The emergence of Europe’s central power: Germany
The Treaty of Frankfurt, signed in 1871, marked a decisive shift in the European balance of power. The French empire suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Europe’s youngest emerging power. A newly unified Germany in the heart of the continent unlocked an enormous economic and political potential, that would soon outflank all other industrialized nations in scope as well as in power. Germany would dominate European affairs well into modern times, only temporarily thrown back by the defeat in two World Wars. This article will explore the background to the treaty and its global implications.
The dual revolution
In the nineteenth century Europe experienced the long-term effects of what the English historian Hobsbawm has dubbed ‘the dual revolution’, referring to the fusion of political upheavals culminating in the French revolutions and the economic implications of industrialization. Strong nations emerged. These were nations in which Enlightenment ideals of parliamentary representation, protection of private property and equality before the law were paired with liberal conceptions of free trade, removing barriers to industrialization and trade, catapulting the European bourgeoisie to the most prominent position in society. The birth of capitalism greatly changed the face of Europe and moreover would come to engulf the entire globe.
This vibrant mix of political, intellectual and economic ideas was temporarily halted by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, at which some of Europe’s more reactionary forces joined hands to roll back the advances of the French Revolution in an attempt to cling to the privileges of the Ancien Regime. Austria-Hungary, Prussia and Russia were bent on maintaining their empires, essentially rooted in feudal relationships. Naturally, the implications of the Enlightenment threatened their mere survival.
This Holy Alliance merely postponed the inevitable. History, it seemed, had irreversibly entered a new phase, one in which the industrialized nations seemed to be calling the shots, hungrily building overseas empires to the demands of the new era. This process was progressive as well as hugely damaging. Two large groups seemed to be the victims of the long drawn out effects of the dual revolution. The poor and downtrodden in the industrialized nations experienced an unprecedented upheaval, one from which they did not recover until much later. Another group to experience the ‘tragedy of progress’ was the conquered peoples in the colonies. The sheer force of capitalist expansion forced them to respond, adapt, resist and eventually adopt the encroachment of the European bourgeoisie and the global economy rooted in its vision.
To drum up support for the upheaval of industrialization and consequently territorial expansion, nationalism and the forming of strong national states was strongly encouraged. While the European bourgeoisie forged nation states reflecting its interests, it was also wary to succumb to the pressures from the working classes, demanding representation and a share in the wealth accumulated through their labor. Nationalism seemed to be a preferable counterweight to the war cry that had ignited the European (and global) labor movement: “Proletarians of the world…. Unite!”
Although the middle classes had increasingly pushed into the centers of power, they had done so at the head of restless millions uprooted by the economic restructuring of industrialization. Once the middle classes exercised considerable influence, it became a challenge to contain the popular unrest seeping through from below. Where should the line be drawn? Was popular representation something that could be exclusive?
French, German or worker’s power?
Napoleon III’s second empire had been shaky from the start. In spite of being Europe’s first leader to be elected by universal suffrage as a result of the revolutions of 1848, he headed a coup d’etat in 1851 and returned the country to authoritarian rule. He then quickly revived some old habits. Like his predecessors, Napoleon spent money on grandeur and wars. Under his rule Paris was reconstructed and beautifully developed, while freedom of press and organisation were suppressed. France fought wars against Austria and Russia, assuming its place as Europe’s greatest power. Napoleon’s regime reverted to ancien regime style authoritarian rule as if the revolutionary era of the previous fifty years had never happened. Among the fiercest critics were Victor Hugo and Karl Marx, who were both exiled.
The greatest threat to French domination came from Prussia, which had emerged victorious from a war with Austria in 1866 to become the most prominent German state. Its attempt to make a bid for the succession of the Spanish crown through marriage suddenly opened up the prospect of a powerful and militarized German embrace of France, something that was clearly unacceptable to Napoleon, who did not hesitate to declare war. This was exactly what the Prussian leader Bismarck had hoped for. In his view a war against a common enemy would unite the German states and open up the possibility of a strong and unified Germany.
The German states rallied behind Prussia and Bismarck swept to victory, literally annihilating the French armies, which were ill-equipped, unprepared, without allies and, most importantly, fighting for an emperor with whom they did not sympathize. The French humiliation reached its climax at the battle of Sedan, where the entire French army surrendered and Napoleon himself was captured.
