The Kulturkampf
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- Created by: Katie Beaumont
- Created on: 22-04-17 16:38
The position of the Catholics BEFORE the Kulturkam
Before the Kulturkampf, what were the lives of Catholics in Germany like:
- Catholics were left to their own devices.
- Catholics felt threatened because they were overpowered by Protestants. This was because:
- 60% of the German population were protestants, whilst the remaining 40% were Catholic.
- Therefore, Catholics were the minority, meaning they did not fit in the new German state.
- Many catholics supported the Centre Party (set up to represent the Catholic religion).
- Bismarck saw them as disloyal because many came from Italy.
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Protestant position before the Kulturkampf
Compared to the Catholics, Protestants were in a better position during Bismarck's Chancellorship because:
- Protestants were protected by Bismarck, who agreed with their religion.
- They were the majority, casting a shadow over Catholics.
- It was believed that the new German state was the home of protestants.
- Bismarck wanted protestants to remain his supportive ally within the German state, as many supported the Conservative party, meaning he did not want them to feel threatened.
- It was believed that protestants had a better argument for politics.
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Political representation of the Catholics
How were the Catholics represented in politics:
- The Centre Party represented catholics, making them more powerful.
- This party joined forces with the South Germans, Poles and people from Alsace Lorraine, meaning they became a threat to Bismarck's vision of German unity.
- The Centre Party became a bigger threat to Bismarck when they became the SECOND LARGEST party in the Reichstag.
- This was enabled by the support they recieved by Catholics who were mainly in the working class, middle or upper classes, or were peasants.
- They also promoted greater self rule for the individual states.
- They also objected to state interference in the education system, meaning schools needed to promote Catholic religion.
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Why did Bismarck support protestants?
Bismarck opposed catholics and supported protestants because:
- Bismarck was a strong protestant himself.
- He wanted to unify and consolidate the new German state, which cartholics were a threat to because they supported the rights of the individual states.
- The success of the Centre Party was a threat to the empire's unity.
- Bismarck believed that some politicians would promote civil disobedience amongst Catholics. whenever the policies of the state came in to conflict with those of the church.
- The Centre Party became a forum for opponents of the state.
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What was the trigger for the Kulturkampf?
The Kulturkampf was triggered by a number of reasons including:
- A group of 5000 Catholics refused to accept the papal infallibility and broke up with the church., because they didn't want the pope to change his religion to spite Bismarck.
- This had led to the dismissal of Catholic teachers and professors by Bishops.
- This allowed Bismarck was launch his attack on the Catholic Church, during this time of division amongst the church.
- He used this by claiming that was Catholic chirch was not allowing religious toleration, condemning their actions in a series of newspaper articles in 1872.
- This was the start of the Kulturkampf.
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Actions of the Kulturkampf
The Kulturkampf was a gradual campaign of Bismarck's against the Catholics:
- 1872:
- Catholic schools were under supervision of the state.
- The Jersuit Order was disallowed to set up establishments in Germany, therefore state govts had the power to remove Jesuits (strick catholic order).
- 1873:
- The May Laws, introduced by Dr Falk, were a series of measures which aimed to bring the Catholic church under state control.
- 1875:
- Prussia was able to suspend payments made to churches where priests resisted legislation.
- Religious orders were dissolved.
- Only 2 Catholic Bishops remained and more than 1000 Catholic bishops were suspended.
- Catholic weddings were no longer valid.
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Results of Kulturkampf
The result of the Kulturkampf includes:
- There was much opposition to this campaign because it was very repressive.
- There was a catholic counter attack from the Pope, who threatened to ex-communicate priests.
- The majority of Catholic priests failed to submit, who were supported by communities.
- Strength of the Centre Party increased, as they won 91 seats in the Reichstag in 1874.
- Many Protestants were concerned with the policy.
- Those on the Left felt it was a threat to civil rights and undermined freedom of conscience.
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How did the Kulturkampf fail
The Kulturkampf was a failure for Bismarck, who accepted this:
- Kulturkampf had created more problems for him, as he miscalculated it.
- Instead of unifying Germany, it had increased disunity within the Empire, as it caused division.
- As socialism was rising as Bismarck's newest threat, Bismarck now wanted to rely on the Centre Party for their support to use against socialism.
- By the end of the Kulturkampf in 1878, there was an improvement in the relationship between Bismarck and catholics.
- The Centre Party would now be used as a way to gain support for a Conservative, Protectionist and anti-Socialist agenda.
- Therefore, in a sense, the failure of the Kulturkampf turned into an advantage.
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