Schulze 3-5

So, the first thing I noticed was there were numerous, long lasting wars from 1684-1871. There were so many names of countries thrown around, at this point I am confused with who was allied with whom and which countries were enemies. But the recurring theme from chapters 3 to 5 was this want for a united Germany and a better government than being ruled by one person. At first, Germany was split into about 300 small principalities, all having their own identities within their towns, which made it difficult to unite into one single country. Another hardship with uniting into one country were the constant wars, because territories were often being added to existing countries once that country gained control, so the territory lines were changing often.

On page 86, there is a mention of a "German Nation" existing in a political sense, but not in any other sense. As mentioned before, the people were not united under one nation or even under one language, as also stated on page 86, efforts on behalf of creating and speaking one German language was restricted to Protestant areas. Martin Luther’s translation of the New Testament into German helped to promote the idea of one language, but not as much as was hope for only a small amount of people could actually read and Luther appealed to the Protestant people. Many people laughed at the idea of one language, but many also laughed at the idea of political reform, but both began sooner than they thought.

Because Germany was in smaller principalities, there had to be numerous people hired and trained in knowing what was happening everywhere in Germany. These highly trained professionals consisted of ordinary people, such as civil servants, teachers, doctors, and other professionals who were picked from the lesser aristocracy and the middle classes. On page 89 Schulze wrote, “They held their positions not on the basis of their inherited station in life but as a result of their training and ability.” This was a huge shift in power, because normally those who were born into certain families were the rulers just because of who their families were. But this shift was a step in the direction of not only political reform but it also helped to develop the standard German language spoken by everyone. The national identity these middle class workers felt spread throughout the rest of Germany and other citizens felt it as well.

Riding this high of feeling united as Germans, a group of men convened and wrote a constitution for Germany, but unfortunately they received no support and since they had no army, their constitution did not take effect, and Germany thus went back to a place where there was no freedom of speech and citizens continued their cries for political reform. Later, Germany split into two separate powers, Great Germany and Small Germany but they were eventually united into one Germany when Southern Germany renounced its ties with Prussia. Germany officially became one German nation on November 7^th, 1871.

Throughout Germany’s history, the people always seemed to want to unite Germany after a political reform failed, or after a war. In the beginning, a united Germany seemed impossible with folks feeling as though they were only united under politics. But what they did not realize was that they were always united as a people from the very beginning. Their shared ideas of what Germany should become united them into a nation before they even realized. Because while there were about 300 principalities with their own traditions and dialect, ultimately their shared want and need of reforms united them as one nation. 

Word count: 606

This is Germany split up into numerous, small principalities. Very messy.

This is Germany now, still with different regions but living as one unified nation.