Imperial Germany and its Discontents Chapter 1

 Compare the two maps to see how Europe changed between 1850 and Europe in the mid to late 1800s

  Prussian wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) (Habsburgs) and France ( ).  German unification What caused these changes?

  Union of 25 states  Four kingdoms (Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg)  Six grand duchies  Five duchies  Seven principalities  Three free cities (Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck)  However, it was not an equal division of power. Prussia forced the other states to join the Prussian- led empire, and had most of the power. German unification

  Prussia had two-thirds of the population  The Kings of Prussia (members of the Hohenzollern dynasty), became German Kaisers  Berlin (Prussia’s capital city) became the capital city of Germany  The Junkers, the Prussian landed aristocracy, were the most powerful group in Imperial Germany  This led to resentment. Many smaller (less powerful) states wanted to regain pre-1871 independence and separate from Prussia Prussian dominance

 DemocraticUndemocratic -All men over the age of 25 could vote -Secret ballot -New laws had to be approved by the Reichstag -The Reichstag could accept or reject the budget -The Reichstag had limited power over government – the Kaiser could appoint and fire ministers -The Kaiser had complete control over foreign relations -The Kaiser had total control of the army -The Kaiser could dissolve the Reichstag at any time Was Imperial Germany democratic?

  Between 1871 and 1914, the German economy was the fastest growing in Europe  Industrial production grew at twice of France’s  Industrial production grew at three times the rate of Britain’s  By 1914 – industrial production had overtaken Britain Economic Growth

 Look at these pictures and imagine what life was like for working class Germans between 1871 and Working Class

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  Bad living conditions  Low wages  Harsh discipline in factories  Housing was bad (‘rental barracks’ in Berlin) Working Class

  Social Political Democrats  Formed in 1875 (Socialist Workers Party of Germany)  By 1914 it was the biggest and best organised socialist party in Europe  More seats in the Reichstag than any other party  Very popular among the working classes because offered more than just politics – Way of life, not just a political party  Trade unions, newspapers, cultural organisations, sports clubs SPD

  Prussia was overwhelmingly protestant  Bavaria (quite large), Rhineland and Silesia (important industrial areas) were more catholic  Protestants feared catholics in case they were closer Allies to the pope than Germany  Kulturkampf (‘cultural struggle’)  1870s – German gorvernment introduced measures to undermine the political influence of the Catholic church (ended in late 1870s) Protestants and Catholics

  Second-class citizens to some degree  Low proportion of Catholics in university  Few top civil servants were Catholics  Almost no Catholics in high levels of business and finance  Catholics were not enthusiastic supporters of political system in Germany Catholics in Germany 1870s