Domestic and foreign policy of Otto von Bismarck. Biography of Otto von Bismarck, First Chancellor of the German Empire
Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck is the most important German statesman and politician of the 19th century. His service had an important impact on the course of European history. He is considered the founder German Empire. For almost three decades he shaped Germany: from 1862 to 1873 as Prime Minister of Prussia, and from 1871 to 1890 as the first Chancellor of Germany.
Bismarck family
Otto was born on April 1, 1815 at the Schönhausen estate, on the outskirts of Brandenburg, north of Magdeburg, which was in the Prussian province of Saxony. His family, starting from the 14th century, belonged to the nobility, and many ancestors held high government posts in the kingdom of Prussia. Otto always remembered his father with love, considering him a modest person. In his youth, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand served in the army and was demobilized with the rank of captain of the cavalry (captain). His mother Louise Wilhelmina von Bismarck, née Mencken, belonged to the middle class, was strongly influenced by her father, was quite rational and possessed strong character. Louise focused on raising her sons, but Bismarck, in his memoirs of childhood, did not describe the special tenderness that traditionally comes from mothers.
The marriage produced six children, three of his siblings died in childhood. Lived relatively long life: older brother, born in 1810, Otto himself, born fourth and sister, born in 1827. A year after the birth, the family moved to the Prussian province of Pomerania, the town of Konarzewo, where the first years of the childhood of the future chancellor passed. Beloved sister Malvina and brother Bernard were born here. Otto's father inherited the Pomeranian estates from his cousin in 1816 and moved to Konarzewo. At that time, the manor was a modest building with a brick foundation and wooden walls. Information about the house was preserved thanks to the drawings of the elder brother, from which one can clearly see a simple two-story building with two short one-story wings on either side of the main entrance.
Childhood and youth
At the age of 7, Otto was sent to an elite private boarding school in , then he continued his education at the Graue Kloster gymnasium. At the age of seventeen, on May 10, 1832, he entered the law faculty of the University of Göttingen, where he spent just over a year. He took the lead in public life students. From November 1833 he continued his studies at the University of Berlin. Education allowed him to engage in diplomacy, but at first he devoted several months to purely administrative work, after which he was transferred to the judicial field in the court of appeal. The young man did not work long in the public service, since it seemed unthinkable and routine for him to observe strict discipline. He worked in 1836 as a government clerk in Aachen, and the following year in Potsdam. This is followed by a year of service as a volunteer in the Greifswald Rifle Battalion Guards. In 1839, together with his brother, he took over the management of the family estates in Pomerania after the death of his mother.
He returned to Konarzevo at the age of 24. In 1846, he first leased the estate, and then sold the property inherited from his father to his nephew Philip in 1868. The property remained with the von Bismarck family until 1945. The last owners were the brothers Klaus and Philipp, sons of Gottfried von Bismarck.
In 1844, after his sister's marriage, he went to live with his father in Schönhausen. As a passionate hunter and duelist, he gains a reputation as a "savage".
Carier start
After the death of his father, Otto and his brother take an active part in the life of the district. In 1846, he began working in an office in charge of the work of the dikes, which served as protection against flooding of the regions located on the Elbe. During these years he traveled extensively in England, France and Switzerland. The views inherited from his mother, his own broad outlook and a critical attitude towards everything, disposed him to free views with an extreme right bias. He quite original and actively defended the rights of the king and the Christian monarchy in the fight against liberalism. After the start of the revolution, Otto offered to bring peasants from Schönhausen to Berlin to protect the king from the revolutionary movement. He did not take part in the meetings, but was actively involved in the formation of the Conservative Party alliance and was one of the founders of the Kreuz-Zeitung, which has since become the newspaper of the monarchist party in Prussia. In the parliament elected at the beginning of 1849, he became one of the sharpest speakers from among the representatives of the young nobility. He figured prominently in discussions about the new Prussian constitution, always defending the power of the king. His speeches were distinguished by a unique manner of debating, combined with originality. Otto understood that the party disputes were only power struggles between revolutionary forces and that no compromise was possible between these principles. A clear position on the foreign policy of the Prussian government was also known, in which he actively opposed plans to create an alliance that forced them to obey a single parliament. In 1850 he held a seat in the parliament of Erfurt, where he vehemently opposed the constitution created by the parliament, foreseeing that such a policy of the government would lead to a struggle against Austria, in which Prussia would be the loser. This position of Bismarck prompted the king in 1851 to appoint him first as the chief Prussian representative, and then as a minister in the Bundestag in Frankfurt am Main. This was a rather bold appointment, since Bismarck had no experience in diplomatic work.
