Imperial Germany

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Introduction

Imperial Germany:

  • German unification had been achieved by the extension of power by one state, rather than a revolution.
  • The old social structure remained intact as Wilhelm II could see no further than maintain the existing power structure.
  • Constitutional system of the new Germany strongly reflected the old regime.
  • The German unification was orchestrated by Bismarck.
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Economic Growth

Economic growth:

  • During imperial germany, economic growth was not unbroken.
  • There were some eyears of recession.
  • This turned into a financial crises in 1873.
  • However, this changed in the 1890s, by a great wave of industrialisation.
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Constitution of the Second Reich

The new constitution was adapted to the new circumstances:

  • The legislature was given limited powers.
  • This was because there 2 chambers:
    • Bundesrat (upper house- 58 representing members, making policy recommendations to the lower house).
    • Reichstag (elected every 5 years, based on male suffrage).
  • Ministers were not responsible to the Reichstag and it was excluded from a review of military expenditure and foreign treaties.
  • The Kaiser had considerable potential power, which Wilhelm I tended to delegate to Bismarck.
  • The Kaiser controlled the armed forces and could declare a defensive war.
  • The Kaiser could also veto legislation and dissolve the Reichstag.
  • The Chancellor was appointed by the Kaiser and was responsible to him.
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Federal Structure

Imperial Germany had a federal structure:

  • The constitution was federal to reflect the independent origins of parts of the newly unified Germany.
  • This gave individual states considerable power.
  • This included the power:
    •  To determine the nature of their local political arrangements.
    • To run education
    • Healthcare
    • Local police.
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Prussian dominance

There was Prussian dominance within Imperial Germany because:

  • The system was overruled by Prussian power.
  • This was because the imperial title was passed by inheritance with the kingship of Prussia.
  • Prussia was influential in terms of population and territorial terms, meaning Prussia's state government was very powerful.
  • Prussian power was also dominant in the Bundesrat.
  • This meant that Prussia had influence over the whole of the unified Germany, as it influenced everyone, its government and ministers.
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The Persistence of powerful privileged elites

Powerful privileged elites and the nobiliity persisted, especially in Prussia. Its strength came from 3 sources:

  • The persistence of natural deference:
    • This was where the social dominance of the noble landowners remained, who employed labourers and had power over tenant farmers ad local tradesmen, who relied on their business.
  • A virtual monopoly of official positions:
    • The army and higher ranks of the government and administration were dominated by the nobility who had preferred status.
  • Political activism:
    • From the 1870s, the industrial barons, such as Krupp and Stumm, had pretnesions of joining the noblitiy and a variety of groups,, who felt threatened by urbanisation and industrialisation.
    • This included craftsmen, small shopkeepers, farmers, rural workers and some of the academic intellectual groups, who were moving from liberalism to nationalism.
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State within a state

The army was considered a state within the German satte because of its size and influence over the state (its authority only laid with the Kaiser). However, it was dangerously flawed:

  • It was dominated by the Prussian officer corps.
  • Constitutional irresponsibility:
    • The Reichstag had no control over the army and it was only gradual that they won the right to review military spending, every 7 years.
    • Minister for War had limited powers.
  • A special aura:
    • The army had a special place in the minds of the Germans because they were the creator of a unified Germany.
    • Citizens deeply respected the army.
  • Social exclusiveness:
    • The officer corps was dominated by the aristocracy.
  • Between 1878 adn 1910, there was not one Jewish officer appointed.
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The Iron Chancellor

The Iron Chancellor:

  • Bismarck dominated the political system until 1890.
  • This was because Kaiser Wilhelm I left political affairs to Bismarck.
  • Bismarck's main activates were to:
    • 'Sterilise' the political system.
    • Resist revolution.
    • Preserve the power of Prussia and the Junker nobility.
  • Bismarck opposed the development of political parties.
  • He wanted to treart any opposition as if it was a challenge to the state.
  • His domestic activities included:
    • The Kulturkampf.
    • The alignment with corn and iron conservatives.
    • Germanisation of the national minorities.
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The Kulturkampf

The Kulturkampf:

  • This was introduced due to the potential identification of Catholicism with disloyalty to the state.
  • Catholics made up 40% of the population and tended to oppose the militarism.
  • The alliance of the National Liberals:
    • In 1871, the newly formed Catholic Centre Party won 70 seats in the Reichstag and could be seen as a potential challenge.
    • Therefore an attack on the church would weaken it and strengthen his political alliance.
  • This included anti-Catholic legislation:
    • The Kanzel Paragraph was introduced in November 1871, which were special penalties imposed on political sermons, civil marriage was made compulsory and a range of religious orders (the Jersuits expelled).
    • The Falk Laws (1873-75) was taken place in Prussia, where there was state control of church discipline, appointments of office and clerical education were introduced.
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The Failure of the Kulturkampf

The Kulturkampf failed because:

  • 30/10,000 priests in Prussia submitted, and bishops and priests were turned into persecuted martyrs.
  • The church was strengthend.
  • The Centre Party's representation rose to 100 by 1874.
  • Bismarck was forced to open negotiations with the newly elected and more conciliatory Pope Leo XIII.
  • Most of the legislation disappeared over the next decade.
  • There was the danger of the Catholic Centre Party and the Socialists to unite and shake Bismarck.
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