Re Unification Of East And West Germany example essay topic

What is "The German Question"? This is a question that has been posed by many analysts over the years, each having their own views on what fulfills this question. However, each agrees that it is a question of high complexity. According to Constantin Frantz, "The German Question is the most obscure, most involved and most comprehensive problem in the whole of modern history". What makes Germanys' question so difficult to pinpoint is the fact that for all of its existence, until 1871 and again in 1990, it has struggled to unify a nation into a single state. As history shows, the German nation has struggled to create its own nation-state.

Unlike France and Britain, Germany was a nation before it was a state. That is, its people had a strong sense of nationalism and common identity as a social entity but they were lacking a strong state, or a form of political organization that claims the exclusive right to govern a specific piece of territory. As Dahrendorf states; "We want to find out what it is in German society that may account for Germany's persistent failure to give a home to democracy in its liberal sense". But can we really analyze the problem in this way?

It has not always been the same "persistent failure" hindering Germany from giving a home for democracy, but rather the problems faced by Germany throughout history. To truly understand the German situation and its multiple struggles for unification, it is important to know the history of the present day Germany. This history is a very unique one, one very different from other European nations such as France and Britain. Therefore one can draw sharp contrasts between the process of national unification in Germany as compared to France or Britain. However, once established; "Compared with its historical precursors in England and France, industrialization in Germany occurred late, quickly, and thoroughly". Early German history can be traced back to the House of the Hohenzollern.

A family of German rulers, originating as a family of counts in Swabia in the 11th or 12th century. The Hohenzollerns ruled Prussia and eventually united and ruled Germany until the end of World War I. Their strong, rigidly disciplined armies gave Prussia a reputation for military excellence. During the 16th and 17th centuries, territorial rulers and city councils in Germany expanded their authority, often in conjunction with religious changes stemming from the Reformation. At the same time, capitalism expanded and the population grew, resulting in widespread inflation throughout the period and a greater polarization of wealth within German society. The trouble began in Protestant Bohemia, which is now the Czech Republic. In 1619 the Czechs refused to accept the Catholic Ferdinand II as king or future emperor.

In 1618 they had set up their own government, supported by several Protestant states. This also marks the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The long war ended in a draw, finalized by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. By the terms of the treaty, the sovereignty and independence of each of the almost 300 states of the Holy Roman Empire were fully recognized, leaving the emperor virtually powerless. The war had several devastating effects on Germany. Economically and socially, Germany lost about one-third of its people to war, famine, and emigration as well as much of its livestock, capital, and trade.

Many towns, especially in the north, were destroyed or bankrupt, and manufacturing and middle-class investment was extremely low. The Hohenzollern family, which had been granted Brandenburg in the 15th century, also held a number of other territories in the west. Outside the empire to the east, the Hohenzollerns had inherited Prussia as a Polish duchy in 1618 and converted it into an independent kingdom in 1701. Gradually, all the Hohenzollern lands came to be known as the kingdom of Prussia. This was one of the first steps of progress toward the unification, which was still almost two hundred years away.

Frederick William of Prussia, known as the Great Elector, reigned from 1640 to 1688. He was a sturdy, hardheaded soldier determined to unite his disparate possessions into a modern military state. He created an efficient, honest bureaucracy that filled the treasury and ran the country for the benefit of a large standing army. By 1678 he had established a military force of 40,000 that absorbed more than 50 percent of the state's revenue. Frederick's son, Frederick William I, developed a centralized financial system and a standing army of 90,000 by the time of his death in 1740. Frederick II refined and reorganized the Prussian government, economy, and army.

In the 18th century, Enlightenment theories of representative government inspired a desire for national unification and liberal reform among some Germans. This would not come until William I of Prussia his chief minister, Prince Otto von Bismarck, decided that Prussia must become unassailable and that unification must occur on Prussian terms. Bismarck was a Prussian Junker of forceful intellect, overbearing manner, and deep loyalty to the crown. Drawing on three decades of diplomatic experience, he astutely combined shrewd diplomacy with militarism in order to eliminate Austrian influence. Bismarck's social legislation is one of the glories of modern German history. Otto von Bismarck was truly the cornerstone for unifying Germany.

As a preliminary, Bismarck bought the neutrality of Russia, Italy, and France with friendly treaties. He then invited Austria in 1864 to join an invasion of Schleswig-Holstein, two Danish duchies. The Austrians and Prussians quickly defeated the Danes but soon fell out over control of the conquered duchies. On that excuse, Bismarck launched the Seven Weeks' War against Austria in 1866. Skillfully coordinating three armies, Prussian general Helmuth von Moltke quickly defeated the Austrians at K"oniggr " at. Bismarck, however, did not want to alienate Austria irrevocably and therefore made an easy peace.

Austria gave up Venice to Italian nationalists, while Prussia annexed Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover, and other states. In 1867 Bismarck organized the North German Confederation of 22 states without Austria; that year Austria became the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Bismarck next maneuvered a war with France, partly to overcome southern German fears of an enlarged Prussia by gaining their support in military action. In 1870 the aggressive French emperor Napoleon unwisely pressed William I to promise that a Hohenzollern would never take the vacant Spanish throne. Bismarck distorted William's account of the incident to make it seem as if the French had been insulted and then published the account.

The outraged French declared war. Stirred by new national loyalty, the southern German states joined forces behind Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War. Prussia's seasoned armies conquered the disorganized French at Sedan and, after a long siege, took Paris in 1871. At Versailles on January 18, 1871, he persuaded a reluctant William to become head of a restored German Empire, the Second Reich.

