Otto von Bismarck

For other uses, see Bismarck (disambiguation).

port, against the advice of his wife and his heir. While
Germanys parliament was elected by universal male suffrage, it did not have real control of the government. Bismarck distrusted democracy and ruled through a strong,
well-trained bureaucracy with power in the hands of a traditional Junker elite that comprised the landed nobility of
the east. Under Wilhelm I, Bismarck largely controlled
domestic and foreign aairs, until he was removed by
young Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890.

Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of

Lauenburg (1 April 1815 30 July 1898), known as
Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European aairs from
the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s he engineered a series of wars that unied the German states (excluding
Austria) into a powerful German Empire under Prussian
leadership. With that accomplished by 1871 he skillfully
used balance of power diplomacy to preserve German
hegemony in a Europe which, despite many disputes and
war scares, remained at peace. For historian Eric Hobsbawm, it was Bismarck, who remained undisputed world
champion at the game of multilateral diplomatic chess for
almost twenty years after 1871, [and] devoted himself exclusively, and successfully, to maintaining peace between
the powers.[2]

Bismarck, an aristocratic Junker himself, had an extremely aggressive and domineering personality. He displayed a violent temper and kept his power by threatening to resign time and again. He possessed not only
a long-term national and international vision, but also
the short-term ability to juggle many complex developments simultaneously. As the leader of what historians
call "revolutionary conservatism",[1] Bismarck became a
hero to German nationalists; they built hundreds of monuments glorifying the iconic symbol of powerful conservative leadership. Historians generally praise him as a
statesman of moderation and balance who kept the peace
in Europe, and was primarily responsible for the unication of Germany and building its world-renowned bureaucracy and army.

In 1862 King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister

President of Prussia, a post he would hold until 1890 (except for a short break in 1873). He provoked three short,
decisive wars against Denmark, Austria and France,
aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in defeating his arch-enemy France. In 1871 he formed the
German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik
and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the
Iron Chancellor. German unication and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy.
He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas
empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass
opinion. Juggling a very complex interlocking series of
conferences, negotiations and alliances, he used his unrivaled diplomatic skills to maintain Germanys position
and used the balance of power to keep Europe at peace
in the 1870s and 1880s.

1 Early years
Bismarck was born in Schnhausen, a wealthy family estate situated west of Berlin in the Prussian province of
Saxony. His father, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bismarck (17711845), was a Junker estate owner and a
former Prussian military ocer; his mother, Wilhelmine
Luise Mencken (17891839), was the well-educated
daughter of a senior government ocial in Berlin. The
world saw Bismarck as a typical Prussian Junkeran image which he encouraged by wearing military uniforms.
Bismarck was well educated and cosmopolitan, with a gift
for conversation. In addition to his native German, he was
uent in English, French, Italian, Polish and Russian.[3]

He was the master of complex politics at home. He created the rst welfare state in the modern world, with the
goal of gaining working class support that might otherwise go to his Socialist enemies. In the 1870s he allied
himself with the Liberals (who were low-tari and antiCatholic) and fought the Catholic Church in a culture war.
He lost that battle as the Catholics responded by forming
a powerful Center party and using universal male surage
to gain a bloc of seats. Bismarck then reversed himself,
ended the culture war, broke with the Liberals, imposed
taris, and formed a political alliance with the Center
party to ght the Socialists. A devout Lutheran, he was
loyal to his king, who in turn gave Bismarck his full sup-

Bismarck was educated at Johann Ernst Plamann's elementary school,[4] and the Friedrich-Wilhelm and Graues
Kloster secondary schools. From 1832 to 1833 he studied law at the University of Gttingen, where he was
a member of the Corps Hannovera, and then enrolled
at the University of Berlin (183335). In 1838, while
stationed as an army reservist in Greifswald, he studied
agriculture at the University of Greifswald.[1] At Gttingen, Bismarck became friends with the American student
1

2 EARLY POLITICAL CAREER

Bismarck soon adopted his wifes pietism, and he remained a devout Pietist Lutheran for the rest of his life.

2 Early political career

Bismarck at 21, 1836

John Lothrop Motley. Motley, who later became an eminent historian and diplomat while remaining close to Bismarck, wrote a novel in 1839, Mortons Hope, or the Memoirs of a Provincial, about life in a German university. In
Bismarck at age 32, 1847
it he described Bismarck as a reckless and dashing eccentric, but also as an extremely gifted and charming young In 1847 Bismarck, aged 32, was chosen as a repreman.[5]
sentative to the newly created Prussian legislature, the
Although Bismarck hoped to become a diplomat, he Vereinigter Landtag. There, he gained a reputation
started his practical training as a lawyer in Aachen and as a royalist and reactionary politician with a gift for
Potsdam, and soon resigned, having rst placed his ca- stinging rhetoric; he openly advocated the idea that the
reer in jeopardy by taking unauthorized leave to pursue monarch had a divine right to rule. His selection was
two English girls, rst Laura Russell, niece of the Duke arranged by the Gerlach brothers, fellow Pietist Lutherof Cleveland, and then Isabella Loraine-Smith, daughter ans whose ultra-conservative faction was known as the
of a wealthy clergyman. He also served in the army for Kreuzzeitung after their newspaper, the Neue Preussisa year and became an ocer in the Landwehr (reserve), che Zeitung, which was so nicknamed because it featured
before returning to run the family estates at Schnhausen an Iron Cross on its cover.[6][7]
on his mothers death in his mid-twenties.
In March 1848, Prussia faced a revolution (one of the
Around age 30 Bismarck had an intense friendship
with Marie von Thadden, newly married to one of
his friends. Under her inuence, Bismarck became
a Pietist Lutheran, and later recorded that at Maries
deathbed (from typhoid) he prayed for the rst time
since his childhood. Bismarck married Maries cousin,
the noblewoman Johanna von Puttkamer (182494) at
Alt-Kolziglow (modern Koczygowy) on 28 July 1847.
Their long and happy marriage produced three children,
Herbert (b. 1849), Wilhelm (b. 1852) and Marie (b.
1847). Johanna was a shy, retiring and deeply religious
womanalthough famed for her sharp tongue in later
lifeand in his public life Bismarck was sometimes accompanied by his sister Malwine Malle von Arnim.

revolutions of 1848 across Europe), which completely

overwhelmed King Frederick William IV. The monarch,
though initially inclined to use armed forces to suppress
the rebellion, ultimately declined to leave Berlin for the
safety of military headquarters at Potsdam (Bismarck
later recorded that there had been a rattling of sabres in
their scabbards from Prussian ocers when they learned
that the King would not suppress the revolution by force).
He oered numerous concessions to the liberals: he wore
the black-red-and-gold revolutionary colours (as seen on
the ag of todays Germany), promised to promulgate a
constitution, agreed that Prussia and other German states
should merge into a single nation-state, and appointed a
liberal, Ludolf Camphausen, as Minister President.[8]

3
Bismarck had at rst tried to rouse the peasants of his estate into an army to march on Berlin in the Kings name.[9]
He travelled to Berlin in disguise to oer his services,
but was instead told to make himself useful by arranging food supplies for the Army from his estates in case
they were needed. The Kings brother, Prince Wilhelm
had ed to England, and Bismarck intrigued with Wilhelms wife Augusta to place their teenage son Frederick
William on the Prussian throne in Frederick William IVs
place. Augusta would have none of it, and detested Bismarck thereafter,[10] despite the fact that he later helped
restore a working relationship between the King and his
brother. Bismarck was not yet a member of the Landtagthe lower house of the new Prussian legislature. The
liberal movement perished by the end of 1848 amid internal ghting. Meanwhile, the conservatives regrouped,
formed an inner group of advisersincluding the Gerlach brothersknown as the "Camarilla"around the
King, and retook control of Berlin. Although a constitution was granted, its provisions fell far short of the demands of the revolutionaries.[11]

vinced that to countervail Austrias newly restored inuence, Prussia would have to ally herself with other German states. As a result, he grew to be more accepting of
the notion of a united German nation. He gradually came
to believe that he and his fellow conservatives had to take
the lead in the drive toward creating a unied nation in
order to keep from being eclipsed. He also believed that
the middle-class liberals wanted a unied Germany more
than they wanted to break the grip of the traditional forces
over society.

In 1849, Bismarck was elected to the Landtag. At this

stage in his career, he opposed the unication of Germany, arguing that Prussia would lose its independence in
the process. He accepted his appointment as one of Prussias representatives at the Erfurt Parliament, an assembly
of German states that met to discuss plans for union, but
he only did so to oppose that bodys proposals more effectively. The parliament failed to bring about unication, for it lacked the support of the two most important
German states, Prussia and Austria. In September 1850,
after a dispute over Hesse, (the Hesse Crisis of 1850[12] )
Prussia was humiliated and forced to back down by Austria (supported by Russia) in the so-called Punctation of
Olmtz;[13] a plan for the unication of Germany under
Prussian leadership, proposed by Prussias Minister President Radowitz, was also abandoned.

Bismarck was alarmed by Prussias isolation during the

Crimean War of the mid-1850s, in which Austria sided
with Britain and France against Russia; Prussia was almost not invited to the peace talks in Paris. In the Eastern crisis of the 1870s, fear of a repetition of this turn of
events would later be a factor in Bismarcks signing the
Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879.

Bismarck also worked to maintain the friendship of

Russia and a working relationship with Napoleon III's
Francethe latter being anathema to his conservative
friends the Gerlachs,[16] but necessary both to threaten
Austria and to prevent France allying herself to Russia. In
a famous letter to Leopold von Gerlach, Bismarck wrote
that it was foolish to play chess having rst put 16 of the
64 squares out of bounds. This observation was ironic as
after 1871, France indeed became Germanys permanent
enemy, and eventually allied with Russia against Germany in the 1890s.[17]

3 Ambassador
France

to

Russia

and

In 1851, Frederick William IV appointed Bismarck as

Prussias envoy to the Diet of the German Confederation in Frankfurt. Bismarck gave up his elected seat in
the Landtag, but was appointed to the Prussian House
of Lords a few years later. In Frankfurt he engaged in
a battle of wills with the Austrian representative Count
Friedrich von Thun und Hohenstein, insisting on being
treated as an equal by petty tactics such as insisting on doing the same when Thun claimed the privileges of smoking and removing his jacket in meetings.[14] This episode
was the background for an altercation in the Frankfurt
chamber with Georg von Vincke that led to a duel between Bismarck and Vincke and Carl von Bodelschwingh
as impartial party, which ended without injury.[15]
Bismarcks eight years in Frankfurt were marked by
changes in his political opinions, detailed in the numerous lengthy memoranda which he sent to his ministerial
superiors in Berlin. No longer under the inuence of
his ultraconservative Prussian friends, Bismarck became Bismarck with Roon (centre) and Moltke (right), the three leaders
less reactionary and more pragmatic. He became con- of Prussia in the 1860s

MINISTER PRESIDENT OF PRUSSIA

In October 1857, Frederick William IV suered a

paralysing stroke. His brother Wilhelm took over the
Prussian government as Regent. Wilhelm was initially
seen as a moderate ruler, whose friendship with liberal
Britain was symbolised by the recent marriage of his
son Frederick William to Queen Victoria's eldest daughter. As part of Wilhelms New Course he brought
in new ministers, moderate conservatives known as the
Wochenblatt party after their newspaper. Soon the Regent replaced Bismarck as envoy in Frankfurt and made
him Prussias ambassador to the Russian Empire. In theory, this was a promotion as Russia was one of Prussias
two most powerful neighbors. But Bismarck was sidelined from events in Germany, watching impotently as
France drove Austria out of Lombardy during the Italian
War of 1859. Bismarck proposed that Prussia should
exploit Austrias weakness to move her frontiers as far
south as Lake Constance on the Swiss border; instead
Prussia mobilised troops in the Rhineland to deter further French advances into Venetia.
As a further snub, the Regent, who scorned Bismarck as
a Landwehrleutnant (reserve lieutenant), had declined
to promote him to the rank of major-general, normal for
the ambassador to St Petersburg (and important as Prussia and Russia were close military allies, whose heads
of state often communicated through military contacts
rather than diplomatic channels). Bismarck stayed in St
Petersburg for four years, during which he almost lost
his leg to botched medical treatment and once again met
his future adversary, the Russian Prince Gorchakov, who
had been the Russian representative in Frankfurt in the
early 1850s. The Regent also appointed Helmuth von
Moltke as the new Chief of Sta of the Prussian Army,
and Albrecht von Roon as Minister of War with the job
of reorganizing the army. Over the next 12 years these
two and Bismarck transformed Prussia. Bismarck later
referred to this period as the most signicant of my life.
Despite his lengthy stay abroad, Bismarck was not entirely detached from German domestic aairs. He remained well-informed due to his friendship with Roon,
and they formed a lasting political alliance. In May
1862, he was sent to Paris, to serve as ambassador to
France. He also visited England that summer. These
visits enabled him to meet and take the measure of several adversariesNapoleon III in France, and in Britain,
Prime Minister Palmerston, Foreign Secretary Earl Russell, and Conservative politician Benjamin Disraeli. Disraeli, who would become Prime Minister in the 1870s,
later claimed to have said of Bismarck, Be careful of
that man he means every word he says.