This was Bismarck’s finest hour. In Versailles’ Palace Hall of Mirrors he could formally declare the Second German Empire, uniting all the German states and installing Wilhelm Hohenzollern of Prussia as emperor. Mighty Germany was born, immediately at the helm of European affairs and able to dictate the affairs of the continent. With France (temporarily) decapitated Germany could now embark on nation building, as it also entered the race for overseas empire.
Meanwhile Paris exploded into uproar. The laboring classes, led by left-wing radicals took over control of the city, creating the Paris Commune, a revolutionary socialist government. This was exactly what the European bourgeoisie had feared. Although the dual revolution had inspired the call for democratic representation, this had consistently been denied to the lower strata as well as women. The mere idea of universal suffrage had united the European bourgeoisie in opposition, echoing Lord Salisbury’s fear that this would inevitably lead to the establishment of communism, the specter that had been haunting Europe and that now seemed to have established itself in one of Europe’s most important cities: Paris.
The German and French armies were quick to recognize the dangers of this uprising, as they united to surround Paris and bomb the city. Even though they had just fought each other as enemies, a full fledged uprising of workers, establishing forms of direct and universal democracy, was clearly unacceptable to both governments. Bismarck feared the appeal of the Commune to German workers. The violence with which this radical experiment was put down served as a reminder to similar movements elsewhere. Although short lived, the Paris Commune did inspire activists and communists throughout the world and became a model for the initial phases of the Soviet Union after the October Revolution of 1917.
The Treaty of Frankfurt and its consequences.
The Treaty of Frankfurt formally ended the Franco-Prussian war. It established the prominence of the newly formed German state and the decay of Napoleon’s Second Empire. Wilhelm I officially became emperor of Germany. France had to give up the region of Alsace-Lorraine, which was added to Germany. On top of that, France was to pay the Germans five billion francs in indemnity payments. The French humiliation was complete and would continue to fester. One only has to look at the Treaty of Versailles almost fifty years later to realize the depth of France’s damaged pride. The terms of that treaty mirrored the Treaty of Frankfurt to some extent, but were considerably harsher, condemning the Germans to hunger and misery, essentially driving them into the arms of fascism. This would be France’s revenge, a revenge they very soon would come to regret.
But before Europe was plunged into World War I, Germany was to be the continent’s most powerful representative, threatening even Britain’s might and becoming that nation’s most dangerous rival. Industrialization proved to be the engine that drove forward German expansion, eventually pushing the country beyond its borders in search of raw materials and markets. In Germany, as elsewhere, economic expansion came at a price. The sheer rate at which Germany industrialized created an enormous working class or, as Marx had called it, proletariat.
The German proletariat quickly grew into the most organized in the world. Trade union membership ran into the millions and the SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Detuschland) became the first organized political force of the working class. The very existence of such a social force pushing for reforms, threatened the further expansion of the young German state. Bismarck responded by appeasing the demands of the movement. It was his conservative government that initiated unprecedented concessions to organized labor, ranging from a comprehensive benefit system to pension schemes and labor laws. With this, he (temporarily) managed to tie the German working classes to his project of building the German nation. This loyalty lasted well into the final days of the First World War. The eventual defeat and the damage inflicted on Germany by the Versailles Peace Treaty arrested the German quest for nationhood.
Battered and broken, the country now lay, at the heart of the continent, unsure of its place among nations in Europe. In the nineteen-twenties and thirties the labor movement would battle the forces of National-Socialism to once again define the outlines of the German nation. This struggle had to be repeated after the defeat of the Third Reich. On the ashes of the Second World War and humbled by the shame Hitler had brought onto the nation, Germany made one of the most spectacular comebacks in modern history. The German economic recovery was called the Wirtshaftwunder, rightly translated as the economic miracle. Although divided by Cold War rivalry the German nation was finally able to assume its place as Europe’s most formidable power.
The Treaty of Frankfurt catapulted Germany to the frontlines of European affairs. It unleashed a powerful force that has amazed the world over and over again, for better or worse. It is not outrageous to say that Germany dominated twentieth century Europe, playing its part in creating the European system of welfare states, the World Wars, the economic recovery and the Cold War. Even today, Germany remains a powerhouse, using its economic might to keep afloat the increasingly crisis-ridden European Union. Having firmly established itself among the nations of Europe, Germany now finds itself at the center of the EU, grudgingly relinquishing some of its national strengths. Whether the twenty-first century will see the resurgence of national conflicts remains to be seen, although the current crisis in the Ukraine seem to answer this question in the affirmative. In any case, it seems clear that Germany will remain at the center of affairs for the foreseeable future.
Originally published at www.humanities360.com.
