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The '''German Empire''' (''Deutsches Reich'') was established in 1871 following the triumph of [[Prussia]] and its allies over [[France]] in the 1870 [[Franco-Prussian War]]. The unification of the German states (excluding [[Austria]]) into one entity was the culmination of the policy followed by the [[Prussian]] statesman [[Otto von Bismarck]].  

The '''German Empire''' (''Deutsches Reich'') dominated central Europe, 1871-1918. It was established by Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] in 1871 following the triumph of [[Prussia]] and its allies over [[France]] in the 1870 [[Franco-Prussian War]]. The unification of the German states (excluding [[Austria]]) into one entity was the culmination of Bismarck's policy .  

The empire was dissolved in 1918 with the abdication of [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]], the country's defeat in [[World War I]], and the subsequent formation of the German Republic.

The empire was dissolved in 1918 with the abdication of [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]], the country's defeat in [[World War I]], and the subsequent formation of the German Republic.

The congress made no effort to restore the Holy Roman Empire and its 300-odd states. Instead, it accepted the disappearance of many small states that had occurred since 1789 and created the German Confederation. The confederation consisted of thirty-eight sovereign states and four free cities and included the five large kingdoms of Austria, Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg (see fig. 4). The confederation met at a diet in Frankfurt, with an Austrian always serving as president.

The congress made no effort to restore the Holy Roman Empire and its 300-odd states. Instead, it accepted the disappearance of many small states that had occurred since 1789 and created the German Confederation. The confederation consisted of thirty-eight sovereign states and four free cities and included the five large kingdoms of Austria, Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg (see fig. 4). The confederation met at a diet in Frankfurt, with an Austrian always serving as president.

Prince Clemens von Metternich, who directed Austria's foreign policy from 1809 until 1848, was the dominant political figure within the confederation. He waged a decades-long campaign to prevent the spread of revolution in Europe by seeking to restore much of the political and social order that had existed before the French Revolution. Metternich's Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 established a pervasive system of press censorship and regulation of the universities that dampened German intellectual life and hindered the publication of writings advocating the principles of liberalism. In the 1820s, he engineered the formation of the Holy Alliance of the monarchs of Austria, Prussia, and Russia to quash political, social, and economic developments within Central and Eastern Europe thought to threaten political stability.

Prince [[Clemens von Metternich]], who directed Austria's foreign policy from 1809 until 1848, was the dominant political figure within the confederation. He waged a decades-long campaign to prevent the spread of revolution in Europe by seeking to restore much of the political and social order that had existed before the French Revolution. Metternich's Carlsbad Decrees of 1819 established a pervasive system of press censorship and regulation of the universities that dampened German intellectual life and hindered the publication of writings advocating the principles of liberalism. In the 1820s, he engineered the formation of the Holy Alliance of the monarchs of Austria, Prussia, and Russia to quash political, social, and economic developments within Central and Eastern Europe thought to threaten political stability.

====Economic and Political Trends Toward Unification====

====Economic and Political Trends Toward Unification====

Signed in June 1919, the [[Treaty of Versailles]] limited Germany to an army of 100,000 soldiers; it stipulated that the Rhineland be demilitarized and occupied by the western Allies for fifteen years.  Germany was to surrender Alsace-Lorraine, northern Schleswig-Holstein, a portion of western Prussia that became known as the Polish Corridor because it gave Poland access to the Baltic, and all overseas colonies. An Allied Reparations Commission was established and charged with setting the amount of war-damage payments that would be demanded of Germany.  And, most infuriatingly, the treaty also included the "war guilt clause," ascribing responsibility for World War I to Germany and Austria-Hungary.  The clause would lay the seeds for the rise of the [[Nazi Party]], which would ultimately take power in Germany and cause another major war two decades later.

Signed in June 1919, the [[Treaty of Versailles]] limited Germany to an army of 100,000 soldiers; it stipulated that the Rhineland be demilitarized and occupied by the western Allies for fifteen years.  Germany was to surrender Alsace-Lorraine, northern Schleswig-Holstein, a portion of western Prussia that became known as the Polish Corridor because it gave Poland access to the Baltic, and all overseas colonies. An Allied Reparations Commission was established and charged with setting the amount of war-damage payments that would be demanded of Germany.  And, most infuriatingly, the treaty also included the "war guilt clause," ascribing responsibility for World War I to Germany and Austria-Hungary.  The clause would lay the seeds for the rise of the [[Nazi Party]], which would ultimately take power in Germany and cause another major war two decades later.

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* Blackbourn, David, and  Geoff Eley. ''The Peculiarities of German History: Bourgeois Society and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Germany'' (1984) [http://www.questia.com/read/27706474 online edition]  

* Blackbourn, David, and  Geoff Eley. ''The Peculiarities of German History: Bourgeois Society and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Germany'' (1984) [http://www.questia.com/read/27706474 online edition]  

* Wehler, Hans-Ulrich. ''The German Empire 1871-1918'' (1984)  

* Wehler, Hans-Ulrich. ''The German Empire 1871-1918'' (1984)  

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