Otto von Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, shown wearing insignia of a knight of the Johanniterorden

in 1862, when the Diet refused to authorize funding for a

proposed re-organization of the army. The Kings ministers could not convince legislators to pass the budget, and
the King was unwilling to make concessions. Wilhelm
threatened to abdicate in favour of his brother Frederick
William (who opposed it) and believed that Bismarck was
the only politician capable of handling the crisis. However, Wilhelm was ambivalent about appointing a person
who demanded unfettered control over foreign aairs.
When, in September 1862, the Abgeordnetenhaus (House
of Deputies) overwhelmingly rejected the proposed budget, Wilhelm was persuaded to recall Bismarck to Prussia
on the advice of Roon. On 23 September 1862, Wilhelm
appointed Bismarck Minister President and Foreign Minister.[18]
Bismarck, Roon and Moltke took charge at a time
when relations among the Great PowersGreat Britain,
France, Austria and Russiahad been shattered by the
Crimean War and the Italian War. In the midst of this
disarray, the European balance of power was restructured
with the creation of the German Empire as the dominant
power in Europe. This was achieved by Bismarcks diplomacy, Roons reorganization of the army, and Moltkes
military strategy.[19]

Despite the initial distrust of the King and Crown Prince,

and the loathing of Queen Augusta, Bismarck soon acquired a powerful hold over the King by force of personThe regent became King Wilhelm I upon his brothers ality and powers of persuasion. Bismarck was intent on
death in 1861. The new monarch often came into conict maintaining royal supremacy by ending the budget deadwith the increasingly liberal Prussian Diet. A crisis arose lock in the Kings favour, even if he had to use extralegal

Minister President of Prussia

5.2

Defeat of Denmark

means to do so. Under the Constitution, the budget could

only be passed after the king and legislature agreed on
its terms, Bismarck contended that since the Constitution
did not provide for cases in which legislators failed to approve a budget, there was a hole in the Constitution,
and he could merely apply the previous years budget to
keep the government running. Thus, on the basis of the
1861 budget, tax collection continued for four years.[20] 5.2

not favorable to a healthy state life. The great

questions of the time will not be resolved by
speeches and majority decisionsthat was the
great mistake of 1848 and 1849but by iron
and blood.[22]

Defeat of Denmark

Bismarcks conict with the legislators intensied in the

coming years. Following the Alvensleben Convention of
1863, the House of Deputies resolved that it could no
longer come to terms with Bismarck; in response, the
King dissolved the Diet, accusing it of trying to obtain
unconstitutional control over the ministry (which, under
the Constitution, was responsible solely to the king). Bismarck then issued an edict restricting the freedom of the
press; this policy even gained the public opposition of the
Crown Prince. Despite attempts to silence critics, Bismarck remained a largely unpopular politician. His supporters fared poorly in the elections of October 1863, in
which a liberal coalition (whose primary member was the
Progress Party) won over two-thirds of the seats. The
House made repeated calls for Bismarck to be dismissed,
but the King supported him as he feared that if he did dismiss the Minister President, he would likely be succeeded
by a liberal.[21]

Unication of Germany

Main article: Unication of Germany

5.1

Blood and Iron speech

Main article: Blood and Iron speech

German unication had been a major objective of the
revolutions of 1848, when representatives of the German
states met in Frankfurt and drafted a constitution creating
a federal union with a national parliament to be elected
by universal male surage. In April 1849, the Frankfurt
Parliament oered the title of Emperor to King Frederick
William IV. Fearing the opposition of the other German
princes and the military intervention of Austria and Russia, the King renounced this popular mandate. Thus, the
Frankfurt Parliament ended in failure for the German liberals. On 30 September 1862, Bismarck made a speech
to the Budget Committee of the Prussian Chamber of
Deputies, in which he expounded on the use of "iron and
blood" to achieve Prussias goals:
Prussia must concentrate and maintain its
power for the favorable moment which has
already slipped by several times. Prussias
boundaries according to the Vienna treaties are

Bismarck at 48, 1863

Germany, prior to the 1860s, consisted of a multitude of

principalities loosely bound together as members of the
German Confederation. Bismarck used both diplomacy
and the Prussian military to achieve unication, excluding
Austria from a unied Germany. Not only did this make
Prussia the most powerful and dominant component of
the new Germany, but also ensured that it remained authoritarian, rather than a liberal parliamentary regime.[23]
Bismarck faced a diplomatic crisis when Frederick VII
of Denmark died in November 1863. Succession to
the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were disputed;
they were claimed by Christian IX (Frederick VIIs heir
as King) and by Frederick von Augustenburg, a Danish duke. Prussian public opinion strongly favoured Augustenburgs claim, as Holstein and southern Schleswig
were and still are mostly German-speaking. Bismarck
took an unpopular step by insisting that the territories
legally belonged to the Danish monarch under the London
Protocol signed a decade earlier. Nonetheless, Bismarck denounced Christians decision to completely annex Schleswig to Denmark. With support from Aus-

6
tria, he issued an ultimatum for Christian IX to return
Schleswig to its former status. When Denmark refused,
Austria and Prussia invaded, commencing the Second
Schleswig War and Denmark was forced to cede both
duchies.

5 UNIFICATION OF GERMANY
The war lasted seven weeksGermans called it a
Blitzkrieg (lightning wara term also used in
1939).[27] Austria had a seemingly powerful army; it was
allied with most of the north German and all of the south
German states. Nevertheless Prussia won the decisive
Battle of Kniggrtz. The King and his generals wanted
to push onward, conquer Bohemia and march to Vienna,
but Bismarck, worried that Prussian military luck might
change or that France might intervene on Austrias side,
enlisted the help of the Crown Prince (who had opposed
the war but had commanded one of the Prussian armies at
Kniggrtz) to dissuade his father after stormy meetings.
Bismarck insisted on a soft peace with no annexations
and no victory parades, so as to be able to quickly restore
friendly relations with Austria.[28]

At rst this seemed like a victory for Frederick of Augustenburg, but Bismarck soon removed him from power
by making a series of unworkable demands, namely that
Prussia should have control over the army and navy of
the Duchies. Originally, it was proposed that the Diet
of the German Confederation (in which all the states of
Germany were represented) should determine the fate of
the duchies; but before this scheme could be eected,
Bismarck induced Austria to agree to the Gastein Convention. Under this agreement signed 20 August 1865,
Prussia received Schleswig, while Austria received Hol- As a result of the Peace of Prague (1866), the German
stein. In that year he was given the title of Graf (Count) Confederation was dissolved. Prussia annexed Schleswig,
Holstein, Frankfurt, Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, and Nassau.
von Bismarck-Schnhausen.[24]
Further, Austria promised not to intervene in German affairs. To solidify Prussian hegemony, Prussia forced the
5.3 Defeat of Austria
21 states north of the River Main to join it in forming
the North German Confederation in 1867. The confederation was governed by a constitution largely drafted by
Bismarck. Executive power was vested in a presidenta
hereditary oce of the kings of Prussia. He was assisted
by a chancellor responsible only to him. As president of
the confederation, Wilhelm appointed Bismarck as chancellor of the confederation. Legislation was the responsibility of the Reichstag, a popularly elected body, and the
Bundesrat, an advisory body representing the states. The
Bundesrat was, in practice, the stronger chamber. Bismarck was the dominant gure in the new arrangement;
as Foreign Minister of Prussia, he instructed the Prussian
deputies to the Bundesrat. Prussia only had a plurality
(17 out of 43 seats) in the Bundesrat despite being larger
1867 cartoon making fun of Bismarcks dierent roles, from than the other 21 states combined, but Bismarck could
general to minister of foreign aairs, federal chancellor, hunter, easily control the proceedings through alliances with the
diplomat and president of the Zollverein parliament.
smaller states. This began what historians refer to as The
Misery of Austria, in which Austria served as a mere
In 1866, Austria reneged on the agreement and demanded vassal to the superior Germany, a relationship that was to
that the Diet determine the SchleswigHolstein issue. shape history until the two World Wars. Bismarck had
Bismarck used this as an excuse to start a war with originally managed to convince smaller states like SaxAustria by accusing them of violating the Gastein Con- ony, Hesse-Kassel, and Hanover to join Prussia against
vention. Bismarck sent Prussian troops to occupy Hol- Austria, after promising them protection from foreign instein. Provoked, Austria called for the aid of other Ger- vasion, morale unity, and fair commercial laws.
man states, who quickly became involved in the AustroPrussian War.[25] Thanks to Roons reorganising, the Bismarck, who by now held the rank of major in the
Prussian army was nearly equal in numbers to the Aus- Landwehr, wore this uniform during the campaign, and
trian army. With the strategic genius of Moltke, the Prus- was at last promoted to the rank of major-general in the
sian army fought battles it was able to win. Bismarck Landwehr cavalry after the war. Although he never perhad also made a secret alliance with Italy, who desired sonally commanded troops in the eld, he usually wore
Austrian-controlled Venetia. Italys entry into the war a generals uniform in public for the rest of his life, as
seen in numerous paintings and photographs. He was also
forced the Austrians to divide their forces.[26]
given a cash grant by the Prussian Landtag, which he used
Meanwhile, as the war began, a German radical named to buy a new country estate, Varzin, larger than his existFerdinand Cohen-Blind attempted to assassinate Bis- ing estates combined.
marck in Berlin, shooting him ve times at close range.
Bismarck had only minor injuries; Cohen-Blind commit- Military success brought Bismarck tremendous political
support in Prussia. In the House of Deputies elections
ted suicide while in custody.

5.4

Franco-Prussian War 187071

of 1866, the liberals suered a major defeat, losing their

large majority. The new, largely conservative House was
on much better terms with Bismarck than previous bodies; at the Minister-Presidents request, it retroactively approved the budgets of the past four years, which had been
implemented without parliamentary consent. Bismarck
suspected it would split the liberal opposition. While
some liberals argued that constitutional government was
a bright line that should not be crossed, most of them believed it would be a waste of time to oppose the bill, and
supported it in hopes of winning more freedom in the future.

7
Wilhelm, as head of the House of Hohenzollern, assure
that no Hohenzollern would ever seek the Spanish crown
again. To provoke France into declaring war with Prussia, Bismarck published the Ems Dispatch, a carefully
edited version of a conversation between King Wilhelm
and the French ambassador to Prussia, Count Benedetti.
This conversation had been edited so that each nation felt
that its ambassador had been disrespected and ridiculed,
thus inaming popular sentiment on both sides in favor
of war. Langer, however, argues that this episode played
a minor role in causing the war.[31]

France mobilized and declared war on 19 July. The German states saw France as the aggressor; swept up by nationalism and patriotic zeal, they rallied to Prussias side
5.4 Franco-Prussian War 187071
and provided troops. Both of Bismarcks sons served as
ocers in the Prussian cavalry. The war was a great
Main article: Franco-Prussian War
success for Prussia as the German army, controlled by
Prussias victory over Austria increased tensions with Chief of Sta Moltke, won victory after victory. The
major battles were all fought in one month (7 August till
1 September), and both French armies were captured at
Sedan and Metz, the latter after a siege of some weeks.
Napoleon III was taken prisoner at Sedan and kept in Germany for a time in case Bismarck had need of him to
head the French regime; he later died in exile in England
in 1873. The remainder of the war featured a siege of
Paris, the city was ineectually bombarded";[32] the new
French republican regime then tried, without success, to
relieve Paris with various hastily assembled armies and
increasingly bitter partisan warfare.

Anton von Werner's depiction of Wilhelms proclamation as Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles; Bismarck is in the
centre-right wearing white.

