How Did the German Empire Actually Work?
In 1871, Germany went from being a region full of separate states to being an empire. That certainly came with its complications, as the needs of a full cast of characters (from princes, to politicians, to the ordinary masses) now had to be accommodated within a single state. With the support of the new German Emperor, the Kaiser, one man set out to mold the new Germany in his image; his name was Otto von Bismarck, and he would design a multifaceted governmental structure for the empire. It would be one that ultimately put nearly all power in his own hands.
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Sources Consulted:
Headlam, James Wycliffe. Bismarck and the Foundation of the German Empire. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1899. E-book by Project Gutenberg. Edited by Evelyn Abbott, M.A. Balliol College, Oxford University, 2004.
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12400
Krüger, Fritz-Konrad. Government and Politics of the German Empire. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y: World Book Co., 1915. Digitised by the University of British Columbia, 2010.
archive.org/details/governmen...
Miller, Stuart T. Mastering Modern European History. London: Macmillan Education LTD, 1990.
Thomson, Henry. “Landholding Inequality, Political Strategy, and Authoritarian Repression: Structure and Agency in Bismarck’s ‘Second Founding’ of the German Empire.” Studies in Comparative International Development 50, no. 1 (2015): 73-97.
FINALLY, a video that actually addresses the complexities of this empire. It was not a simple unified state like France was, it was a weird mix between a confederation and a unitary state, a monarchy and dictatorship and an authoritarian and liberal state all at the same time. Thanks for this video
^ This very much.
King of Prussia, King in Prussia, German Emperor, Emperor in Germany
you can say it’s a more organised version of the Holy Roman Empire
@@IllyrianMapper not really, it was much more centralised and worked in cohesion
@@micahistory yeah that’s what I mean, it was one country not a collection of one the German empire was still split up in states and stuff, but they were unified, if you see maps you will still see Prussia as some sort of entity along with others I’m saying that it’s sort of like the HRE, most of these entities (I forgot what they were actually called) used to be separate kingdoms so you can say it’s the HRE but WAY more organised, and as one nation
Bear with me for a sec and a rough summary of a part of german history: - 1848/49 failed german revolution - 1864, 1866 and 1870/71 german wars against Denmark, Austria and France - the entire duration of the German Empire/Reich, three Emperors/Kaisers, up until WW1 1914-1918 - the depressing, the golden and the crappy twenties - the Nazis' rise to power 1933 and then WW2 until 1945 - occupation and creation of the two separate german states 1949 Noticed something? All of this happened over the course of just one hundred years. I wanna bet that at the moment the two german states were created, there were people alive who have personally witnessed ALL OF THIS. How insane is that.
Well, we came so late the the "Unified country" party (all the cool kids come late, ya know) we had to speedrun history.
August von Mackensen, German Field Marshal in WW1, lived from 1849 to 1945, thus witnessing the rise and fall of his country.
While it’s wild, it is not as crazy as it may sounds to us, as the last 80ish years (starting from 1945) were very “static” compared to the previous ones. For example the first French Revolution started in 1789, Napoleon III sized power after the second revolution in 1851. People who where kids during French absolutism lived trough absolutism, revolution and first republic, napoleonic empire, restoration of absolute monarchy, a second revolution and a second republic, then a second empire. People born in 1780 where in their 70s during the second empire. A similar political turmoil can be seen in Italy too, during the napoleonic wars, in 1805 Napoleon created the kingdom of Italy as a vassals state, which was dissolved with his defeat. The peninsula is mostly controlled by foreign countries until 1861, when the unification happens, and it’s a constitutional monarchy, in 1920 the fascists rise to power and rule for over 20 years. Even if we count only the unification, in 80 years (a lifetime) they lived through foreign domination (mostly Austria and Spain) / a small local ruler / a theocracy (the papal states), then a mildly liberal-conservative monarchy, a fascists dictatorship, the occupation by the American and the first republic.
Human history is amazing and scary at the same time
Same as Japanese citizen who was a child during the Meiji Industrialisation, witnessed the Russo and Sino-Japanese wars, WW1, Taishō democracy, Fascism, WW2, American occupation, Korean War and economic miracle after Or a German born in 1905-1995 Saw the German Empire, Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East and West Germany and the Bundesrepublik Holy shit
Fun fact: the Japanese 1880 Meiji Constitution was strongly influenced by the governance system of the German empire. In fact, even today Japan’s legislature is called the Diet.
