Germany through the World Wars

Reichstag Building for the Weimar Republic.

      Germany ultimately lost World War I and faced high repercussions from the allied forces. Needless to say the German’s were unhappy with this, which caused them to lose faith in the government. The Weimar Republic which was born during the Great War was destined to fail because of the turmoil in which it came from. Many Germans were unhappy with the republic because it was a representation of the allied force governments which were making life hell for the Germans. The financial burden from the treaty after the war was just too much for Germany, this led France to invade German and start taking coal. This then required Germany to import its coal and this made it extremely expensive. Massive inflation set in and Germans resorted to bartering and burning money for heat. How could Germans stand behind a government that was letting this happen to them? It is impressive that the Weimar Republic was able to survive for fourteen years with a deep seeded resentment for them from almost all Germans. This did provide an opening for Hitler to make his move to power. 

The S.P.D was a governmental party trying to gain control.

      There was a great amount of turmoil surrounding the Weimar Republic with other parties trying to gain support and power. I found it very interesting that the Republic did not even have support from its civil servants, yet those people did nothing to overthrow the government, they just waited it out. Two major parties that posed the greatest threat to the Republic were National Socialism and Conservatives. The German political identity was extremely unsettled and insecure from the time of World War I until 1933 when Hitler finally took control. The governmental limbo was over for Germany now that Hitler has come to power. At this point I think Germans felt that any other form of government was better than the republic, but they were not all praising Hitler.

     When looking at other countries the Germans saw that most of them were run by dictators and because of the Great Depression “the immediate future belonged to the strong men of every country” (Hagen246). There was not an overwhelming affection for Hitler from the Germans, many did not like him or his ideals. However, Hitler created much better working conditions and opportunities for many Germans which benefited copious amounts of people. Hitler’s first act of war came against Austria in March of 1938 and “the German nation reacted with jubilation… Great Germany, the goal the liberals… and the Social Democrats… had supported, was now a reality” (Hagen261). However, by the time Poland was invaded there was little enthusiasm from the German people and even some Nazi delegates.

This is a map of Nazi expansion. Everything in blue was Nazi territory.

Germany split up after WWII

      During the second half of WWII, when it was coming to an end, Germany was being attacked through the sky. A large amount of German heritage was lost through this process which had to have devastated many German people. Hitler’s actions made all the other German parties come together under a “common standard, one that establishes respect for human dignity…” (Hagen285). The German people were not like Hitler, they did not want to be associated with him and they wanted this war to be over. As the allies invaded Germany it was seen as liberation by the people, until the consequences of the war had to be paid. People were living in squalor after the war, no shelter, no food, and no laws. It was now unclear whether a German nation still existed. Germany was divided up among the allied powers as well as Berlin. Germans were bitter about the dismantling of industries, but democracy began to spread. Germany remained divided between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. The Western side “declared creation of a full German nation state to be one of its permanent goals” (Hagen297). 

Entry 5: The creation of a unified Germany

Current map of railways in Germany which all started with the one from 1835.

A major problem faced by the area that was to become Germany was its economic prowess. The small principalities of the area were concerned with losing their power which “did not permit the growth of economic markets” (Hagen 70). I think that the key to every strong nation is a powerful market. The area that would become Germany could not produce goods and move those goods around the way other economies could, such as France or Great Britain. A major advancement for the German economy came in 1835 when the “first German railway line…[opened]” (Hagen 130). This railway was a way to unify the area and transport goods with greater efficiency. This economic advancement led to jobs and innovations to help ultimately unite the German nation. Later on this railway system would prove to be instrumental in the movement of troops to defeat France in the Franco-German war.

There was still a lack of a “German” identity until there became a common enemy and something to fight for. This came about first in 1813 and again in 1859 and both times this was all because of France. Yes there were other moments of nationalist surge but I found these two specific ones to be especially interesting. Napoleon was waging war on Prussia and this was being fought on their grounds. Due to the “shock of defeat; a sense of humiliation; the financial burdens…” (Hagen 102) an administrative reform of German states was created and overall German nationalism blossomed. This nationalism did die down but oddly enough it was Napoleon’s descendant, Napoleon III, who reignited nationalist propaganda. The people desired the “creation of a sovereign German nation state that would possess military power and…foreign affair [powers]” (Hagen 136). If Germany was a united state then they would be able to defend themselves from France, instead of using smaller, less organized military and have no say in foreign issues that may involve the German area. I think it is funny that a vast majority of German nationalism is all due to Napoleon in one shape or another, either through his own actions or his descendant’s. 

