Otto Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen Bismarck
BISMARCK Otto Eduard Leopold von Schonhausen (Bismarck Otto Eduard Leopold von Schonhausen) (April 1, 1815, Schonhausen July 30, 1898, Friedrichsruh). Prussian-German statesman, first Reich Chancellor of the German Empire.
Carier start
A native of the Pomeranian Junkers. He studied jurisprudence in Göttingen and Berlin. In 1847-48, a deputy of the 1st and 2nd United Landtags of Prussia, during the revolution of 1848 he advocated armed suppression of unrest. One of the organizers of the Prussian Conservative Party. In 1851-59, representative of Prussia in the Bundestag in Frankfurt am Main. In 1859-1862 Prussian Ambassador to Russia, in 1862 Prussian Ambassador to France. In September 1862, during the constitutional conflict between the Prussian royal power and the liberal majority of the Prussian Landtag, Bismarck was called by King William I to the post of Prussian minister-president; stubbornly defended the rights of the crown and achieved a resolution of the conflict in its favor.
German reunification
Under the leadership of Bismarck, the unification of Germany was carried out through a “revolution from above” as a result of three victorious wars of Prussia: in 1864 together with Austria against Denmark, in 1866 against Austria, in 1870-71 against France. While maintaining his commitment to Junkerism and loyalty to the Prussian monarchy, Bismarck was forced during this period to connect his actions with the German national liberal movement. He managed to realize the hopes of the rising bourgeoisie and the national aspirations of the German people, ensuring Germany's breakthrough on the path to an industrial society.
Domestic policy
After the formation of the North German Confederation in 1867, Bismarck became Chancellor. In the German Empire proclaimed on January 18, 1871, he received the highest government post of Imperial Chancellor, and in accordance with the constitution of 1871, practically unlimited power. In the first years after the formation of the empire, Bismarck had to reckon with the liberals who made up the parliamentary majority. But the desire to ensure Prussia a dominant position in the empire, to strengthen the traditional social and political hierarchy and its own power caused constant friction in the relationship between the chancellor and parliament. The system created and carefully guarded by Bismarck - a strong executive power, personified by himself, and a weak parliament, a repressive policy towards the labor and socialist movement did not correspond to the tasks of a rapidly developing industrial society. This became the underlying reason for the weakening of Bismarck's position by the end of the 80s.
In 1872-1875, on the initiative and under pressure of Bismarck, measures were taken against catholic church laws on depriving the clergy of the right to supervise schools, on the prohibition of the Jesuit order in Germany, on compulsory civil marriage, on the abolition of articles of the constitution that provided for the autonomy of the church, etc. These measures are so-called. The Kulturkampf, dictated by purely political considerations of the struggle against the particularist-clerical opposition, seriously limited the rights of the Catholic clergy; attempts at disobedience led to reprisals. This led to the alienation of the Catholic part of the population from the state. In 1878, Bismarck passed through the Reichstag an “exceptional law” against socialists, prohibiting the activities of social democratic organizations. In 1879, Bismarck achieved the adoption of a protective customs tariff by the Reichstag. Liberals were forced out of big politics. The new course of economic and financial policy corresponded to the interests of large industrialists and large farmers. Their union took a dominant position in political life and in public administration. In 1881-89 Bismarck carried out " social laws"(on insurance of workers in case of illness and injury, on old-age and disability pensions), which laid the foundations for social insurance of workers. At the same time, he demanded a tightening of anti-worker policies during the 80s. successfully sought an extension of the “exceptional law.” The dual policy towards workers and socialists prevented their integration into the social and state structure of the empire.
Foreign policy
Bismarck built his foreign policy based on the situation that arose in 1871 after the defeat of France in Franco-Prussian War and the German capture of Alsace and Lorraine, which became a source of constant tension. With the help of a complex system of alliances that ensured the isolation of France, the rapprochement of Germany with Austria-Hungary and the maintenance of good relations with Russia (the alliance of the three emperors of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia 1873 and 1881; the Austro-German alliance of 1879; the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Hungary and Italy 1882; Mediterranean agreement 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and the “reinsurance agreement” with Russia 1887) Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe; The German Empire became one of the leaders in international politics.
Decline of a career
However, in the late 80s, this system began to show cracks. A rapprochement between Russia and France was planned. Germany's colonial expansion, which began in the 1980s, strained Anglo-German relations. Russia's refusal to renew the "reinsurance treaty" at the beginning of 1890 was a serious setback for the chancellor. Bismarck's failure in domestic policy was the failure of his plan to turn the “exceptional law” against the socialists into a permanent one. In January 1890 the Reichstag refused to renew it. As a result of contradictions with the new Emperor Wilhelm II and with the military command on foreign and colonial policy and on the labor issue, Bismarck was dismissed in March 1890 and spent the last 8 years of his life on his estate Friedrichsruh.
S. V. Obolenskaya
Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius
At the age of 17, Bismarck entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied law. While a student, he gained a reputation as a reveler and brawler, and excelled in duels. In 1835 he received a diploma and was soon hired to work at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837 he took the position of tax official in Aachen, a year later - the same position in Potsdam. There he joined the Guards Jaeger Regiment. In the fall of 1838, Bismarck moved to Greifswald, where, in addition to performing his military duties, he studied animal breeding methods at the Elden Academy. His father's financial losses, together with an innate aversion to the lifestyle of a Prussian official, forced him to leave the service in 1839 and take over the leadership of the family estates in Pomerania. Bismarck continued his education, taking up the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, D. Strauss and Feuerbach. In addition, he traveled in England and France. Later he joined the Pietists.
