January 18, 1871 on the map of Europe wasformed a new state, called the German Empire. The founding fathers of this state formation are considered to be an outstanding person who went down in history under the menacing name of the "Iron Chancellor" - Otto von Bismarck, as well as Wilhelm I Hohenzollern. The German Empire lasted until November 9, 1918, after which the monarchy, as a result of the November Revolution, was overthrown. It went down in history as a state characterized by power and a clearly established development strategy.
The German Empire is the name that has becomeapply Russian historiographers in the XIX century. The second Reich, the Kaiser Germany, is much less common in the literature. Its formation was facilitated by the following significant historical events:
- the disintegration of the German Union (1866);
- the war between Germany and Denmark (1864);
- war between such states as Austria and Prussia (1866);
- war between Prussia and France (1870-1871gg.);
- the creation of the North German Union (1866-1871).
In 1879, the Prussian King Wilhelm I, together withChancellor Otto von Bismarck declared war on France, in order to undermine its economy and influence the political situation of this country. As a result of military operations, they decided to unite Germany. The North German Union, which was created for this purpose, won a complete victory over the French, and in January 1871, Versailles announced that the creation of the German Empire had taken place. From that moment a new page appeared in world history. The unification not only of the countries of the German Union, but also of other states, which considered entering the empire as the most expedient for themselves began. Bavaria and other lands of southern Germany were part of the German Empire.
Austria flatly refused to join it.At the end of the Franco-Prussian War, France paid a huge contribution (five billion francs), so the formation of the German Empire did not start from scratch. Thanks to such a serious financial injection, this power was able to create its own economy. At the head was nominally the Kaiser (King) William I, but in fact the administration of the empire was taken over by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. States that were not part of the North German Union were forcibly subordinated to Prussia, so the creation of the German Empire can not be called a voluntary union. It consisted of twenty-two German monarchies and the cities of Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg, which at that time were free.
After the adoption of the Constitution in April 1871The German Empire was given the status of a federal state, and the Prussian king was given the title of emperor. For all time of its existence this title was used by three monarchs. This is William I, who was in power from 1871 to 1888, Frederick III, who remained in power only 99 days and William II (1888-1918). The last emperor, after the overthrow of the monarchy, fled to the Netherlands, where he died in 1941.
The formation of the German Empire was promotedthe national association of the German people and the speedy capitalization of Germany. But after this empire was created, its reactionary policy 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 conditions from a position of strength. It was at this time that the birth of nationalism began, which subsequently led to two world wars, various bloody revolutions and millions of dead, murdered 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 the rest of the peoples settled in the souls of the people of the German nation.