It's funny that the German empire wasn't even a decade old and Meji regime was like ya they seem to know what they're doing
Isn't it more like the English one?
@@SchmulKrieger the current post war Constitution is a Westminster system, but the pre WW2 Meiji Constitution from 1880 was structured similar to the German Empire.
@@frozenflame5858 And that how they got into WW2. I mean the Taisho Democracy proven that. I wouldn't want to be the Prime Minister. Man can you imagine you was ensuring your country peace but then the some crazy navy officer came in and shoot you. Then the other civilian government offcials got assasinated because the Army wanted not to be outdone by the Navy. Heck even to the point plan to capture the Emperor.
Thank you for finally posting a non-biased and informative video about the German Empire. Misinformation and the sensitivity of the subject due to WW1/2 have made people throw it into the same pot as the third Reich here in Germany. Many principles and systems still remain today, and I think it’s important especially for Germans to understand our own history, especially this important time period.
The germans lmao gottem
Grape time
What
Next time I’ll hear Reichstag being pronounced „reishtag”, I’m jumping of a window
Rise tahk
@Vandole Sure, but as proved in a previous comment this is not the case. Just say "Rise tahk". It's still not the same, but way more true to the original pronunciation
It's a weird pronunciation, indeed! I've heard it be pronounced "Rike's Tag" in English, and then a different way in German (with the ch being pronounced like the ch in Scottish "loch"), but never "Reishtag"! Thanks for the comment!
The ch in Reich is pronounced like Charly without the -arly part.
Not at all. It is pronounced like the ch in loch. @@12tanuha21
If Frederick the 3rd didn’t die at the hands of that damned throat cancer we could’ve probably seen a progressively more liberal country, and therefore, more friendly Germany compared to the one at Wilhelm the 2nd’s hands. Although, now that I remember, the populace at the time also agreed with Wilhelm the 2nd’s ideology of expansionism and imperialism but maybe Frederick the 3rd’s ability to sustain and moderate the pressure of his people was better than Wilhelm’s. Guess we’ll never know… Great video bro and an amazing subject as-well!!
Thanks. You're right we'll never know, but I'm with you on Frederick being considerably more liberal than his father, and probably more sensible than his son.
@@LookBackHistory If Frederick had lived, it's very possible that Britain would be on good terms with Germany and Britain might not have entered WW1 at all. Then again, it's also possible that Frederick would have made the empire a constitutional one and there's no telling how the Reichstag's foreign policies would be. Although Germany might be much less interested in colonies and a huge navy and more interested in economic dominion.
More liberal = less freedom = more power to rich people
@@GoldsteinShekelbergSwartz "freedom is when big authority"
You mean III* II*, II*, and III*?
As someone who is interested in history (and also Germany), I found this to be quite informative! This political system was a combination of a democratic legislature, an authoritarian executive, and three states with their own armies... all presided over by a "first among equals" _Kaiser_ and/or a chancellor! Thanks for the video! You've got a new subscriber!
Dictatorships work great when the dictator is an intellectual who cares for the nation.
Like Fredrick the Great
It wasn’t a dictatorship
Thank you for going over the government structure! I've been wondering about that for a long time beyond the basics!
Informative, nuanced and amazing narration. Keep up the amazing work! 💗🤞✨
Underrated. Great work man
A pretty accurate depiction of how the empire was constructed for once. You did a very good job at explaining the complexity of it all - sadly (but obviously because you probably didn't plan on doing an hour long video) there wasn't enough time to go more indepth about the political situations (and you probably didn't want to). Gotta say, Frederick not dying so soon is one of the greatest what if scenarios in history, but people shouldn't forget, the system wasn't just relying on a good relation between chancellor and Kaiser but also on there being a talented man to fill the gap Bismarck would leave, after all, he was very old already and died a few years after he left office. And we don't know much about Frederick's attitude towards politics and reigning since he was more or less banned from politics because he kind of rebelled against Bismarck and his father many years prior. Oh yeah, and Wilhen II would happen anyways, and who knows, maybe even a constitutionally run germany would've taken a more historical Wilhelm II stance in international politics
This was a very informative video. Could you actually do a similar set of videos describing how the constitutions and governments of the First and Second French Empires worked?