After his father's death in 1845, family property was divided and Bismarck received the estates of Schönhausen and Kniephof in Pomerania. In 1847 he married Johanna von Puttkamer. Among his new friends in Pomerania were Ernst Leopold von Gerlach and his brother, who were not only at the head of the Pomeranian Pietists, but also part of a group of court advisers. Bismarck, a student of the Gerlachs, became famous for his conservative stance during the constitutional struggle in Prussia in 1848–1850. Opposing the liberals, Bismarck contributed to the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the Neue Preussische Zeitung (New Prussian Newspaper). He was a member of the lower house of the Prussian parliament in 1849 and the Erfurt parliament in 1850, when he opposed the federation of the German states (with or without Austria), because he believed that this unification would strengthen the revolutionary movement that was gaining strength. In his Olmütz speech, Bismarck spoke in defense of King Frederick William IV, who capitulated to Austria and Russia. The pleased monarch wrote about Bismarck: “An ardent reactionary. Use later."
In May 1851, the king appointed Bismarck as Prussia's representative in the Union Diet in Frankfurt am Main. There, Bismarck almost immediately came to the conclusion that Prussia’s goal could not be a German confederation with Austria in a dominant position and that war with Austria was inevitable if Prussia took a dominant position in a united Germany. As Bismarck improved in the study of diplomacy and the art of statecraft, he increasingly moved away from the views of the king and his camarilla. For his part, the king began to lose confidence in Bismarck. In 1859, the king's brother Wilhelm, who was regent at that time, relieved Bismarck of his duties and sent him as envoy to St. Petersburg. There, Bismarck became close to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince A.M. Gorchakov, who assisted Bismarck in his efforts aimed at diplomatic isolation of first Austria and then France.
Minister-President of Prussia.
In 1862, Bismarck was sent as envoy to France to the court of Napoleon III. He was soon recalled by King William I to resolve differences in the issue of military appropriations, which was heatedly discussed in the lower house of parliament. In September of the same year he became head of government, and a little later - minister-president and minister of foreign affairs of Prussia. A militant conservative, Bismarck announced to the liberal majority of parliament, consisting of representatives of the middle class, that the government would continue collecting taxes in accordance with the old budget, because parliament, due to internal contradictions, would not be able to pass a new budget. (This policy continued from 1863–1866, allowing Bismarck to carry out military reform.) At a parliamentary committee meeting on September 29, Bismarck emphasized: “The great questions of the time will not be decided by speeches and majority resolutions—that was the blunder of 1848 and 1949—but by iron.” and blood." Since the upper and lower houses of parliament were unable to develop a unified strategy on the issue of national defense, the government, according to Bismarck, should have taken the initiative and forced parliament to agree with its decisions. By limiting the activities of the press, Bismarck took serious measures to suppress the opposition.
For their part, the liberals sharply criticized Bismarck for proposing to support the Russian Emperor Alexander II in suppressing the Polish uprising of 1863–1864 (Alvensleben Convention of 1863). Over the next decade, Bismarck's policies led to three wars, which resulted in the unification of the German states into the North German Confederation in 1867: the war with Denmark (Danish War of 1864), Austria (Austro-Prussian War of 1866) and France (Franco-Prussian War of 1870). –1871). On April 9, 1866, the day after Bismarck signed a secret agreement on a military alliance with Italy in the event of an attack on Austria, he presented to the Bundestag his project for a German parliament and universal secret suffrage for the country's male population. After the decisive battle of Kötiggrätz (Sadowa), Bismarck managed to achieve the abandonment of the annexationist claims of Wilhelm I and the Prussian generals and offered Austria an honorable peace (Prague Peace of 1866). In Berlin, Bismarck introduced a bill to parliament exempting him from liability for unconstitutional actions, which was approved by the liberals. Over the next three years, Bismarck's secret diplomacy was directed against France. The publication in the press of the Ems Dispatch of 1870 (as revised by Bismarck) caused such indignation in France that on July 19, 1870, war was declared, which Bismarck actually won through diplomatic means even before it began.
Chancellor of the German Empire.
In 1871, at Versailles, Wilhelm I wrote on the envelope the address “to the Chancellor of the German Empire,” thereby confirming Bismarck’s right to rule the empire that he created and which was proclaimed on January 18 in the hall of mirrors at Versailles. The “Iron Chancellor,” representing the interests of the minority and absolute power, ruled this empire from 1871 to 1890, relying on the consent of the Reichstag, where from 1866 to 1878 he was supported by the National Liberal Party. Bismarck carried out reforms of German law, government and finance. The educational reforms he carried out in 1873 led to a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, but the main reason for the conflict was the growing distrust of German Catholics (who made up about a third of the country's population) towards Protestant Prussia. When these contradictions manifested themselves in the activities of the Catholic Center Party in the Reichstag in the early 1870s, Bismarck was forced to take action. The struggle against the dominance of the Catholic Church was called the Kulturkampf (struggle for culture). During it, many bishops and priests were arrested, hundreds of dioceses were left without leaders. Church appointments now had to be coordinated with the state; clergy could not serve in the state apparatus.