Napoleon Bonaparte: Leader of France

The current German flag originated from German activism.

There was a surge in education throughout the land that would become Germany. These young and enthusiastic university students really served as major activists. These students even adopted the colors of red, black and gold for their clothes during protests, which obviously become the colors for the German flag. Demand for a unified Germany was of the utmost importance. This revolutionary feeling actually led to a very suppressive constitution, but also a large time for peace in Europe. During the time of peace an actual German culture was able to begin with artwork, music, and architecture.

One of the most interesting things I got from the reading was that France played such a weird role in the creation of the German state. As I said earlier most of Germany despised the French and that created a heated nationalistic feeling, but “sixteen states in south and southwest Germany signed an act that abolished their connection with the empire and established a protectorate under Napoleon…” (Hagen 99). Clearly France was a huge power that Germans feared, so why not get their help? I also found it funny that Prussia and Austria both modeled some of their policies after the French. So while France was only using Prussia as a buffer from Russia, they helped to really create a unified German state in multiple ways.

Otto Von Bismark: The leader of the Prussian/German military in the Franco-German war.

Bismarck was the man that ultimately created the unified German state even though that was not his goal when he was appointed to be the head of the government. This was a very unpopular move among liberals. His ultimate goal was to expand Prussian territory in Europe. Bismarck managed to kick Austria out of German territory with a Prussian victory. After this the French declared war, which was ultimately won by Bismarck because of the ability to mobilize and move troops. The resulting treaty won back Alsace and Lorraine and really drove home the German state. After this southern Germany saw it to be in its best interest to join the North German Confederation and that created the German state.   

 

Entry 4: Berlin through the years

This is a picture of the Berlin wall separating the East and

 West sides.

                Communism did not die with the end of World War II, it continued on in East Berlin. Berlin was left divided into East and West sides and it did not seem that there was much opposition to the building of the wall. Yet once the wall was up, people were jumping out of buildings to get to the other side of the wall. The East side maintained militarism similar to that of the Prussians and Nazi’s. I found it very interesting that the East side would destroy buildings because it represented the wrong message, and the communists were able to create a different history from the West side. You could see the culture difference between the East and West sides during an interview about the rebuilding of the Schloss. The resident of the West side was very excited for the rebuilding of the Schloss while the resident of the East side preferred the Palace of the Republic and the history that building had created. Buildings became such an issue in Berlin; the East and West sides competed to build the tallest building. This reminded me of the time Chicago and China were competing for the world’s tallest building.

          Another thing I found interesting in German history was the holding of the Olympic Games during Hitler’s rule. I did not know that Hitler had asked Speer to build another stadium four times the size of the one the Olympics were held in. The size of this stadium would be immense and ridiculous along with all of the other building plans Hitler had in mind. There were also plans to hold the Olympics in Germany every year. During this summer Olympics many countries threatened to boycott because Hitler did not want African Americans or Jews to participate and these threats caused Hitler to give in. I think that Jesse Owens’ performance was much more than just an Olympic victory, it gave hope and confidence to the entire country. It is not nearly the same as the most recent Olympics held in Russia but it is similar in the sense that America did not agree/appreciate the leader of the country. Sports have a much greater impact on society than one may think; it can give people hope and faith in a country and something to believe in. I could not imagine if the Olympics had only been held in Berlin, this is a tradition that is meant to be shared with everyone.

Jesse Owens, who won multiple medals at the Olympics in Berlin after almost not competing at all.

Palace of the Republic before it was torn down.

                I found the architecture of Berlin to be another interesting development and how it changed over the years. One building in particular, the Schloss, as mentioned early, has a very interesting history. The Schloss was greatly built up by Fredrick the Great and then was torn down by East Berlin officials. To replace the Schloss East Berlin built the Palace of the Republic to attempt to create a central center for the city. The Palace of the Republic was a much more modern style building than the Schloss and it certainly appealed to the younger generation. Building this building was a great idea by East Berlin officials because it did help to unify the people and it gave them a reason to stay. However, the feelings about the Palace were not the same throughout all of Berlin; the West side did not seem as enthusiastic. And now the space where the Schloss and the Palace of the Republic used to be is now an empty lot that Berlin is planning to use to rebuild the Schloss. There is always a challenge to create new buildings in the city of Berlin due to its past and the ideals and points of view of people around the city. 

The statue of Frederick in front of the Schloss.