Very well made video, only one pedantic correction: 0:33 Deutsches Kaiserreich is shown on screen, which is a retroactive term for Germany in this time period, used nowadays to differentiate between Imperial Germany, Weimar Germany and Nazi Germany. The state was known as "Deutsches Reich" during it's time, which roughly means "German Realm".
wonderfull, you find another sneaky mistake, well done. ( the other i notice is the border to belgium)
Not Nazi Germany but NS Germany. Nazi Germany is a degoratory term for German Empire and retroactive term used by allies. Such a childish official name by allies.
@@magicman6381 ...no? Nobody has ever referred to the German Empire as Nazi Germany before. That is a name exclusively used for the 3rd Reich. And I'm sorry, why are we concerned about the sensitivities of f*cking Nazis?
Keep up the good work, I think your channel is going to take off soon!
Thanks!
Very interesting video!
Great video i subscribed
Hope your channel blows up one day dude
Thanks, doing pretty well atm!
Great video
Amazing video
I love this channel, it is so interesting and makes subjects that perhaps wouldn't be entirely enticing very catching and enjoyable. I hope one day my channel (also a history channel) will be as gripping as yours! Best the Knight of History.
The major drawback of Bismark's political ideology is that it relied on the people in charge being reasonable and competent. Neither of which were qualities that Wilhelm's successor would demonstrate. I believe Bismark basically warned Wilhelm II of this when they last met shortly before Bismark died.
Fascinating subject
Hello! Can you do a similar video about the Russian Empire?
Possibly!
How did things work at a local level? Like municipal level like cities and such. Did Imperial Germany have mayors? And what would be the local government of rural areas? Does a local count decide things or are there local administrators?
Ah yes, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who made attempts to make peace with virtually everyone and anyone in Europe somehow had more belligerent foreign policy.
Bavaria is, still today, kinda doing it‘s own thing most of the time
I find it interesting that, no matter when or how, any attempts to try and *absolutely* centralize Germany and many of her historical states had never really happened, and the most achieved from such attempts were varying degrees of federation. Even under Evil Charlie Chaplin, most of the centralization could be attributed to his personal charisma and effective cronyism. Hell, even today, Germany's cousins of Austria and Switzerland are federations, though the former had at least *some* success with high central authority... But it always seemed to go downhill when they tried, like their many previous attempts in the HRE/Austria-Hungary days...
Basically the Drake and similarly-formatted memes. The Germans when: Any true centralized authority. *_No._* A nightmarishly-confusing confederation. *_Yes._*
"Nightmare confederation is the superior government form, fuck right off Brandenburg" *-this post was brought to you by the Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland Pfalz gang*
Fun Fact: germany reformed itself to absoulte central authorian State under 1 Person for a short time between 1933 and 1945. However after some advise from outside, it was decided that that might could be dangerous unbalanced.
Meanwhile France might honestly be the most centralized big western european country
Just to add Bavaria had it's own army, diplomatic corp and embassies, railways, postage stamps, it's very different from what a state of a normal federation would have had.
however in war time, they had to send their army to the the Reich, without controll for the time.
@@thelastprussian6491 interesting flag, I’m guessing being proud to be Prussian and proud of our traditions yet open and welcoming towards European unity and liberal views, exactly how I see things for myself.
@@prussianangler yeah almost, i also see Prussia as an sucesfull example for it's time and hope for the EU as well. ,,where are we from=-where will we go?'' Not because Prussia was ,,better'' than our present day germany, but becaue it was victorius and teaching in it's downfall. And finally, without the EU i was to often connected to right-wing politics.
@@thelastprussian6491 wirklich schade, dass die Preußische Flagge sowie die Wirmer-Flagge von Rechtsextremisten so missbraucht werden. Preußen(gerade unter den Alten Fritz) war unglaublich tolerant für die Zeit, und stand für Fortschritt und Wissenschaft.
underrated channel
I always thought it was a similar, but less democratic, system as the UK. In the sense that Prussia is like England, ruling over the other kingdoms. Coincidentally, if Frederick III didn't have cancer (consequence of smoking so much), he would have made Germany more constitutional in order to make it more like the UK.
England didn't rule over the other countries of the UK either
The German upper house was a bit like a fusion of the American House of Representatives and pre-17th amendment Senate, but more authoritarian.
That’s true. I’ve never thought of it that way.
