Week 3:Insiders and Outsiders

This week’s seminar at the

Modern Records Centre!!!

“Revolution from Above”

Last Week:The forces for unification from below

The completion of formal unification from above

The unfinished business of creating Germans

This Week:

Strategies for inclusion & exclusion

The gradual process of greater unity

Enemies Within: Enemies of the Empire

• Centre Party

• Social Democrats

• Ethnic Minorities

Kulturkampf, 1870s

Barring Jesuits from the Empire

The Kulturkampf1870: The doctrine of Papal Infallibility published.

1872: Catholic schools brought under state control. The Jesuit Order banned from Germany.

1873: The ‘May Laws’– Only candidates for ordination who had been trained in Germany

and passed a state approved examination could become priests.– All religious appointments had to be approved by the state.

1874: Civil marriage introduced.

1875: All religious orders except nursing orders banned.

Cranium measurements became a popular means of proving the hereditary nature of papal stupidity

Enemies Within: Social Democrats

August Bebel

The Development of the SPD• 1869: August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht form the Marxist Social

Democratic Workers’ Party.• 1875: This merges with Ferdinand Lassale’s General German

Workers’ Association to form the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) at a ‘Unity Conference’ in Gotha.

• The party’s ‘Gotha Programme’ (1875) of the SPD called for: • “universal, direct, equal suffrage, with secret ballot and obligatory voting for

all citizens over 20 years of age”• freedom of press, association and assembly • the abolition of child & female labour• a shorter working week• free, universal primary education

Anti-Socialist Legislation• 1876: Legislation banning the

publication of Socialist propaganda defeated in the Reichstag.

• 1878: Two failed assassination attempts on Wilhelm I provide an opportunity to introduce anti-Socialist legislation.

• Oct 1878: The Anti-Socialist Law passed by the Reichstag:

– Banned socialist organizations (including trade unions)

– Gave the police powers to break up socialist meetings

– Outlawed the publication and distribution of socialist literature

State SocialismInnovative social insurance policies that failed

to woo workers from SPD or successfully tackle growing social and economic problems:

• 1883: Sickness Insurance Act– Provided medical treatment and up to 13 weeks sick pay

for 3 million low-paid workers.

• 1884: Accident Insurance Act– Provided protection for workers permanently disabled or

sick for more than 13 weeks.

• 1889: Old Age & Disability Act– Provided old age and disability pensions for people over 70

and those permanently disabled.

Enemies Within: Minorities

• Poles

• Danes

• Alsatians

Enemies Within: Jews?•Legally, German Jews had equality before the

law.•Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish

Faith est. to prove Jewish loyalty to the empire. •Xanten (1891): accusations of blood libel

against a local Jew resulting in an outbreak of anti-Jewish violence. Prussian forces quickly restored order.

Enemies Within: Degenerates?

• Criminally Insane

• Alcoholics

• “Degenerate” Urban Dwellers

AssessmentBismarck’s Admirers• He maintained peace between 1871

and 1890• His policies helped Germany’s

economic development• He pioneered state socialism• In the 1870s he worked closely with

the National Liberals and implemented many liberal policies

• He was not a dictator – his powers were limited and he worked with the parties in the Reichstag

• His long tenure in power points to his political skill

Bismarck’s Critics• He was responsible for France

remaining isolated and embittered

• His influence has been exaggerated

• “Negative integration” – using attacks on minorities to whip up patriotism

• The Kulturkampf was a major miscalculation

• His anti-socialist policies were unsuccessful

• He was unable to delegate and jealous of perceived rivals

• A flawed legacy – Bismarck’s rule led to Wilhemine & Nazi Germany

1888 – The Year of Three Emperors

Wilhelm I (1861-88) Friedrich III (1888) Wilhelm II (1888-1918)

Wilhelm II, 1859-1941

“I shall let the old man shuffle on for six months . . . then I shall rule myself.”

‘Dropping the Pilot’• Bismarck and Wilhelm disagreed

over the need to retain close links with Russia.

• They clashed over social policy and the Anti-Socialist Law.

• In March 1890 Bismarck and Wilhelm quarrelled over ministers access to the monarch.

• Wilhelm gave Bismarck an ultimatum: resign or be dismissed. The next day Bismarck resigned.

Questions for Reading

• How did social/regional divisions affect the new nation?

• In what ways were these divisions new or manipulated from above?

• In what ways were they part of people’s lived experience?