The question of who should lead a future united Germany, Prussia or Austria, was answered in 1866. In this first image, Prussian King Wilhelm is congratulating his son, Crown Prince Friedrich III, on the battlefield after their victory over the Austrian Empire. Prussia’s leadership was now assured but would mean the hoped for “Greater Germany”… Continue reading Should Austria or Prussia be the leader of Germany?
In 1870 France declared war on Prussia but soon lost the war in 1871. The Prussian victory was the final test of leadership for Prussian King Wilhelm. In the afterglow of victory, he announced the formation of the Second German Empire at the Versailles Palace in occupied France… the new German Empire was born on… Continue reading The new German Empire was born on French soil in 1871
Swabia, or Schwaben, was a region in SW Germany, now part of the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Starting in the 9th century, Swabia was the birthplace of Charlemagne's family... Charlemagne, or Karl der Grosse, was the first Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire in 800. Swabia was also home of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which included Germany's… Continue reading The German land of Swabia was the birthplace of five royal dynasties
This painting of "Erwachende Germania" (Awakening of Germania) symbolized efforts of the mid-19th century to unite German states into a second empire. In this 1849 painting by Christian Köhler, he depicts an allegorical "Germania" as a female warrior, awakened from her slumber by the approach of an evil power. She protects the old German Imperial… Continue reading This 1849 painting of an allegorical “Germania” symbolized a general yearning for a new German Empire
The German Second Reich prospered from the synergy of almost all German states merged into one new nation in 1871 and from the 47 years of peace that followed in Europe...leading to a German Empire that was an industrial, technological, and scientific giant. Germany gained more Nobel Prizes in science than Britain, France, Russia, and… Continue reading For everyone with German heritage, the Kaiserzeit of 1871 to 1918 is a another good reason to be proud.