In the field of foreign policy, Bismarck made every effort to consolidate the gains of the Frankfurt Peace of 1871, contributed to the diplomatic isolation of the French Republic and sought to prevent the formation of any coalition that threatened German hegemony. He chose not to participate in the discussion of claims for weakened Ottoman Empire. When at the Berlin Congress of 1878, chaired by Bismarck, the next phase of the discussion of the “Eastern Question” ended, he played the role of an “honest broker” in the dispute between the rival parties. Secret agreement with Russia in 1887 - a “reinsurance treaty” - showed Bismarck’s ability to act behind the backs of his allies, Austria and Italy, to maintain the status quo in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Until 1884, Bismarck did not give clear definitions of the course of colonial policy, mainly due to friendly relations with England. Other reasons were the desire to preserve German capital and minimize government spending. Bismarck's first expansionist plans aroused vigorous protests from all parties - Catholics, statists, socialists and even representatives of his own class - the Junkers. Despite this, under Bismarck Germany began to transform into a colonial empire.
In 1879, Bismarck broke with the liberals and subsequently relied on a coalition of large landowners, industrialists, and senior military and government officials. He gradually moved from the Kulturkampf policy to the persecution of socialists. The constructive side of his negative prohibitive position was the introduction of a system of state insurance for sickness (1883), in case of injury (1884) and old-age pensions (1889). However, these measures could not isolate the German workers from the Social Democratic Party, although they distracted them from revolutionary methods of solving social problems. At the same time, Bismarck opposed any legislation regulating the working conditions of workers.
Conflict with Wilhelm II.
With the accession of Wilhelm II in 1888, Bismarck lost control of the government. Under Wilhelm I and Frederick III, who ruled for less than six months, none of the opposition groups could shake Bismarck's position. The self-confident and ambitious Kaiser refused to play a secondary role, and his strained relationship with the Reich Chancellor became increasingly strained. The most serious differences appeared on the issue of amending the Exclusive Law against Socialists (in force in 1878–1890) and on the right of ministers subordinate to the Chancellor to a personal audience with the Emperor. Wilhelm II hinted to Bismarck about the desirability of his resignation and received a resignation letter from Bismarck on March 18, 1890. The resignation was accepted two days later, Bismarck received the title of Duke of Lauenburg, and he was also awarded the rank of Colonel General of the Cavalry.
Bismarck's removal to Friedrichsruhe was not the end of his interest in political life. He was especially eloquent in his criticism of the newly appointed Reich Chancellor and Minister-President Count Leo von Caprivi. In 1891, Bismarck was elected to the Reichstag from Hanover, but never took his seat there, and two years later he refused to stand for re-election. In 1894, the emperor and the already aging Bismarck met again in Berlin - at the suggestion of Clovis of Hohenlohe, Prince of Schillingfürst, Caprivi's successor. In 1895, all of Germany celebrated the 80th anniversary of the “Iron Chancellor”. Bismarck died in Friedrichsruhe on July 30, 1898.
Bismarck's literary monument is his Thoughts and memories (Gedanken und Erinnerungen), A Big politics of European cabinets (Die grosse Politik der europaischen Kabinette, 1871–1914, 1924–1928) in 47 volumes serves as a monument to his diplomatic art.
January 18, 1871 proclamation of the German Empire. The first Imperial Chancellor of Germany was von Bismarck (1815-1898). For almost 20 years (1871-1890).
Bismarck became an unattainable model. His power consciously pursued public goals and dynastic interests. Self-interests were sacrificed. All his achievements were not appreciated by either his contemporaries or followers. He was not a monarchist and was not a supporter of Prussian hegemony. Its main goal is national interest.
Administrative reform.
1872. an administrative reform was carried out in Prussia, according to which the hereditary patrimonial power of the Junkers in the countryside was abolished;
— In communities it passed to elected elders,
- in the volost - to the amtman, the amtman ruled with the participation of elected elders
- in the district - to the landrat, who were appointed by the Prussian king from candidates presented by the local elected assembly, almost always from among the local landowners. Under the Landrats, district councils were formed, elected according to a class three-class electoral system.
As a result, the state apparatus was strengthened in the interests of the cadets.
Financial reform.
Strengthening the economic and political position of the country, the imperial government introduced 1871 - 1873. a unified monetary system. It was adopted as the main monetary unit gold mark. IN 1875. the Prussian bank was transformed into the Reichsbank (Reichsbank) with a monopoly right to issue bank notes throughout the empire., Centralization of mail.
Judicial reform.
IN 1876. laws were passed that determined unified system legal proceedings throughout the empire. They met strong resistance from the South German states, and here the practical application of the new legal proceedings began only in 1879. According to judicial reform, the highest court was imperial court, but the seat of the imperial court was established not in the capital of the empire - Berlin, but in the Saxon city Leipzig. With this gesture, the German government made an ostentatious concession.
Military sphere.
After the formation of the empire, Bismarck always imagined revenge on the part of those who were defeated in the war of 1870-1871. France. IN 1874. with the support of the National Liberal faction, he achieved approval by the Reichstag of the military budget immediately on seven years ahead.
Kulturkampf.