Prussian and German statesman Prince Otto von Bismarck, known as the Iron Chancellor for the strength of his leadership, was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871, .".. the German question has its definite origin in the decades determined by the political activity of Bismarck". On the last remark, back to Dahrendorf's question "Is not Bismarck's social legislation one of the glories of modern German History"? I would have to say yes! Not only was Bismarck one of the glories of modern German history, but he is the one that finally, for the first time, unified Germany.

A feat like this cannot be denied, he accomplished what many other before him had attempted and failed to do. He answered part of the German question. The question of when Germany will finally be unified. Now it was time for Imperial Germany to begin their impressive Industrial Revolution. The Germans were quick to industrialize once on their feet. Stating Dahrendorf, who nails German industrialization on the spot, "Compared with its historical precursors in England and France, industrialization in Germany occurred late, quickly, and thoroughly".

As England and France flourished in their industrialization, industrialization in Germany increased tenfold. "Characteristic of industrialization in Germany: its speed. While industrial expansion proceeded gradually in England, the process was compressed in Germany into a comparatively short span of time... German industrialization was not only late and rapid but also thorough may be demonstrated most easily by a comparison with France, where, after an early start, the process lay nearly dormant for a century". However, this quick industrialization may have caused the explosion of social development and political consequences, "We can discover, in the industrial society of Imperial Germany, the explosive potential of recent German social development and its political consequences. It is neither the speed and lateness of industrialization as such... but the encounter and combination of these two strains of development in Imperial Germany that form the explosive core of a society in which the liberal principle could settle only haltingly and occasionally".

So now we come back to that everlasting question, what is "The German Question"? What about National Socialism and Hitler's Nazi regime? As Dahrendorf asks "How was National Socialism possible?" Many factors play into this question and one must understand the circumstances under which the Nazis came to power. During the early 1920's Germany faced many political and economical problems, along with run-away inflation. Unemployment was out of hand and by November 15, 1923 the German Mark was worthless, with 4,200,000,000,000 Marks to one Dollar! During this hyper-inflation, Hitler attempted to overthrow the German government in his famous Beer Hall Putsch.

After a short imprisonment, the party was in need for some rebuilding to become a charismatic party. The key to Hitler's success was his amazing charisma. The Nazis started to appeal to small shop keepers, farmers, and urban workers. Making promises like creating jobs for the German people, providing a "Volkswagen" to people who did not own a car, and the incredible amounts of propaganda, one can start to understand the support for the NSAP in Germany during a post war depression that had brought the country into ruins. Hitler's plan for Gleichschaltung, or coordination, started with his Enabling Act, making him the lone and only Fuehrer of the German Reich.

Kraus nick says; "Co-ordination is the revolution", and so it was. Hitler was everyone's hope for a new Reich, and a new age of flourishing. It may not be very easy to understand how National Socialism was possible after the World learned about the horrible acts perpetrated by the Nazis, but at the time the Nazis were the best option and hope for the future of Germany. That is why National Socialism was possible. The fall of the Berlin Wall had several effects on Germany.

First of all, one must understand that the social mentality gap between the east and West Germans during the fall of the wall was simply too great. The East Germans were 40 years behind in time, and it was up to the West Germans to bring them up to date. This was no simple process, in order to accomplish something like this it would take two to three generations to wipe out the mentality gap. To this day this still has not been fully accomplished.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things is that the east "thinks" different. They have in fact been living under a communist rule since World War II, and to just bring people that are used to communism into a democracy is not an easy task. One continuous problem is the unemployment factor. Where West Germany had a consistent unemployment rate of 8-10% the rate of East Germany was closer to 20%. More importantly, the re-unification of east and West Germany ended up costing the West Germans a lot more money than originally thought. "To finance many of these programs the DDR began to borrow heavily from Western Europe, and above all, from the Federal Republic".

Really one of the main ways that the fall of the Berlin Wall transformed German politics is the fact that it cost an unimaginable amount of money, more than anyone ever thought. As far as politics themselves go, the PDS, which is the old east commie party, had more influence on German politics. However, this was still a relatively small one, since a party needs at least 5% of the national vote to be let into the Bundestag. As a whole the CDU and the SPD have been and still are the strongest parties in Germany. The CSU is also strong in Bayern, as they are part of the CDU, in Bayern they are called CDU-CSU.

The FDP is a coalition partner and they have a tendency to swing between the CDU and SPD. There are also the Greens who have a minimal influence on German politics. Perhaps the biggest transformation factor in German politics was done by no one but the great Helmut Kohl. Kohl was known as "Der Kanzler der Wiedervereinigung", which means the chancellor of the re-unification. He always believed in the reunification of Germany, whereas the SPD always pushed to have the DDR as a separate state. Kohl along with Gens cher formed a coalition to reunify Germany.

They were successful in 1989, and Helmut Kohl went into German history as one of the greatest leaders of modern Germany. I think the best question posed by Dahrendorf is the one of; "When is Germany? And where is Germany?" Dahrendorf also answers this question later in his analysis, and I hope that I have provided some insight on answering these two very important aspects of "The German Question."When is Germany? Roughly speaking, in the last hundred years. Where is Germany?

In all territories that belonged to Germany during this span of time". I believe this is truly the most important aspect of the German Question given the countries' constant struggle for unification. Now that Germany is finally reunited it is on a straight track to the great country it should be.

Bibliography

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Wal bruck, Harry A. Deutschland; Ein neuer Anfang. National Textbook Company, Lincolnwood, Illinois 1992.