The German Empire was solemnly proclaimed in. German Empire: description, history and interesting facts

§ 13. Formation of the German Empire The state of the German lands by the middle of the 19th century. After the beginning of the 1860s. Italy was practically united (except for Rome and Venice), the Germans remained the only large nation in Europe deprived of national statehood. And me

1. Envoy of the German Empire “It was winter. I immediately... returned to Siberia. At night, Tomsk greeted me with deep snow and severe frost. I stayed here for several months, waiting until the steppe began to bloom. Then I headed up the river, hired workers and horses and climbed

On January 18, 1871, a new state was formed on the map of Europe, called the German Empire. The founding fathers of this public education Otto von Bismarck, as well as Wilhelm I of Hohenzollern, are considered to be an extraordinary personality who went down in history under the formidable name of “Iron Chancellor”. The German Empire lasted until November 9, 1918, after which the monarchy was overthrown as a result of the November Revolution. It went down in history as a state distinguished by its power and clearly established development strategy.

The German Empire is a name that Russian historiographers began to use in the 19th century. The Second Reich, Kaiser's Germany - are found much less frequently in literature. The following significant contributions contributed to her education: historical events:

• collapse of the German Confederation (1866);
• war between Germany and Denmark (1864);
• war between states such as Austria and Prussia (1866);
• war between Prussia and France (1870-1871);
• creation of the North German Confederation (1866-1871).

In 1879, the Prussian King William I, together with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, declared war on France in order to undermine its economy and influence the political position of this country. As a result of military actions, they decided that the North German Confederation, which was created for this purpose, won a complete victory over the French, and in January 1871 it was announced at Versailles that the creation of the German Empire had taken place. From that moment on, a new page in world history appeared. The unification of not only countries but also other states began, which considered joining the empire most appropriate for themselves. Bavaria and other lands of southern Germany became part of the German Empire.

Austria flatly refused to join it. At the end of the Franco-Prussian War, France paid a huge indemnity (five billion francs), so the formation of the German Empire did not begin from scratch. Thanks to such a serious financial injection, she was able to create her own economy. It was nominally headed by Kaiser (King) Wilhelm I, but in fact Chancellor Otto von Bismarck took control of the empire. States that were not part of were forcibly subordinated to Prussia, so the creation of the German Empire cannot be called a voluntary unification. It included twenty-two German monarchies and the cities of Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg, which were free at that time.

After the adoption of the Constitution in April 1871, the German Empire received the status and the Prussian king received the title of Emperor. During its entire existence, this title was used by three monarchs. These are who was in power from 1871 to 1888, Frederick III, who was in power for only 99 days, and Wilhelm II (1888-1918). The last Emperor after the overthrow of the monarchy, he fled to the Netherlands, where he died in 1941.

The formation of the German Empire contributed to the national unification of the German people and the rapid capitalization of Germany. But after this empire was created, it became very dangerous for all the peoples of Europe and, perhaps, the whole world. The German Empire began to intensively develop its combat power and dictate its terms from a position of strength. It was at this time that the emergence of nationalism began, which subsequently led to two world wars, various bloody revolutions and millions of dead and destroyed people. With the formation of the German Empire, the national idea of ​​the world domination of their country and the superiority of the Germans over other peoples settled in the souls of the people of the German nation.

During the Franco-Prussian War, the German lands were finally united and on January 18, 1871, the creation of the German Empire was solemnly proclaimed in Versailles, the first chancellor of which was A. Wismarck. Since then, Germany has held a key position in European international relations.

According to the constitution of 1871, the German Empire was a federal union of 22 monarchies in which individual states had internal autonomy. The highest executive power belonged to the emperor, who appointed an imperial chancellor with broad powers. The emperor also had legislative power, he headed the armed forces, and had the right to declare war and make peace. The highest representative bodies were the Reichstag and the Federal Council (Bundesrat). The Reichstag had legislative initiative and elections were held on the basis of universal suffrage. The Federal Council consisted of representatives of the governments of all German states and resolved external and internal political problems. The role of the legislature was limited and they could pass laws only after prior approval from the emperor. Moreover, legislators were almost never consulted on important foreign policy issues. So, compared to France and England, the legislative bodies of Germany were small and could not influence government policy.