@@user-qi5jw2hg1c *Ireland has entered the chat*
Except Germany had its own king Unlike Scotland Wales which rule by personal union under English King ( yeah i know, Stuart was from Scotland being ask by England nobles to become English king after previous King die without heir, aka it was Scotland rule over England in theory not the other way)
Damnnnnn, I just realised your channel only has 20k subs; your quality is worth 20M subs however. Keep up the good work! Can you please do some videos on India too? Like on the Maratha Empire or the kingdom of Prithvi Raj Chauhan, the last Hindu King of Delhi or the Sikh Empire or the Gurkha Empire etc etc.
One thing I sure know is between 1914 and 1918 the way the empire was governed severely changed, going from kaisers to generals in total control.
very enlightnening video if i dare say so myself
A small note: The small prussian spot in southern Germany had been the up to 1849 the Independent principalities Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern - Hechingen. In territory of Hohenzollern - Hechingen there was Hohenzollern castle , which was the root of Hohenzollern dynasty, both prussian and swabian Branch.
This was the 2nd Reich 1871-1918. I would also like to see a video about how the 1st Reich until 1806 worked? I know, it lasted for centuries, almost a millennium, so things may have changed a lot over time. As far as I know - The emperor did not intervene much in the internal administration of the smaller local kingdoms, dukedoms, whatever. - The title as emperor could not be inherited. The emperor was elected by a council of prince electors. As soon as an emperor was elected, he could rule until death.
You can't lump the HRE which existed over a millenia into a single governance system. Wether you start with the Carolingian or Ottonian dynasty it was actually the most centralized state in western Europe. The emperorship was also inherited by the sons. The Ottonian dynasty did much to consolidate the imperial power and bind the church as its bureaucratic arm and reduce the priveliges of the stem dukes. It was the struggle with the papacy that gave the dukes a chance to weaken the emperor's power and authority. Its is also ironic that the final nail into the emperors any vestiges of central authority was the 30 years war, a war waged by the emperor in behalf of the pope to whon through centuries worked to weakened the emperors powers
The fact that the South German states were more culturally like Austria than Prussia was probably why Bismarck was reluctant to use military force to get them to unite with Prussia. He probably and correctly feared that had any type of military force to get them to join Prussia that they would've likely turned to Austria for help, which would've made things very messy
My guy's riding the algorithm train!
A little bit, lol.
@@LookBackHistory Ηappy to see the channel thriving again, after those long breaks and low numbers I thought you were gonna quit, but I'm very glad you didn't
more should be mentioned imo about the wars with denmark and austria esp the latter they were in many ways just as crucial as the one with france in reunfication especially austria in terms of which german state would be top dog so to speak
i love this empire
You'll appreciate some upcoming videos!
@@LookBackHistory okay dude im subscribed
@@moumouhigi5837 Literally just finished a script on Frederick the Great.
@@LookBackHistory looking forward to see that
Also the Kaiser had the supreme saying over the colonies and the army, the Reichstag had the final decision about the budget, what have them imense power - If they could find a majority. A good example for that were the revolts in South-West-Africa (Namibia) which ended in a genocide. At the begining of the revolt only parts of the SPD dissagreed with the use of brutal force. But after more people heard about the brutal crimes and it seemed that it would need an expensive occupation, the Reichstag denied the budget for the buildung of railroad and the funding of additional troops. Because of that, the gouvernement was forced to end the conflict with the tribes.
How did the states change? How did the Weimar government (not) work?
Like this but with a President
Exactly. In theory the parliament had way more power. In practice the president ruled via emergency decrees because no working government could be formed due to the extremely fractioned parliament.
In short: Proportional Representation, angry people, and a weak constitution that allows for an effective Presidential Dictatorship (Articles 48 and 25 most of all).
What happened with Wilhelm the 2nd and Bismarck is the end result of the clash of 2 intractable egos. Fun fact: Wilhelm the 2nd was willing to at least make Bismarck the head of foreign affairs as he recognized and respected Bismarck's accomplishments/ability in terms of foreign policy. Bismarck was like "Chancellor or Bust" If History Matters is accurate, Bismarck resigned as a ploy to get Wilhelm the 2nd to see how important in running the he(Bismarck)empire was It was a strategy Bismarck used a few times on Wilhelm the 1st whenever the 2 of them had any disagreements/falling outs, Wilhelm the 1st always caved in. When Bismarck tried it on Wilhelm the 2nd, his response was :"Later nerd*. I can definitely see Wilhelm the 2nd's point in wanting to be his own Kaiser and do things in his own way,but without Bismarck,the system of alliances created to isolate France collapsed and the path to WW1 was accelerated.
