Study Guide 1 Flashcards
Why is Louis II, King of Bavaria, so famous — that is, what did he build and why ? Why was he so unhappy ? Which composer benefited greatly from Louis’ patronage, and how did this composer benefit ? What were the strange circumstances of Louis’ death, and what did this do for his reputation today ?
He built enormous castles throughout Bavaria that cost a fortune, and he built them for his own pleasure. He was unhappy because he was forced to step down from the throne in response to his lavish spending habits. Which composer? Wagner benefited greatly from Louis’ patronage because Louis gave him huge influxes of money, provided him places to live, and helped him finance his operas. His death is mysterious in that it appears to have been a homicide. (One of the guards took him out for a walk one morning, and a couple hours later, their bodies were both found in the river.)
a. For which 3 major reasons was Franz Liszt so famous in his own time ?
b. Who were Cosima Liszt and Hans von Bülow ?
c. Who was Cosima’s second husband ?
d. What did she lead for many years upon her second husband’s death ?
e. In her advanced old age, which famous German dictator did Cosima meet ?
a. virtuosity, famous composer, great philanthropist (one of the great organizers of benefit concerts; the one who makes a benefit concert a major avenue for musicians doing philanthropic work)
b. Cosima Liszt was the daughter of Liszt who married Hans von Bülow. Hans von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer who eventually married Cosima.
c. Richard Wagner
d. Bayreuth festivals
e. Hitler
A Flashback: Napoleon III and the Second Empire of France:
a. What were some of the characteristics of Napoleon III’s government, that is, in what way was
his dictatorship modern (presaging 20th-century dictatorships) ?
b. What did Napoleon III do to change the face of Paris ? And who was Baron Haussmann ?
c. What famous German-French composer dominated Paris at this time, and what are some of
his most famous works ?
a. Because it looks like a republic
Napoleon constantly gives speeches, traveling throughout France to manipulate public opinion, WHICH IS THE KEY ELEMENT (MANIPULATION OF PUBLIC OPINION).
He also changes the face of Paris (enormous boulevards)
b. Built great boulevards, destroying much of medieval Paris, to create new elegance and great sight lines/ true purpose: allow swift movement of armies and troops to crush riots and rebellions. He was assisted by Baron Georges Haussmann, one of the great 19th Century urban planners.
c. Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880) / Orphée aux Enfers / La Belle Hélène / La Vie Parisienne / The Tales of Hoffmann
Liberalism:
a. What were the basic principles of liberalism in the 19th and early 20th centuries ?
b. What liberalism democratic ?
c. What was “laissez-faire” ? What was a capitalist ?
d. Why did the concept of the “nation-state” become ever more important in the 19th-century
and early 20th-century ?
a. Individual freedoms include freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of conscience (the government cannot force you to do what is against your conscience). Emphasis on parliament. Very strong emphasis on limited suffrage. Liberalism in this time is completely interlinked with nationalism.
b. Is liberalism democratic? No, liberalism only allowed the rich to vote. The liberals are not for democracy, because the vast majority of people will not vote for them. Democracies tend to be more conservative than liberal.
c. “let to do”. Has to do with the economy (the government should not interfere with the economy). A capitalist was a person who lives off of their interest investments.
d. An ethnic group is based on language. (If one speaks a language, one is considered that ethnicity.) In the 20th century it is also considered a racial label, which is more difficult. So, the “nation-state” became more important as people tried to associate certain races with certain nations.
What were the “promises” of nationalism ? Why was it more difficult to create a German nation-state than a French nation-state.
Freedom, prosperity, and power. As the 20th century, this leads to the nation-state desiring to expand to an empire.
What was the first “Industrial Revolution”, and in which country was it centered ? What were the traditional middle classes, and what new classes were created by this industrialization ? Which two countries were the next to become greatly industrialized ? Why did the British government insist that products from the German lands be labeled “Made in Germany” — and what ironic development occurred ?