Here he is trying to achieve equal rights for Prussia with Austria, lobbying for the recognition of the Bundestag and is a supporter of small German associations, without Austrian participation. During the eight years he spent in Frankfurt, he became an excellent understanding of politics, thanks to which he became an indispensable diplomat. However, the period he spent in Frankfurt was accompanied by important changes in political views. In June 1863, Bismarck published regulations governing freedom of the press and the crown prince publicly repudiated his father's ministerial policies.
Bismarck in the Russian Empire
During the Crimean War, he advocated an alliance with Russia. Bismarck was appointed Prussian ambassador to St. Petersburg, where he stayed from 1859 to 1862. Here he studied the experience of Russian diplomacy. By his own admission, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Gorchakov, is a great connoisseur of the art of diplomacy. During his time in Russia, Bismarck not only learned the language, but also developed a relationship with Alexander II and with the Empress Dowager, a Prussian princess.
During the first two years he had little influence on the Prussian government: the liberal ministers did not trust his opinion, and the regent was mortified by Bismarck's willingness to form an alliance with the Italians. The rift between King Wilhelm and the Liberal Party opened the way for Otto to power. Albrecht von Roon, who was appointed Minister of War in 1861, was an old friend of his, and thanks to him Bismarck was able to follow the state of affairs in Berlin. When a crisis arose in 1862 due to the refusal of parliament to vote on the allocation of funds necessary for the reorganization of the army, he was called to Berlin. The king still could not make up his mind to increase the role of Bismarck, but he clearly understood that Otto was the only person who had the courage and ability to fight against parliament.
After the death of Friedrich Wilhelm IV, his place on the throne was taken by regent Wilhelm I Friedrich Ludwig. When Bismarck left his post in 1862 Russian Empire, the tsar offered him a position in the Russian service, but Bismarck refused.
In June 1862 he was appointed ambassador to Paris under Napoleon III. He studies in detail the school of French Bonapartism. In September, the king, on the advice of Roon, summoned Bismarck to Berlin and appointed him prime minister and foreign minister.
new field
Bismarck's main duty as minister was to support the king in the reorganization of the army. The dissatisfaction caused by his appointment was serious. His reputation as a peremptory ultra-conservative, reinforced by his first speech about the belief that the German question could not be settled only by speeches and parliamentary decisions, but only by blood and iron, increased the fears of the opposition. There can be no doubt about his determination to bring to an end the long struggle for the supremacy of the House of Hohenzollern Elector dynasty over the Habsburgs. However, two unforeseen events completely changed the situation in Europe and forced the confrontation to be postponed for three years. The first was an outbreak of rebellion in Poland. Bismarck, heir to the old Prussian traditions, mindful of the contribution of the Poles to the greatness of Prussia, offered his help to the tsar. By this he placed himself in opposition to Western Europe. As a political dividend, there was the gratitude of the tsar and the support of Russia. Even more serious were the difficulties that arose in Denmark. Bismarck was again forced to confront national sentiment.
German unification
Through the efforts of Bismarck's political will, the North German Confederation was founded by 1867.
The North German Confederation included:
- Kingdom of Prussia,
- Kingdom of Saxony,
- Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
- Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
- Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
- Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach,
- Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg,
- Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,
- Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen,
- Duchy of Brunswick,
- Duchy of Anhalt,
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen,
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,
- Principality of Reiss-Greutz,
- Principality of Reiss-Gera,
- Principality of Lippe,
- Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe,
- Principality of Waldeck,
- Cities: , and .
