Genre: Information/Explanation

Why did national sentiment intensify in the late 19th and early 20th century? A German case study. The intensification of nationalism in the late 19 th and early 20 th century is a central aspect to understanding the 'long 19 th century' and the lead-up to the First World War. It affected the whole of Europe, as well as other parts of the world, but in this essay I will focus on the development of German national sentiment from an international perspective and how in my opinion the political leadership tactically used colonialism and nationalism to distract from its archaic political structures and resulting social tensions. However, to understand the underlying attitudes of the masses in late nineteenth-century Europe and especially Germany, we have to analyse the historical situation that lead up to this. While it is not my aim to thoroughly analyse the nationalism that created the Second Reich, it is a very important benchmark to compare the later nationalism with. For almost a thousand years, nearly all German-speaking peoples lived within the borders of the Holy Roman Empire (with the later addition 'of the German Nation'), a loose confederation of hundreds of individual entities, governed by their respective princes 1 . By the time of its dissolution in 1806, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation included more than 300 of these 'member states'. After the defeat of Napoleon, at the congress of Vienna in 1815, many of the defeated French emperor's territorial changes were implemented into the newly created German confederation, with only 39 members. The war against Napoleon has been considered the beginning of German nationalism, as a unified effort of all Germans to liberate the fatherland of the tyrannical conqueror. This perception has been disputed as a retrospective idealisation but it certainly spurred the unifying efforts of later generations 2 , for whom the loose association of the German confederation was not enough and whose goal, a truly united Germany, became more and more feasible as time progressed and the revolutionary stirrings became increasingly popular. 3 However, the newly unified country owed its existence to much more than just this mystical yearning for a fatherland: the expansion of the rail network for example made it possible for poorer people to travel beyond their state's borders 4 but also the ' growth of industrial capitalism, the social transformations induced by the rise of urban-industrial society and the cultural transformations which accompanied mass literacy and more effective communications .' 5 It can therefore safely be said that the Kaiserreich was not a creation of popular nationalism as such 6 ; regional and confessional identities and differences, among others, were still too important at that time. 7 This division of identity posed a crucial question for the newly created empire. How could these varied forms of belonging be incorporated into a country that had essentially been established from above, through 'blood and iron' as Bismarck put it 8 ? It is precisely Bismarck who is a central figure in this new development. It was he who in my opinion played a crucial role in altering the face of the young nation. Especially important in this context are two aspects: social tensions in the domestic realm, and colonialism in foreign policy. For the former, let us examine the state of Germany towards the end of Bismarck's time in power. In Marxist terms, the mode of production had reached the peak of capitalism approximately at the time of unification. 9 Industry was striving and Germany changed both economically and demographically at a phenomenal pace, with the expected rise in population and urbanization. 10 To stay with the Marxist rhetoric, this rapid change within the base had to produce the appropriate reaction from the superstructure. However, in this case, this was the Prussian aristocracy, the rulers of the empire, representing the archaic political sphere 11 . Prussia was still a highly militarized state, with a system of weighing the votes according to income, and no major political, constitutional or administrative overhaul was predictable at that time. The Prussian aristocracy was not the only part of society that felt threatened by the new developments and could not keep up with them as Abigail Green points out with the example of Saxony: Higher levels of industrialization and urbanization in Saxony created a more intense sense of crisis among the traditional lower middle classes, who could not adapt to the pace of economic change and feared proletarianisation. This fear was fed by the rise of the Social Democrats in Saxony, which was of course itself a product of the same socio-economic developments. 12 Bismarck's Realpolitik , driven by pragmatism more than anything else, sought to resolve these social tensions of the industrialized society by granting workers rights and insurances, predicting State Socialism to be inevitable 13 and thus aiming at taking attention away from the newly emerging workers' movement. However, nothing could distract from the fact that the country was very much dominated by Prussia and had no outlets for the people's discontent with the country's many schisms and Bismarck recognized this: The lack of outlets for popular dissent and reform was especially damaging given the cleavages that continued to plague Germany after unification: Protestant North versus Catholic South, agriculture versus industry, Prussia versus the other states, Junkers versus middle-class liberals, industrialists versus the (increasingly Socialist) working class. Bismarck manipulated the parties and interests as he did foreign powers. But toward the end of his tenure, even he realized that German politics might someday reduce to a choice between surrender of privilege by the old elites or a coup d'tat against the liberal and Socialist groups he labelled Reichsfeinde (enemies of the Reich). 