It was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. It was centered in Britain. Working class was created, and differences expanded between the high bourgeois and low bourgeois. Which three countries? United States, Belgium, and Germany. The British government insisted that industrial goods from the German Confederations be labeled “Made in Germany” to indicate their inferiority; ironically, this label soon came to mean superior quality to English products.
a. What was the “social question”, and how did this issue come about in the 19th century ?
b. What was the response of classical liberalism to the “social question”, as expressed by
Thomas Malthus, for example.
c. Why did children work in factories, and what kind of conditions did they encounter in the
mid-19th C ? Which famous English novelist wrote about these conditions?
d. What was the underlying concept of the nature of man in industrialization, and how did this
express itself in European factory organization ?
a. The “social question” was the central subject of volatile political conflicts between the ruling classes and the working-class movements in the 19th century. (Namely, how much control the government should have over the working class versus not.)
b. People who work in the factories should die because they are a drain on society.
c. Because their hands were able to get to places that older people’s couldn’t. And because it was sometimes the only way for their family to stay together was to work in the factories. Famous novelist: David Copperfield
d. Everything runs according to the clock.
a. What were the basic teachings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; for example, explain the
following terms:
class struggle; proletariat and bourgeoisie and capitalist; dictatorship of the proletariat; the vanguard of the revolution
b. What was the Dialectic of Hegel, and how did Marx change this idea ?
c. What is the irony that the communist movement was led by men such as Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels ? How did they rationalize their right to lead ?
a. Money drives history and it is driven by a struggle between classes.
Proletariat and bourgeoisie are the two major social groups/classes (industrial working classes and the bourgeoisie).
The capitalists are the ones who have invested in the factories.
Outcome of successful proletariat society: there will be a class-less society, no more government, and so all will be happy because everyone will get what they need.
b. The Dialectic is the opposites that generate a new condition. (The THESIS, or the “spirit of the age” provokes a counter-idea, or ANTI-THESIS, and the reaction between these two creates a new idea, or SYNTHESIS, which becomes the new THESIS and the cycle begins again.) Marx changed this by saying that it is NOT IDEAS that move the world, but MONEY and ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS that move the world and history. Further, he went on to say that it is these inevitable laws of history that will bring about the triumph of the working class.
c. Irony is that Marx was highly educated, upper middle class, and was not a factory worker. Engels lives off the income of his factories.
ALSO: Marx and Engels, and most other Communist leaders, came from the upper
middle class. Engels himself was a factory owner and true capitalist. They rationalized their leadership by stating they were “the vanguard of the revolution” — the enlightened ones who knew the scientific way of the future.
Who was Otto von Bismarck ? Why was he called “the Iron Chancellor” ? What were some of the abilities that made him one of the greatest statesmen in modern German history ? Explain briefly how Otto von Bismarck created the “German Empire” (usually called “the unification of Germany”).
He was the great prime minister of Prussia at the end of the 19th century. Why was he called Iron Chancellor? Because of his famous speech called “Blood and Iron”.
Abilities besides intelligence: two key elements included his ability to think through multiple options, and planning for every eventuality. Most of all, his sense of limits. (If the war is going well, and you have achieved your goal, you stop. This drove the German generals crazy, but it was part of his effective leadership.) He created the German Empire by declaring it in Versailles after the French surrendered in the Franco-Prussian War.
When was “the Dual Monarchy” created and why ? What were the basic characteristics of this monarchy ? What were the two capital cities ? Which two ethnicities and which family dominated this monarchy ? What were other names for this monarchy ?
Created in 1867 after a swift, short disastrous war against Prussia and Bismarck. Created two capitals (city of Vienna, and Budapest). Created two parliaments, two governments, etc. What keeps this monarchy together is the king of Hungary, who is also the emperor of Austria; the generals are generals for both, etc. “THE TOP” is connected. Which family? The Hapsburg family. Other names for monarchy include Danube Monarchy, Austria-Hungary, Austrian-Hungarian empire.
The Franco-Prussian War:
a. Who started this war and why ? What were the years of this war ?
b. What was the effect of the Franco-Prussian War on France ?
c. During this war, which famous palace in Paris was burned and destroyed ?
d. What was the effect of the Franco-Prussian War on the German regions ?
e. Give 4 reasons why the French cultivated hatred against Germany after this war.
f. How did Prince Bismarck respond to this deep French hatred, that is, what international policies did he pursue after 1871 ?
g. To what did the phrase “Remember it always, speak of it never” refer ?
h. What was “revanchism” ?
i. Who established universal manhood suffrage in France ?
a. Napoleon III. 1870 - 71. (He started it because Prussia was growing ever large and the French have always been focused on trying to prevent unity of Germany to avoid a strong neighbor on its borders.)
b. Effect is that France is defeated and Napoleon’s government collapses
c. City Hall. The other major building is the Tuileries Palace and it remained a ruin for years.
d. The effect is that the last remnants of “middle Germany” join Prussia as well to create a German empire. The result for the French is that they really hate Germany.
e. 1. Because the French lost the war. 2. Because the Germans have taken two provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) 3. They proclaimed the empire IN VERSAILLES 4. And, they had to pay a HUGE fine to Prussia
f. He creates this series of alliances which surrounds and isolates France.
g. refers to the two provinces Alsace and Lorraine (Alsace-Lorraine).
h. the cultivation of revenge.
i. Bismarck
(Once Napoleon III’s Second Empire had collapsed, it was Bismarck who demanded that the new National Assembly for France must be elected by universal manhood suffrage !! This guaranteed a far more conservative (rather than liberal) national parliament for the new Third Republic.)
