UCSB Hist 133C, L 4:
Germany: 3 Empires, 4 Republics
by Prof. Marcuse, Jan. 12, 2004
(superceded by 2006 lecture)

What is Germany (Deutschland)?

What is a "state"? Empire?

What is a "state" II

First 2 Reichs

Important Point: haphazard, contingent way that central Europe became "Germany"

map of central Europe before 1806
map of central Europe prior to 1806: conglomerate of 236 states, emperor is elected
map German states ca. 1815
1819-1830: consolidation to 30 states

Germany's 1848 Revolution

Bismarck's Reich (1871-1918)

Important Changes in the 1890s: 1888 Wilhelm I dies, Frederick III dies after 100 days, Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser

1913 social insurance poster
This 1913 poster praises the German social insurance system, which was implemented by Bismarck to "take the wind out of the sails" of the social democratic movement in the 1880s


The sailors mutiny in Kiel on Nov. 6, 1918, triggering revolution and initiating the end of World War I

1890: William II drops "pilot" Bismarck (famous cartoon in satirical magazine Punch

What is "Germany"?


page by H. Marcuse, prepared for web 1/18/04, updated 1/20/04, 1/12/06
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