1. BACKGROUND FOR THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC: The political unification of Germany and ongoing divisions of German society Germany experienced political fragmentation at the end of the Middle Ages, but it enjoyed a great cultural blossoming in the late 18 th century and dramatic economic growth in the 19 th century. In 1871 Germany finally experienced national unification under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck and the Kingdom of Prussia, but this development alienated large minority groups. Imperial Germany developed three distinct political cultures: 1.A Protestant/middle class dominant culture. 2.A Catholic subculture, resentful of the Kulturkampf. 3.A socialist/proletarian counter-culture.

2. The first-century Germanic tribes as described by Tacitus

3. Germany’s King Otto the Great (r. 936-973) conquered Rome

4. The “First Reich” -- The “Roman” Emperor Otto III (r. 980-1002) receives tribute from all of Europe But then conflicts between Emperors and Popes tore the Empire apart….

5. “The Court of Frederick II in Palermo” (painted in 1865): He reigned 1220-1250 as Holy Roman Emperor and liberated Jerusalem (cf. Peter Gay, pp. 49-51)

6. The Empire fragmented into 300 independent states, 1300- 1800, led by Habsburg Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia

7. Luther faces Charles V at the Reichstag of Worms, April 1521: “The verses of Holy Scripture that I cite have overcome my conscience and trapped me in the word of God. Therefore I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience does not bring safety or salvation. God help me!” Luther’s new doctrines plunged Germany into turmoil: 1.Salvation through faith alone! 2.Only the Bible! 3.The priesthood of all believers!

8. The Protestant Reformation caused deep divisions between North and South: Lucas Cranach, “The Supper of the Evangelicals and the Damnation of the Papists” (ca. 1530)

9. “Seven-Headed Martin Luther” (Catholic caricature, 1529). Charles V conquered Saxony and Hesse in 1547 but found himself unable to stamp out Protestantism.

10. Prussia’s King Frederick the Great (r. 1740-86) became a hero for his victories in the Seven Years’ War (painted here at the Battle of Hochkirch by Adolph von Menzel, 1856)

11. “The Flute Concert of Frederick the Great at Sans Souci”

12. Germany’s greatest literary center meanwhile became the small Duchy of Weimar (in Thuringia) Duke Karl August engaged Germany’s most brilliant writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832): The Sorrows of Young Werther; Iphigenia on Tauris; Faust I & II “Goethe in the Roman Campagna” (1787)

13. FRIEDRICH SCHILLER (1759-1805) became a history professor at the nearby University of Jena He joined the Freemasons, wrote the first great history of the Dutch War of Independence against Spain, and denounced tyranny in famous dramas: The Robbers; Wilhelm Tell; Don Carlos; The Wallenstein Trilogy; Maria Stuart

14. The Goethe-Schiller Monument, before the Weimar National Theater (the building where the National Assembly wrote the Weimar constitution in 1919)

15. Germans attempted national unification through democratic methods in 1848 (the victorious crowd in Berlin on March 18)

16. The young Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels believed that Germany would now experience the “bourgeois revolution” that erupted in France in 1789

17. Prussian troops defeat the revolutionary army of the Baden Republic (including Engels), June 22, 1849

18. German unification was in fact carried out by the Prussian army in three wars planned by Otto von Bismarck: “The Battle of Königgratz, July 3, 1866”

19. The Founding of the “Second Reich”: Prussia’s King William I Hailed as German Kaiser at Versailles, 18 January 1871

20. The German Empire of 1871-1918

21. POLARIZATION ALONG CLASS LINES STATUS18821907192519391970* Self-employed28%20%17%13%10% White-collar6%10%17%22%36% Family helper10%15%17%16%7% Blue-collar56%55%49% 47% 100% Total labor force in millions 19.028.132.035.726.7 * Right column refers to West Germany only

22. POLARIZATION BY RELIGIOUS DENOMINATION The population in 1890 was: 64% Protestant; 32% Catholic; 1% Jewish

23. Bismarck repressed Catholic “Enemies of the Reich” in the Kulturkampf (1872-80) and then outlawed socialism (1878- 90). Here the police offer “Holiday Travel Assistance” to August Bebel, Wilhelm Liebknecht, and Bishop Melchers

24. BISMARCK MONUMENT IN HAMBURG: He was a great hero for Protestant, middle-class Germans

25. The Gothic parish church at Kiedrich, near Wiesbaden, contains another sort of “Bismarck monument”

26. Kiedrich Parish Church, Stations of the Cross (1877): Bismarck (carrying axe) as a Roman soldier torturing Christ

27. “Revenge for our persecuted comrades, 1878-88. Long live Social Democracy” “Only he deserves freedom and life who must conquer them daily” (a “proletarian house blessing” from Berlin) For dedicated Social Democrats, Bismarck was a tyrant, and Karl Marx, the true hero.

28. Liberty summons Progress to demolish the Bastille of capitalism with the 8-Hour day and free the prisoners within (Der wahre Jacob, SPD, 1895)

29. VOTING TRENDS IN IMPERIAL GERMANY: The three leftist parties critical of Bismarck increased their share of the popular vote from 28% in 1871 to 63% in 1912 YearSPD Cath. Center Left Lib. Nat. Lib Free Con. German Con. 18713%17%8%29%8%13% 18779%25%8%30%8%10% 188410%23%18% 7%15% 189020%19%16% 7%12% 189827%19%10%13%5%11% 191235%16%12%14%3%9%