France. Its emperor, Napoleon III, feared that a powerful Germany would change the balance of power in Europe; opposition politician Adolphe Thiers had observed,
it was France, not Austria, who was really defeated at
Kniggrtz. Bismarck, at the same time, did not avoid
war with France, though he feared the French for a number of reasons. First, he feared that Austria, hungry for
revenge, would ally with the French. Similarly, he feared
that the Russian army would assist France to maintain a
balance of power.[29] Still, however, Bismarck believed
that if the German states perceived France as the aggressor, they would unite behind the King of Prussia. To
achieve this he kept Napoleon III involved in various intrigues whereby France might gain territory from Luxembourg or BelgiumFrance never achieved any such gain,
but it was made to look greedy and untrustworthy.[30]

Bismarck acted immediately to secure the unication

of Germany. He negotiated with representatives of the
southern German states, oering special concessions if
they agreed to unication. The negotiations succeeded;
patriotic sentiment overwhelmed what opposition remained. While the war was in its nal phase Wilhelm
I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor on 18
January 1871 in the Hall of Mirrors in the Chteau de
Versailles.[33] The new German Empire was a federation: each of its 25 constituent states (kingdoms, grand
duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities) retained
some autonomy. The King of Prussia, as German Emperor, was not sovereign over the entirety of Germany;
he was only primus inter pares, or rst among equals. But
he held the presidency of the Bundesrat, which met to discuss policy presented by the Chancellor (whom the emperor appointed).

At the end, France had to surrender Alsace and part of

Lorraine, because Moltke and his generals wanted it as
a defensive barrier. Bismarck opposed the annexation
because he did not wish to make a permanent enemy of
France. France was also required to pay an indemnity;[34]
the indemnity gure was calculated, on the basis of popA suitable premise for war arose in 1870, when the Ger- ulation, as the precise equivalent of the indemnity which
man Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was Napoleon I imposed on Prussia in 1807.
oered the Spanish throne, vacant since a revolution in
1868. France pressured Leopold into withdrawing his
candidacy. Not content with this, Paris demanded that

6 CHANCELLOR OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE

Chancellor of the German Empire

Between Berlin and Rome, Bismarck (left) confronts the Pope,

1875

reach an understanding with other European governments

to manipulate future papal elections; governments should
agree beforehand on unsuitable candidates, and then instruct their national cardinals to vote appropriately. The
goal was to end the popes control over the bishops in a
given state, but the project went nowhere.
Otto von Bismarck in 1873.

Bismarck accelerated the Kulturkampf. In its course, all

Prussian bishops and many priests were imprisoned or
exiled.[36] Prussias population had greatly expanded in
the 1860s and was now one-third Catholic. Bismarck believed that the pope and bishops held too much power
over the German Catholics; he was further concerned
about the emergence of the Catholic Centre Party (organised in 1870). With support from the anticlerical
National Liberal Party, which had become Bismarcks
chief ally in the Reichstag, he abolished the Catholic Department of the Prussian Ministry of Culture. That left
the Catholics without a voice in high circles. In 1872,
the Jesuits were expelled from Germany. More severe
anti-Roman Catholic laws of 1873 allowed the Prussian
government to supervise the education of the Roman
Catholic clergy, and curtailed the disciplinary powers of
the Church. In 1875, civil ceremonies were required
for civil weddings. Hitherto, weddings in churches were
civilly recognized.[37][38]

In 1871, Otto von Bismarck was raised to the rank of

Frst (Prince). He was also appointed as the rst Imperial
Chancellor (Reichskanzler) of the German Empire, but
retained his Prussian oces (including those of MinisterPresident and Foreign Minister). He was also promoted
to the rank of lieutenant-general, and given another country estate, Friedrichsruh, near Hamburg, which was larger
than Varzin, making him a very wealthy landowner. He
also continued to serve as his own foreign minister. Because of both the imperial and the Prussian oces that he
held, Bismarck had near complete control over domestic and foreign policy. The oce of Minister President
of Prussia was temporarily separated from that of Chancellor in 1873, when Albrecht von Roon was appointed
to the former oce. But by the end of the year, Roon
resigned due to ill health, and Bismarck again became
Minister-President.
Kulturkampf became part of Bismarcks foreign-policy,
as he sought to destabilize and weaken Catholic regimes,
especially in Belgium and France.[39]

6.1

Kulturkampf

Bismarck launched an anti-Catholic Kulturkampf (culture struggle) in Prussia in 1871. This was partly motivated by Bismarcks fear that Pius IX and his successors would use papal infallibility to achieve the papal
desire for international political hegemony. ... The result was the Kulturkampf, which, with its largely Prussian measures, complemented by similar actions in several other German states, sought to curb the clerical danger by legislation restricting the Catholic churchs political power.[35] In May 1872 Bismarck thus attempted to

The Catholics reacted by organizing themselves; they

strengthened the Centre Party. Bismarck, a devout pietistic Protestant, was alarmed that secularists and socialists
were using the Kulturkampf to attack all religion. He
abandoned it in 1878 to preserve his remaining political capital. He now needed the Centre Party votes in his
new battle against socialism. Pius IX died that year, replaced by the more pragmatic Pope Leo XIII who negotiated away most of the anti-Catholic laws. The pope kept
control of the selection of bishops, and the Catholics supported unication and most of Bismarcks policies; how-

6.4

Socialism

ever they never forgot his culture war and preached soli- cerning the Poles[42] furthering enmity between the Gerdarity lest it ever happen again.[40]
man and Polish peoples. The policies were motivated by
Bismarcks view that Polish existence was a threat to the
German state. Bismarck compared Polish population to
animals that need to be shot and privately confessed that
he would like to exterminate them.[43][44]

6.4 Socialism
Worried by the growth of the socialist movement
in particular, that of the Social Democratic Party
Bismarck instituted the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1878. Socialist organizations and meetings were forbidden, as was
the circulation of socialist literature. Police ocers could
stop, search, and arrest socialist party members; socialist
leaders were arrested and tried by police courts. But despite these eorts, the movement steadily gained supporters and seats in the Reichstag. Socialists won seats in the
Reichstag by running as independent candidates, unaliated with any party, which was allowed by the German
Constitution.[45]

7 Foreign policies

Bismarck became Chancellor of Germany in 1871.

6.2

Economy

In 1873, Germany and much of Europe and America entered the Long Depression, the Grnderkrise. A downturn hit the German economy for the rst time since industrial development began to surge in the 1850s. To aid
faltering industries, the Chancellor abandoned free trade
and established protectionist import-taris, which alienated the National Liberals who demanded free trade. The
Kulturkampf and its eects also stirred up public opinion
against the party that supported it, and Bismarck used this
opportunity to distance himself from the National Liberals. This marked a rapid decline in the support of the
National Liberals, and by 1879 their close ties with Bismarck had all but ended. Bismarck instead returned to
conservative factionsincluding the Centre Partyfor
support. He helped foster support from the conservatives
by enacting several taris protecting German agriculture
and industry from foreign competitors in 1879.[41]

6.3

Main article: International relations of the Great Powers

(18141919)
Bismarck had unied his nation, and now he de-

Germanisation

The government tried to Germanise the states national

minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire,
such as the Danes in the North of Germany and the Poles
in the East of Germany. He pursued a hostile policy con-

A main objective of Bismarcks was to prevent other powers becoming an ally of France (shown as the lonely girl on the far
left).

voted himself to promoting peace in Europe with his

skills in statesmanship. He was forced to contend with
French revanchismthe desire to avenge the losses of the
Franco-Prussian War. Bismarck therefore engaged in a
policy of diplomatically isolating France while maintaining cordial relations with other nations in Europe. He had
little interest in naval or colonial entanglements and thus
avoided discord with Great Britain. Historians emphasize that he wanted no more territorial gains after 1871,
and vigorously worked to form cross-linking alliances that
prevented any war in Europe from starting. A. J. P. Taylor, a leading British diplomatic historian, concludes that,

10

7 FOREIGN POLICIES

Bismarck was an honest broker of peace; and his system

of alliances compelled every Power, whatever its will, to
follow a peaceful course.[46]
Well aware that Europe was skeptical of his powerful new
Reich, Bismarck turned his attention to preserving peace
in Europe based on a balance of power that would allow
Germanys economy to ourish. Bismarck feared that a
hostile combination of Austria, France, and Russia would
crush Germany. If two of them were allied, then the third
would ally with Germany only if Germany conceded excessive demands. The solution was to ally with two of
the three. In 1873 he formed the League of the Three
Emperors, an alliance of Wilhelm, Czar Alexander II of
Russia, and Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria-Hungary.
Together they would control Eastern Europe, making sure
that restive ethnic groups such as the Poles were kept in
control. The Balkans posed a more serious issue, and
Bismarcks solution was to give Austria predominance in
the western Balkan areas, and Russia in the eastern areas.
The system collapsed in 1887.[47]
In 1872, a protracted quarrel began to fester between Bismarck and Count Harry von Arnim, the imperial ambassador to France. Arnim saw himself as a rival and competitor for the chancellorship, but the rivalry escalated out
of hand, and Arnim took sensitive records from embassy
les at Paris to back up his case. He was formally accused of misappropriating ocial documents, indicted,
tried, and convicted, and ed into exile, where he died.
No one again openly challenged Bismarck in foreign policy matters until his resignation.[48]
Bismarck ca. 1875

7.1

France

it clear they would not tolerate a preventive war against

France. Bismarck did not want any war either, and the
crisis blew over. It was a rare instance where his opponents outmaneuvered and embarrassed Bismarck, but he
learned an important lesson. It forced him to take into account the fear and alarm that his bullying and Germanys
fast-growing power was causing among its neighbors. The
crisis reinforced Bismarcks determination that Germany
should work in proactive fashion to preserve the peace
in Europe, rather than passively let events take their own
course and react to them.[50][51]

Main article: International relations of the Great Powers

(18141919) War in Sight crisis of 1875
Between 1873 and 1877, according to Stone (1994),
Germany repeatedly acted the bully against France by
manipulating the internal aairs of Frances neighbors to
hurt it. Bismarck put heavy pressure on Belgium, Spain,
and Italy hoping to obtain the election of liberal, anticlerical governments. His plan was to promote republicanism
in France by isolating the clerical-monarchist regime of
President MacMahon. He hoped that ringing France with
liberal states would help the French republicans defeat 7.2
MacMahon and his reactionary supporters.[49]
The bullying almost got out of hand with a brief war
scare in mid-1875. It was sparked by an editorial entitled
Krieg-in-Sicht (War in Sight) in a Berlin newspaper
close to the government, the Post. It indicated that highly
inuential Germans were alarmed by Frances rapid recovery from defeat in 1875 and its announcement of an
increase in the size of its army. They talked of launching a
preventive war against France to hold it down. Bismarck
denied knowing about the article ahead of time, but he
certainly knew about the talk of preventive war. The editorial produced a war scare. Britain and Russia made

Italy

Bismarck maintained good relations with Italy, although

he had a personal dislike for Italians and their country.[52]
He can be seen as a marginal contributor to Italian unication. Politics surrounding the 1866 war against Austria
allowed Italy to annex Venetia, which had been a kingdom of the Austrian Empire since the 1815 Congress
of Vienna. In addition, French mobilization for the
Franco-Prussian War of 18701871 made it necessary
for Napoleon III to withdraw his troops from Rome and
The Papal States. Without these two events, Italian unication would have been a more prolonged process.