The Catholic clergy, who sought to maintain their former independence and influence, opposed Bismarck's policy of Prussianization of Germany. To fight with oprussification Some sections of the population of the southwestern states of Germany, subjected to heavy national oppression, also rose up: the Poles, the French population of Alsace and Lorraine. The Catholic Center Party acted as a “defender” of the interests of these peoples, as it saw this as a means of strengthening its political role.
To break the stubbornness of the Catholic Church and the “center” party, Bismarck carried out in 1872 a law according to which the clergy was deprived of the right to supervise schools, priests were prohibited from conducting political agitation. At the same time, the Prussian Landtag adopted the so-called May Laws. was held civil records law marriages, births and deaths, which deprived the church of rights that strengthened its social influence and very substantial sources of income . Catholic clergy disobeyed these laws and boycotted them. Pope Pius IX issued a call to fight. Bismarck responded by arresting and expelling recalcitrant priests from Germany.
Catholic priests began to pose as “martyrs” of the church. Bismarck's struggle with rebellious priests was compared to the persecution of Christians by ancient Roman emperors. The clergy must submit to the spiritual court, and the spiritual court is organized by the secular authorities, the State appoints pastors., Religious education is removed from episcopal authority., The clergy as a whole is subordinate to the secular authorities, the activities of the Jesuit order, etc. are prohibited.
To fight the working class, Bismarck made reconciliation with the opposition party of the “center”. During from 1878 to 1882. Almost all laws against the Catholic Church were repealed. All that remains of the Kulturkampf legislation is the law on civil marriage and government supervision of schools
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Domestic policy of Chancellor Bismarck.
Otto Eduard Leopold Karl-Wilhelm-Ferdinand Duke von Lauenburg Prince von Bismarck und Schönhausen(German) Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen; April 1, 1815 - July 30, 1898) - prince, politician, statesman, first Chancellor of the German Empire (Second Reich), nicknamed the "Iron Chancellor". He had the honorary rank (peacetime) of Prussian Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal (March 20, 1890).
German reunification
Domestic policy
In 1872-1875, on the initiative and under pressure of Bismarck, laws were passed directed against the Catholic Church to deprive the clergy of the right to supervise schools, to prohibit the Jesuit order in Germany, to compulsory civil marriage, to abolish articles of the constitution that provided for the autonomy of the church, etc. These measures so-called The Kulturkampf, dictated by purely political considerations of the struggle against the particularist-clerical opposition, seriously limited the rights of the Catholic clergy; attempts at disobedience led to reprisals. This led to the alienation of the Catholic part of the population from the state. In 1878, Bismarck passed through the Reichstag an “exceptional law” against socialists, prohibiting the activities of social democratic organizations.
In 1879, Bismarck achieved the adoption of a protective customs tariff by the Reichstag. Liberals were forced out of big politics. The new course of economic and financial policy corresponded to the interests of large industrialists and large farmers. Their union took a dominant position in political life and government. In 1881-89, Bismarck passed “social laws” (on insurance of workers in case of illness and injury, on old-age and disability pensions), which laid the foundations for social insurance of workers. At the same time, he demanded a tightening of anti-worker policies during the 80s. successfully sought an extension of the “exceptional law.” The dual policy towards workers and socialists prevented their integration into the social and state structure of the empire.
Ticket 8.
1. Colonial rivalry between European powers in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
By the end of the 18th century. revolutionary changes were also ripe in most Spanish and Portuguese possessions in America. The growth of economic, political, social and national contradictions between the Spaniards and Portuguese, who concentrated in their hands all the highest positions in the administration, army and church, on the one hand, and the majority of the population, including landowners, traders and Creole industrialists (descendants of Europeans of American origin) , - on the other hand, ultimately led to the War of Independence of 1810-1826. As a result, all of Spain's possessions, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico, became free states. Brazil, in which the liberation movement developed mainly in peaceful forms, achieved independence in 1822 (formal recognition of the independence of Latin American countries by Spain and Portugal lasted for decades).
After North and South America won independence, the colonial interests of European powers focused on the East and Africa. It was there that colonialism reached its greatest flowering and power, and it was there that the collapse of the colonial system began and ended.
In the 40s XIX century The British East India Company, after a bloody war, conquered the principality of Punjab and other still independent parts of India, thereby completing its complete subjugation. Active colonial development of the country began: the construction of railways, reforms of land ownership, land use and the tax system, which were aimed at adapting traditional ways farming and lifestyle to the interests of England.
The subjugation of India opened the way for the British to the north and east, to Afghanistan and Burma. In Afghanistan, the colonial interests of England and Russia collided. After the Anglo-Afghan wars of 1838-1842 and 1878-1881. The British established control over the foreign policy of this country, but were unable to achieve its complete subordination.
As a result of the first (1824-1826) and second (1852-1853) Anglo-Burmese wars, which were waged by the East India Company, its army, consisting mainly of mercenary Indian sepoy soldiers under the command of English officers, occupied a large part of Burma. The so-called Upper Burma, which retained its independence, was cut off from the sea in the 60s. England imposed unequal treaties on her, and in the 80s. completely subjugated the entire country.
In the 19th century British expansion in Southeast Asia intensified. In 1819, a naval base was founded in Singapore, which became England's main stronghold in this part of the world. The long-standing rivalry with Holland in Indonesia ended less successfully for the British, where they managed to establish themselves only in the north of Borneo and small islands.
