Prominent Figures and Events of 19th Century German

Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888): King of Prussia in 1861, first German Emperor in 1871 to his death, the first Head of State of united Germany. Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire under Wilhelm (and von Bismarck). William held strong reservations about some of Minister President von Bismarck’s more reactionary policies, including his anti-Catholicism and rough handling of subordinates. While a staunch conservative, Wilhelm was more open to certain classical liberal ideas than his grandson Wilhelm II.

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898): His political career began as opposition to the liberals, conservative. In 1862, he came into power, and had governed for 30 years. He became the Prussian minister-president in 1871. First German chancellor when Germany united. He expanded the German Empire, but was dismissed in 1890 by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Historians have a lot of varying opinions of him.

Helmut von Moltke (1800-1891): Was a battlefield commander. Really made his reputation when he, in the 1860’s, rearranged the Prussian army. He realized the importance of railways and how well they could transport supplies, soldiers, etc. Served in the German parliament after unification. As considered very skillful in his field of battle.

Realpolitik: Realpolitik is a system of politics/principles based on practical, not moral, ideological, or ethical reasoning. Used by von Bismarck when pushing the unification of Germany. Its policies were used after the failed revolutions of 1848 when trying to strengthen states and tighten social order. Von Bismarck was the most popular advocate of it in Germany.

Danish War (1864): The second war over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. Began in February 1864, when Prussian forces crossed into Schleswig. Denmark fought Prussia and the Austrian Empire. It was fought for control of Holstein and Lauenburg, the fights over succession concerned them when the Danish king died without a proper heir to the German Confederation. The war ended in October 1864 with the Treaty of Vienna and when Denmark formally gave up Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria. Austro-Prussian War (Seven Weeks War): Fought in 1866 between the German Confederation (under Austrian leadership) and the Kingdom of Prussia, both with German allies, though Prussia also allied with the Kingdom of Italy, that resulted in a Prussian win, giving Prussia dominance over the German states. Abolition of the German Confederation and its partial replacement. This replacement excluded some Southern German states. The war also resulted in the Italian seizure of Venetia.

Ems Dispatch (1870): The Ems Dispatch or Ems Telegram, encouraged France to declare the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The dispatch itself was an internal message from the vacationing site of the Prussian King to von Bismarck in Berlin, reporting demands made by the French ambassador; Bismarck’s released statement to the press had become known as Ems Dispatch. The name referred to Bad Ems, a resort spa east of Koblenz on the Lahn river, then situated in Hesse-Nassau.