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World War I -- World War I turn-of-the century Europe Germany
Turn-of-the-Century Europe: The Great Powers--Germany
Figure 1.-- Germany was the most industrialized country in Europe. But one thing that you do not see in German cities is cars and trucks. This is a street scene in Nuremberg about 1910 just before the War. We do see a bycycle. The autmobile and internal combustion engime was invented in Germany. Britain anf France were in aslightly better situatioin, but only in America would it become an imortant new industry. If a car or truck had appeared here it would have attracted considerable attention. The problemn for Germany is that trucks, tanks, and aircraft engines all required internal combustiin engines. An Germnany unlkike Ameruca did not have an autombile industry which could be converted for war. Nor did have the oil needed to mpower those enhines. In the final year of the War this would be a major factor in the failure of German arms. When viewing this imafe, ewmber that Germany was the mosd highly industrilized country in Europe.
Many European wars had been fought in Germany or by Germany in the centuries before Germany was unified. This swas common because og=f Germny's location in central Europe. The Thirty Years War had ravaged Germany (17th century). The climatic land battle between Britain and France was fought in of all places Bavaria (1704). Napoleoion's greatest victory was in the Austrian empire--Austerlitz (1805) followed by Jenna in Prussia (1806). German unification had been decided by war, in fact three wars masterfully orcestrated by Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Unification was a contest between Austria and Prussia. In the end, Prussia which industrialized and Austria which did not won the rivalkry for unification. It was in Germany, especially Protestsnt northern Germany that public education began (18th century). Industrialization gave Prussia the military mussle to defeat Austria (1866). Germany after defeating France unified around the Prussian monarchy--the Hohenzollerns (1871). The king of Prussia becane the German emperor (kaiser). Imperial Germany was a new, highly nationalistic state heavily influenced by the Prussian Junker class. This gave the German military tremendous prestige as well as made the use of force acceptable if not ingrained into the German mind. On the other hand, Germany had the largest Socialist movement in Europe with a strong Marxist belief that that war the product of capitaism and imperialism. It was Bismarck of all people, who competing with the Socilists invented the welfare state. He created programs like social security, old age pensions, and sickness insurance. Imperial Germnny had a strong national government, but the kaiser was not a dictator. Imperial Germany was dominated by largely Protestant Prussia, but unificatuon added the largelky Catholic south. Bismarck's Kulturkampof was largely unsuccessful--a rare Bismarkian failure. Jews who fled oppression in Tsarist Russia became a small minority, but as a result of emancipation came to play an important cultural and economic role, leading to anti-semitism, although it was less pronounced than in France. What was pronouced was the increasing importance of Volkish thought, a reaction to the the huge impact of intdustrialization on German life. Even before unification, the German states, especially Prussia, were on their way to becoming highly indudtrislized. Germany led the industrial revolution on the Continent, but pursued a different path than Britain and America. The Prussian/German state played a major role in industrialization, a kind of state-guided capitalism. The railroads which played a huge role in the military victory over Austria (1866) were planned which took into account military uses. The Government also supported industrial expoansion with miltary contracts. Krupp Steel became a major arms producer. Steel production eventually surpoassed British, but not American production. Industry developed to the point that Germany was no longer self sufficent in food peoduction. It had to import food as well as the raw materials needed for its industry. Britain was in the same position, but had the Royal Navy to protect its maritime sea life lines. Germany did not have a navy of any consequence. And when with Kaiser Wilhelm II's support for beginning to build one, this along with the Kaiser's belicose behvior, was seen as highly provocative in Britain. And Germany's steel industry gave the country the ability to compoete with Britain. Germany had a rich cultural life. European music wa dominated by Germam composers. Kaiser Wilhelm II was Queen Victoria's grandson. But the Princess of Wales and future queen, Alexandria, was a Danish princess who despised both Bismarck and the Kaiser becuse of Prussia's invasion of her homeland (1864). Germany did not lead in the early European scientific advances This changed with German iundustrialization. By the turn of the 20th century, Germany was the world's leading scintific nation which can be seen by Nobel Prize awards. Germany was the leading nation, but Britain and France combined exceed the German awards by a substantial margin and America was becoming an important participant.
Sources
Clark, Christopher. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War (2013), 736p.
Darwin, Charles. Origin of the Species (1859).
McMeekin, Sean. July 1914: Countdown to War (2013), 480p.
Snyder, Laura J. William Whewell (Stanford University: 2000).