Bismarck founded the union, introduced the direct suffrage of the Reichstag and the exclusive responsibility of the federal chancellor. He himself assumed the office of chancellor on July 14, 1867. As chancellor, he controlled the foreign policy of the country and was responsible for all the internal politics of the empire, and his influence was traced in every state department.
Fighting the Roman Catholic Church
After the unification of the country, the government faced the question of the unification of faith more than ever. The core of the country, being purely Protestant, faced religious opposition from adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1873, Bismarck was not only heavily criticized, but also wounded by an aggressive believer. This was not the first attempt. In 1866, shortly before the start of the war, he was attacked by Cohen, a native of Württemberg, who thus wanted to save Germany from fratricidal war.
The Catholic Center Party unites, attracting the nobility. However, the Chancellor signs the May Laws, taking advantage of the numerical superiority of the national Liberal Party. Another fanatic, apprentice Franz Kuhlmann, on July 13, 1874, makes another attack on the authorities. Long and hard work affects the health of a politician. Bismarck resigned several times. After his retirement, he lived in Friedrichsruh.
Chancellor's personal life
In 1844, in Konarzewo, Otto met the Prussian noblewoman Joanna von Puttkamer. On July 28, 1847, their wedding took place in a parish church near Reinfeld. Undemanding and deeply religious, Joanna was a loyal companion who provided significant support throughout her husband's career. Despite the heavy loss of his first lover and the intrigue with the wife of the Russian ambassador, Orlova, his marriage turned out to be happy. The couple had three children: Mary in 1848, Herbert in 1849 and William in 1852.
Joanna died on November 27, 1894 at the Bismarck estate at the age of 70. The husband built a chapel in which she was buried. Later, her remains were moved to the Bismarck Mausoleum in Friedrichsruh.
Last years
In 1871, the emperor gave him part of the possessions of the Duchy of Lauenburg. By his seventieth birthday, he was given a large amount of money, part of which went to buy out the estate of his ancestors in Schönhausen, part to buy an estate in Pomerania, which from now on he used as a country residence, and the rest of the funds were given to create a fund to help schoolchildren.
In retirement, the emperor granted him the title of Duke of Lauenburg, but he never used this title. Bismarck spent his last years not far from. He fiercely criticized the government, sometimes in conversation, sometimes from the pages of Hamburg publications. His eightieth birthday in 1895 was celebrated on a grand scale. He died in Friedrichsruh on 31 July 1898.
Otto von Bismarck (Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen) was born on April 1, 1815 in family estate Schönhausen in Brandenburg northwest of Berlin, the third son of the Prussian landowner Ferdinand von Bismarck-Schönhausen and Wilhelmina Mencken, was given the name Otto Eduard Leopold at birth.
The Schönhausen estate was located in the heart of the province of Brandenburg, which occupied special place in the history of early Germany. Five miles to the west of the estate was the Elbe River, the main waterway of Northern Germany. Schönhausen Manor has been in the hands of the Bismarck family since 1562.
All generations of this family served the rulers of Brandenburg in peace and military fields.
Wilhelmina, Otto's mother, came from a family of civil servants and belonged to the middle class. Such marriages increased in the nineteenth century as the educated middle classes and the old aristocracy began to coalesce into a new elite.
At the urging of Wilhelmina, Bernhard, the elder brother, and Otto were sent to study at the Plamann School in Berlin, where Otto studied from 1822 to 1827. At the age of 12, Otto left school and moved to the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium, where he studied for three years. In 1830, Otto moved to the gymnasium "At the Gray Monastery", where he felt freer than in previous years. educational institutions. Neither mathematics, nor the history of the ancient world, nor the achievements of the new German culture attracted the attention of the young cadet. Most of all, Otto was interested in the politics of past years, the history of military and peaceful rivalry between different countries.