In the middle of the 19th century. France captured South Vietnam and made it its colony in the 80s. ousted weakening China from North Vietnam and established a protectorate over it. At the end of the 19th century. The French created the so-called Indochina Union, which included Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The French governor-general was placed at the head of the union.
In the 19th century Colonization of Australia ended. On the territory of New South Wales, the colonies of Tasmania, Victoria (named after the Dutch explorer Tasman and the English Queen Victoria) and Queensland were separated, and new independent settlements of Western and South Australia were formed. The influx of free migrants increased. In the middle of the 19th century. they achieved an end to the deportation of convicts to Australia. In the 50s Gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria. This attracted not only thousands of new colonists to Australia, but also capital.
In 1882, Egypt was occupied by British troops, and in 1914 England established its protectorate over it. In 1922, the protectorate was abolished, Egypt was declared an independent and sovereign state, but it was independence on paper, since England completely controlled the economic, foreign policy and military spheres of its life.
By the beginning of the 20th century. over 90% of Africa belonged to the largest colonial powers: England, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
On turn of the 19th century and 20th centuries colonial rivalry and the struggle for spheres of influence in the world intensified. In 1898, the American-Spanish War broke out, as a result of which the United States captured the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Hawaiian Islands and established control over Cuba, which received formal independence. After the Russo-Japanese War, Japan established virtual dominance over Korea and Manchuria. Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 completed the “gathering” of lands in southern Africa by England. European powers actively intervened in the economic and political life of the countries that were part of the disintegrating Ottoman Empire.
After the First World War, one of the main causes of which was colonial rivalry, a territorial redistribution of the world took place.
In 1919, the League of Nations was created, on behalf of which guardianship over the possessions of Germany and Turkey was established. The colonies of the vanquished were taken over by the victors. Australia received German possessions in New Guinea, Germany's African colonies were given to England (Tanganyika, part of Togo and Cameroon), Belgium (Rwanda and Burundi), France (part of Togo and Cameroon), and the Union of South Africa (South-West Africa). France also received Syria and Lebanon, which belonged to Turkey, and Japan, which almost did not participate in the war, traded for the port of Qingdao in China and islands in China that belonged to Germany. Pacific Ocean.
Although the goals were common, the colonial policy of each power had its own characteristics. For example, Portugal, in addition to the methods of military-police suppression and economic exploitation practiced by all colonial powers, used other, rather subtle means of influencing subordinate peoples, including encouraging mixed marriages and granting the right to assimilate, i.e. to have equal rights to one degree or another with Europeans. True, in order to become the so-called “assimilate”, one had to prove one’s preparedness for this in terms of level of education and social status. It is not surprising, therefore, that in Angola, which was subjugated by Portugal in the mid-19th - early 20th centuries, in the 30s. XX century there were only 24 thousand assimilated souls out of about 3 million inhabitants, in Mozambique - 1.8 thousand out of 4.3 million, in the vast Belgian Congo, where the system of colonial administration was similar to the Portuguese one, in the 50s. only 0.8 thousand out of approximately 14 million indigenous people partially received the rights that Europeans had in this colony.
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Otto Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen Bismarck
BISMARCK Otto Eduard Leopold von Schonhausen (Bismarck Otto Eduard Leopold von Schonhausen) (April 1, 1815, Schonhausen July 30, 1898, Friedrichsruh). Prussian-German statesman, first Reich Chancellor of the German Empire.
Carier start
A native of the Pomeranian Junkers. He studied jurisprudence in Göttingen and Berlin. In 1847-48, a deputy of the 1st and 2nd United Landtags of Prussia, during the revolution of 1848 he advocated armed suppression of unrest. One of the organizers of the Prussian Conservative Party. In 1851-59, representative of Prussia in the Bundestag in Frankfurt am Main. In 1859-1862 Prussian Ambassador to Russia, in 1862 Prussian Ambassador to France. In September 1862, during the constitutional conflict between the Prussian royal power and the liberal majority of the Prussian Landtag, Bismarck was called by King William I to the post of Prussian minister-president; stubbornly defended the rights of the crown and achieved a resolution of the conflict in its favor.
German reunification
Under the leadership of Bismarck, the unification of Germany was carried out through a “revolution from above” as a result of three victorious wars of Prussia: in 1864 together with Austria against Denmark, in 1866 against Austria, in 1870-71 against France. While maintaining his commitment to Junkerism and loyalty to the Prussian monarchy, Bismarck was forced during this period to connect his actions with the German national liberal movement. He managed to realize the hopes of the rising bourgeoisie and the national aspirations of the German people, ensuring Germany's breakthrough on the path to an industrial society.
Domestic policy
After the formation of the North German Confederation in 1867, Bismarck became Chancellor. In the German Empire proclaimed on January 18, 1871, he received the highest government post of Imperial Chancellor, and in accordance with the constitution of 1871, practically unlimited power. In the first years after the formation of the empire, Bismarck had to reckon with the liberals who made up the parliamentary majority. But the desire to ensure Prussia a dominant position in the empire, to strengthen the traditional social and political hierarchy and its own power caused constant friction in the relationship between the chancellor and parliament. The system created and carefully guarded by Bismarck - a strong executive power, personified by himself, and a weak parliament, a repressive policy towards the labor and socialist movement did not correspond to the tasks of a rapidly developing industrial society. This became the underlying reason for the weakening of Bismarck's position by the end of the 80s.
