On Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck was a remarkable diplomat and statesman. As minister-president he led the East-German state of Prussia to control the German confederation by waging (and winning) war on the Austro-Hungarian empire, excluding it from ‘Germany’; he dealt a massive and humiliating blow to the French in the Franco-Prussian war between 1870 and 1871 and he directed the German unification in 1871. Until 1890, when sacked by Kaiser Wilhelm II, he almost single-handedly controlled the balance of power in Europe through a complex set of alliances. Lastly he laid the foundations of the modern German state that at the start of the 20th century was the strongest economic and military power in the world. Not surprisingly Bismarck has been hailed by some as the greatest statesman ever.

The unification of Germany

Otto von Bismarck, unlike many contemporaries, seemed to understand 19^th century Europe. Bismarck was a realpolitiker, a pragmatic politician—as opposed to the idealistic post-Napoleonic concert of Europe of the first half of the 19th century. For Bismarck there were only means and ends; war, government reforms and alliances were tools to protect German (read: Prussian) interest. This attitude is exemplified by Germany’s unification, to which arch-conservative Bismarck was strongly opposed—but in which he recognized the best strategy to keep Prussian liberals under control. But how does one unite some 19 different, independent states? In a diplomatic and political masterstroke Prussia…

• …had France declare war on it, making France look like the aggressor
• …had the other German states join them against a common enemy
• …humiliatingly crushed the French
• …bound the various German states, excluding Austria, together.
• …made the initially temporary German bond permanent
• …took control over the newly created German empire

The Prussian king was crowned German emperor and the new (in theory very democratic) constitution gave more or less absolute power to the kaiser and his ministers.

European diplomacy

Not the expansion of the new German empire but keeping it from isolation was Bismarck’s primary foreign policy objective. Bismarck maintained a complex set of alliances, based (with my personal, blunt hindsight) on two principles:

1. apart from the war over dominance in the German confederation, the Austro-Hungarian empire was a historical ally and German sister-state—but it was more of a strategic nuisance than an advantage;
2. a Franco-Russian alliance—encircling Germany— would choke Germany

These are illustrated by Bismarck’s take on the major European powers’ imperialistic urge to conquer every last bit of the globe in search for economic dominance:

Your map of Africa is really quite nice. But my map of Africa lies in Europe. Here is Russia, and here… is France, and we’re in the middle—that’s my map of Africa.

Life after Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck, the iron chancellor and the peace-keeper of Europe, was sacked by the young and inexperienced Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890, emperor of Germany. Around this time Germany was allied with Russia, Italy and Austria while England and France were on the brink of war. Within 24 years Germany would find itself in a full-scale war on two fronts—arguably three fronts counting the Austro-Italian conflict—allied only to the imploding Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. Peace would not return proper to Germany until 1989.

Otto von Bismarck did well in protecting Prussia, Germany and Europe from disaster. He failed in building the foundations for keeping it that way after he’d gone. I’m reluctant to call his influence good or bad, but it was definitely enormous.

Recommended reading

1. Otto von Bismarck at WikiPedia
2. Quotes by Otto von Bismarck at WikiQuote
3. Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions
4. Bismarck’s unification of Germany
5. Long 19th Century: European History from 1789 to 1917