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'''Kulturkampf''' ("culture war" in English), which lasted from 1871 to 1887, was [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s unsuccessful effort to break the independent power of the Roman Catholic Church in the newly unified Germany. It was caused, not by Catholic actions or threats, but by the anxiety of Germany's Lutheran and Reformed elites faced with the sudden emergence of mass politics in which the Catholics could for the first time play a major role in politics.
'''Kulturkampf''' ("culture war" in English), which lasted from 1871 to 1887, was [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s unsuccessful effort to persecute and break the independent power of the Roman Catholic Church in the newly unified Germany. It was caused, not by Catholic actions or threats, but by the anxiety of Germany's Lutheran and Reformed elites faced with the sudden emergence of mass politics in which the Catholics could for the first time play a major role in politics. The failure was caused by weakness of the Prussian government and lack of public support from most Protestants.
The arrest and imprisonment of dissident bishops was unpopular and ineffective. Resistors among the parish clergy experienced much harsher imprisonment, but remained steadfast in their opposition. The Prussian legal system was too cumbersome and the police force was too small to handle the massive numbers of resistors, while the army provided ineffectual support. Moreover, the Catholic laity stalwartly supported the Catholic Church. Ultimately Bismarck failed because he lacked the will to employ more extreme measures.
The arrest and imprisonment of dissident bishops was unpopular and ineffective. Resistors among the parish clergy experienced much harsher imprisonment, but remained steadfast in their opposition. The Prussian legal system was too cumbersome and the police force was too small to handle the massive numbers of resistors, while the army provided ineffectual support. Moreover, the Catholic laity stalwartly supported the Catholic Church. Ultimately Bismarck failed because he lacked the will to employ more extreme measures.
* [[Otto von Bismark]]
* [[Otto von Bismark]]
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Anderson, Margaret Lavinia. "The Kulturkampf and the Course of German History". ''Central European History'' 1986 19(1): 82-115. emphasizes the impact on Catholic voters
* Anderson, Margaret Lavinia. "The Kulturkampf and the Course of German History". ''Central European History'' 1986 19(1): 82-115. emphasizes the impact on Catholic voters [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4546060 in JSTOR]
* Blackbourn, David. "Progress and Piety: Liberalism, Catholicism and the State in Imperial Germany." ''History Workshop Journal'' (1988) (26): 57-78.
* Blackbourn, David. "Progress and Piety: Liberalism, Catholicism and the State in Imperial Germany." ''History Workshop Journal'' (1988) (26): 57-78.
* Evans, Ellen Lovell. ''The German Center Party 1870-1933: A Study in Political Catholicism (1981)
* Evans, Ellen Lovell. ''The German Center Party 1870-1933: A Study in Political Catholicism (1981)
* Hatfield, Douglas W. "Kulturkampf: The Relationship of Church and State and the Failure of German Political Reform." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1981 23(3): 465-484. [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=info:CNWtGGOpHusJ:scholar.google.com/&output=viewport&pg=1 online version]
* Hatfield, Douglas W. "Kulturkampf: The Relationship of Church and State and the Failure of German Political Reform." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1981 23(3): 465-484. [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=info:CNWtGGOpHusJ:scholar.google.com/&output=viewport&pg=1 online version]
* Heilbronner, Oded. "Review: From Ghetto to Ghetto: The Place of German Catholic Society in Recent Historiography," ''Journal of Modern History,'' Vol. 72, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 453-495 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3079341 in JSTOR]
* Lamberti, Marjorie. "State, Church, and the Politics of School Reform during the Kulturkampf," ''Central European History,'' Vol. 19, No. 1 (Mar., 1986), pp. 63-81 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4546059 in JSTOR]
* Ross, Ronald J. "The Kulturkampf and the Limitations of Power in Bismarck's Germany." ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' 1995 46(4): 669-688.
* Ross, Ronald J. "The Kulturkampf and the Limitations of Power in Bismarck's Germany." ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' 1995 46(4): 669-688.
* Ross, Ronald J. "Enforcing the Kulturkampf in the Bismarckian State and the Limits of Coercion in Imperial Germany". ''Journal of Modern History'' 1984 56(3): 456-482. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1880020 in JSTOR]
* Ross, Ronald J. "Enforcing the Kulturkampf in the Bismarckian State and the Limits of Coercion in Imperial Germany". ''Journal of Modern History'' 1984 56(3): 456-482. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1880020 in JSTOR]
* Ross, Ronald J. ''Beleaguered Tower: The Dilemma of Political Catholicism in Wilhelmine Germany (1976)
* Ross, Ronald J. ''Beleaguered Tower: The Dilemma of Political Catholicism in Wilhelmine Germany (1976)
* Ross, Ronald J. ''The Failure of Bismarck's Kulturkampf: Catholicism and State Power in Imperial Germany, 1871-1887'' (1998), standard scholarly history; failure caused by weakness of the government and lack of public support from most Protestants
* Trzeciakowski, Lech. "The Prussian State and the Catholic Church in Prussian Poland 1871-1914," ''Slavic Review,'' Vol. 26, No. 4 (Dec., 1967), pp. 618-637 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2492613 in JSTOR]]
* Trzeciakowski, Lech. "The Prussian State and the Catholic Church in Prussian Poland 1871-1914," ''Slavic Review,'' Vol. 26, No. 4 (Dec., 1967), pp. 618-637 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2492613 in JSTOR]]
* Trzeciakowski, Lech. ''The Kulturkampf in Prussian Poland.'' (1990). 223 pp.
* Trzeciakowski, Lech. ''The Kulturkampf in Prussian Poland.'' (1990). 223 pp.