After graduating from high school, on May 10, 1832, at the age of 17, Otto entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied law. When he was a student, he gained a reputation as a reveler and a fighter, and excelled in duels. Otto played cards for money and drank a lot. In September 1833, Otto moved to the New Capital University in Berlin, where life turned out to be cheaper. To be more precise, Bismarck was only listed at the university, since he hardly attended lectures, but used the services of tutors who attended him before exams. In 1835 he received a diploma and was soon enlisted to work at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837, Otto took up the post of tax official in Aachen, a year later - the same post in Potsdam. There he joined the Guards Jaeger Regiment. In the autumn of 1838, Bismarck moved to Greifswald, where, in addition to performing his military duties, he studied animal breeding methods at the Elden Academy.
Bismarck is a landowner.
On January 1, 1839, Otto von Bismarck's mother, Wilhelmina, died. The death of his mother did not make a strong impression on Otto: only much later came to him a true assessment of her qualities. However, this event resolved for some time an urgent problem - what should he do after the end of his military service. Otto helped his brother Bernhard manage the Pomeranian estates, and their father returned to Schönhausen. His father's financial loss, together with an innate distaste for the lifestyle of a Prussian official, forced Bismarck to resign in September 1839 and take over the management of the family estates in Pomerania. In private conversations, Otto explained this by the fact that, due to his temperament, he was not suitable for the position of a subordinate. He did not tolerate any superiors over himself: "My pride requires me to command, and not to carry out other people's orders". Otto von Bismarck, like his father, decided "to live and die in the village" .
Otto von Bismarck himself studied accounting, chemistry, and agriculture. His brother, Bernhard, took almost no part in the management of the estates. Bismarck turned out to be a quick-witted and practical landowner, having won the respect of his neighbors both with his theoretical knowledge Agriculture and practical success. The value of the estates rose by more than a third in the nine years Otto ruled them, with three of the nine years experiencing a widespread agricultural crisis. And yet Otto could not be just a landowner.
On the estate, Bismarck continued his education, taking up the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, David Friedrich Strauss and Feuerbach. Otto did a great job English literature for England and her affairs occupied Bismarck more than any other country. Intellectually, the "mad Bismarck" was far superior to his neighbors - the junkers.
In mid-1841, Otto von Bismarck wanted to marry Ottoline von Puttkamer, the daughter of a wealthy Junker. However, her mother refused him, and in order to unwind Otto went traveling, visiting England and France. This vacation helped Bismarck to dispel the boredom of rural life in Pomerania. Bismarck became more sociable and made many friends.
Bismarck's entry into politics.
After his father's death in 1845, the family property was divided and Bismarck received the Schönhausen and Kniephof estates in Pomerania. In 1847 he married Johanna von Puttkamer, a distant relative of the girl he courted in 1841. Among his new friends in Pomerania were Ernst Leopold von Gerlach and his brother, who not only were at the head of the Pomeranian pietists, but were also part of a group of court advisers.
Bismarck, a student of Gerlach, became known for his conservative stance during the constitutional struggle in Prussia in 1848-1850. From a "mad junker" Bismarck turned into a "mad deputy" of the Berlin Landtag. Opposing liberals, Bismarck contributed to the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the "New Prussian newspaper" ("Neue Preussische Zeitung"). He was a member of the lower house of the Prussian parliament in 1849 and of the Erfurt parliament in 1850, when he opposed a federation of German states (with or without Austria), because he believed that this union would strengthen the revolutionary movement that was gaining strength. In his Olmutz speech, Bismarck spoke in defense of King Frederick William IV, who capitulated to Austria and Russia. The contented monarch wrote of Bismarck: "Ardent reactionary. Use later" .In May 1851, the King appointed Bismarck as Prussian representative to the Allied Diet in Frankfurt am Main. There, Bismarck almost immediately concluded that Prussia's goal could not be a German confederation under Austrian dominance, and that war with Austria was inevitable if Prussia were to dominate a united Germany. As Bismarck improved in the study of diplomacy and the art of government, he increasingly moved away from the views of the king and his camarilla. For his part, the king began to lose confidence in Bismarck. In 1859, the king's brother Wilhelm, who was then regent, relieved Bismarck of his duties and sent him as an envoy to St. Petersburg. There, Bismarck became close to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince A.M. Gorchakov, who assisted Bismarck in his efforts to diplomatically isolate first Austria and then France.
