The militant spirit described by Haffner, in the run up to the Nazi consolidation of power, was not a new phenomenon in German history. Germany is a nation that had been ravaged by the devastation of war for centuries and finally forged through successful wars against its neighbors. World War I gave great expression and an outlet to the militaristic spirit of the German Empire but by no means did it create this entity.
The German nation, unlike many of the other European powers, was created late in the 19th century. A late comer to the scene, as a consolidated state entity, Germany was forged in the heart of Europe based upon a sense of vulnerability and constant fear of invasion. Germany, the site of most of the fighting throughout the Thirty Years War, was devastated. Soaring casualty rates and the ravishing of the land left the people with a sense of just how vulnerable they were. The weak hold of the Holy Roman Empire over the Germanic people was finally smashed when Napoleon stormed through Europe, directly through Germany, on his way to ultimate defeat in Russia. Once more the Germanic people saw themselves at the center of the European continent between antagonistic France and Russia, understanding full well that an invasion by either on the other would come through Germany. Throughout this time Germans began to realize that they were Europe’s battlefield.
Other than being in between nations with long standing feuds, the Germanic lands were always surrounded by potentially hostile neighbors. The vast wealth of the Rhineland was always a prize sought by the French, while the strength of Russia in the East always threatened to sweep down. William I as military governor of the Rhineland in the 1850s saw the threat from France and never forgot it. the militaristic spirit that is embraced in Germany is not seen as one of aggressive war but rather defensive. The power that the German military accumulates is to protect rather than to conquer.
Under Bismarck the German people finally had a leader who would lead them to statehood. This would not be a straightforward path nor one of the ballot box. The German people would not overthrow an oppressive tyrant nor usher in an age of liberal ideology and progressive government. Instead it would be forged on European battlefields in short decisive wars that declared Prussia the heart and fist of a new unified Germanic state. In order to unify the nation Bismarck first needed to put Prussia on par and then in position to defeat militarily the Austrian Empire. The very fact that war would be the founding moment of the state itself helped to create a spirit of militarism.
Before exploring these wars, it is important to recognize the man behind the founding of the German Reich. According to Pflanze the dominant trait in Bismarck was his “unremitting drive to master men and events”[1] which allowed him to mold the German spirit into a nation. Early in his political career Bismarck responded to the budget crises in 1862 that “It is not through speeches and majority voting that the great questions of our time will be answers…but through iron and blood.”[2] Thus the man created the moment in that the very spirit of Bismarck, “The Iron Chancellor”, was embodied in the nation he helped to found through war. As he himself had stated the nation would not be created through votes or speeches or declarations of independence but through the blood of soldiers spilt by the iron of bullets and bayonets. The Reich would follow its founder’s belief in a series of skirmishes before the great battlefields of World War 1 would devour so many lives in the great release of this militaristic spirit.
To create the German nation Bismarck would first have to put Prussia on par with Austria, which until then had nominal control over the Germanic states. To most nationalists the unified Germany would be controlled from Vienna, an absolutely unacceptable situation for Bismarck. When Denmark attempted to incorporate the Schleswig-Holstein territory Bismarck seized the opportunity. In alliance with Austria he crushed the Danes in a Six Week war in 1864 and had Austria agree to dual governance of the territory. The victory made clear that Prussia had the military capabilities to be a partner with Austria. For Bismarck however this was only the opening salvo as he prepared to seize the next opportunity to create a fully unified nation.[3]
The unification of Germany was forged not by one but three wars. However, after the first it would be German industrial power that created the military machine that would steam roll the most powerful armies in Europe. German mass production of breach loading rifles gave them a distinct advantage against the muzzle loading weapons used by the Austrian army. Further, the vast expanse of the German rail road system allowed for quick mobilization and a vast amount of material and number of troops to be brought to the front. Prussia had four times the number of railroad car space as the Austrians which proved decisive in the 1866 war. The combination of Prussian regimentation and militarism combined with the vast industrial capabilities of Germany, allowed for the coming together of “iron and blood” exactly as Bismarck predicted in the creating of a single Germanic nation. The nation wasn’t complete however until 1871 after the Franco-Prussian war. The defeat of the French and the addition of Alsace-Lorraine solidified Germany’s place at the heart of Europe as a dominant military power on the continent under the influence of Bismarck.