7.6

7.3

Avoiding war

Russia

After Russias victory over the Ottoman Empire in the

Russo-Turkish War of 187778, Bismarck helped negotiate a settlement at the Congress of Berlin. The Treaty
of Berlin revised the earlier Treaty of San Stefano, reducing the size of newly independent Bulgaria (a proRussian state at that time). Bismarck and other European leaders opposed the growth of Russian inuence and
tried to protect the integrity of the Ottoman Empire (see
Eastern Question). As a result, Russo-German relations
further suered, with the Russian chancellor Gorchakov
denouncing Bismarck for compromising his nations victory. The relationship was additionally strained due to
Germanys protectionist trade policies. Some in the German military clamored for a preemptive war with Russia,
but Bismarck said that Preemptive war is like committing suicide for fear of death.[53]

7.4

11
were sponsored by the Crown Prince, who might soon become Kaiser and remove Bismarck.[56][57] The old Kaiser
was 84 years old. Bismarck was inuenced by Hamburg merchants and traders, his neighbors at Friedrichsruh. The establishment of the German colonial empire
proceeded smoothly, starting with German New Guinea
in 1884.[58][59] Other European nations, led by Britain
and France, were acquiring colonies in a rapid fashion
(see New Imperialism). Bismarck therefore joined in
the Scramble for Africa. Germanys new colonies included Togoland (now Togo and part of Ghana), German
Kamerun (now Cameroon and part of Nigeria), German
East Africa (now Rwanda, Burundi, and the mainland
part of Tanzania), and German South-West Africa (now
Namibia). The Berlin Conference (188485) established
regulations for the acquisition of African colonies; in
particular, it protected free trade in certain parts of the
Congo basin. Germany also acquired colonies in the Pacic, such as German New Guinea.[60]

Triple Alliance
7.6 Avoiding war

The League of the Three Emperors having fallen apart,

Bismarck negotiated the Dual Alliance with Austria- In February 1888, during a Bulgarian crisis, Bismarck adHungary, in which each guaranteed the other against Rus- dressed the Reichstag on the dangers of a European war.
sian attack. He also negotiated the Triple Alliance in
1882 with Austria-Hungary and Italy. Italy and AustriaHe warned of the imminent possibility that
Hungary soon reached the Mediterranean Agreement
Germany will have to ght on two fronts; he
with Britain. Attempts to reconcile Germany and Russia
spoke of the desire for peace; then he set forth
did not have lasting eect: the Three Emperors League
the Balkan case for war and demonstrates its
was re-established in 1881, but quickly fell apart (the
futility:
end of the Russian-Austrian-Prussian solidarity which
Bulgaria, that little country between the
had existed in various forms since 1813). Bismarck
Danube and the Balkans, is far from being an
therefore negotiated the Reinsurance Treaty of 1887 with
object of adequate importance ... for which to
Russia, in order to prevent Franco-Russian encirclement
plunge Europe from Moscow to the Pyrenees,
of Germany. Both powers promised to remain neuand from the North Sea to Palermo, into a war
tral towards one another unless Russia attacked Austriawhose issue no man can foresee. At the end of
Hungary. However, after Bismarcks departure from ofthe conict we should scarcely know why we
ce Wilhelm II failed to renew the Reinsurance Treaty,
had fought.[61]
thus creating a critical problem for Germany in the event
of a war.
Bismarck also repeated his emphatic warning against any
German military involvement in Balkan disputes. Bismarck had rst made this famous comment to the Reich7.5 Colonies
stag in December 1876, when the Balkan revolts against
Bismarck had opposed colonial acquisitions, arguing that the Ottoman Empire threatened to extend to a war bethe burden of obtaining, maintaining, and defending such tween Austria and Russia.
possessions would outweigh any potential benet. He felt
that colonies did not pay for themselves, that the German bureaucratic system would not work well in the easygoing tropics, and that the diplomatic disputes colonies
brought would distract Germany from its central interest, Europe itself.[54] However, in 188384 he suddenly
reversed himself and overnight built a colonial empire
in Africa and the South Pacic. Historians have debated exactly why he made this sudden and short-lived
move.[55] He was aware that public opinion had started
to demand colonies for reasons of German prestige. He
also wanted to undercut the anti-colonial liberals who

Only a year later [1876], he is faced by

the alternative of espousing the cause of Russia or that of Austria. Immediately after the
last crisis, in the summer of 1875, the mutual jealousies between Russia and Austria had
been rendered acute by the fresh risings in
the Balkans against the Turks. Now the issues hung upon Bismarcks decision. Immediately after the peace, he had tried to paralyse the Balkan rivals by the formation of the
Three Emperors League. I have no thought

12

8 SOCIAL LEGISLATION
of intervening, he said privately. That might
precipitate a European war. [...] If I were
to espouse the cause of one of the parties,
France would promptly strike a blow on the
other side. [...] I am holding two powerful
heraldic beasts by their collars, and am keeping them apart for two reasons: rst of all, lest
they should tear one another to pieces; and secondly, lest they should come to an understanding at our expense. In the Reichstag, he popularises the same idea in the words: I am opposed to the notion of any sort of active participation of Germany in these matters, so long
as I can see no reason to suppose that German interests are involved, no interests on behalf of which it is worth our riskingexcuse
my plain speakingthe healthy bones of one
of our Pomeranian musketeers.[62]

status in the legal and political structures of the new German state.[66] In March 1884, Bismarck declared:

A leading diplomatic historian of the era, William L.

Langer sums up Bismarks two decades as Chancellor:
Whatever else may be said of the intricate
alliance system evolved by the German Chancellor, it must be admitted that it worked and
that it tided Europe over a period of several
critical years without a rupture. ... there was,
as Bismarck himself said, a premium upon the
maintenance of peace.[63]
Langer concludes:
His had been a great career, beginning with
three wars in eight years and ending with a period of 20 years during which he worked for
the peace of Europe, despite countless opportunities to embark on further enterprises with
more than even chance of success. ... No
other statesman of his standing had ever before
shown the same great moderation and sound
political sense of the possible and desirable. ...
Bismarck at least deserves full credit for having
steered European politics through this dangerous transitional period without serious conict
between the great powers.[64]

Social legislation

Bismarck implemented the worlds rst welfare state in

the 1880s. He worked closely with large industry and
aimed to stimulate German economic growth by giving
workers greater security.[65] A secondary concern was
trumping the Socialists, who had no welfare proposals of
their own and opposed Bismarcks. Bismarck especially
listened to Hermann Wagener and Theodor Lohmann,
advisers who persuaded him to give workers a corporate

Franz von Lenbach's portrait of Bismarck, painted in his 75th

year.

The real grievance of the worker is the insecurity of his existence; he is not sure that he
will always have work, he is not sure that he
will always be healthy, and he foresees that he
will one day be old and unt to work. If he falls
into poverty, even if only through a prolonged
illness, he is then completely helpless, left to
his own devices, and society does not currently
recognize any real obligation towards him beyond the usual help for the poor, even if he has
been working all the time ever so faithfully and
diligently. The usual help for the poor, however, leaves a lot to be desired, especially in
large cities, where it is very much worse than
in the country.[67]
Bismarcks idea was to implement welfare programs that
were acceptable to conservatives without any socialistic
aspects. He was dubious about laws protecting workers at the workplace, such as safe working conditions,
limitation of work hours, and the regulation of womens
and child labor. He believed that such regulation would
force workers and employers to reduce work and production, and thus harm the economy. Bismarck opened debate on the subject in November 1881 in the Imperial
Message to the Reichstag, using the term practical Christianity to describe his program.[68] Bismarcks program

8.3

Old Age and Disability Insurance Law of 1889

centered squarely on insurance programs designed to increase productivity, and focus the political attentions of
German workers on supporting the Junkers government.
The program included sickness insurance, accident insurance, disability insurance, and a retirement pension, none
of which were then in existence to any great degree.

13
party was afraid of the expansion of Federal Power at the
expense of States Rights. As a result, the only way the
program could be passed at all was for the entire expense
to be underwritten by the Employers. To facilitate this,
Bismarck arranged for the administration of this program
to be placed in the hands of Der Arbeitgeberverband in
den beruichen Korporationen (the Organization of Employers in Occupational Corporations). This organization
established central and bureaucratic insurance oces on
the Federal, and in some cases the State level to perform
the actual administration. The program kicked in to replace the sickness insurance program as of the 14th week.
It paid for medical treatment and a Pension of up to 2/3s
of earned wages if the worker was fully disabled. This
program was expanded in 1886 to include Agricultural
workers.[69]

Based on Bismarcks message, the Reichstag led three

bills to deal with the concepts of accident and sickness insurance. The subjects of retirement pensions and
disability insurance were placed on the back-burner for
the time being.[69] The social legislation implemented
by Bismarck in the 1880s played a key role in the
sharp, rapid decline of German emigration to America.
Young men considering emigration looked at not only the
gap between higher hourly direct wages in the United
States and Germany but also the dierential in indirect wagessocial benets, which favored staying in
Germany. The young men went to German industrial
cities, so that Bismarcks insurance system partly oset 8.3 Old Age and Disability Insurance Law
of 1889
low wage rates in Germany and furthered the fall of the
emigration rate.[70]
The Old Age Pension program, an insurance equally nanced by employers and workers, was designed to provide a pension annuity for workers who reached age 70
8.1 Sickness Insurance Law of 1883
years. Unlike the Accident Insurance and Sickness InThe rst bill that had success was the Sickness Insurance surance programs, this program covered all categories of
Bill, which was passed in 1883. Bismarck considered workersindustrial, agrarian, artisans and servants from
the program the least important and the least politically the start. Also, unlike the other two programs, the printroublesome. The program was established to provide ciple that the national government should contribute a
sickness insurance for German industrial laborers.[71][72] portion of the underwriting cost, with the other two porThe health service was established on a local basis, with tions prorated accordingly, was accepted without questhe cost divided between employers and the employed. tion. The Disability Insurance program was intended to
The employers contributed 1/3, while the workers con- be used by those permanently disabled. This time, the
[73]
tributed 2/3s. The minimum payments for medical treat- State or Province supervised the programs directly.
ment and sick pay for up to 13 weeks were legally xed.
The individual local health bureaus were administered by
a committee elected by the members of each bureau, and 9 Forced to resign
this move had the unintended eect of establishing a majority representation for the workers on account of their
large nancial contribution. This worked to the advantage In 1888, the German Emperor, Wilhelm I, died leaving
of the Social Democrats whothrough heavy Worker the throne to his son, Friedrich III. The new monarch was
membershipachieved their rst small foothold in pub- already suering from an incurable throat cancer and died
after reigning for only 99 days. He was succeeded by his
lic administration.[69]
son, Wilhelm II, who opposed Bismarcks careful foreign
policy, preferring vigorous and rapid expansion to enlarge
Germanys place in the sun.[75]
8.2 Accident Insurance Law of 1884
Bismarcks government had to submit three draft bills before they could get one passed by the Reichstag in 1884.
Bismarck had originally proposed that the Federal Government pay a portion of the Accident Insurance contribution. Bismarcks motive was a demonstration of the
willingness of the German government to lessen the hardship experienced by the German workers as a means of
weaning them away from the various left-wing parties,
most importantly the Social Democrats. The National
Liberals took this program to be an expression of State
Socialism, which they were dead set against. The Center

Bismarck was 16 years older than Friedrich. Before the

latter became terminally ill, Bismarck did not expect he
would live to see Wilhelm ascend to the throne, and thus
had no strategy to deal with him. Conicts between Wilhelm II and his chancellor soon poisoned their relationship. Perhaps on account of his prominent role in Wilhelms upbringing, Bismarck believed that he could dominate the young Kaiser and showed little respect for his
policies in the late 1880s. However, Wilhelm wanted
to be his own master and was surrounded by sycophants
telling him that Frederick the Great would not have been
so great with a Bismarck at his side. Their nal split

14
occurred after Bismarck tried to implement far-reaching
anti-Socialist laws in early 1890. The Kartell majority
in the Reichstag, of the amalgamated Conservative Party
and the National Liberal Party, was willing to make most
of the laws permanent. But it was split about the law
allowing the police the power to expel socialist agitators from their homes, a power used excessively at times
against political opponents. The National Liberals refused to make this law permanent, while the Conservatives supported only the entirety of the bill and threatened
to and eventually vetoed the entire bill in session because
Bismarck would not agree to a modied bill.[76]

A painting of Bismarck, late in his career, by Franz von Lenbach

As the debate continued, Wilhelm became increasingly

interested in social problems, especially the treatment
of mine workers during their strike in 1889, and keeping with his active policy in government, routinely interrupted Bismarck in Council to make clear his social
policy. Bismarck sharply disagreed with Wilhelms policy and worked to circumvent it. Even though Wilhelm
supported the altered anti-socialist bill, Bismarck pushed
for his support to veto the bill in its entirety. But when
his arguments could not convince Wilhelm, Bismarck became excited and agitated until uncharacteristically blurting out his motive to see the bill fail: to have the socialists agitate until a violent clash occurred that could be
used as a pretext to crush them. Wilhelm replied that he
was not willing to open his reign with a bloody campaign
against his own subjects. The next day, after realizing his
blunder, Bismarck attempted to reach a compromise with
Wilhelm by agreeing to his social policy towards industrial workers, and even suggested a European council to
discuss working conditions, presided over by the German
Emperor.