Otto von Bismarck - Minister-President of Prussia. His diplomacy.
In 1862, Bismarck was sent as an envoy to France at the court of Napoleon III. He was soon recalled by King William I to resolve the contradictions on the issue of military appropriations, which was vigorously discussed in the lower house of parliament.
In September of the same year, he became the head of the government, and a little later - the minister-president and minister of foreign affairs of Prussia.A militant conservative, Bismarck announced to the liberal middle-class majority in parliament that the government would continue to collect taxes in accordance with the old budget, because parliament, due to internal contradictions, would not be able to pass the new budget. (This policy continued in 1863-1866, which allowed Bismarck to carry out military reform.) At a meeting of the parliamentary committee on September 29, Bismarck emphasized: "The great questions of the time will not be decided by speeches and majority resolutions - this was a blunder in 1848 and 1949 - but iron and blood." Since the upper and lower houses of parliament were unable to develop a unified strategy on the issue of national defense, the government, according to Bismarck, should take the initiative and force parliament to agree to its decisions. By limiting the activities of the press, Bismarck took serious measures to suppress the opposition.
For their part, the liberals sharply criticized Bismarck for offering to support Russian emperor Alexander II in the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 (Alvensleben Convention 1863). Over the next decade, Bismarck's policies led to three wars: the war with Denmark in 1864, after which Schleswig, Holstein (Holstein) and Lauenburg were annexed to Prussia; Austria in 1866; and France (the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871).
On April 9, 1866, the day after Bismarck signed a secret agreement on a military alliance with Italy in the event of an attack on Austria, he submitted to the Bundestag his draft of a German parliament and universal secret suffrage for the country's male population. After the decisive Battle of Kötiggrätz (Sadovaya), in which the German troops defeated the Austrian ones, Bismarck managed to get the annexationist claims of Wilhelm I and the Prussian generals, who wanted to enter Vienna and demanded large territorial acquisitions, to be abandoned, and offered Austria an honorable peace (Prague Peace of 1866) . Bismarck did not allow Wilhelm I to "bring Austria to its knees" by occupying Vienna. The future chancellor insisted on relatively easy peace terms for Austria in order to ensure her neutrality in the future conflict between Prussia and France, which year by year became inevitable. Austria was expelled from the German Confederation, Venice joined Italy, Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Kasel, Frankfurt, Schleswig and Holstein went to Prussia.
One of the most important consequences of the Austro-Prussian war was the formation of the North German Confederation, which, along with Prussia, included about 30 more states. All of them, according to the constitution adopted in 1867, formed a single territory with laws and institutions common to all. The foreign and military policy of the union was actually transferred into the hands of the Prussian king, who was declared its president. A customs and military treaty was soon concluded with the South German states. These steps clearly showed that Germany was rapidly moving towards its unification under the leadership of Prussia.
The southern German lands of Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden remained outside the North German Confederation. France did everything possible to prevent Bismarck from including these lands in the North German Confederation. Napoleon III did not want to see a united Germany on his eastern borders. Bismarck understood that this problem could not be solved without a war. In the next three years, Bismarck's secret diplomacy was directed against France. In Berlin, Bismarck introduced a bill to Parliament exempting him from liability for unconstitutional acts, which was approved by the Liberals. French and Prussian interests kept clashing on various issues. In France at that time militant anti-German sentiments were strong. Bismarck played on them.