In 1872-1875, on the initiative and under pressure of Bismarck, laws were passed directed against the Catholic Church to deprive the clergy of the right to supervise schools, to prohibit the Jesuit order in Germany, to compulsory civil marriage, to abolish articles of the constitution that provided for the autonomy of the church, etc. These measures so-called The Kulturkampf, dictated by purely political considerations of the struggle against the particularist-clerical opposition, seriously limited the rights of the Catholic clergy; attempts at disobedience led to reprisals. This led to the alienation of the Catholic part of the population from the state.
In 1878, Bismarck passed through the Reichstag an “exceptional law” against socialists, prohibiting the activities of social democratic organizations. In 1879, Bismarck achieved the adoption of a protective customs tariff by the Reichstag. Liberals were forced out of big politics. The new course of economic and financial policy corresponded to the interests of large industrialists and large farmers. Their union took a dominant position in political life and government. In 1881-89, Bismarck passed “social laws” (on insurance of workers in case of illness and injury, on old-age and disability pensions), which laid the foundations for social insurance of workers. At the same time, he demanded a tightening of anti-worker policies during the 80s. successfully sought an extension of the “exceptional law.” The dual policy towards workers and socialists prevented their integration into the social and state structure of the empire.
Foreign policy
Bismarck built his foreign policy based on the situation that developed in 1871 after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War and the seizure of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, which became a source of constant tension. With the help of a complex system of alliances that ensured the isolation of France, the rapprochement of Germany with Austria-Hungary and the maintenance of good relations with Russia (the alliance of the three emperors of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia 1873 and 1881; the Austro-German alliance of 1879; the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Hungary and Italy 1882; Mediterranean agreement 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and the “reinsurance agreement” with Russia 1887) Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe; The German Empire became one of the leaders in international politics.
Decline of a career
However, in the late 80s, this system began to show cracks. A rapprochement between Russia and France was planned. Germany's colonial expansion, which began in the 1980s, strained Anglo-German relations. Russia's refusal to renew the "reinsurance treaty" at the beginning of 1890 was a serious setback for the chancellor. Bismarck's failure in domestic policy was the failure of his plan to turn the “exceptional law” against the socialists into a permanent one. In January 1890 the Reichstag refused to renew it. As a result of contradictions with the new Emperor Wilhelm II and with the military command on foreign and colonial policy and on the labor issue, Bismarck was dismissed in March 1890 and spent the last 8 years of his life on his estate Friedrichsruh.
S. V. Obolenskaya
Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius
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2.1.2. Prussian socialism.
With the formation of the German Empire, socialist movements began to develop in its industrial regions. One of the important prerequisites for this was the adoption by Bismarck of such a legal act as the “Law Concerning the Equalization of the Rights of Confessions in Their Civil Rights” in 1869, extending to the territory of the North German Confederation, and from 1971 to the territory of the entire German Empire. Considering socialists a threat political regime empire, Bismarck tried to pass new repressive legislation. Perhaps this attitude towards socialists was the reason for the assassination attempt on the Chancellor in Bad Kissingen in 1874. After this, Bismarck actively tried to pass through the Reichstag a resolution on the control of all clubs and associations by the state, but it was rejected by centrists and liberal progressives. The result of Bismarck's efforts was only a few changes in the articles of the criminal code concerning these associations. Bismarck was not at all happy with the fact that he was beginning to lose his enormous influence over the Reichstag due to left-wing parties. Therefore, the Chancellor turned to public opinion. Bismarck's thoughts began to appear in newspapers and various speeches that liberals and socialists were trying to destroy the empire from within. And on the wave of public opinion, Bismarck finally received the support of the majority in the Reichstag. In the elections of 1877, the Liberals lost their majority in Parliament, which again swung noticeably to the right.
In 1878, Bismarck demanded the adoption of a tough law against socialists of all stripes. The reason for this was the attack on the emperor committed in the same year. Without any serious evidence, Bismarck declared the attacker a member of the Social Democratic Party (which included Marxists, Lassalleans, etc.), founded in Gotha in 1875. But Bennigsen (1824-1902), a member of the National Liberal Party in the Bundesrat, on behalf of the right-liberal faction, declared that Bismarck’s demand was a “declaration of war on the Reichstag,” and it was rejected.
In June 1878, another attempt was made to assassinate the Emperor. Bismarck tried to use this as a reason to dissolve deputies, pass laws against the socialists and gain a parliamentary majority to carry out his tariff reforms. But the delegation from Baden spoke out against the dissolution of parliament. Then Bismarck said that he needed “unanimous support” and began to threaten to resign or carry out a coup d’etat. The Bundesrat conceded, and the elections on July 30, 1878 led to the fact that conservatives and centrists received a confident majority in the German parliament at the expense of liberals and socialists (who, however, received two more mandates than before). Now Bismarck again exerted great influence on the Reichstag, where the number of his supporters increased.
After this, the chancellor began to act. And the first thing he did was pass through the Reichstag a bill directed against the socialists. The Social Democratic Party was banned, as well as its rallies, and the socialists were deprived of a license for their publications. But deputies, former party members, could still be elected to the Reichstag and freely make their critical speeches against the state system there, and gather in Switzerland and from there send publications to Germany.
