German Empire

(Today: Germany, parts of Poland, Alsace and Lorraine in France)

After the unsuccessful war with Denmark (1864) came the short war with Austria, which resulted in Austria being excluded from the German Confederation (1866) and the creation of the new North German Confederation. Finally, after provoking a war with France in order to present the militarily powerful Prussia as the protector of German countries and reduce their anti-Prussian sentiments, the German Empire was created in 1871. It was, however, more like a Greater Prussia than the realization of national aspirations of the German people, due to Prussian hegemony. As in all European and worldwide cases, the new government had to ensure historical legitimacy for the new country so it tried, in the spirit of national romantism, to seek continuity of ancient Germania and, especially the Holy Roman Empire. Many sources, from mythology to folklore, were used for this purpose. Monuments were erected, with the best known one being dedicated to Arminius, “the leader of united Germanic tribes” in the Teutoburg forest.

Also, like in many other nations, German identity was most easily defined based on differences with the hostile “Others”, namely the Slavs on one side and the French on the other. Simultaneously, the racist völkisch nationalism appears, different from traditional nationalism that tries to assimilate and impose its own culture on other peoples. Völkisch nationalism insists on Germans not mixing, emphasizing that belonging to a nation is a matter of descent, and not accepting a language, culture, tradition, etc.