Appearance "ems dispatch" was caused by the scandalous events around the nomination of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern (nephew of Wilhelm I) to the Spanish throne, vacated after the revolution in Spain in 1868. Bismarck correctly calculated that France would never agree to such an option, and in the event of Leopold's accession in Spain, he would begin to rattle weapons and make belligerent statements against the North German Confederation, which would sooner or later end in war. Therefore, he vigorously promoted the candidacy of Leopold, assuring, however, Europe that the German government was completely uninvolved in the claims of the Hohenzollerns to the Spanish throne. In his circulars, and later in his memoirs, Bismarck denied his participation in this intrigue in every possible way, arguing that the nomination of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne was a "family" affair of the Hohenzollerns. In fact, Bismarck and Minister of War Roon and Chief of Staff Moltke, who came to his aid, spent a lot of effort to convince the reluctant Wilhelm I to support Leopold's candidacy.
As Bismarck had hoped, Leopold's bid for the Spanish throne caused an uproar in Paris. On July 6, 1870, the French Foreign Minister, the Duke de Gramont, exclaimed: "This will not happen, we are sure of it ... Otherwise, we would be able to fulfill our duty without showing any weakness or hesitation." After this statement, Prince Leopold, without any consultation with the king and Bismarck, announced that he was renouncing his claims to the Spanish throne.
This step was not included in Bismarck's plans. Leopold's refusal destroyed his hopes that France herself would unleash a war against the North German Confederation. This was fundamentally important for Bismarck, who sought to secure the neutrality of the leading European states in a future war, which he later succeeded largely due to the fact that France was the attacking side. It is difficult to judge how sincere Bismarck was in his memoirs when he wrote that upon receiving the news of Leopold's refusal to take the Spanish throne "My first thought was to retire"(Bismarck repeatedly submitted his resignation to William I, using them as one of the means of pressure on the king, who without his chancellor meant nothing in politics), however, another of his memoirs dating back to the same time looks quite authentic: "I already at that time considered the war a necessity, from which we could not honorably evade" .
While Bismarck was thinking about other ways to provoke France into declaring war, the French themselves gave an excellent reason for this. On July 13, 1870, the French ambassador Benedetti came to William I, who was resting on the Ems waters, in the morning and conveyed to him a rather brazen request from his minister Gramont - to assure France that he (the king) would never give his consent if Prince Leopold again put forward his candidacy for Spanish throne. The king, outraged by such a trick that was really daring for the diplomatic etiquette of those times, answered with a sharp refusal and interrupted Benedetti's audience. A few minutes later, he received a letter from his ambassador in Paris, which stated that Gramont insisted that Wilhelm, in his own hand, assure Napoleon III that he had no intention of harming the interests and dignity of France. This news completely pissed off William I. When Benedetti asked for a new audience for a conversation on this topic, he refused to receive him and conveyed through his adjutant that he had said his last word.
Bismarck learned about these events from a dispatch sent that afternoon from Ems by adviser Abeken. The dispatch to Bismarck was delivered at lunchtime. Roon and Moltke dined with him. Bismarck read the dispatch to them. The dispatch made the most difficult impression on the two old soldiers. Bismarck recalled that Roon and Moltke were so upset that they "neglected food and drink." Having finished reading, after some time Bismarck asked Moltke about the state of the army and about its readiness for war. Moltke replied in the spirit that "an immediate outbreak of war is more advantageous than a delay." After that, Bismarck edited the telegram right there at the dinner table and read it to the generals. Here is its text: "After the news of the abdication of the Crown Prince of Hohenzollern was officially communicated to the French imperial government by the Spanish royal government, the French ambassador presented an additional demand to His Royal Majesty in Ems: to authorize him to telegraph to Paris that His Majesty the King undertakes for all future times never give his consent if the Hohenzollerns return to their candidacy. His Majesty the King refused to receive the French ambassador again and ordered the adjutant on duty to tell him that his majesty had nothing more to tell the ambassador. "
