom between 1870 and 1873. The years after unification, which were called “The Founder Years”. 857 new companies founded with a capital of 1.4 billion talers. The railway system almost doubled in size. Thousands Germans invested in stock for the first time, to show both their nationalism and their faith in the future of the new German Empire.

Nationalism made a wide variety of changes to the German Empire socially during its history. In the beginning nationalism gave a mindset to the Germans that they want their own country. After the unification of Germany and the start of the Founder Ages, nationalism became something new for Germans. Nationalism became a hatred for people who aren’t German. This caused the rise and start of Nazi Germany. The Germans quickly became greedy for more than just a unified country. Now the German mindset was changed from wanting a home, to wanting an empire. This mindset led to many deaths and a strong hatred for many innocent people. This shows how powerful nationalism really is, and how nationalism can have a permanent effect of the world. Nationalism is a very strong tactic used across history to unite a country. In Germany nationalism was very important in the Franco-Prussian war. Nationalism was used to create a strong and united country after the war. This unification had huge economic changes, starting with Germans buying stocks, simply because of their love and trust in the future of Germany. Nationalism also had many social effects to the country like, Germans treating others inferior but also Germans having a connection with one another. Also the nationalism in Germany had many political changes, like the entire unification of Germany! Nationalism was a very important tactic for all countries to have, especially from the start.   

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