The overwhelming majority in the Reichstag was held by representatives of the Conservative Party, which reflected the interests of the big bourgeoisie and landowners. The party advocated strengthening the power of the emperor, demanded the introduction of agrarian protectionism and an increase in the military power of the German army. Conservatives had a strong influence in the imperial government apparatus and the Prussian Landtag. The Catholic Party, or the Center Party, was influential, receiving 20-25% of the votes. Among her supporters were Christians trade unions, peasant and youth associations. This party advocated freedom of activity for the Catholic Church and the preservation of church schools. At the beginning of the century, the position of the National Liberal Party (the "progressive" party), which represented the interests of the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, significantly weakened. The reactionary part of the party, together with the conservatives, formed the Imperial Union for the Struggle against Social Democracy in 1904. There were also Social Democrats in opposition to the government, among whom the controversy surrounding the attempt did not fade away. Bernstein to direct the socialist movement not towards revolutionary transformations, but towards reformist paths of struggle for social rights.

The constitution was designed to give the chancellor (until 1890 the country was actually ruled by A. von Bismarck) and the monarch full power. Universal suffrage was introduced only because Bismarck believed that rural people would vote for Conservative candidates. In addition, the division into electoral districts took place in such a way as to give an advantage to rural residents. Bismarck considered the liberals, the Center Party and the Social Democrats to be enemies because they tried to change the conservative character of the empire.

The centralization and unification of governing bodies of the “liberal era” (1871-1878) made it possible to carry out a number of reforms of a general imperial nature, the most important among which were the introduction of a single monetary system - the mark, the creation of the Reichsbank (Reichsbank) and a unified armed forces.

After the creation of the empire and the adoption of the constitution, Bismarck was faced with the task of curbing the opposition, in particular the Catholic Center Party and the Socialists. The “iron chancellor” Bismarck struck the first blow against Catholics. Of the 41 million population of the German Empire, 63% were Protestants, 36% were Roman Catholics.

The latter did not trust Protestant Prussia and often opposed the Bismarck government. Bismarck's ally in the fight against Catholics became liberals who considered the Roman Catholic Church politically conservative and feared its influence on a third of Germans. Bismarck did not intend to destroy Catholicism in Germany, but set out to undermine the political influence of the Catholic Center Party.

The German government's measures against Catholics were called "Kulturkampf" - the struggle for culture (1871-1887). This term came into use after the Prussian scientist and liberal statesman G. Virchow announced that the battle with the Catholics “had acquired the character great battle for humanism."

In July 1871, Bismarck abolished the Catholic administration in the Prussian Ministry of Education and Spiritual Affairs. In November of the same year, Catholic priests were prohibited from speaking on political topics during sermons. In March 1872, all religious schools were subject to state control. In the summer of the same year, teacher-priests were released from public schools, the activities of the Jesuit Order in Germany were banned, and diplomatic relations with the Vatican were severed. In May 1873, the Prussian Minister of Culture A. Falk took state control over the appointment of priests. The culmination of the Kulturkampf came in 1875, when a law on compulsory civil marriage was passed in Germany. Dioceses that did not comply with the orders of officials were closed, priests were expelled, and church property was confiscated.

However, Bismarck was unable to overcome the resistance of the Catholics, which, on the contrary, intensified. In the 1874 elections to the Reichstag, the Center Party doubled its representation. Bismarck, as a pragmatic politician, decided to retreat and admitted that some of his measures were too cruel and did not achieve the desired goal. In the 80s, most of the legislative acts of the Kulturkampf period were repealed.

