To what extent were socialists the main threat to German unity 1871-79? Flashcards
Who are the two people who tried to assassinate William I?
Max Hödel and Dr Karl Nobiling
How did the two assassination attempts on William I get used by Bismarck?
justify to implementation of his anti-socialist law in October 1878
Why did Bismarck use the two assassination attempts on William I to justify his October 1878 anti-Socialist law?
He saw no distinction between anarchism (which the assassins were) and socialism, and saw it all as a part of a ‘red conspiracy’
How many socialists were imprisoned 1878-90 as a rule of his anti-socialist law?
1878-90
What was banned as a part of his anti-socialist laws?
SADP
As a result of the assassination attempts, what happened to SADP votes, suggesting that they created division?
As a result of this the SADP vote fell from 493 000 in 1877 to 312 000 in 1878
When was the SADP the SADP and when was it the SPD?
1875 SADP (SPD from 1890)
What was the declared goal of the SADP?
To overthrow the existing order
To what did the SADP have close links?
Trade unions
What two things did the SADP campaign for?
Nationalisation and social equality
Under the socialist law, between which two years was any grouping or meeting that aimed at spreading socialist principles was banned?
1878-90
What percentage of the population were not Catholics and how and why had this changed?
60% of the population were now protestant and the Catholics were a minority. In the old German confederation, from 1815, where Austria was included, Catholics made up a majority of the population
In what areas of the country were Catholics particularly strong?
Catholics were particularly strong in South-West Germany and the Rhineland
Why was Bismarck initially suspicious of Catholics?
Most Catholics had sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866
What two controversial things did the Catholic church support that really annoyed Bismarck?
Catholic church supported Polish language teaching as well as the autonomous desires of Alsace Lorraine.
What about Italy was a tad controversial that the Catholics supported?
A war with the new Kingdom of Italy to help the pope to regain land lost in the 1870 unification
What was fear was Kulturkampf founded on?
The Kulutrkampf was founded on the fear that, after the 1870 declaration of Papal Infallibility, up to ⅓ of the population could be loyal to a figure other than their new country, a clear threat to the unity that Bismarck and the National Liberals were intent on creating.
Of what is the strength of the Kulturkampf demonstrative?
The extent to which Bismarck felt that the catholics were creating division
What two things happened as a part of the Kulturkampf in 1872?
Catholic schools brought under state supervision
Reichstag bans jesuits from Germany
What two things happened as a part of the Kulturkampf in 1873?
All Preisthood candidates had to attend a secular university before Priest training
All religious appointments subject to state approval
What thing happened as a part of the Kulturkampf in 1874?
obligatory civil marriage in Prussia
What thing happened as a part of the Kulturkampf in 1875?
all religious order except nursing orders were dissolved
What fact about the kulturkampf by 1876?
By 1876, all but two of the 12 Catholic Bishops were in exile or under house arrest. More than 1000 Priests were suspended.
What did the end of the kulturkampf in 1878 acknowledge?
that it had actually increased division, not reduced it
Though the kulturkampf had been intended to curb support for the Z party, what had it actually done?
The Z party’s support had increased from 58 seats in 1871 to 91 seats in 1874.
The laws for the kulturkampf in 1873 were known as what?
The prussian may laws
Who implemented the Prussian May laws, the first part of the kulturkampf?
Adalbert Falk
What happened to Falk?
Dismissed at the end of the Kulturkampf in 1878
Other than Falk being dismissed, what other thing happened at the end of the Kulturkampf in 1878?
Some laws were repealed, but not all
When was the Z party formed?
1870
Where was the Z party’s strong Southern support?
Bavaria and Baden
Where was the Z party’s strong support outside of the South?
Rhineland, Silesia and the Polish Population of the Eastern side of Prussia
What four ethnic groups all had growing support for the Z party?
Danish and Hanoverian Germans as well as Poles and Alsace-Lorrainiers
What percentage of Germany’s population were Poles, Danes or French?
10%
What did Bismarck regard any non ethnic Germans as?
Reichsfeinde, enemy of the state
What did Bismarck outlaw to seek to reduce the Reichsfeinde’s influence?
Polish language in all educational establishments and law courts
What did Bismarck do to Alsace-Lorraine to seek to reduce the Reichsfeinde’s influence?
Alsace-Lorraine became a special region under direct imperial rule with a governor and Prussian cicivl servants. The german language was imposed in schools and local administration.
What is a key Geographical discrepancy?
Industrial north vs Poor, agrarian south.
What did the German confederation do?
360 german states were consolidated into 38 sovereign states loosely consolidated with the German Confederation.
hat percentage of Germany’s population did Prussia have and what percentage of its land did it have?
Prussia possessed 60% of Germany’s population and ⅔ of its territory.
Out of 397 Reichstag Deputies, how many were Prussian?
235
What meant that Prussia could veto any legislation of which it did not approve?
It had 17 Budesrat seats
As German Emperor, the Prussian King was head of what?
the imperial executive, civil service and head of the Reich’s armed forces
Imperial Chancellors were almost always what?
The PM of Prussia
Prussian and Imperial institutions were what?
So intertwined that they could hardly be distinguished
What about the Prussian minister of war shows how intertwined Prussian intimations were with the Imperial ones?
The Prussian minister of war was also the imperial minister of war
With whom did all Imperial secretaries of state work closely?
Their prussian counterparts
What three things did the Junkers dominate?
Government, Army and Civil service
What was Sedantag day?
A national Holiday to celebrate the Prussian victory over France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war
How did Sedantag day create divisions?
viewed by many southern states and socialists as a celebration of Prussian militarism and refused to recognise it
How could the new German constitution be described?
New German constitution could well be defined as one where the states were given enough power by Bismarck to keep their leaders content whilst at the same time guaranteeing that Prussia remained, overwhelmingly, the dominant power within this federal structure.
The two biggest political parties in Germany by 1884 were what and what was special about them?
The Z party and the German Free Minded Party and they were the ones opposed to Bismarck’s aims and goals
The two biggest parties by 1884 were the Z party and the German Free Minded Party and they were the ones opposed to Bismarck’s aims and goals. What did this mean for Bismarck between 1881 and 1886?
This meant that between 1881 and 1886 Bismarck’s ability to manage the Reichstag was diminished significantly and he found himself politically isolated.
What’s the name of the German Conservative Party?
DKP
How did the DKP create division?
they were initially sceptical of a unified state.
What was the DKP voter base?
Mainly composed of german landowners
The DKP only backed Bismarck and his new state when?
1878
Why were the DKP skeptical of unity and not fully untied behind Bismarck?
Big fish small pond to little fish big pond
Who were the Progressive Party and how were they different from the National Liberals?
Liberal party, but unlike the National Liberals, it was opposed to Bismarck’s authoritarian methods.
How was the German Free Minded Party formed?
The Progressive Party merged with the Liberal Union Party in 1884 to form the German Free Minded Party, the second most popular political party in Germany by 1884.
What are the factors that need to be discussed?
Socialists Catholics Non-ethnic Germans Geographical Discrepancies Other political parties