FORCED TO RESIGN

Despite this, a turn of events eventually led to his distancing from Wilhelm. Bismarck, feeling pressured and
unappreciated by the Emperor and undermined by ambitious advisers, refused to sign a proclamation regarding
the protection of workers along with Wilhelm, as was required by the German Constitution, to protest Wilhelms
ever increasing interference to Bismarcks previously unquestioned authority. Bismarck also worked behind the
scenes to break the Continental labour council on which
Wilhelm had set his heart.[77]
The nal break came as Bismarck searched for a new parliamentary majority, with his Kartell voted from power
due to the anti-socialist bill asco. The remaining forces
in the Reichstag were the Catholic Centre Party and
the Conservative Party. Bismarck wished to form a
new block with the Centre Party, and invited Ludwig
Windthorst, the parliamentary leader, to discuss an alliance. This would be Bismarcks last political manoeuvre. Wilhelm was furious to hear about Windthorsts
visit. In a parliamentary state, the head of government
depends on the condence of the parliamentary majority, and certainly has the right to form coalitions to ensure his policies a majority. However, in Germany, the
Chancellor depended on the condence of the Emperor
alone, and Wilhelm believed that the Emperor had the
right to be informed before his ministers meeting. After
a heated argument in Bismarcks oce Wilhelm, whom
Bismarck had allowed to see a letter from Tsar Alexander
III describing him as a badly brought-up boy, stormed
out, after rst ordering the rescinding of the Cabinet Order of 1851, which had forbidden Prussian Cabinet Ministers to report directly to the King of Prussia, requiring
them instead to report via the Prime Minister. Bismarck,
forced for the rst time into a situation he could not use
to his advantage, wrote a blistering letter of resignation,
decrying Wilhelms interference in foreign and domestic
policy, which was published only after Bismarcks death.
Bismarck resigned at Wilhelm IIs insistence on 18 March
1890, at age 75, to be succeeded as Chancellor of
Germany and Minister-President of Prussia by Leo von
Caprivi.[78] Bismarck was discarded (dropping the pilot, in the words of the famous Punch cartoon), promoted to the rank of Colonel-General with the Dignity
of Field Marshal (so-called because the German Army
did not appoint full Field Marshals in peacetime) and
given a new title, Duke of Lauenburg, which he joked
would be useful when travelling incognito. He was soon
elected to the Reichstag as a National Liberal in Bennigsens old and supposedly safe Hamburg seat, but he
was embarrassed by being taken to a second ballot by a
Social Democrat opponent, and never actually took up his
seat. He entered into a restless, resentful retirement on his
estates at Varzin, now part of Poland. Within one month
of his wifes death on 27 November 1894, he moved to
Friedrichsruh near Hamburg, waiting in vain to be called
upon for advice and counsel.

9.2

Death

"Dropping the Pilot" Famous caricature by Sir John Tenniel

(1820-1914), published in an English magazine, 29 March 1890.

15

Bismarck on his 80th birthday (1 April 1895)

9.2 Death
9.1

Last warning and prediction

In December 1897, the Emperor Wilhelm II visited Bismarck for the last time. Bismarck again warned him
about the dangers of improvising government policy
based on the intrigues of courtiers and militarists. Bismarcks last warning was:
Your Majesty, so long as you have this
present ocer corps, you can do as you please.
But when this is no longer the case, it will be
very dierent for you.[79]
Subsequently, Bismarck made this prediction:
"Jena came twenty years after the death
of Frederick the Great; the crash will come
twenty years after my departure if things go
on like this"a prophecy fullled with the
Kaisers abdication almost twenty years to the
day after Bismarcks death.[80]

Bismarck spent his nal years composing his memoirs

(Gedanken und Erinnerungen, or Thoughts and Memories), a work of literary genius but questionable accuracy, in which he increased the drama around every event
and always presented himself favorably. He died in July
1898 at the age of 83 in Friedrichsruh, where he is entombed in the Bismarck Mausoleum. He was succeeded
as Frst von Bismarck-Schnhausen by his son Herbert.
He continued his feud with Wilhelm II by attacking him
in his memoirs and by publishing the text of the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, a breach of national security
for which any individual of lesser status would have been
prosecuted.
Bismarck managed one nal attack on Wilhelm II by having his tombstone inscribed with the words Here lies a
true servant of the Emperor Wilhelm I.

10 Legacy and memory

According to Albert Ballin, the year before he died Bis- Historians have reached a broad consensus on the content,
marck told him:
function and importance of the image of Bismarck within
Germanys political culture over the past 125 years.[82][83]
One day the great European War will
According to Steinberg, his achievements in 186271
come out of some damned foolish thing in the
were the greatest diplomatic and political achievement
Balkans.[81]
by any leader in the last two centuries.[84]

16

10

LEGACY AND MEMORY

because it consciously reined in any expansionist drives.

In dramatic contrast stands the ambition of Wilhelm IIs
Weltpolitik to secure the Reichs future through expansion, leading to World War I. Likewise Bismarcks policy
to deny the military a dominant voice in foreign political decision making was overturned by 1914 as Germany
became an armed state.
Bismarcks psychology and personal traits have not been
so favourably received by scholars. The American historian Jonathan Steinberg portrays a malign genius who
was deeply vengeful, even toward his closest friends
and family members. Evans says he was intimidating
and unscrupulous, playing to others frailties, not their
strengths.[85] British historians, including Evans, Taylor,
Palmer and Crankshaw, see Bismarck as an ambivalent
gure, undoubtedly a man of great skill but who left no
lasting system in place to guide successors less skilled
than himself. Being a committed monarchist himself,
Bismarck allowed no eective constitutional check on the
power of the Emperor, thus placing a time bomb in the
foundation of the Germany that he created.

Otto von Bismarck statue in Berlin

Observers at the time and ever since have commented

on Bismarcks skill as a writer. As Henry Kissinger
has noted, The man of 'blood and iron' wrote prose
of extraordinary directness and lucidity, comparable
in distinctiveness to Churchill's use of the English
language.[86]
During most of his nearly 30-year-long tenure, Bismarck
held undisputed control over the governments policies.
He was well supported by his friend Albrecht von Roon,
the war minister, as well as the leader of the Prussian
army Helmuth von Moltke. Bismarcks diplomatic moves
relied on a victorious Prussian military, and these two
men gave Bismarck the victories he needed to convince
the smaller German states to join Prussia.

Bismarcks most important legacy is the unication of

Germany. Germany had existed as a collection of hundreds of separate principalities and Free Cities since the
formation of the Holy Roman Empire. Over the centuries various rulers had tried to unify the German states
without success until Bismarck. Largely as a result of
Bismarcks eorts, the various German kingdoms were Bismarck took steps to silence or restrain political opposition, as evidenced by laws restricting the freedom of
united into a single country.
the press, and the anti-socialist laws. He waged a culFollowing unication, Germany became one of the most
ture war (Kulturkampf) against the Catholic Church until
powerful nations in Europe. Bismarcks astute, cauhe realized the conservatism of the Catholics made them
tious, and pragmatic foreign policies allowed Germany to
natural allies against the Socialists. His king Wilhelm I
peacefully retain the powerful position into which he had
rarely challenged the Chancellors decisions; on several
brought it; maintaining amiable diplomacy with almost all
occasions, Bismarck obtained his monarchs approval by
European nations. France, the main exception, was devthreatening to resign. However, Wilhelm II intended to
astated by Bismarcks wars and his harsh subsequent poligovern the country himself, making the ousting of Biscies towards it; France became one of Germanys most
marck one of his rst tasks as Kaiser. Bismarcks succesbitter enemies in Europe. Austria, too, was weakened
sors as Chancellor were much less inuential, as power
by the creation of a German Empire, though to a much
was concentrated in the Emperors hands.
lesser extent than France. Bismarck believed that as long
as Britain, Russia and Italy were assured of the peaceful
nature of the German Empire, French belligerency could
10.1 Memorials
be contained; his diplomatic feats were undone, however,
by Kaiser Wilhelm II, whose policies unied other Eu- Immediately after he left oce, citizens started to praise
ropean powers against Germany in time for World War him and established funds to build monuments like
I.
the Bismarck Memorial or towers dedicated to him.
Historians stress that Bismarcks peace-oriented, satu- Throughout Germany, the accolades were unending, sevrated continental diplomacy was increasingly unpopular, eral buildings were named in his honour, portraits of

17

Memorial dedicated to Bismarck as a student at the Rudelsburg

The Bismarck Monument, Hamburg

him were commissioned from artists such as Franz von

over the past which raged between 1918 and 1933. This
Lenbach and C.W. Allers and books about him became
myth proved to be a weapon against the Weimar Repubbest-sellers. The rst monument built in his honour was
lic, and exercised a destructive inuence on the political
the one at Bad Kissingen erected in 1877.
culture of the rst German democracy. Frankel (2005)
Numerous statues and memorials dot the cities, towns, shows the Bismarck cult fostered and legitimized a new
and countryside of Germany, including the famous style of right-wing politics, and made possible the postBismarck Memorial in Berlin and numerous Bismarck Bismarckian crisis of leadership, both real and perceived,
towers on four continents. The only memorial depicting that had Germans seeking the strongest possible leader
him as a student at Gttingen University (together with and asking, What Would Bismarck Do?"
a dog, possibly his Reichshund Tyras) and as a member
For example, Hamburgs memorial, unveiled in 1906, is
of his Corps Hannovera was re-erected in 2006 at the
considered one of the greatest expressions of imperial
Rudelsburg. The gleaming white 1906 Bismarck MonuGermanys Bismarck cult and an important development
ment in the city of Hamburg, stands in the centre of the St.
in the history of German memorial art. It was a prodPauli district, and is the largest, and probably best-known,
uct of the desire of Hamburgs patrician classes to dememorial to Bismarck worldwide. The statues depicted
fend their political privileges in the face of dramatic social
[87]
him as massive, monolithic, rigid and unambiguous.
change and attendant demands for political reform. To
Two warships were named in his honour, the SMS Bisthose who presided over its construction, the monument
marck of the German Imperial Navy, and the Bismarck
was also a means of asserting Hamburgs cultural aspirafrom the World War IIera.
tions and of shrugging o a reputation as a city hostile to
the arts. The memorial was greeted with widespread disapproval among the working classes and did not prevent
10.2 Bismarck myth
their increasing support for the Social Democrats.[88]
Gerwarth (2007) shows that the Bismarck myth, built up
predominantly during his years of retirement and even
more stridently after his death, proved a powerful rhetorical and ideological tool. The myth made him out to be a 11 Place names
dogmatic ideologue and ardent nationalist when, in fact,
he was ideologically exible. Gerwarth argues that the
constructed memory of Bismarck played a central role as A number of localities around the world have been named
an anti-democratic myth in the highly ideological battle in Bismarcks honour. They include:

18

14

REFERENCES

Bismarck Archipelago, near the former German itself and the sovereignty that would have transformed his
colony of New Guinea.
family into a mediatized house. Bismarck regarded it as a
mockery of his ambition, and he considered nothing more
Bismarck, Illinois
cruel than this action of the emperor.[89]
Bismarck, North Dakota, a city and state capital in On Bismarcks death in 1898, his dukedom (held only for
the United States.
his own lifetime) was extinguished and the princely title
passed to his eldest son, Herbert.
Bismarck, Missouri, a city in Missouri.
Bismarck Sea
Bismarck Strait, a channel in Antarctica.
Bismarckburg (Kasanga, Tanzania)

12

Titles and styles from birth to

death

1 April 1815 1865: Junker Otto von Bismarck

18651871: High Born Count Otto of BismarckSchnhausen
18711890: His Serene Highness The Prince of Bismarck
1890 30 July 1898: His Serene Highness The
Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg
Bismarck was created Graf von Bismarck-Schnhausen
(Count of Bismarck-Schnhausen) in 1865; this comital title is borne by all his descendants in the male line. In
1871, he was further created Frst von Bismarck (Prince
of Bismarck) and accorded the style of Durchlaucht
(equivalent to Serene Highness); this princely title descended only to his eldest male heirs.

13 See also
Adelbert Theodor Wangemann, made only known
recording of Bismarcks voice
Film footage of Bismarck removing his military helmet
Gerson von Bleichrder, Bismarcks banker and
economics advisor
Here is Germany
House of Bismarck
Wilhelm Stieber, master spy

14 References
[1] Steinberg, Jonathan. Bismarck: A Life. p. 51. ISBN
9780199782529.
[2] Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire: 18751914 (1987),
p. 312.
[3] Lowe, Charles (2005). Prince Bismarck: An Historical
Biography With Two Portraits. Kessinger Publishing. p.
538. ISBN 9781419180033.
[4] Field 1898, pp. 6034.