Even Bismarck's contemporaries suspected him of falsification "ems dispatch". The German Social Democrats Liebknecht and Bebel were the first to speak about this. Liebknecht in 1891 even published the pamphlet "The Ems Despatch, or How Wars Are Made". Bismarck, in his memoirs, wrote that he only crossed out "something" from the dispatch, but did not add "not a word" to it. What did Bismarck strike out of the Ems dispatch? First of all, something that could point to the true inspirer of the king's telegram appearing in print. Bismarck crossed out the wish of Wilhelm I to submit "to the discretion of your Excellency, i.e. Bismarck, the question of whether our representatives and the press should be informed of the new demand of Benedetti and the refusal of the king." To reinforce the impression of the French envoy's disrespect for William I, Bismarck did not include in the new text the mention that the king had responded to the ambassador "rather harshly." The rest of the reductions were not significant. The new edition of the Ems dispatch brought Roon and Moltke, who dined with Bismarck, out of depression. The latter exclaimed: "That sounds different; before it sounded like a signal to retreat, now it's a fanfare." Bismarck began to develop his future plans for them: “We must fight if we do not want to take on the role of the defeated without a fight. But success depends largely on the impressions that the origin of the war will cause in us and others; it is important that we are those who who was attacked, and Gallic arrogance and resentment will help us in this ... "
Further events unfolded in the most desirable direction for Bismarck. The publication of the "Ems dispatch" in many German newspapers caused an uproar in France. Foreign Minister Gramont shouted indignantly in parliament that Prussia had slapped France in the face. On July 15, 1870, the head of the French cabinet, Emile Olivier, demanded a loan of 50 million francs from Parliament and announced the government's decision to call up reservists into the army "in response to the call to war." The future President of France, Adolphe Thiers, who in 1871 would make peace with Prussia and drown the Paris Commune in blood, was still a member of parliament in July 1870, and was perhaps the only sensible politician in France in those days. He tried to convince the deputies to refuse credit to Olivier and to call up reservists, arguing that since Prince Leopold had renounced the Spanish crown, French diplomacy had achieved its goal and that one should not quarrel with Prussia over words and bring matters to a rupture on a purely formal occasion. Olivier replied to this that he was "with a light heart" ready to bear the responsibility that henceforth fell on him. In the end, the deputies approved all the proposals of the government, and on July 19, France declared war on the North German Confederation.
Bismarck meanwhile communicated with the deputies of the Reichstag. It was important for him to carefully hide from the public his painstaking behind-the-scenes work to provoke France into declaring war. With his usual hypocrisy and resourcefulness, Bismarck convinced the deputies that in the whole story with Prince Leopold, the government and he personally did not participate. He shamelessly lied when he told the deputies that he learned about Prince Leopold's desire to take the Spanish throne not from the king, but from some "private person", that the North German ambassador left Paris himself "for personal reasons", but was not recalled by the government (in fact, Bismarck ordered the ambassador to leave France, being annoyed by his "softness" towards the French). Bismarck diluted this lie with a dose of truth. He did not lie when he said that the decision to publish the dispatch about the negotiations in Ems between William I and Benedetti was made by the government at the request of the king himself.
William I himself did not expect that the publication of the Ems Dispatch would lead to such a quick war with France. After reading Bismarck's edited text in the papers, he exclaimed: "This is war!" The king was afraid of this war. Bismarck later wrote in his memoirs that William I should not have negotiated with Benedetti at all, but he "left his person as a monarch to the shameless processing of this foreign agent" largely due to the fact that he succumbed to the pressure of his wife Queen Augusta with "her justified in a feminine way by timidity and the national feeling that she lacked. Thus, Bismarck used Wilhelm I as a front for his behind-the-scenes intrigues against France.
When the Prussian generals began to win victory after victory over the French, not a single major European power stood up for France. This was the result of the preliminary diplomatic activity of Bismarck, who managed to achieve the neutrality of Russia and England. He promised Russia neutrality in the event of its withdrawal from the humiliating Treaty of Paris, which forbade it to have its own fleet in the Black Sea, the British were outraged by the draft treaty published at the direction of Bismarck on the annexation of Belgium by France. But the most important thing was that it was France that attacked the North German Confederation, despite the repeated peace-loving intentions and small concessions that Bismarck made towards her (withdrawal of Prussian troops from Luxembourg in 1867, statements of readiness to abandon Bavaria and create from it a neutral country, etc.). In editing the Ems dispatch, Bismarck did not impulsively improvise, but was guided by the real achievements of his diplomacy and therefore emerged victorious. And the winners, as you know, are not judged. The authority of Bismarck, even in retirement, was so high in Germany that it never occurred to anyone (except the Social Democrats) to pour tubs of dirt on him when, in 1892, the original text of the Ems dispatch was made public from the Reichstag rostrum.