14 These splits within the country, some deeply seated, were only worsened by Bismarck's policy of Kulturkampf and the Socialist laws: The former, the 'fight' against political Catholicism (and its predominant form in Germany, the Zentrum party), to ensure the sphere of influence of protestant Prussia, once again divided Germany along confessional lines 15 , while the latter, the banning of Socialist parties, just furthered class consciousness and struggle. In fact, in the domestic sphere it can be argued that Bismarck's refusal to reform the superstructure of the state contributed to the crisis of the empire. 16 This leads to the next point, the crucial aspect of foreign policy, colonialism: Bismarck, continuing his line of pragmatic politics, initially rejected the other European countries' enthusiasm for colonialism, stating that the German focus should be on European matters 17 . Things changed, however, when in 1888 Wilhelm II became the Emperor of Germany. He was different to his grandfather Wilhelm I, who he adored, in his desire to rule personally and not to leave everyday politics to Bismarck. He was an eccentric character and the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes him as An intelligent but unstable man who compensated for a withered arm with military demeanour and intemperate remarks, William felt keenly his realm's lack of prestige in comparison with the British Empire. William rejected Bismarck's emphasis on security in Europe in favour of a flamboyant Weltpolitik (world policy) aimed at making Germany's presence abroad commensurate with her new industrial might 18 He was aware of the domestic problems of his country and used his and the people's shared love of colonialism to actively distract them from this 19 . The population's knowledge of colonialism is crucial in my opinion, since I consider it a vital factor in the intensification of nationalism. The primary source for Germans was colonial literature, especially Karl May 20 , but it is telling that his novels revolve around America or what was then the Ottoman Empire, never Germany's actual colonies. It instilled in the people a vague sense of German superiority while never depicting the reality of the colonies. Other novelists of the time, like Frieda von Blow, had spent time in the German colonies, set their novels there and promoted a nationalist view based on strength and masculinity 21 and gave an example of the idealisation of history 22 out of which ' a new kind of nationalism, stressing language and even race, was being born, threatening to displace a view of nationality which stressed choice and participation .' 23 This must all be seen in context of the turn of the century: international competition for the 'best' colonies and the Kaiser's many provocations in the diplomatic world: from the First Moroccan Crisis and the Daily Telegraph Affair to his blatant attempt to intimidate the British Empire by building a huge naval fleet 24 . Prestige was an important factor for the newly created German empire that at that time only colonisation could offer. 25 It also offered a welcome distraction for the population, a large part of which had grown up in the new empire and had been educated towards a national frame of mind. The middle class, inspired by the colonial literature, turned to the ideas put forward in them: striving for stability while not troubling the political framework, as George L. Mosse puts it: The new nationalism was now much more closely linked to middle-class stability and utopian longings. The middle-class utopia of a healthy, happy, and ordered world was, in the last decades of the century, detached from reality. There was in fact little incentive to turn the dream into practice against the existing and comfortable order of things. The novels which these classes read by the million put forward the sentimental dream of a virtuous world, but in the same breath warned against upsetting the political and social order. 26 Undoubtedly, there are other factors that contributed to the intensification of nationalism around the turn of the century, for example the gymnastic, choral and sharpshooting associations. While they undeniably had mass appeal 27 , their influence was, in my opinion, significantly smaller than the factors mentioned above and was not felt throughout all strata of society 28 . Therefore, I partially agree with what Abigail Green calls ' the 1960s orthodoxy that the jingoism of the Wilhelmine years was the product of political manipulation by the German Empire ' s pre-industrial elites, who fanned the flames of popular nationalism in the hope of quelling the forces of political and social change ' 29 . I would consider that statement an oversimplification since there were more factors than just the domestic straitjacket of the archaic structures: on the one hand, colonialism was popular among the masses, and on the other, Germany as a nation sought international prestige. I hope to have proven these points to be the main root of this new German nationalism over the course of this essay. 