12.1

Duke of Lauenburg

In 1890, Bismarck was created further Herzog von Lauenburg (Duke of Lauenburg"; the Duchy was one of the
territories which Prussia seized from the Danish king in
1864).
It was Bismarcks ambition to be assimilated into the
mediatized houses of Germany. He attempted to persuade Kaiser Wilhelm I that he should be endowed with
the sovereign duchy of Lauenburg, in reward for his services to the imperial family and the German empire. This
was on the understanding that Bismarck would immediately restore the duchy to Prussia; all that he wanted was
the privilege of a mediatized family for himself and his
descendants. This novel idea was turned down by the conservative emperor, who thought that he had already given
the chancellor enough rewards. There is reason to believe
that he informed Wilhelm II of his wishes. After being
forced by the sovereign to resign, he received the purely
honoric title of Duke of Lauenburg, without the duchy

[5] Steinberg, 2011, pp. 3941.

[6] Steinberg, 2011, p. 93.
[7] Panze 1971, p. 56.
[8] Steinberg, 2011, p. 89.
[9] Steinberg, 2011, p. 86.
[10] Steinberg, 2011, pp. 8788.
[11] Panze 1971, p. 64.
[12] Alan Palmer, Bismarck [Charles Scribner Publishers:
New York, 1976] p. 41
[13] Alan Palmer, Bismarck, p. 42.
[14] Steinberg, 2011, p. 117.
[15] Steinberg, 2011, pp. 14243.
[16] Quotations from letters between Leopold von Gerlach and
Bismarck debating the topic of Napoleon III are in Steinberg, 2011, pp. 13133.

19

[17] Steinberg, 2011, ch. 5.

[18] Steinberg, 2011, ch. 6.
[19] Eyck 1964, pp. 5868.
[20] Taylor 1955, pp. 4851.
[21] Eyck 1964, pp. 6970.

[44] The Immigrant Threat: The Integration of Old and New

Migrants in Western Europe Since 1850 (Studies of World
Migrations) Page 60 Leo Lucassen 2005 University of
Illinois The depth of his hatred for the Poles is illustrated
by a letter Bismarck wrote in 1861 to his sister: Hit the
Poles, so that they break down. If we want to exist, we
have to exterminate them;"
[45] Friedrich Darmstaedter, Bismarck and the creation of the
Second Reich (2008) p. xiv, xvii

[22] Hollyday 1970, pp. 1618.

[46] A.J.P. Taylor, Europe: Grandeur and Decline (1967) p 89
[23] Gordon A. Craig, Germany, 18661945 (1978), pp 121
[24] Eyck 1964, pp. 58106.
[25] Eyck 1964, pp. 10738.
[26] Pearce 2010.
[27] Friedrich Darmstaedter (2008). Bismarck and the Creation of the Second Reich. Transaction Publishers. p. 289.
ISBN 9781412807838.
[28] Steinberg, 2011, p. 253.
[29] Bismarck, Otto von (1966). The Memoirs vol. II. New
York, NY: Howard Fertig. pp. 5860.
[30] Eyck 1964, pp. 13986
[31] William Langer, Bismarck as Dramatist, in Studies in
Diplomatic History & Historiography in Honour of G.P.
Gooch (1962) pp 199216,

[47] Raymond James Sontag, European Diplomatic History:

18711932 (1933) pp 358
[48] Crankshaw 1981, p. 322.
[49] James Stone, Bismarck and the Containment of France,
18731877, Canadian Journal of History (1994) 29#2
pp 281304, online
[50] Lothar Gall, Bismarck: The White Revolutionary, Volume
2: 18711898 (1986) pp 4648
[51] William L. Langer, European Alliances and Alignments,
18711890 (2nd ed. 1950) pp 4455
[52] Taylor 1969, p. 212.
[53] Retallack 2008, p. 29.
[54] Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann. Domestic Origins of
Germanys Colonial Expansion under Bismarck. Past &
Present (Feb 1969), Issue 42, pp 140159 in JSTOR
[55] Kennedy 1988, ch 10.

[32] Taylor 1969, p. 126.

[56] Eyck 1964, pp. 27376.
[33] Crankshaw.
[34] Taylor 1969, p. 133.

[57] Wehler 1970, pp. 11955.

[58] Strandmann 1969, pp. 14059.

[35] Hollyday 1970, p. 6.

[59] Crankshaw 1981, pp. 39597.

[36] Blackbourn 1998, pp. 2613.

[60] S. G. Firth, The New Guinea Company, 1885

1899: A case of unprotable imperialism, Historical Studies (1972) 15#59 pp 361377 DOI:10.1080/
10314617208595478

[37] Ross 2000.

[38] Gross 2005.

[61] Ludwig 1927a, p. 73.

[39] James Stone, Bismarck and the Containment of France,
1873-1877, Canadian Journal of History (1994) 29#2 pp
281-304 online
[40] Rebecca Ayako Bennette, Fighting for the Soul of Germany: The Catholic Struggle for Inclusion after Unication (Harvard U.P. 2012)
[41] E. J. Feuchtwanger, Bismarck (2002) p. 208
[42] Koschnirk, Leonore; von Specht, Agnete. Room 10: The
Social Dimension - Founders and Enemies of the Empire"". Deutsches Historisches Museum. Archived from
the original on 2 July 2004.
[43] Norman Davies, Gods Playground, a History of Poland:
1795 to the present (1982) p 124 online

[62] Ludwig 1927b, p. 511.

[63] William L. Langer, European Alliances and Alignments:
18711890 (2nd ed.) 1950 p 459
[64] Langer, European Alliances and Alignments: 18711890
pp 50304
[65] E. P. Hennock, The Origin of the Welfare State in England and Germany, 18501914: Social Policies Compared
(Cambridge University Press, 2007)
[66] E. P. Hennock. Social Policy under the Empire: Myths
and Evidence German History 1998 16(1): 5874; Herman Beck, The Origins of the Authoritarian Welfare State
in Prussia. Conservatives, Bureaucracy, and the Social
Question, 181570. 1995.

20

[67] Frederic B. M. Hollyday, Bismarck (1970) p. 65

[68] Moritz Busch. Bismarck: Some secret pages from his history. New York: Macmillan, 1898. Vol. II, p. 282
[69] Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany 1840
1945. Princeton UP, 1969. pp. 29193.
[70] David Khoudour-Castras. Welfare State and Labor Mobility: The Impact of Bismarcks Social Legislation on
German Emigration Before World War I. Journal of Economic History 68.1 (2008): 211243.
[71] Leichter, Howard M. (1979). A comparative approach to
policy analysis: health care policy in four nations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 121. ISBN 0521-22648-1. The Sickness Insurance Law (1883). Eligibility. The Sickness Insurance Law came into eect in
December 1884. It provided for compulsory participation
by all industrial wage earners (i.e., manual laborers) in factories, ironworks, mines, shipbuilding yards, and similar
workplaces.
[72] Hennock, Ernest Peter (2007). The origin of the welfare
state in England and Germany, 18501914: social policies
compared. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.
157. ISBN 978-0-521-59212-3.
[73] E. P. Hennock, Social Policy in the Bismarck Era: A
Progress Report, German History, (June 2003) 21#2 pp
229238 online
[74] Cowen 2012.
[75] Craig, (1978) pp 22529
[76] Steinberg, 2011, pp. 42964.
[77] Craig, (1978) pp 17179
[78] Rich, Norman (1965). Friedrich von Holstein: politics and
diplomacy in the era of Bismarck and Wilhelm II 1. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 27983.shows that
Friedrich von Holstein was a key player
[79] Palmer, Alan (1976). Bismarck. New York City: Charles
Scribners Sons. p. 267. ISBN 978-0684146836.
[80] Taylor 1969, p. 264.
[81] Churchill, Winston (1923). The World Crisis. Charles
Scribners Sons. p. 195.
[82] Mller (2008)
[83] Urbach (1998)

15 BIBLIOGRAPHY

[88] Mark A.Russell, The Building of Hamburgs Bismarck

Memorial, 18981906, Historical Journal 2000 43(1):
133156
[89] THE MEDIATIZED OR THE HIGH NOBILITY
OF EUROPE; Consisting of Something Like Fifty families Which Enjoyed-Petty Sovereignty Before the Holy
Roman Empires Overthrow, They Still Exercise Certain Special Privileges Mixed with Unusual Restrictions..
New York Times. 27 September 1908.

15 Bibliography
15.1 Biographical
Crankshaw, Edward (1981), Bismarck, The Viking
Press.
Darmstaedter, Friedrich. Bismarck and the Creation of the Second Reich (2008)
Dawson, William Harbutt. The Evolution of Modern
Germany (1908), 503pp covers 18711906 with focus on social and economic history & colonies online
free
Engelberg, Ernst. Bismarck; 2 vols., (198690);
major academic study by an east-German historian
(only in German)
Eyck, Erich (1964), Bismarck and the German Empire, ISBN 0393002357 (excerpt and text search)
Feuchtwanger, Edgar (2002), Bismarck, Historical Biographies, Routledge, 276 pp., basic starting
point.
Gall, Lothar (1986), Bismarck: The White Revolutionary, 2 vol; major academic study
Headlam, James Wyclie. Bismarck and the Foundation of the German Empire (1899) 471 pp solid
old biography online
Heuston, Kimberley Burton (2010), Otto von Bismarck: Iron Chancellor of Germany, Franklin
Watts.
Hollyday, FBM (1970), Bismarck, Great Lives Observed, Prentice-Hall.

[84] Steinberg, 2011, p. 184.

[85] Richard J. Evans, The Gambler in Blood and Iron, New
York Review (23 February 2012) p 39
[86] Kissinger 2011.
[87] Sieglinde Seele, Lexikon der Bismarck-Denkmler.
Trme, Standbilder, Bsten, Gedenksteine und andere
Ehrungen, Michael Imhof Verlag: Petersberg, 2005; 480
pp.

Kent, George O (1978), Bismarck and His Times.

Kissinger, Henry A (31 March 2011), Otto von
Bismarck, Master Statesman, The New York Times
(book review).
Lerman, Katharine Anne. Bismarck: Proles in
Power. Longman, 2004. ISBN 0-582-03740-9;
312pp

15.3

Specialized studies

Ludwig, Emil (1927a), Wilhelm Hohenzollern:

The last of the Kaisers, New York, ISBN
9780766143418, popular.
Ludwig, Emil (1927b), Bismarck: The Story of a
Fighter, Little, Brown, popular.

21
Sheehan, James J. German History, 17701866
(1989), dense, thorough political history
(1978), German liberalism in
the ninetury century (EBOOKS), University of
Chicago Press; ACLS

Panze, Otto, Bismarck and the Development of

Germany; 3 vols., 196390. vol 1 online, Bismarck 15.3 Specialized studies
and the Development of Germany: The Period of
Unication, 18151871
Beck, Hermann (1995), Origins of the Authoritarian
Welfare State in Prussia, 18151870.
Panze, Otto (Apr 1955), Bismarck and German
Nationalism, American Historical Review 60 (3):
54866, doi:10.2307/1845577, JSTOR 1845577
Steinberg, Jonathan. Bismarck: A Life (Oxford University Press, 2011), 592 pp
Stern, Fritz (1977), Gold and Iron: Bismarck, Bleichrder and the Building of the German Empire,
Penguin.
Taylor, A.J.P. (1969), Bismarck: the Man and the
Statesman, New York: Alfred A Knopf.

15.2

Surveys

Berghahn, Volker. Imperial Germany, 18711914

(1994)
Blackbourn, David (1998), The Long Nineteenth
Century: A History of Germany, 17801918.
Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and
Downfall of Prussia, 16001947 (2009)

Clark, Chester Wells. Franz Joseph and Bismarck:

The Diplomacy of Austria before the War of 1866
(Harvard University Press, 1934).
Field, WG (October 1898), Bismarcks First
School, The Journal of Education (Oxford University Press) 20: 6034.
Goddard, Stacie E. When Right Makes Might:
How Prussia Overturned the European Balance of
Power, International Security, Volume 33, Number
3, Winter 2008/09, pp. 11042 in Project MUSE,
covers 186471
Gross, Michael B (2005), The War against Catholicism: Liberalism and the Anti-Catholic Imagination
in Nineteenth-Century Germany.
Hennock, E. P. The Origin of the Welfare State in
England and Germany, 18501914: Social Policies
Compared (Cambridge University Press, 2007) 381
pp.

