On January 18, 1871, a new state was formed on the map of Europe, called the German Empire. The founding fathers of this state formation are considered to be an outstanding person who went down in history under the formidable name of "iron chancellor" - Otto von Bismarck, as well as William I of Hohenzollern. The German Empire lasted until November 9, 1918, after which the monarchy was overthrown as a result of the November Revolution. It went down in history as a state characterized by power and a clearly defined development strategy.
The German Empire is the name that Russian historiographers began to use in the 19th century. The second Reich, Kaiser Germany - are found in literature much less frequently. Her education was promoted by the following significant historical events:
- collapse of the German Union (1866);
- the war between Germany and Denmark (1864);
- war between states such as Austria and Prussia (1866);
- the war between Prussia and France (1870-1871);
- creation of the North German Union (1866-1871).
In 1879, the Prussian king William I, along with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, declared war on France in order to undermine its economy and influence the political situation of this country. As a result of hostilities, they decided to unite Germany. The North German Union, which was created for this purpose, won a complete victory over the French, and in January 1871 at Versailles it was announced that the creation of the German Empire had taken place. From this moment a new page in world history appeared. The unification began not only of the countries of the German Union, but also of other states that considered the entry into the empire the most appropriate for themselves. Bavaria and other lands of southern Germany became part of the German Empire.
Austria flatly refused to be part of it. At the end of the Franco-Prussian War, France paid a huge indemnity (five billion francs), so the formation of the German Empire did not begin from scratch. Thanks to such a serious financial injection, this power was able to create its own economy. Kaiser (King) William I was nominally at the head, but in fact Chancellor Otto von Bismarck took control of the empire. States that were not members of the North German Union were forcibly subordinated to Prussia, so the creation of the German Empire cannot be called a voluntary association. It consisted of twenty-two German monarchies and the cities of Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg, which at that time were free.
After the adoption of the Constitution in April 1871, the German Empire received the status of a federal state, and the Prussian king received the title of emperor. For all the time of its existence, three monarchs used this title. This is William I, who was in power from 1871 to 1888, Frederick III, who stayed in power for only 99 days, and William II (1888-1918). The last emperor after the overthrow of the monarchy fled to the Netherlands, where he died in 1941.
The formation of the German Empire contributed to the national unification of the German people and the speedy capitalization of Germany. But after this empire was created, its reactionary policy became very dangerous for all the peoples of Europe and, perhaps, the whole world. The German Empire began to intensively develop its military power and dictate its conditions from a position of strength. It was at this time that the birth of nationalism began, which subsequently led to two world wars, various bloody revolutions and millions of dead, destroyed people. With the formation of the German Empire, the national idea of the world domination of their country and the superiority of the Germans over other peoples settled in the hearts of the people of the German nation.