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Entry 3: Martin Luther

Part of the 95 theses written by Luther that caused this tremendous revolution.

The 95 theses is what really started all of the uproar in the church. Religiously speaking Luther began to question the Catholic church. The church had become tyrannical in Luther’s eyes and he believed that things needed to change. Not every person had an equal stake in the church and Luther had an issue with this. Once Luther began looking into the church more closely he found that the sacraments did not match up with the ones in the bible. I found it very interesting that the bible only spoke of two sacraments for heaven while the church had seven, and yet Luther was the only one questioning this. Clearly this was an issue for Luther and he wanted change. The fact that the Catholic church was working so incredibly hard to silence Martin Luther certainly makes it seem as though they knew he had a valid argument and could show other people how the church was working. I think this also gave Luther the confidence to continue questioning the church. 

As a cultural revolutionary Martin Luther made his mark using the printing press to spread his ideas. He was described as the first propagandist because of the printing press. Martin Luther began teaching at Wittenberg due to his friendship with the founder Frederick “The Wise”. Here is where Luther gained support from the students. I believe this is where Luther gained the biggest support. The younger generation was starting to see Luther’s ideas on religion and gained young supporters who were eager to make changes. Luther believed that ordinary Christians could make a difference, you did not have to be the Pope or part of his army of priests and this gave ordinary people excitement and confidence in themselves when it came to faith. The written work of Luther spread through Europe and he became the figure of a revolution through his bravery and questioning of the current religious set up. Luther also gave Germans a translation of the bible. Now common people were able to read the bible instead of just the educated. There was a great following with this revolution, which lead to the attack of peasants and Judaism as well as the Catholic Church.

This is a statue of Martin Luther at the University of Wittenberg.

  

Politically speaking, Martin Luther’s impact reached as far as the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Charles V wanted to stop the spread of Luther’s works because he was an extremely devout Catholic and wanted to preserve that faith which Luther is attacking. Luther was granted the opportunity to defend himself at the next parliament in front of Charles V and other highly placed individuals including Frederick. The fact that Luther was standing up to Charles V gained Luther immense support from common people all over German speaking lands. It had to be very difficult for Luther going to this meeting knowing that death was a very real possibility. Even though those close to Luther attempted to talk him out of this meeting he still went through with it and I think this made people believe in Luther even more. Overall Luther had powerful political leaders very scared and that gave power to Luther’s followers, as shown when Wittenberg was seized. 

This is a picture of Frederick the Wise, who was key in Martin Luther's success.

Germany's pride

The part of chapter two that I found most interesting was that the German “nation” did not have serious credibility until about 1455 with the discovery of Germania. The German culture was somehow lesser than other European cultures because of their lack of history and superior ancestors. I find this to be similar to the development of America with the lack of history and breaking away from their forefathers. It is interesting that a nation can be looked down on based on the amount of history it has.

America differed from Germany in the sense that German’s had unknown descendants while American’s knew where they came from and wanted to create a new society from it. During the fight for American freedom they were creating a history for future descendants. We did not lose proof of where we came from. The German lands were lost due to a lack of ancestry

I never thought that a country such as Germany with its rich culture and history, now, would have ever been looked down on by other countries because of unknown origins. I assumed that Germans had a rich and powerful culture and it is surprising to me that this was not always the case.

This event shows me that German’s are extremely proud of where they come from, and believe it makes them better people. The German people faced a lot of discrimination when direct German ancestry was unknown. I feel that a person’s ancestry was much more important in the 1400’s because many people in America do not know much about their ancestry but are not discriminated against due to a lack of family past.

The discovery of Germania by Tacitus aided in the change of names from the “German lands” to Germany. I never thought that one text would have such an impact on a group of people, and give them the confidence to fight back against verbal attacks from the French and Italians. The amount of confidence gained from this text for the Germans was immense and allowed them to begin attacking the Roman ancestors of the French and Italians for thinking they were superior purely based on their descendants.

One thing I do find curious is that no one thought to question the writing of Tacitus. This writing that gave the German nation such pride and aplomb could all be fictional. It is similar to the Declaration of Independence being a fictional document. It would alter the beliefs and thoughts of all Americans.  I find it odd that there was no other proof to say that Germans had descended from “uncorrupted, loyal, brave, and plain-living Germānī” (Schulze p. 49).

This is a bust of Tacitus, who wrote Germania, written for Emperor Trajan. It can be said that he is responsible for the creation of the German nation.

This is a picture of the text Germania. This is significant because it is what gave the Germans confidence in their origins.  

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