The reason for the fight against the socialists, who in 1875 created a single Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and in the elections of 1877 to the Reichstag received the support of almost 500 thousand people and brought 12 deputies into parliament, was the assassination attempt on Wilhelm I on May 11 and June 2, 1878. On June 2, the emperor was seriously wounded. Bismarck dissolved the Reichstag and called new elections, held in an atmosphere of frenzied propaganda against the Social Democrats, who were accused of terrorist acts. In the new composition of the Reichstag, right-wing parties received a majority. On October 19, 1878, they adopted the Law against the socially dangerous intentions of Social Democracy, which was introduced as temporary for 2 years, but was in force until 1890. During its action, more than 2 thousand people were arrested or expelled from the country, hundreds of periodicals , workers' unions and unions are closed and prohibited.

However, the Socialists maintained the party, even operating in Switzerland. The official organ of the party, the newspaper "Social Democrat", was published here, which was illegally delivered to Germany and distributed among the workers. The real leader of the party was A. Bebel, who defended the idea of ​​fighting for socialism through peaceful means. The influence of the Social Democrats grew and in 1887 they brought 24 deputies into parliament. The fight against the Social Democrats ended in failure for Bismarck. In 1912, Social Democratic deputies received 110 of the 397 seats in the Reichstag.

In the early 80s, Bismarck made statements about the need to carry out broad social reforms in the spirit of the theory of “social monarchy,” which provided for the strengthening of the monarchical regime by achieving social harmony between different layers and classes of society, the introduction of labor legislation and the practical provision of social protection.

Bismarck encountered opposition in the Reichstag among deputies who represented circles of wealthy industrialists, since social reforms really threatened their extremely high profits. The chancellor managed to crush the opposition with the support of the emperor and broad public opinion. In 1883-1889 pp. The Reichstag passed three laws on insurance for illness, injury, old age and disability (the latter provided for the payment of pensions to workers who had reached the age of 70). Germany became the first country in Europe to introduce extensive social legislation.

However, Bismarck's domestic policies aimed at supporting accelerated social and economic modernization of Germany for attempting to prevent any reform of the authoritarian political system led to constant political crises and were criticized by polar political forces. After the death of William I in 1888, his grandson Wilhelm II (1888-1941) became emperor. His relationship with the 74-year-old chancellor became tense from the start. The reason for the final break was the results of the elections to the Reichstag in 1890, in which almost 1.5 million voters voted for the socialists. The law against the socialists had to be repealed and the offended chancellor resigned. The Emperor did not hold him back, assuring everyone that the course of the founder of the German Empire would remain unchanged.

Bismarck was succeeded by JI. von Caprivi, a former military man and insufficiently experienced politician. Unlike his predecessor, the new chancellor tried to cooperate with polar political forces - the Center Party and the Social Democrats. With their support, customs tariffs on the import of grain crops into Germany were reduced, and profitable trade agreements were concluded with Russia, Austria-Hungary and Romania. Food prices fell, industrial growth and an increase in the living standards of the population began. However, wealthy landowners were offended that the chancellor was neglecting their interests for the sake of other segments of the population. Having great political influence in Prussia, the Junkers were able to dismiss Caprivi in ​​1894.

Chancellors changed frequently until 1900, when B. became the new head of government. von Bulow, who actively supported the policy of “pan-Germanism” aimed at establishing world domination. On his initiative, the Pan-Nimetsky Union was created - an openly chauvinistic organization that united conservatives, national liberals and the military. their plans included German expansion to the West - against England and France to the East (the so-called "Drang nach Osten"), primarily against Russia, and to the Middle East. Military expenses grew - in 1913 they accounted for almost half of the country's total expenses. Huge funds were allocated for construction navy and on the eve of the First World War, Germany became the second naval power after Great Britain.

at the end of the 19th century. In terms of industrial production, Germany has taken second place in the world, and in terms of pace economic development ahead of Great Britain and caught up with the USA. The prerequisite for such dynamic development of the country's economy was the unification of the German lands and the formation of the German Empire in 1871, which completed the process of forming a single internal market and the industrial revolution. This was also facilitated by the presence of significant natural resources, in particular coal deposits and iron ore, experience of economic development of other countries, 5 billion indemnity from defeated France, high level concentration of production and capital, agricultural productivity, etc.