3:40 when the “evil dictatorship” is more democratic then you
Why is volume so low of video?
Had some slight audio trouble on this one. Sorry about that!
Prussia was terribly dominant in the German Empire and Prussia even included regions that felt not the slightest bit Prussian such as the Rhineland and even my home city Frankfurt eventually became Prussian after it chose the wrong side in the Prussian- Austrian war. It was a frustrating experience for the once proud Frankfurt.
This is great quality, and you're still not popular. Commenting for bragging rights when you blow up in 6 months time.
8:50 BUT Treaty of Björkö it’s not his fault it wasn’t ratified
How dies it Work? Great!
Under Bismarck? Pretty much.
Bismark once said that Russia is German India,colony,which gives resources and food and get technology for them.Still not much changed
Looking at the dy’amics of the start of WW1, I am Inclined to think that Kaiser Wilhem II lost control of the empire to the military junta before 1914.
Wilhelm and Bismarck were a weird pair. Bismarck wasn’t ambitious or liberal enough to assume power for himself, and replace the emperor, yet ruled like one. Wilhelm had to accept a crying plea from Bismarck to be given the role of “Emperor of Germany”, and didn’t desire the power others wanted him to have
Criticism is welcome? That deserves a sub, also what the fuck was that ad 💀
3:42 I thought 1918 was when Britain enacted female suffrage, but universal male suffrage had been a thing since 1878 practically.
FINALLY, a video that isnt bogged down by the host mugging in front of the camera which distracts from content and continuity.
It's interesting to see how the German Empire actually worked. This is a subject rarely discussed in history
Bismarck's legacy is two side: at one side he creates first unified modern Germany but also making its system easily abused by autocratic power that resulted in 2 world wars. The new modern Germany today is very different than Bismarckian one, it's more of American blueprint.
It was a nice video all up untill the mention of Kaiser Wilhelm II, one could not mess up his characterization than this. The issue that Bismarck had with Willy was that he didn't let Bismarck (who by then was getting senile) rule the country as he did in the times of his grandfather, by which I mean Wilhelm I was very easy to influence, for example Bismarck threatened him by selfdefenestration on multiple occasions if the Kaiser wouldn't do his bidding. Wilhelm II was the opposite, he didn't let the Bismarck walk all over him, especially since the two had diametrically oposed aproaches to the pleas of the masses, Bismarck wanting to shoot striking workers, Wilhelm personally mediating talks with the employers. When it comes to the foreign policy it was Bismarck who ruined his own alliance by the time of the congress of Berlin, after that the fate of the tripple crown alliance was sealed. But Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted nothing more than peace, that's why the only war he partook in was called upon him. He tried his best to keep things peacefull in Europe but his plans were twarthed by French and British at every step, one out of resentment, the other of envy. I hope next time you will focus more on your area of expertese and limit the topic to government innerworkings, not the characters of the people leading it.
Well Willy’s views and foreign policies stirred up trouble, for example the Morocco Crisis of 1905, caused the British to ally with their long time enemy France and ofc his obsession of having the strongest Navy causing an arms race with Britain. These were some of the main factors for WW1. Also being as impulsive as he was, he said things in ways he didn’t mean. Just listen to the “Hunnenrede”, where he drastically exaggerated his message and was used later on as allied propaganda. He came over as aggressive and war-mongering, although he tried to prevent WW1 once it started. A highly complex character, but his actions did escalate indirectly and directly into WW1.
@@prussianangler Morocco crisis was caused by the French trying to take over a sovereign nation which had trading relationships with Germany. They staged a coup trying to overthrow the sultan. The naval race was a race only to the British who were paranoid and nonsensical. Germany didn't try to compete, they wanted to protect their growing trade in times where piracy was still common. Even dummer they were since Wilhelm expressed his desire to cooperate with the British many times (which caused backlash at home for being too friendly). He wanted his navy to be a worthy ally, not competitor. It was mainly Edward who was jealous of Wilhelm's relationships with queen Victoria, early ascention to the throne and a competent rule. I would put the blame on Edward's blinding hate and envy for breakdown in German-English relations and ultimately the ww1. But I am glad that you at least recognize the complexity of Wilhelm's character.
