Historical background to the First and Second Reich Welcome to Germany Historical background to the First and Second Reich

The story begins…Blood and Unity The Holy Roman Empire (the original first Reich) The first advocate of German unification was the Frankish King Charlemagne, who reigned in 800 AD. He extended his empire to include much of France and western Germany, as well as northern Italy. However after his death, his son’s and grandson’s divided the First Reich into numerous kingdoms and princedoms. It remained disunited for over a thousand years.

Unifying Germany The year of 1848 was a year or revolutions when people all over Europe rose up because they wanted to get rid of their monarchs. In Germany, the peoples cry was for unification. The appeal of nationalism- the desire of a group of peoples sharing a common language or culture to govern themselves- was on the increase.

The Southern Germans: wanted a Reich which included Austria The Northern Germans: wanted a Reich without Austria In 1862 Otto Von Bismarck, an East Prussian landowner became the new Prime Minister of Prussia. Bismarck was a statesman who vowed to use “iron and blood” to bring all the German peoples together under the Prussian monarchy.

The Second Reich On January 18, 1871 Germany became a unified country. William I as Kaiser, (German word for Caesar) or emperor, of Germany. Parliament (Reichstag) had very little power. Imperial chancellor: had the real power= her was supreme in both foreign and domestic affairs. Bismarck was particularly successful in foreign affairs= managed to tie Austria-Hungary to the empire.

In 1888 William II became the new German Kaiser and did not follow the foreign policies of Bismarck. By 1900s Austria-Hungary was being torn apart by nationalism and was no longer a strong ally. Russia had become a further threat because it had allied with France. However, William II persisted in maintaining close ties with Austria-Hungary despite the fact it was near collapse. On the eve of the First World War, Germany found itself protecting a ramshackle Austro-Hungarian empire. Russia= protector of the Balkans

Germany and the First World War War broke out in 1914. Germany believed that they would win a quick victory, but things did not go according to plan. Paris did not fall to the invading army, both sides dug themselves into trench lines from the English Channel to the mountains of Switzerland. The stalemate finally ended in November 1918. The war was over and so to was the Second Reich.

The Weimar Republic A democratic republic The war ended on 11 November 1918. The men who signed the armistice represented a NEW German government. The Germany that entered the war was an EMPIRE, led by a Kaiser who was almost a dictator