The creation of the Kingdom of Italy followed similar patterns to the creation of the German Empire. Which smaller Italian kingdom fulfilled the same role as Prussia in Germany ? When did Rome become the capital city of this Italian Kingdom ? Were the Italians satisfied with the borders of their kingdom in 1871 — why or why not ? The “Doctrine of Papal Infallibility” was the Pope’s response to which event, and why ?
The Vatican City. Rome becomes the capital in 1871 with the last major attack between Prussia and France, and the Italians take part in this as well. The Italians weren’t satisfied with the result of the borders because they were living in other areas as well (irredentism, or “unredeemed”). All those poor people who need to be freed from depression. The seizing of the Papal States; the pope responds by proclaiming Papal infallibility.
The German Empire after 1871:
a. Was the German Empire a nation-state ? And was it an empire in the usual sense ? Explain.
In other words, why was the name “German Empire” actually misleading ?
And why was “the unification of Germany” in fact NOT a unification ?
b. What was the Reichstag ? What did Kaiser mean and where does the word come from ?
What is a Kanzler ?
c. How did Bismarck try to create unity in the new German Empire after 1871, and why was this
unity even necessary ? What were the unintended results of these policies ?
d. Why did Bismarck institute the first social legislation in Europe ?
e. To whom was Crown Prince Frederick von Hohenzollern married, and who was his wife’s
mother ? Why did Crown Prince Frederick and the Crown Princess so despise Bismarck?
f. Why did the ascension of their son to the throne in Berlin not fulfill Bismarck’s
expectations, and what was this new Emperor’s name ?
a. No, because there were a lot of Germans who were not in this empire. No, because an empire usually means that you have colonies and Germany had zero. “German Empire” is technically a Prussian empire. For many people in Germany, they don’t really consider themselves German. It was NOT in fact a unification because many smaller sub-groups of the German population weren’t cooperative.
b. The Reichstag was the German Parliament. Kaiser means the German emperor, and the word comes from the Roman emperor Caesar. Kanzler is a German Chancellor.
c. He tries to create unity by finding an internal enemy and focusing on the internal enemy (the Catholics, first of all, and then the socialists). Both of these instances go terribly wrong, and result in the two largest political parties in Germany.
d. (Such as unemployment insurance, old-age pension, disability insurance, etc.) Because he wanted to undermine the Socialists. (If you take this away from the Socialists, you are giving the workers what they want.)
e. Victoria, to distinguish her from his mother Queen Victoria. Because of Bismarck’s anti-Catholic and anti-socialist laws, and they believed he was morally corrosive.
f. Wilhelm II. He and Bismarck have a very good relationship until Wilhelm becomes the emperor and he fires Bismarck (much to his shock).
Socialism :
a. Karl Marx and the European Marxists believed that the great proletarian revolution HAD to
occur in which country ?
b. Who destroyed the 1st International ? What warning had the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin
issued just before this happened ? What was the 2nd International ?
c. What was Marxist “revisionism”, who were its primary advocates, and why was it not
accepted by the 2nd International ? What happened to the term “revisionist” ?
d. What was the primary stated purpose of most socialist parties in Europe before 1914
regarding the governments of the countries in which they existed ?
e. What did the Frenchman George Sorel advocate in his concept of the “General Strike” ?
a. Germany, because by the late 1800’s, it has the largest industrial working class in Europe.
b. Marx himself. Destroyed it because he could no longer control it. That led Bakunin to assert, “if you take the most passionate revolutionary, and give him absolute power, within a year, he will be worse than a king.”
c. Basic idea behind “revisionism”: people want to reform and revise Marxism because by the late 1800’s, Marxism is so out of date from society, and so a huge backlash against Marxist fundamentalism takes place. (around 1905) The term became one of the worst things someone could call someone
d. Their purpose is to overthrow the government
e. Working classes should strike, because if everyone stops working, the government is going to collapse.
The first concentration camps were built in 1900: where and why ?
Built in South Africa by the British during the Boer Wars. They were built to encourage the Boers to want to reunite with their families, and therefore more quickly surrender.
