ABSTRACT
The role of Prussia in Germany was not one-sided but reciprocal. If Prussia Borrussified Germany, Germany Germanized Prussia. ‘Prussia is more in need of Germanization than Germany is in need of Borrussification … In view of the obligations we have towards the Reich I consider it … a duty first to aim at the strengthening of the power of the Reich, rather than of a greater Prussia.’ These words of Bismarck’s both summarize his attitude and indicate the severity of the struggle he had with the Prussian Conservatives.