Craig, Gordon A. Germany, 18661945 (1978)

online edition

Hennock, E. P. Social Policy in the Bismarck Era:

A Progress Report, German History, (June 2003)
21#2 pp 229238 online

Holborn, Hajo (1969), The Constitutional Conict

in Prussia and the Early Years of the Bismarck Ministry, The History of Modern Germany 18401945,
Alfred A Knopf, pp. 13172.

Howard, Michael. The Franco-Prussian War: The

German invasion of France, 18701871 (1961)
excerpt and text search

(1969), The Founding of the

New German Empire, 186571, The History of
Modern Germany 18401945, Alfred A Knopf, pp.
173229.
(1969), Bismarck and the
Consolidation of the German Empire, 187190,
The History of Modern Germany 18401945, Alfred
A Knopf, pp. 23397.
Langer, William L. European alliances and alignments, 18711890 (1964)
Retallack, James N (2008), Imperial Germany,
18711918, Oxford University Press.
Robinson, Janet, and Joe Robinson. Handbook of
Imperial Germany (2009) excerpt and text search

Kennedy, Paul M (1988), The Rise of the AngloGerman Antagonism, 18601914.

Kissinger, Henry. The White Revolutionary: Reections on Bismarck, Daedalus Vol. 97, No. 3,
(Summer, 1968), pp. 888924 in JSTOR
Lord, Robert H. Bismarck and Russia in 1863,
American Historical Review, Vol. 29, No. 1 (October 1923), pp. 248. in JSTOR
Mork, Gordon R. Bismarck and the 'Capitulation'
of German Liberalism, Journal of Modern History
Vol. 43, No. 1 (Mar., 1971), pp. 5975 in JSTOR
Paur, Philip. The Corporatist Character of Bismarcks Social Policy, European History Quarterly,
Oct 1981; vol. 11: pp. 42760.

22

15 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ross, Ronald J (1998), The Failure of Bismarcks

Kulturkampf: Catholicism and State Power in Imperial Germany, 18711887, The Catholic University
of America Press, 219 pp.

Frankel, Richard E (2005), Bismarcks Shadow. The

Cult of Leadership and the Transformation of the
German Right, 18981945, ISBN 1-84520-033-0,
222 pp.

Stone, James. Bismarck Ante Portas! Germany

and the Seize Mai Crisis of 1877. Diplomacy &
Statecraft (2012) 23#2 pp: 209-235.

Gerwarth, Robert. Inventing the Iron Chancellor,

History Today 2007 57(6): 4349, in EBSCO

Stern, Fritz. Gold and Iron: Bismark, Bleichroder,

and the Building of the German Empire (1979) economic and nancial history; Bismark worked closely
with this leading banker excerpt and text search
Stone, James (1994), Bismarck and the Containment of France, 18731877, Canadian Journal of
History 29 (2)
Strandmann, Hartmut Pogge von, Domestic Origins of Germanys Colonial Expansion under Bismarck, Past & Present No. 42 (Feb., 1969), pp.
14059 in JSTOR
Waller, Bruce. Bismarck at the Crossroads. The
Reorientation of German Foreign Policy after the
Congress of Berlin 18781880 (1974)
Wawro, Georey. The Franco-Prussian War: The
German Conquest of France in 18701871(2005)
Wawro, Georey. The War Scare of 1875: Bismarck and Europe in the Mid-1870s. German History (2012) 30#1 pp: 140-141.

(2005), The Bismarck Myth:

Weimar Germany and the Legacy of the Iron Chancellor, ISBN 0-19-928184-X, 216 pp.
Hamerow, Theodore S. ed. Otto von Bismarck and
Imperial Germany: A Historical Assessment (1993),
excerpts from historians and primary sources
Mller, Frank Lorenz (2008). Man, Myth and
Monuments: The Legacy of Otto von Bismarck
(18661998)". European History Quarterly 38 (4):
62636. doi:10.1177/0265691408094517.
O'Shea, John J. Bismarcks Decline and Fall, The
American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. XXIII,
January/October 1898. online
Pearce, Robert (March 2010), The AustroPrussian War, History Review (66).
Russell, Mark A. The Building of Hamburgs Bismarck Memorial, 18981906, Historical Journal,
Vol. 43, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 13356 in JSTOR
Steefel, Lawrence D. Bismarck, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Mar., 1930), pp. 7495
in JSTOR

Wehler, Hans-Ulrich Bismarcks Imperialism

18621890 Past and Present, No. 48, August
1970. pp: 119155 online edition

Strmer, Michael. Bismarck in Perspective, Central European History, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1870/71
(Dec., 1971), pp. 291331 in JSTOR

Wetzel, David. A Duel of Nations: Germany,

France, and the Diplomacy of the War of 1870
1871 (University of Wisconsin Press; 2012) 310
pages

Urbach, Karina. Between Saviour and Villain: 100

Years of Bismarck Biographies, Historical Journal
1998 41(4): 114160 in JSTOR

Wetzel, David. A Duel of Giants: Bismarck, 15.5 Primary sources

Napoleon III, and the Origins of the Franco-Prussian
War (U of Wisconsin Press, 2001). 244 pp. ISBN
Bismarck, Otto von (1899), Bismarck, the Man &
0-299-17490-5
the Statesman: Being the Reections and Reminiscences of Otto, Prince von Bismarck 1

15.4

Historiography and memory

Cowen, Ron (30 January 2012), Restored Edison

Records Revive Giants of 19th-Century Germany,
New York Times, retrieved 31 January 2012
Frankel, Richard E. From the Beer Halls to the
Halls of Power: The Cult of Bismarck and the Legitimization of a New German Right, 18981945,
German Studies Review, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Oct.,
2003), pp. 543560 in JSTOR

(1898), Thoughts and Reminiscences I

(1898), Thoughts and Reminiscences II, Google Books.
, Memoirs II, Archive.org.
Hohenzollern, William I; Bismarck, Otto von
(1903), The correspondence of William I. and Bismarck: with other letters from and to Prince Bismarck, Translated by J. A. Ford

23

16

External links

Otto von Bismarck at DMOZ

Bismarck on In Our Time at the BBC. (listen now)

Bismarck World History Database
Works by or about Otto von Bismarck in libraries
(WorldCat catalog)

24

17

17
17.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Otto von Bismarck Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck?oldid=669456154 Contributors: AxelBoldt, MichaelTinkler, The Epopt, Mav, Clasqm, LA2, Christopher Mahan, Yooden, Rmhermen, Absecon 59, Ambrosen, Roadrunner, Ktsquare, Youandme,
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Ahoerstemeier, Snoyes, Den fjttrade ankan~enwiki, Jebba, Djmutex, Vzbs34, David Stewart, Panoramix, John K, Ruhrjung, JASpencer,
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Pgan002, Sca, Opera hat, Knutux, Quadell, Antandrus, Elizabeth A, Robert Brockway, Piotrus, Domino theory, Knsterle~enwiki, Mamizou, Hi, Je. Hi!, Rdsmith4, Imlepid, OwenBlacker, Bodnotbod, Cglassey, Soman, rbech, Joyous!, Jcw69, TJSwoboda, Dcandeto,
Hardouin, Karl Dickman, Adashiel, Lacrimosus, Mike Rosoft, D6, Freakofnurture, N328KF, DanielCD, Shipmaster, Discospinster, Rich
Farmbrough, Rupertslander, ArnoldReinhold, Xezbeth, Mjpieters, Uppland, SpookyMulder, Bender235, ESkog, Kaisershatner, S.K., Sempron~enwiki, Lycurgus, Kwamikagami, Shanes, Tom, Bookofjude, Hajduk, Bobo192, BT2, Elipongo, Sabretooth, Pokrajac, Vckeating, Jojit fb, Pschemp, Kx1186, Polylerus, Pearle, HasharBot~enwiki, Ranveig, ADM, Alansohn, Gary, Couperman, Eleland, Ryanmcdaniel, Jeltz,
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Robth, DHN-bot~enwiki, Roy Al Blue, Gerd Fahrenhorst, Colonies Chris, Darshbegarsh, Rlevse, GoodDay, Royboycrashfan, Shadow7789,
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Edivorce, Krich, TotalSpaceshipGuy3, Khukri, Nakon, T-borg, Gokmop, RolandR, Rake~enwiki, RandomP, Thething88, Insineratehymn,
Gujuguy, Andrew c, Le baron, Bidabadi~enwiki, Tim Ross, Ohconfucius, Kuzaar, SashatoBot, Serein (renamed because of SUL), MegA,
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Evenios, Michael Bednarek, PseudoSudo, LCahill, Hvn0413, SimonATL, Hera1187, Gamahler, Pseudoanonymous, Dodo bird, Xionbox,
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Mattychatty1, Kylu, Stevo1000, NickW557, Lazulilasher, Avillia, Neelix, Rwtheisen, Bill Sayre, Equendil, Cydebot, Reywas92, Gogo
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Lewalter, Kingstowngalway, Rider kabuto, JamesAM, Lid, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Biruitorul, Kablammo, SeNeKa, Abdullah@xtra.co.nz,
RobotEater, Headbomb, Marek69, James086, DaQuirin, Tellyaddict, JustAGal, Trampas, Edwin Hale, Jadseanderson, Escarbot, Drewlikeslacrosse, Gossamers, AntiVandalBot, RobotG, Wsopla, Luna Santin, Seaphoto, Opelio, Smith2006, F McGady, Cjs2111, Hellodier,
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Parsecboy, Celithemis, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, Italus, AtticusX, Norden1990, JaseFace, Zathereus, Hekerui, BrianGV, Carn, Animum,
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Church of emacs, Andromeda53, 52 Pickup, Rettetast, Anaxial, Keith D, Jerry teps, Wylve, R'n'B, CommonsDelinker, AlexiusHoratius, Patar knight, Cheesenip1234, Vorratt, AlphaEta, J.delanoy, Kimse, Eapos, DrKiernan, Shaundunbabin, DomBot, Kemiv, Eliz81,
Mike.lifeguard, Rosomondo, Gzkn, Paris1127, Codohu, LordAnubisBOT, Bakhirun, Tony360X, Trvsdrlng, Gurchzilla, Less Than Free,
Belovedfreak, Kansas Bear, Mufka, Student7, Harriellie, Sigmundur, Cometstyles, Lucifero4, Xyl 54, Mike V, Kvdveer, Inwind, Sandy
Scott, Blood Oath Bot, Rpeh, Idioma-bot, Wikieditor06, Lights, Jay Iscariot, VolkovBot, Cireshoe, Thedjatclubrock, TallNapoleon, Rocketman116, Firstorm, Soliloquial, Klkr, Philip Trueman, Paulturtle, TXiKiBoT, Zidonuke, BuzzWoof, Tovojolo, Jacob Lundberg, Thatstheway, Hengoroth, Clarince63, Btovee, Manbss, Tpk5010, Raymondwinn, Maroonedsorrow, Mannafredo, RHLrx, Akerbeltz, Smallcorrection, Josephabradshaw, Pwolschen, Chuck02, Milesmonk, Jnbl, PaladinWhite, Rumiton, Malus Catulus, Rune Kock, Pacica007, Monsieurdl, Butterscotch, Inycxchris, Mcattell, Meters, Synthebot, Richado, Amwyll Rwden, Funnyboy220, ObjectivismLover, AlleborgoBot,
Lincoln Pigman, Goldnpuppy, NHRHS2010, Rontrigger, AntiVandal9, Thw1309, Sean an Scuab, SieBot, Dca5347, Pro Game Master87,
Kernel Saunters, ToePeu.bot, Jauerback, thelwold, VVVBot, Krawi, Dimwight, Countesssophie, Peterypres, Cwkmail, 7mper5~enwiki,
Yintan, Veritatis splendor~enwiki, Tiptoety, Oda Mari, Jasgrider, Monegasque, Freedomwarrior, Darth Kalwejt, Antonio Lopez, Ethan
nietche, Benea, Steven Zhang, Setrep, Johnanth, Svick, G.-M. Cupertino, Vojvodaen, Aumnamahashiva, Oceras, The Four Deuces, Powerman5544, Jacob.jose, Martin H., NazgulsInc, Nn123645, Denisarona, Jons63, LarRan, Megavat, Brand35, Francvs, Gr8opinionater,
Tkcharles, RS1900, Dvallere, Willow-williams, Loren.wilton, Martarius, Soidi, Elassint, ClueBot, Hutcher, Philip Sutton, Wedineinheck,
The Thing That Should Not Be, All Hallows Wraith, Dpmuk, Gaia Octavia Agrippa, Arakunem, Wispanow, Senzangakhona, Drmies,
Cryptographic hash, Uncle Milty, Ventusa, CounterVandalismBot, Niceguyedc, Blanchardb, LizardJr8, Dozols, 00Svo, Neverquick, Mr
Accountable, DragonBot, Excirial, Ziko, NuclearWarfare, Jotterbot, Iohannes Animosus, M.O.X, Kaiba, Banime, MilesAgain, Thingg,
Versus22, Bobtherush, SoxBot III, Indopug, Apatens, Cowardly Lion, Oskar71, Polyhistor1876, Hotcrocodile, RogDel, Mccaskey, BRPXQZME, Little Mountain 5, Npnunda, NellieBly, Maracon, HerkusMonte, Squiglypete2005, Noctibus, Kaiwhakahaere, WikiDao, Cradel,

