The people were represented in a parliament having limited control over the Kaiser. As had been the tradition in Prussia, the Kaiser controlled foreign policy and the army through his handpicked ministers, who formed the government and prepared legislation. About one-third of its seats were held by Prussians. Conceived as an upper house to the Reichstag, the Bundesrat, like the Reichstag, was required to vote on legislation drawn up by the government before it became law.
The Reichstag had no power to draft legislation. The government needed the approval of the Bundesrat and the Reichstag to enact legislative proposals, and the Kaiser and his chancellor had many means of securing this approval. The French have Bastille Day , symbolising the origin of France as a republic. January marked the th anniversary of the creation of the first German nation-state in the Second Reich — a momentous occasion with far-reaching consequences for Europe and the world.
Yet the year began with deafening silence from all sides: in German museums, politics, schools, universities and public life. It is not the case that Germany shies away from confronting the more uncomfortable aspects of its own history.
On the contrary, there is a commendable degree of national self-reflection. However, this has not yet fully extended to pre-Nazi history. The trauma, guilt and shame which the events of to have blotted onto the national page have absorbed so much collective German attention that prior events are slipping into the background. The era of National Socialism Nazism has formed a black hole in German retrospection, an all-consuming centre of gravity that sucks the events that succeeded and preceded it into its orbit.
Much of German history is therefore treated as if it either flows to or stems from it. Thus, the Second Reich, which was formed in , is often assumed to be a mere prelude to the catastrophes and horrific crimes that followed it. It is viewed as an inherently flawed and ill-considered construct on an inevitable path to aggression, militarism and dictatorship.
It is easy to see the attraction of this narrative. It helps explain why two world wars emanated from German soil. More importantly, it gives the reassuring impression that this will not happen again. To deny the Second Reich any credibility as a modern state contrasts it against the Germany that we see now.
There was an authoritarian regime then, and nationalism was rife — now there is a stable democracy and Germany is an outward-looking, well-respected part of the West. The moment we admit any continuity with the Second Reich, we allow a grain of doubt about the stability of modern German democracy into our minds that might well be applicable to a wider Western context.
But what if we were to argue that the Second Reich had strong progressive elements? What if we accept that the foundation of many positive aspects of the modern German state, such as its welfare system, lie there?
Well, that would beg the rather uncomfortable question how the mix of nationalism, militarism and partisanship led to the dismantling of democracy. Download free samples. Resource Examples. Click any of the example images below to view a larger version.
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It was once part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in The unification of states in Germany brought them power during the 19th century. On 15 November , the King of Prussia, on behalf of the Confederation of Northern Germany, signed several treaties extending it to the southern part of Hesse and the Grand Duchy of Baden.
Otto von Bismarck led various wars that unified Germany, and was the mastermind of the German Empire. A treaty was signed with Bavaria on 23 November , and with Wurttemberg on 25 November. These treaties, which stipulated the amendments to the Constitution of Northern Germany, were approved by the Reichstag on 9 December , and the next day the Empire Reich came into being.
The instruments of ratification were exchanged in Berlin on 29 January Its structure was identical for 14 titles title 15 on the relations with Southern Germany having been scrapped and the numbers of articles corresponded to the same objects. The King of Prussia, who became Emperor, saw his powers strengthened. Bavaria obtained some privileges and six votes in the Bundesrat instead of four at the Diet of Frankfurt.
It was replaced by the Weimar Constitution of 14 August It was Bismarck and Prussian princes Hohenzollern who revived the Reich with the creation of the Deutsches Reich in With the treaty of Frankfurt on 10 May , France yielded Alsace except Belfort and part of Lorraine, which formed the land of the Empire Reichsland administered directly by the Emperor.
However, in , the Emperor sent 15 deputies to the Reichstag. The Empire, which brought together 25 Member States, covered , square kilometres with 41 million inhabitants. The Reichstag or Parliament of the German Empire existed from to Power was shared between the Reichstag and the Bundesrat. Suffrage was extended to all German men over the age of 25 and members of the Reichstag were elected.
The word also means Federal Council. Industrialisation played a large role in this boom. However, later in the 19th century, Europe including Germany and North America suffered a stock market crash. The Rise of Technology, Following the victory in the Prussian-Franco War, Germany steadily developed its industries, reaching independence and fully succeeding in its industrialisation. Despite the depression and decline of the country and its industries compared to previous years, the German Reich maintained its wealth.
With a small technology base, the Germans were dependent on Britain until they gained independence in building railways in , which gave birth to the steel industry. In , Germany was second only to the United States in terms of building the largest network of railroad tracks.
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