The spirit that emanated from Bismarck, of the power of “iron and blood” to solve the great questions, was passed down to the leaders of the German Reich even after Bismarck was forced from power. The nation that Bismarck had created had outgrown Europe and wished to set its sights on the continents of Africa and Asia to become a true world power. Under Wilhelm II this process was undertaken with vast popular support. In order to undertake this colonial expansion Germany would first need a navy to challenge the British supremacy on the high seas. Under Tirpitz the battle fleet began to be created from the beginning with the intent of forcing the British into a duel where they were vulnerable.[4]
While the imperial fever swept through Europe in the late 19th century, in Germany it was distinctly militaristic. Unlike France of England who had been imperial powers for at least a century, Germany was a newcomer looking to force its way onto the world stage, and it would do so in the only two ways it could: industrial and military strength. Whether during the Moroccan crises when Germany sent battleships to challenge the supremacy of the other European powers (despite Wilhelm’s declarations of nothing but peace[5]) or in regards to the Boxer rebellion in China, German imperialism was decidedly militaristic. In the latter case many nations sent troops to China to quell the rebellion and keep China under European exploitation. However, in Germany the emperor declared that “Show the old Prussian virtue…” and continued “know this: no quarter will be given. Prisoners will not be taken.”[6] More than a decade before World War I would let steal the lives of millions, the Germans had shown the world their willingness to fight brutally to defeat the enemy. The speech by Wilhelm II, while embarrassing for German officials, showed the world the character of the nation Bismarck forged through war. Germany was a nation decidedly brutal and capable of the brutality it threatened.
The continued expression of German militarism through the attempts at creating an overseas empire, to the naval buildup, and the language used to rally the troops in crushing the Boxer Rebellion led to a self fulfilling prophesy in Europe. As Germany flexed her muscles and industrial capabilities in building up both her naval and ground forces, the rest of Europe slowly but decidedly began to band together. Beginning with the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894 and finally coming full circle with the 1907 British/Russian alliance, Germany was isolated and surrounded by hostile states who were allied. Each of these alliances served to protect colonial possessions but also to maintain a precarious balance of power on the European continent. However, the ever isolating effect of these alliances, especially between France and Russia, only served to strengthen the martial spirit in Germany because of the fear that a two front war could begin at any time, engulfing the nation once more in a bloody struggle for survival that would leave Germany as devastated as the Thirty Years War had done previously. Thus attempts to quell German militarism only accelerated it.
This phenomenon is seen in Germany through the creation of the Schlieffen plan a full decade before the death of Franz Ferdinand. The plan sought to quickly push through Belgium and the low countries and strike a crushing blow against France. If all went well Germany would conquer Paris and force the French from the war within six weeks, allowing them to turn their army back East and defeat the Russians who would take longer to mobilize. Its simplicity was beautiful on paper but in practice its rigidity left no room for improvisation and in the end led to a stalemate of trench warfare that cost the lives of millions. The plan however is distinctly German in that long before war had begun the Germans had already planned out exactly how they would react, including the invasion of France even if France had not yet entered a German/Russian conflict. The Schlieffen Plan was distinctively designed to broaden the war to include France and Russia with the hopes of winning before Britain and perhaps the United States could get involved.
By the start of World War I German militarism was a part of the national character. Fritzsche describes the large gatherings between the royal palace and the statue of Bismarck on the eve of World War I as singing and a feeling of general excitement. While he also shows counter demonstrations, what is striking is the crowds that meet with roars of excitement at the idea of coming war.[7] Germany would finally get its chance to challenge the European empires head on and continue to be the “young and growing empire.”[8] At the start of the war Germany was the second largest trading nation and the second largest industrial output behind Britain and the United States respectively. This coupled with the knowledge of a clear victory over France the last time the two had met on a battlefield gave rise to the optimism in the crowds as the Great War began.
With the armistice and the “war guilt” clause at Versailles Germany was forever relegated as a militaristic nation. Having been forged in war the nation had time and again been controlled by a martial spirit emanating from its leaders. The Treaty of Versailles instead of stamping out this spirit gave it a new lease on life in lieu of defeat by giving Germany once more a righteous cause, to avenge the hardships imposed by the victorious, leading to the brutality of the Third Reich.
[1] Pflanze, p420
[2] Sturmer The Germany Empire, p21
[3] Sturmer, p21
[4] Sturmer, p82
[5] “Daily Telegraph Affair” http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_id=1285
[6] “The Hun Speech” http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=755&language;=english
[7] Fritsche, chapter 1
[8] “Daily Telegraph Affair” http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_id=1285