@@nilsmadej9091 I have always seen Willy as the tragic villain/ misunderstood leader. The Morocco crisis and the arms race are complex topics, just like the whole of Europe at the time. It didn’t matter who had the right intentions, but in the end his decisions to intervene in Morocco did make the British and French put their differences aside, and he did have an outrageous obsession with the Navy, which in the end didn’t help Germany at all. I always see Germany and Britain to be very similar countries at that time, and if Germany would have won Germany nowadays would be comparable to Britain today. If the international relations were properly managed and not acted upon Willy’s impulses(no matter the intention), it would’ve been the British and Germans with Austria Hungary and the Ottoman Empire( and maybe even the Italians) against France, Russia, and Serbia if the war still would’ve broken out(very likely). This would’ve avoided the dreaded Versailles Treaty and extremists and the evil national socialists wouldn’t even have a chance to rise to power. Contrary to popular beliefs, the German Empire was becoming more liberal and also was already more liberal than most other European nations(as the video mentions).
@@prussiananglerIf anything my friend the Moroccan Crisis work best for Britian when the French decide they sell all of their share of Egypt Suez to Britian which mean Egypt Suez completely under Britain. French already got thing smooth over quickly.
@@prussiananglerThe naval arm race with Germany is what i call stupid of overeating on Britain part . I mean even in the long run Germany can't beat British in not navy it did cause concern but to the point of overacting like this. Especially it more hyperactive i don't see them do anything or have any power to stop the USA from expanding it navy which to the it on pair with the Royal Navy by the end of WW1. Come on Britain if want to keep your navy the best in the world why don't they try anything to stop USA from expanding it navy as well. But when Germany do it they complain and worry. That why i said Britain overreacted to German Navy who even less worth then the USA navy.
I don't know why but flags with eyes and eyebrows work
Having a hard time hearing this video...Your others are fine. I listen on my phone, and the volume makes it hard to understand what's being said 😨
Pretty sure the official name was just “Deutsches Reich” not “Deutches Kaiserreich”
gotta love the german empire
Yes. Long live the Kaiser
A large part of Germany's superiority is due to the values that Prussia created and spread among the Germans, such as discipline and seriousness in work, reverence for science and education, and these values were created in Prussia by a few great leaders "the Fredericks " Sometimes the decision of a few people in power changes the fate of an entire country and the fate of the whole world
Comment to boost the algorithm
The Reichstag isn't pronounced that way. It is Rechs-tag, not Reich-stag, so the st rule doesn't apply.
Good point! Furthermore, I've never heard the "ch" in _Reichstag_ be pronounced _that_ way! Thanks for commenting!
Ah poor Bismarck. He basically saw the World sail into the first World War 20 years before anyone else. His advice ignored while being given a backseat. All Germany had to do, was stay friends with Russia, not challenge the British and go hunting deer with some Austrian diplomats from time to time. Serbia would probably still be invaded because, well. Conrad von Hotzendorf. And Austria would have been clapped.
Yep. Bismarck would turn over in his grave if he knew what happened to Germany after his death.
You're right for sure. The only problem at the time was the mass mobilization of the great powers which forced war.
Wilhelm II was a great ruler and did not have a belligerent foreign policy. Please read up more on his rule.
Calling Wilhelm II an adopter of a "much more belligerent foreign policy" is just plain wrong. His goal was never war. If it was, he would've attacked Russia in 1905, when the Russo-Japanese war was still in full force, or shortly after, when it's aftermaths still lay heavy upon Russia. However instead of doing that, he wrote an alliance offer to Tsar Nicolas. The Tsar was very close to accepting it even, but was convinced not to due to his many francophile advisors. He worked towards keeping the peace until the very last moment. One of the very prominent germans generals at the time (iirc it was either Ludendorf or von Moltke) is also said to essentially have a mental breakdown upon hearing the declaration of war. Because he could not believe it to be true. I can see you are quite interested in History and i appreciate you making videos like these which can be relatively informative on surface level topics, or serve as an alright introduction to them. But i find it hard to watch stuff like this nowadays due to the many facts people seem to get wrong about this era.
so basically a smaller Holy Roman Empire that is just i little less complicated and more unified while still being a total mess 😑
Can you do more pre 19th century history Like Rise Of Islam Ottoman wars Mongol conquests Ming treasure fleet Indian empires
Bismarck.
Many of those so-called "great men" seem to forget that great or not all men do die. Not even a lifetime after his legacy was achived, it's as if he didn't achived anything at all.
@Vandole Bismark wasn't a German as much as he was a Prussian.