17.2

Images

25

Poopbuttface123, Hellokitty8000, Surtsicna, Addbot, Roentgenium111, AVand, Oenbach, Some jerk on the Internet, Jojhutton, LightSpectra, Fieldday-sunday, KorinoChikara, CanadianLinuxUser, Macadam2008, Cst17, Download, Cambalachero, Mdubke, AnnaFrance,
Favonian, LinkFA-Bot, Lyaios~enwiki, Numbo3-bot, Tharnton345, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Luckas Blade, Tarheelz123, David0811, Bermicourt, Aldibibable, Angrysockhop, Annoapra, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Grantdesrosi, Kartano, Fraggle81, Mas cutie 95, Rsquire3,
Naudefjbot~enwiki, House1630, Yngvadottir, WellsSouth, PMLawrence, KamikazeBot, Uhei, MinorProphet, Prince20080, Orion11M87,
AnomieBOT, Wikiblurrr, 1exec1, Jim1138, IRP, Crackpot9, Piano non troppo, Lecen, Law, Darolew, Ulric1313, Kikithemad93, Materialscientist, Phoenix of9, Citation bot, Bob Burkhardt, Maxis ftw, 30silverplz, Neurolysis, LilHelpa, Xqbot, WikiRapper, TimFlavin2010,
, Capricorn42, Boongie, Hammersbach, 4twenty42o, Ulf Heinsohn, Lolinder, Mlpearc, PsuedoName, Jdsteakley, GrouchoBot,
Abce2, Omnipaedista, Papercutbiology, Prunesqualer, 78.26, Rjhavey, Auntieruth55, Bonncaruso~enwiki, GhalyBot, Shadowjams, Miyagawa, Erik9, A.amitkumar, ArdenHathaway, Browncub1, Graham pancer, Cekli829, Der Kronstadter, FrescoBot, Mckillingking-rom,
LucienBOT, GjR, 1970gemini, Ckehqkqh, Mthrandir, FrankMJohnson, Alxeedo, HJ Mitchell, Wikilivi, Sopher99, Chenopodiaceous,
Intelligentsium, Mmckenna214, Fxdwillieglide3, JohnFagg, WQUlrich, Cerebrotonic, HRoestBot, Moonraker, RedBot, Pikiwyn, Serols,
Deguef, Reconsider the static, Ozhistory, Jauhienij, FoxBot, Alfred Lord Tennis shoes, Trappist the monk, Diblidabliduu, 1I9I8I5, Fama
Clamosa, Lotje, Vrenator, BirdW, MyMoloboaccount, Dave the translator, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Ramblagir, Bossanoven, VernoWhitney,
Beyond My Ken, Hajatvrc, EmausBot, Orphan Wiki, Acather96, WikitanvirBot, Patwaddington, Ajraddatz, GoingBatty, Tazzlover, Marrante, Tommy2010, Wikipelli, K6ka, Badzil, Jsehrett, Italia2006, Mz7, Brothernight, F, Traxs7, F69aeb1e491308765e872de70f58e18b,
Bhatnagarishi, Alpha Quadrant (alt), A930913, SilverTW, SporkBot, Josh Gorand, Rcsprinter123, Brandmeister, Reigen, Donner60, Chewings72, EpiclyAwesomeDude, Bill william compton, ChuispastonBot,
, OregonGhost, Herk1955, Llightex, Maicek, WorldWarTwoEditor, Historia1234512345, Berlin 11011, ClueBot NG, Rich Smith, 23sports, Yuskeya, Jejehr, NordhornerII, Bigbutt1, RJFF, Frietjes, Rimmingbastered, Alphasinus, Mr. D. E. Mophon, Widr, Charizard16, Helpful Pixie Bot, Furfur, Lothar Balhorn, HMSSolent, Jcase-levine,
Lowercase sigmabot, BG19bot, Bmusician, Acidbasesex, Vagobot, Wheatsing, Kndimov, Uberman10, Kangaroopower, HIDECCHI001,
Davidiad, Atomician, Joydeep, Yerevantsi, Altar, CitationCleanerBot, 14Adrian, Snow Blizzard, Ernio48, Dbrainstorm, Enredados,
Sekarrc, Navinhsam, Rosotto, DrKilleMo, Ericloch00001, Vincentnufcr1, GryPM, Wolover, JYBot, DA - DP, Dexbot, Nwash57,
BcTsarIvan, Charles Essie, Mogism, Caleb Dorey, Fifty53, LlamaDude78, Y256, Jamesx12345, Albatrossbatman, Marcusbeanfan, Epicgenius, Beckermanchris, Peter wilson wong, CsDix, Howicus, Julian Felsenburgh, Tentinator, English Patriot Man, B14709, DavidLeighEllis,
Rawheadbobby, JamesCatMeow1234, Hardtondausername, Max Brian Reed, Parksidelowersixth, RoCopter404, BillTheScienceGuy,
OccultZone, Daniel.R.F.Allen, JaconaFrere, Signoredexter, Lafayetteclyde, Monkbot, Filedelinkerbot, Cvazan, Lilypop134, Marcelo Armando, TheoSturgis, Gaystation4, Jacobfrancibob, Clormogan, Barfooker, Akshat2501, Simi9011, SamuelOdinga, Banana10000, Wallerchase, M555333555M555333555M, Sbcloatitr, Y.repik, Dwetzel30, Hashi0707, Its.ako, KasparBot, Chuxes and Anonymous: 1494

17.2

Images

File:1889_recording_by_Otto_von_Bismarck.ogg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/1889_recording_

by_Otto_von_Bismarck.ogg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.cylinder.de/deeplink_resource_bismarck.html Original
artist: Otto von Bismarck; restored by Norman Bruderhofer
File:1890_Bismarcks_Ruecktritt.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/1890_Bismarcks_Ruecktritt.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:A_coloured_voting_box.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Bismarck-Nationaldenkmal,_Mrz_2008.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/
Bismarck-Nationaldenkmal%2C_M%C3%A4rz_2008.jpg License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brostad/
2363323849 Original artist: Bernt Rostad
File:Bismarck-Wappen.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Bismarck-Wappen.png License: Public
domain Contributors: www.altmarkadel.de Original artist: Falko Ottenberg
File:Bismarck80Jahre.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Bismarck80Jahre.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:BismarckLandtag.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/BismarckLandtag.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:BismarckRoonMoltke.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/BismarckRoonMoltke.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R29818,_Otto_von_Bismarck.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/
Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R29818%2C_Otto_von_Bismarck.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 de Contributors: This image was provided to
Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal
Archive guarantees an authentic representation only using the originals (negative and/or positive), resp. the digitalization of the originals
as provided by the Digital Image Archive. Original artist: Unknown
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:DodgerBlue_flag_waving.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/DodgerBlue_flag_waving.svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Red_ag_waving.svg Original artist: Red_ag_waving.svg: Wereon
File:Flag_of_German_Reich_(19331935).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Flag_of_German_
Reich_%281933%E2%80%931935%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: R-41
File:Flag_of_Germany.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg License: PD Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Flag_of_Germany_(3-2_aspect_ratio).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Flag_of_Germany_
%283-2_aspect_ratio%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Mmxxxxxxxx

26

17

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

File:Flag_of_Prussia_1892-1918.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Flag_of_Prussia_1892-1918.svg

License: ? Contributors: Own Work, Custom Creation according to the ag description Original artist: Drawing created by David Liuzzo
File:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Flag_of_the_German_Empire.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: Recoloured Image:Flag of Germany (2-3).svg Original artist: User:B1mbo and User:Madden
File:Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(19201945).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Flag_of_the_NSDAP_
%281920%E2%80%931945%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Original PNG version created by de:Benutzer:Kookaburra
with the name "Bild:Flag Germany 1933.png in de.wikipedia; uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons by User:Guanaco, later converted to
SVG by User:Rotemliss and later modied by other Wikimedia Commons people. Original artist: ?
File:Franz_von_Lenbach_-_Portrait_of_Otto_Eduard_Leopold_von_Bismarck_-_Walters_371007_-_View_B.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Franz_von_Lenbach_-_Portrait_of_Otto_Eduard_Leopold_von_Bismarck_
-_Walters_371007_-_View_B.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Walters Art Museum: <a href='http://thewalters.org/'
data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Nuvola lesystems folder home.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/20px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png'
width='20'
height='20'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/30px-Nuvola_
filesystems_folder_home.svg.png
1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_
folder_home.svg/40px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png
2x'
data-le-width='128'
data-le-height='128'
/></a>
Home page <a href='http://art.thewalters.org/detail/36852' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Information icon.svg' src='https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/20px-Information_icon.svg.png' width='20' height='20'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/30px-Information_icon.svg.png
1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/40px-Information_icon.svg.png 2x' data-lewidth='620' data-le-height='620' /></a> Info about artwork Original artist: Franz von Lenbach
File:Franz_von_Lenbach_Bismarck.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Franz_von_Lenbach_
Bismarck.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Hampel Auctions Original artist: Franz von Lenbach
File:Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work. Based on File:Gnome-mime-audio-openclipart.
svg, which is public domain. Original artist: User:Eubulides
File:Hamburg-Bismarck-Denkmal.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/
Hamburg-Bismarck-Denkmal.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Httpdigi.ub.uni-heidelberg.dediglitklabismarck18900050a.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/
Httpdigi.ub.uni-heidelberg.dediglitklabismarck18900050a.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Bismarck-Album des Kladderadatsch
Original artist: Wilhelm Scholz
File:Kladderadatsch_1875_-_Zwischen_Berlin_und_Rom.png Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/
Kladderadatsch_1875_-_Zwischen_Berlin_und_Rom.png License: Public domain Contributors: Kladderadatsch 16. Mai 1875; wieder
in: <a data-x-rel='nofollow' class='external text' href='http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/klabismarck1890'>Bismarck-Album des
Kladderadatsch. Mit dreihundert Zeichnungen von Wilhelm Scholz und vier facsimilierten Briefen des Reichskanzlers. Berlin 9 1890, S.
86</a> Original artist: Wilhelm Scholz
File:Lutherrose.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Lutherrose.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Image:Luther seal.jpg uploaded by Dubaduba (21 August 2005 12:06) Original artist: Jed
File:Otto+von+bismarck.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Otto%2Bvon%2Bbismarck.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: http://www.deutsche-und-polen.de/_/personen/person_jsp/key=otto+von_bismarck.html Original artist: ?
File:Otto_Frst_von_Bismarck.JPG Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Otto_F%C3%BCrst_von_
Bismarck.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: Kabinett-Photo Original artist: AD.BRAUN & Cie Dornach
File:Otto_vBismark.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Otto_vBismark.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Otto_vonBismarck_Signature.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Otto_vonBismarck_Signature.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: Traced in Adobe Illustrator from http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/ruete/arabian/vi.jpeg
Original artist: Otto von Bismarck
File:Otto_von_Bismarck,_Jugendbildnis_im_Alter_von_22_Jahren.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
d/d3/Otto_von_Bismarck%2C_Jugendbildnis_im_Alter_von_22_Jahren.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: 1. welt.de
Original artist: Philipp Petri
File:Otto_von_Bismarck.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Otto_von_Bismarck.JPG License: Public
domain Contributors: Evert A. Duykinck, A Portrait Gallery of Eminent Men and Women of Europe and America, with Biographies. New
York: Johnson, Wilson and Company. http://www.jamessmithnoelcollection.org/images/otto%20von%20bismarck.jpg Original artist:
Evert Duykinck
File:Rudelsburg_Junger_Bismarck_2.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Rudelsburg_Junger_
Bismarck_2.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_Knigreich_Preussen_(Mittleres).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
0/00/Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_K%C3%B6nigreich_Preussen_%28Mittleres%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
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