ABSTRACT
The term ‘Germany’ had no real political significance at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The numerous states that made it up were loosely bound by their membership of the old Holy Roman Empire. The German Empire, or Second Reich, was created in 1871, and was founded on an unequal alliance between the national and liberal movements and the conservative Prussian state-leadership. The German Empire included Prussia, the kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg, eighteen lesser states, three free cities and Alsace-Lorraine. It has been stated that the Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, united Germany as the result of a series of successful military wars. However, closer examination reveals that the conditions for unification had been achieved before Bismarck came to power.