1 They had differing titles according to their realm of influence (dukes, kings, counts, etc.) but were collectively and simply known as princes. 2 'The 'German War of Liberation' became an important element in later nationalist myth-making. In fact many Germans cooperated with the French [...]' John Breuilly, The Formation of the First German Nation State, 1800-1870, (1996), P. 25. 3 ,This politicized and ideological German nationalism emerged as a response to Germany's humiliation in the Napoleonic wars and reached a climax in the wars of national liberation against the French. The new German Confederation failed, however, to fulfil the nationalist aspirations aroused by these events. The faint stirrings of German political nationalism [...] re-emerged spasmodically [...] in 1830-2, 1840, 1848/9 and 1859 -- each time with greater force and a clearer political vision' Abigail Green, Fatherlands, State-Building and Nationhood in 19 th Century Germany (2001), p. 5. 4 ,Third-class ticket sales accounted for roughly four-fifths of the vast increase in Saxon railway passengers from 1865 to 1871. [...] Railways were not merely faster and more efficient than traditional forms of transport, they were also cheaper. Consequently, travel became a real possibility for the less well-to-do, to an extent that would have been unimaginable before the railway age.' Ibid. P. 256 5 John Breuilly, The Formation of the First German Nation State, 1800-1870, (1996), p. 6 6 'The age of mass nationalism had not yet arrived. That was a consequence, not a cause of the new German nation-state.' Ibid. P. 113 7 'Sentiments and identities were local or regional in character [...] a broader sense of identity was as, if not more, likely to take a confessional rather than a national form' Ibid. 11 ,By the end of the century Germany had become a highly urbanized, industrial society, complete with large, differentiated middle and factory proletariat classes, but it was still governed largely by pre-capitalist aristocrats increasingly threatened by demands for political reform.' " International relations ." Encyclopdia Britannica . 2010. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. 12 Dec. 2010 &lt; http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topi\\... &gt;. 13 ,It is possible that our policy may be reversed at some future time when I am dead; but State Socialism will make its way.' Moritz Busch. Bismarck: Some secret pages from his history , Vol. II , (New York, 1898), p. 283. 16 ,Indeed, [Bismarck's] policy of supporting rapid social and economic modernization while avoiding any reform of the authoritarian political system did lead to an atmosphere of persistent crisis.' Ibid. 17 ,With his firm rejection to take over the French colonial possessions after the Franco-Prussian war, Bismarck stated in February 1871, that a German acquisition of colonies was equivalent to the Polish nobility wearing silks and furs when they were in need of shirts.' Helmut Washausen, Hamburg und die Kolonialpolitik des Deutschen Reiches , (Hamburg, 1968), p. 21; 19 'Blow was allowed to divert attention by an exciting foreign policy.' Ibid. 20 ,Popularity makes the study of May's works especially compelling, since their influence on the creation of a colonial, orientalist, and national consciousness is unsurpassed by that of any other German-speaking writer of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries' Nina Berman -- Orientalism, Imperialism and Nationalism: Karl May ' s " Orientzyklus " p. 53 21 ,The notion of German nationalism in these two novels is grounded in an opposition that associates everyone who appears to hinder the nationalist project of colonialism with deficient masculinity or, in Nelly's case with deficient femininity' Friederike Eigler - Engendering German Nationalism: Gender and Race in Frieda von Blow ' s colonial writing 22 'the relatively recent history of the modern concepts of the nation and national identity [...] is 'forgotten' and replaced by a long, fabricated history of the nation used to 'justify' new political and territorial demands.' Ibid. P. 85 23 John Breuilly, The Formation of the First German Nation State, 1800-1870, (1996), P. 98 24 ,The kaiser often indignantly denied that Germany was challenging Britain's domination of the seas, but there is clear evidence that this was in fact the aim of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, whom he made secretary of the navy in 1897'" William II ." Encyclopdia Britannica . 2010. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. 12 Dec. 2010 &lt; http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topi\\... &gt;. 25 'The heyday of the New Imperialism, especially after 1894, created a tacit understanding in the European elites and the broad literate classes that the days of the old European balance of power were over, that a new world order was dawning, and that any nation left behind in the pursuit of world power would sink into obscurity. This intuition must surely have fed a growing sense of desperation among Germans.' " International relations ." Encyclopdia Britannica . 2010. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. 12 Dec. 2010 &lt; http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topi\\... &gt;. 28 ,The workers' own gymnastic organization was founded in 1893 with some four thousand members. Membership soon increased dramatically, while the association accused bourgeois gymnasts of "subservience to authority' Ibid. p. 170