The beginning of the 70s is known in German history as the years of “Grunderstvo” (from German - to found). In 1871-1873 857 new industrial associations with billions of dollars in capital were founded. The railway network doubled. Using French gold, the state began to pay citizens its debt for previous government and military loans. Thousands of Germans invested in shares of new companies, receiving huge dividends and demonstrating their patriotism and faith in the future of the German Empire. The economic boom continued until the pan-European economic crisis in 1873. For six next years prices for national agricultural and industrial products fell sharply, and almost 20% of newly founded companies went bankrupt. Cheap grain from Russia and the USA reduced the incomes of large landowners - Junkers. An immediate consequence of the economic crisis was huge emigration, especially from overpopulated rural areas Prussia. During the 70s, about 600 thousand Germans went to South and North America.

In the 1980s, the revival of German industry began. Several dozen monopolies were created every year, and joint-stock companies with large capital arose.

Monopoly (from the Greek monos - one, poleo - sell) is a capitalist association that monopolizes, through agreement among itself, certain branches of production with the aim of squeezing out and conquering competitors, as well as obtaining monopoly profits. The emergence of monopolies is a natural result of the concentration of production and capital. Monopolies have the following forms: cartel, syndicate, trust, concern. The first monopolies arose back in the manufacturing period of capitalist production on the basis of merchant guilds and companies of adventurers in the form of various merchant societies.

In the period 1882-1895. the number of established industrial companies increased by 4.6%, and enterprises that employed more than 500 people - by 90%. Among the largest are: “Rhine-Westphalian Iron Foundry Cartel”, “German Union of Rolling Mills”, “Rhine-Westphalian Coal Syndicate” and the like. This made it possible to increase the production of iron and steel by 6 times, and coal production by 3 times. IN late XIX century. In terms of iron and steel production, Germany took second place in the world, second only to the United States. In the first decades of the 20th century. The decisive role in the industry was played by the metallurgical concerns "Thyssen", the chemical concern "I.G. Farbenindustry", the electrical concern "General Electric Company (AEG)", etc.

Simultaneously with the concentration of production, there was a concentration of capital. The leading place was taken by the Deutsche Bank, the Dresden Bank, and the National Bank of Germany. Owners of large industrial enterprises joined the boards of banks, creating powerful financial and industrial groups. In the first decade of the 20th century. The 9 main German banks concentrated more than 80% of banking capital in their hands. German capital was actively involved in the construction of railways, invested in underdeveloped countries, and contributed to the expansion of German foreign economic relations.

Agriculture was dominated by large Junker farms (over 100 hectares of land), in which hired labor was used, agricultural machines were widely used, and achievements of agronomic science were introduced, which made it possible to significantly increase productivity. There was a significant layer of wealthy peasants - Grossbauers, who practically provided Germany with food and supported the policy of protectionism pursued by the government, which should save them from competition from foreign producers.

The high rates of economic development in Germany after 1871 led to the displacement of English products on world markets. German industry demanded new markets and stimulated the state's foreign policy activity. But in order to win a “place in the sun,” it was necessary to oust rivals, primarily England, from the colonies. Anglo-German rivalry became decisive in the territorial division of the world.

German industrialists, united in the Pan-German Union, came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a colonial empire in Africa, South America and the Middle East. The attention of Berlin politicians was focused on the Transvaal with rich deposits of gold and diamonds. Most of the mines were under the control of the South African Company, which enjoyed the support of London bankers. The active penetration of German capital into South Africa began with the financing of a group of banks led by the Deutsche Bank of Simmens for the construction of a railway that connected the capital of the Transvaal - Pretoria - with the ocean coast. In the end, German colonial capital managed to establish control over financial system Transvaal. At the same time, broad prospects opened up for Germany’s economic penetration into Turkey. In 1898, the Turkish Sultan agreed to grant Germany a concession for the construction of the Bosphorus - Baghdad railway and further to the Persian Gulf.