@@kersacoft what an absurd counter"argument". Bismarcks greatest achievements were the foundation of germany and healthcare/social insurance - his achievements are still arround
His ideas still remain
@@konsumkind99 Don't forget the purpose behind those achivements. Bismark opposed the unification under any terms that didn't result on Prussia's supremacy over the rest of the states, he didn't care for a German Empire but for a Prussian Empire, and that he most definetively lost. Same with his social insurance, he didn't created it for it's own sake but as a necessary compromise to ensure the security of the aristocratic order. What others have made with the scraps of his work is less relevant, Bismark fought for Prussia and it's ruling class, and none of that is still arround.
@@kersacoft you know, the possitions and motives of people change during their lifetime, so there are a lot of different oppinions bismarck held how a united germany should be. Bismarck as a chancelor was aware of his duty and ofc wanted Prussia to be the leading state of the empire, but if u read on his personal letters to Ludwig II of Bavaria, you suddenly see a different Bismarck, more open to other concepts of an united germany. Sure, the social insurance was a compromise to lessen the influence of the SPD etc., but he could have also chosen a different policy for that. He also saw the benefits a healthy population has on the production efficiency and ammount of recruitable soldiers for example. Peoples choices are seldom monocausal. So lets look at two of your statements: 1. „Not even a lifetime after his legacy was achived, it's as if he didn't achived anything at all.“ 2. "What others have made with the scraps of his work is less relevant, Bismark fought for Prussia and it's ruling class, and none of that is still arround." So, if others used bismarck as a foundation, his actions are still relevant and ist not like he didnt achieve anything. Bismarck is also not a cartoon character whos only driven by abstract concepts like „Prussia“ or „the ruling class“ (and ist not like those two things didnt change during his rule). If you look at the ammount of receptions and biographies written about him, its hard to argue his legacy is nonexistent. If you dont agree on that, the rest of the argument is basically a question of your worldview and how nihilistic you want to be. Does anything really matter? Is there smth as a legacy or is legacy gone, the moment smth changes? Do we have a free will, or are we only driven by the satisfaction of basic needs? But i have to ask you, if you dont see any legacy in the action of long dead people, why are you watching history videos on youtube?
You're internal German borders are quite incorrectly drawn.
this reminds me quite a lot how the EU actually works
Raihs-tāg not Raik-štāg
How Did the German Empire Actually Work? Did it?
It's me. I ruled the German Empire
Hey don’t call me dumb
I'll do you one better- How did Holy Roman Empire work?
Well, kinda also a confederacy of Kingdoms and so on, while mostly dominated by the Habsburg Empire instead of Prussia up until the unity wars.
The HRE worked very different depending on which Year we are talking about, the HRE existed for almost 1 Thousand Years
Wilhelm the Second doesn’t deserve all the hate, particularly the kind calling him a warmonger. If you disagree I’m open to debate 😊
You dont understand whilhelm
Hittlers Germany was much more simple.
1rst That a good question u have there
Wilhelm II. was the Donald Trump of German history.
!
Wilhelm the belligerent? Laughable...
Impressive, you fail each and every map of Prussia and Germany. Even so most is correct, the german-belgium borders shown, are the modern one (since 1919) Why is it that always those ancient bordes were drawn on the current one? i like maps and bordes, i notice that,
Me, I ruled it, k bye
8:55 Wilhelm , alienated Great Britain 🇬🇧, and that was German downfall.
Definitely part of it.
Wrong
Wilhelm 2 was somthing like a German Trump
A good way of summarizing Wilhelm II!
Bavaria isn't a real state.
?
fake news
@@Fummy007 Correct, Bavaria is fake news. Don't get fooled.
If only the German Empire existed today. It was the pinnacle of science, innovation, welfare and order. Germany today is a shell of its former self. Chile is more German than Germany.
I remember some Austrian dude in the 1920s said something similar. Wonder how that worked out
Yeah no, that's bullshit. You're only seeing things black and white. I'm from Germany and it's still kinda German today, idk what you meant with that xD
Yeah I miss when my country was a military dictatorship ruled by mentally unstable emperors and despotic chancellors, now we have that dirty democracy and are a federation of equal states, truly horrible. /s
@@bastian182 Back in the good old times where the government suppressed minorties, did genocides in Africa while fostering nationalism (and of course antisemitism as well. Truly the pinnacle
@@lepartius2403 least self hating german
U.S. Senators were appointed by state legislators until 17th amendment was ratified in 1913....