Theories about Germany during the Nineteenth Century
Germany’s government during the nineteenth century was greatly determined by the influence Bismarck had over the liberal parties. Many historians have argued about different theories explaining how liberalism has affected Germany during the nineteenth century and led towards Nazism. Among these historians are James Sheehan, Kenneth Barkin and Chris Lorenz and each have written articles sharing an insight to how liberalism had affected Germany during the nineteenth century.
Sheehan’s article called “German Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century,” discussed how Bismarck as the ‘Iron Chancellor’ needed the liberals to support him during the nineteenth century. His article mentioned how Bismarck tried to influence the liberals by proposing an indemnity bill. Sheehan states “A number of those in the Prussian Fortschrittspartei found Bismarck’s indemnity bill unacceptable. To them, it merely legalized the “gap theory,” which had allowed the minister-president to defy the parliament…,” which illustrated how liberalism affected Germany in the nineteenth century. Barkin’s article called “1878-1879 The Second Founding of the Reich, A Perspective,” discussed how Bismarck abandoned the liberals for a more conservative perspective. His article talks about how Bismarck left his liberal supporters for two Conservative parties. Barkin’s article further discussed the theory of how Bismarck’s abandonment of the liberals was how the ‘Iron Chancellor’ failed to keep his control over Germany. Lorenz’s article called “Beyond Good and Evil? The German Empire of 1871 and Modern German Historiography,” discussed how Bismarck aimed for a German Empire during the nineteenth century. His article mentions a theory of how Bismarck influenced liberalism in the nineteenth century by being an Imperial force. All and all, Bismarck was the primary influence on liberalism in the nineteenth century. Sheehan, Barkin and Lorenz’s articles all supported their individual theories explaining how liberalism has affected Germany during the nineteenth century.
There really have been a lot of theories regarding the rise of the Reich and it's long term implications. Personally after having read them I think Bismarck is definitely overemphasized by many and that hte liberals may not have been completely crushed. Looking back at the period the one area where the liberals did not have balancing power was with the military and that had disastrous consequence.
ReplyDeleteA great discussion of theories about liberalism but I am curious to know what you think about these debates. What would your judgement of German liberalism be? Did it fail in its historic mission or did it actually achieve many of of its goals? Should we maintain a greater sence of the difference between political liberalism and the economic goals of the bourgeoisie? Don't be afraid to say what you think.
ReplyDelete