Baghdadska Railway- the name of the railway line (approximately 2400 km) connecting the Bosphorus with the Persian Gulf, 1898 German Kaiser Wilhelm II made a trip to Palestine to the “holy places” of Christianity. In a public lecture in Damascus, he declared himself a friend of 300 million Muslims and their caliph, the Turkish Sultan. As a result of this visit, the Deutsche Bank received an order to finance construction from 1899. The Baghdad Railway, which should pass through the whole of Asia Minor to Baghdad and further to the Persian Gulf. This strengthened German influence in Ottoman Empire and the conditions were created for further German penetration into the Near and Middle East. According to contemporaries. The Baghdad railway was supposed to become “a loaded pistol at the temple of England.” Turkey's granting of a concession to Germany caused an aggravation of the international situation. Construction was completed in 1934-1941. private English and French companies,

Berlin renounced its claims to South Africa, counting on British support for its plans regarding Turkey.

In the struggle for colonies, German diplomacy tried to exploit the contradictions between the great powers. At the beginning of the 20th century. (in 1905 and 1911) Germany provoked the Moroccan crises. In March 1905, while staying in the Moroccan port of Tangier, Emperor Wilhelm II stated that he considered Morocco, which was in the sphere of influence of France, an independent country and Germany would not tolerate domination of any state in Morocco. The negative reaction from Paris was predictable, but Wilhelm II increased the tension with a reminder of the successes of the German army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Frank blackmail of Germany forced France to agree to consider the issue of Morocco at an international conference, which began in January 1906. France was supported by England and Russia and, unexpectedly for Germany, Italy, which back in 1900 received French consent to seize Cyrenaica and Tripolitania and thus repaid her a kind of debt. At the conference, it was decided that Morocco remained a formally independent state, but France and Italy received exclusive rights to control the Moroccan police and financial system. French penetration into Morocco became more and more noticeable. In the spring of 1911 French troops, under the pretext of suppressing the uprising of Moroccan tribes, occupied the capital of Morocco - the city of Fetz. And this time Germany intervened, carrying out the “Panther jump”. In July 1911, the German warship “Panther” dropped anchor in the Moroccan port of Agadir. Politicians in Berlin were counting on a demonstration military force force France to agree to the division of Morocco. However, Germany's provocation was not successful. The British government stated that in the event of a conflict, Great Britain would not remain neutral and would support its ally France. Berlin was forced to give in. On November 8, 1911, a Franco-German agreement was signed, according to which Germany renounced its claims to Morocco for minor compensation in the form of part of the French Congo annexed to the German Cameroon.

In South America, Germany took control of Chile, whose economy was infused with German capital, the volume of trade exceeded English and American, and the armed forces were under German control. Germany organized widespread emigration here, creating compact colonies with a pan-German ideology.

Particularly tense was the Anglo-German naval confrontation associated with Germany's implementation of the great naval program of 1898, which provided for the allocation of more than 300 million marks annually for the construction of new ships. Although the overall ratio of ships in terms of tonnage remained in favor of England, Germany came close to it in terms of the number of the most powerful dreadnoughts. Negotiations between both countries on the limitation of naval forces ended without results and the arms race continued.

The Italo-Turkish War of 1911 and the Ball for the German War of 1912-1913. became a test for the Austro-German bloc and accelerated Germany's preparations for war. In 1914 alone, it was planned to allocate 1.5 billion marks for military needs. German General base believed that 1914 was the most appropriate year for the start of the war, since Germany was significantly ahead of the Entente countries in terms of the level of readiness. Any delay could be dangerous, German strategists believed, because England, France and Russia had the opportunity to radically change the situation, which would lead to Germany losing its advantages. Having set a course for war, German diplomacy tried to ensure the participation of its ally, Austria-Hungary, which was assigned the role of initiator of the military conflict.