Another outcome of the new balance of power in the Reichstag was the opportunity to carry out protectionist economic reforms in order to overcome the economic crisis that had lasted since 1873. With these reforms, the chancellor managed to greatly disorient the national liberals and win over the centrists. Thus, in 1878 it became clear that Bismarck's period of more liberal and democratic policies was behind him.
The elections of 1881 were actually a defeat for Bismarck: Bismarck's conservative parties and liberals lost to the Center Party, progressive liberals and socialists. The situation became even more serious when opposition parties united to cut the cost of maintaining the army.
Germany lagged behind England and France in regulating relations between employers and employees.
But Bismarck conceived the so-called pension reforms as a means to transform the working class into a class loyal to the state and conservative, that is, valuing their position. He began by sending to the Reichstag a project for workers' health insurance (1883), which provided for the payment of sickness benefits from the third day onwards for a maximum of 13 weeks. After three years debate, accident insurance was introduced in 1884. Compensation was 2/3 of the average salary and began from the 14th week of illness; Responsibility for the payment of this compensation was assigned to associations of entrepreneurs based on cooperative principles. Finally, in 1889, the Reichstag passed a law on pension provision due to age or disability. However, amounts paid under this law for a long time remained extremely small, averaging 152 marks per year by 1914, while the average annual salary was 1,083 marks by the same year.
As a result, government measures to various reasons did not satisfy both employees and employers. Moreover, in principle they could not stop the growth of the social democratic movement, since the latter’s goal was the development of social control, and not social compensation. But one cannot but agree that the labor insurance measures developed by Bismarck were far superior to those adopted in other industrialized countries and became the basis for further social reforms.
After the death of William I, changes on the German throne greatly increased the instability of the political system. One of the reasons for this is the understanding of the ineffectiveness of repressive methods and bribery of workers with “social reform”. If under William I all this was kept in a state of balance, then with his death the balance was disrupted. To the new Kaiser, the ambitious Wilhelm II, Bismarck's policies seemed old-fashioned, too limited, lacking global scope, so the chancellor was dismissed. Bismarck had to leave because, in the conditions of the rapid capitalist development of Germany reunited by him, deep class contradictions had already grown between the bourgeois junkers and the growing working class. The exceptional laws against socialists that were introduced and existed for 12 years could not eliminate these contradictions.
2.2. Foreign policy of Otto von Bismarck.
2.2.1. Bismarck's alliance system.
The Peace of Frankfurt, signed between Germany and France in 1871 after the end of the war, became the basis of Bismarck's German foreign policy. The Chancellor sought to perpetuate this peace, since it provided Germany with significant privileges in relation to France. Meanwhile, the peace that completed the victory of reunited Germany over defeated France further aggravated the contradictions that had previously existed between these powers, which was aggravated by the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany.
Thus, after the Frankfurt Peace, Bismarck could always be sure that if Germany had an enemy, France would certainly become his ally. From here new tasks arose: to weaken internal forces France and isolate it in the international arena. Hence his desire to prevent a rapprochement between Austria and France, which “sharpened their teeth on Germany,” and hence his desire to strengthen relations with Russia.
In his memoirs, Bismarck says that even at the height of the campaign against France, he was preoccupied with strengthening relations with Russia and Austria-Hungary. Thus, he sought to prevent a possible repetition of the coalition of three powers: Russia, Austria and France. He reveals another hidden thought that he was already busy with then - to involve Italy in the future union of the monarchical powers.
In addition, Bismarck was looking for an ally in England, but the British government took a neutral side. Around the same time, Bismarck stated that until England realized that it could find its only and reliable ally on the continent in Germany, good relations with Russia were of the greatest value to Germany.
Bismarck brought to the fore the idea of the common dynastic interests of the three Eastern European monarchies. On this basis, he created the Union of Three Emperors - German, Russian and Austrian (1873). The main goal that Bismarck pursued in creating the union was to strengthen the European positions of the young German Empire. In the alliance of the three emperors, Bismarck sought to ensure international situation Germany, which emerged after the Frankfurt Peace. He sought to exploit not only his political rapprochement with both empires, but also the contradictions between them. He no less sought to exploit the contradictions between Russia and England.
At that time, Bismarck needed Russia's friendship in order to isolate France, which paid the indemnity ahead of schedule and began strengthening its army. France, after the defeat of the Paris Commune, began to prepare for revenge. The German government was not going to wait for the French to take the political or military initiative into their own hands. It was necessary to carry out a pre-emptive strike. To this end, Bismarck formulated the well-known militaristic concept preventive war. “A state like Prussia or Germany,” Bismarck argued, “can be attacked from three or four sides, and therefore it will be natural if, under certain circumstances, this state, at the most advantageous moment for itself, having forestalled the enemy, itself begins military action against him.” 14.
Bismarck understood that, without securing Russia's neutral position, Germany could not start a war with France again, so he tried with all his might to influence Russian government, however, failed due to the intervention of Gorchakov. It has become absolutely clear that Russia will not stand aside if fighting, but the most unexpected thing for Bismarck was that England also showed interest in this issue. Thus, instead of the desired isolation of France, symptoms of a possible isolation of Germany were revealed if it undertakes new war. It was clear that the alliance of the three emperors - the grouping on which Bismarck tried to rely - had cracked.