In 1871, the Second German Empire was proclaimed. It was declared an “eternal union”, which included 25 states with different political statuses: 4 kingdoms, 6 great duchies, 5 duchies, 7 principalities, 3 free cities (Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck), as well as Alsace-Lorraine, which has a special status , seized from France. At the same time, none of the subjects included in the union could either leave or be expelled from it. Disputes between individual states were administered by the Reich Bundesrat. This central union body in the legislative sphere formally had equal rights with the imperial parliament - the Reichstag. In fact, his powers were even broader, since the Bundesrat had the right to dissolve the Reichstag and also had legislative initiative.

In addition, the laws of the empire could only be adopted with the mutual consent of the Reichstag and the Bundesrat. Member states had 58 votes in the Bundesrat. At the same time, Prussia played a special role in its activities, which had 30% of all votes and the right to veto changes to the constitution. Since the Kaiser (in 1871 he became Wilhelm I) was at the same time the Prussian king, and the Reich Chancellor headed the Prussian government, this situation sharply strengthened both the central power and the power of Prussia. The competence of the monarchies and free cities that made up the empire was in fact only education, church politics and administration. Some of components empires. had the right to maintain limited military contingents.

Bismarck served as Reich Chancellor for 19 years. This period in German history was characterized by effective and successful foreign policy. Bismarck pursued a policy of creating alliances with the strongest European powers, primarily with Russia and Austria-Hungary. However, his domestic policy caused serious discontent in the country: he was intolerant of the opposition (Catholics, socialists and supporters of the rights of constituent parts of the empire). Despite this, under Bismarck the formation of the Social Democratic movement in Germany took place. Thanks to the activity of F. Lassalle and the followers of K. Marx, mass workers' organizations arose in Germany, and in 1875, Marxists and Lassalleans united into the Socialist Workers' Party (since 1890 - the German Social Democratic Party, traditionally abbreviated as the SPD). Under pressure from the Social Democrats, Bismarck agreed to the introduction of universal suffrage for men in Prussia (1867) and implemented social legislation that anticipated some features of the welfare state.

In the 1870s, Bismarck launched the “struggle for culture” (Kulturkampf), aimed at weakening the influence of the Catholic Church.

In the 1880-1890s, Germany actively participated in the imperialist division of the world. It acquired significant colonial possessions in Africa (German East Africa and German South West Africa) and in Pacific Ocean. Germany established control over New Guinea, Micronesia (Nauru, Palau, Marshall, Caroline and Mariana Islands purchased from Spain), Western Samoa. In Asia, Germany owned the port of Qingdao on the Shandong Peninsula (captured in 1897). Acquisition of colonies in different parts light inevitably led Germany to conflict with the “mistress of the seas” Great Britain, which had the world’s largest colonial empire, and forced the construction of a powerful ocean-going fleet to begin ( maritime programs, adopted at the end of the 19th century, made it possible to create by 1913 the second most powerful fleet in the world, after the British).

The conflict with France, which sought to return Alsace and Lorraine, also persisted. The new Emperor Wilhelm II, who ascended the throne in 1888, dismissed Bismarck in 1890. He set a course for the formation of obedient governments (the governments of von Caprivi, von Bülow and others), seeking to increase his own power in the empire. In domestic policy after short period liberalization (in particular, the ban on the activities of the SPD was lifted), Wilhelm II continued Bismarck's repressive measures. He changed the country's foreign policy course, proclaiming the ideas of German greatness and the special role of Germany in world politics. The active militarization of the country that followed these statements alarmed European leaders. In addition, Wilhelm II did not renew the treaty with Russian Empire, concluded by Bismarck, which led to the Russian-French rapprochement and the subsequent formation of the Entente. As a result, at the beginning of the 20th century, two blocs emerged in Europe - Great Britain, France and Russia, on the one hand, and Germany and Austria-Hungary, on the other.