By the end of the 70s, Bismarck began to support the active colonial expansion of the French bourgeoisie in order to ease the tension between the countries. He knew that on this path France would collide with England (in Indochina and Egypt) and Italy (in Tunisia). But at the same time, Bismarck supported both England and Italy as colonial rivals of France. Even earlier, he began to push for conflict in the Middle East and Tsarist Russia with Austria. But about the latter, it should be said that Bismarck did not want a war to break out between Russia and Austria-Hungary, since Russia’s undoubted victory in this war would lead Germany to a certain dependence on the “new eastern neighbor.” In Austria he saw a counterweight to Russia. At the same time, he did not abandon the idea of using another counterweight - England. But Bismarck still chose Austria. In 1879, an alliance treaty was signed with Austria-Hungary, which was guaranteed armed assistance in the event of war with Russia. For its part, Austria-Hungary, providing assistance to Germany in the event of a war with Russia, pledged to remain neutral in the event of a war with France. This was another major crack for the Three Emperors Alliance.
Thus, to sum up the above, Bismarck persistently sought to avert the danger of war with Russia, which for Germany would inevitably turn into a war on two fronts. The weakened “Union of the Three Emperors” in 1881 was reinforced by an Austro-Russian-German treaty on the mutual neutrality of these powers if one of them was attacked by the fourth, in particular in the event of an attack by England on Russia or France on Germany. But there was little hope for this agreement.
Bismarck did not abandon attempts to isolate France, and therefore encouraged Italy in competition with France, its claims to Tunisia captured by France and contributed to muting its claims to Trieste and Trentino (northern Italy) belonging to Austria-Hungary. But Austria-Hungary considered its main enemy not Italy, but Russia. This allowed Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary to sign the Triple Alliance in 1882 for a period of five years. Bismarck again received what he needed: a commitment from Italy to support Germany in the event of an attack on it by France (a similar commitment did not apply to Austria-Hungary). If France attacked Italy, both allies should have helped it. If one of the parties to the treaty was attacked by two great powers at once, he would be provided with military assistance. If one of the participants himself attacked someone, he was ensured neutrality on the part of both partners. Special statements emphasized that the provisions of the treaty should not be considered directed against England. In his memoirs, Bismarck says that “The Triple Alliance is a strategic position which, in view of the dangers that threatened us at the time of its conclusion, was prudent and, under the circumstances, achievable15. Based on the above, we can draw a conclusion. Since the formation of the German Empire, Bismarck waged an intense struggle in the field of foreign policy to establish the state in the international arena. He managed to create a large and complex system unions and groups. He sought to insure and reinsure himself in different situations, which arose as quickly as they collapsed. In my opinion, one of the main reasons for the creation of various alliances and the conclusion of treaties between Germany and other countries was Bismarck’s desire to resolve the conflict with France. The “Iron Chancellor” showed his diplomatic talent in this situation. He literally “juggled” the countries of Europe and “walked on the edge of an abyss,” fighting for the interests of the empire. As a result, Bismarck secured himself as much as possible against the threat from France and made Germany the center of a system of alliances that had to be maintained and perhaps even expanded on occasion.
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Bismarck Otto Von is the first chancellor of the German Empire who implemented the plan for the unification of Germany along the Little German path and was nicknamed the “Iron Chancellor.” Upon retirement, he received the title of Duke of Lauenburg and the rank of Prussian colonel general with the rank of field marshal. The period of his reign is characterized by the term “Bonapartist rule” - a term used to characterize Bismarck’s policies as Chancellor of Germany. This means Bismarck’s constant balancing between individual states in the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and parties in the Reichstag, the contradictions between which allowed him to exercise his sole rule. In 1878, an exceptional law was adopted that prohibited the activities of all socialist unions and organizations and their press. Socialist agitation was punishable by imprisonment or deportation. The law was in force until 1890, but it was not possible to suppress the socialist movement. “Carrot and stick” - Bismarck’s policy towards the labor movement. The “exceptional law” of 1878 was used as a stick, and social reforms were used as a carrot. At the direction of Bismarck, a series of laws were developed social insurance: law on insurance in case of illness (May 1883), against industrial accidents (June 1884), on insurance in connection with disability and old age (May 1889). Workers were given the right to create legal trade unions, mutual aid funds, and publish workers' newspapers with the condition not to propagandize socialist ideas. Kulturkampf - Bismarck's struggle against the Catholic Church and Catholic clericalism. The reason for this policy was that Bismarck feared political Catholicism, which reinforced anti-Prussian and anti-imperial tendencies with the authority of religion. Also, the Kulturkampf was supposed to serve as a means of Germanization of the Polish provinces. During the Kulturkampf, the independent Catholic department in the Ministry of Cults was abolished, and priests were prohibited from conducting political agitation (1871). A law was passed on state inspections of Catholic schools, a law banning the Jesuit order in Germany (1872). The May Laws of 1873 required future priests to have German citizenship, study for three years at one of the German universities, and pass a special exam. The expulsion from the country of priests who did not obey the May laws was allowed. Compulsory civil marriage was introduced (1874-1876). The Kulturkampf policy failed. It was dismantled in 1878 and all that remained was civil marriage and state supervision of school education. Beginning in the late 1870s, Bismarck separated from the liberals. During this phase, he resorts to policies of protectionism and government intervention in the economy. In the 1880s, an anti-socialist law was introduced. Disagreements with the then Kaiser Wilhelm II led to Bismarck's resignation.