Otto von Bismarck - Chancellor of the German Empire.
Exactly one month after the start of hostilities, a significant part of the French army was surrounded by German troops near Sedan and capitulated. Napoleon III himself surrendered to William I.
In November 1870, the South German states joined the Unified German Confederation, which had been transformed from the North. In December 1870, the Bavarian king offered to restore the German Empire and the German imperial dignity, destroyed in his time by Napoleon. This proposal was accepted, and the Reichstag turned to Wilhelm I with a request to accept the imperial crown. In 1871, at Versailles, William I wrote the address on an envelope - "Chancellor of the German Empire", thus confirming Bismarck's right to rule the empire that he created, and which was proclaimed on January 18 in the mirror hall of Versailles. On March 2, 1871, the Treaty of Paris was concluded - difficult and humiliating for France. The border regions of Alsace and Lorraine were ceded to Germany. France had to pay 5 billion indemnities. Wilhelm I returned to Berlin as a triumph, although all the merit belonged to the Chancellor.
The "Iron Chancellor", representing the interests of the minority and absolute power, ruled this empire in 1871-1890, relying on the consent of the Reichstag, where from 1866 to 1878 he was supported by the National Liberal Party. Bismarck reformed German law, administration and finance. The educational reforms he carried out in 1873 led to a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, but the main reason for the conflict was the growing distrust of German Catholics (who accounted for about a third of the country's population) in Protestant Prussia. When these contradictions surfaced in the activities of the Catholic "Centre" party in the Reichstag in the early 1870s, Bismarck was forced to take action. The struggle against the dominance of the Catholic Church was called "Kulturkampf"(Kulturkampf, struggle for culture). During it, many bishops and priests were arrested, hundreds of dioceses were left without leaders. Now church appointments had to be coordinated with the state; church employees could not be in the service of the state apparatus. Schools were separated from the church, civil marriage was introduced, the Jesuits were expelled from Germany.
Bismarck built his foreign policy on the basis of the situation that developed in 1871 after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war and the capture of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, which became a source of constant tension. With the help of a complex system of alliances that ensured the isolation of France, the rapprochement of Germany with Austria-Hungary and the maintenance of good relations with Russia (alliance of three emperors - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1873 and 1881; Austro-German alliance in 1879; "Triple Alliance" between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882; "Mediterranean agreement" in 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and "reinsurance agreement" with Russia in 1887), Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe. The German Empire under Chancellor Bismarck became one of the leaders in international politics.
In foreign policy, Bismarck made every effort to consolidate the gains of the Peace of Frankfurt in 1871, contributed to the diplomatic isolation of the French Republic, and sought to prevent the formation of any coalition that threatened German hegemony. He chose not to participate in the discussion of claims for weakened Ottoman Empire. When at the Berlin Congress of 1878, under the chairmanship of Bismarck, the next phase of the discussion of the "Eastern Question" ended, he played the role of an "honest broker" in the dispute between the rival parties. Although the "Triple Alliance" was directed against Russia and France, Otto von Bismarck believed that a war with Russia would be extremely dangerous for Germany. The secret treaty with Russia in 1887 - the "treaty of reinsurance" - showed Bismarck's ability to act behind the backs of his allies, Austria and Italy, to maintain the status quo in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Until 1884, Bismarck did not give clear definitions of the course of colonial policy, mainly because of friendly relations with England. Other reasons were the desire to preserve Germany's capital and keep government spending to a minimum. Bismarck's first expansionist plans provoked vigorous protests from all parties - Catholics, statesmen, socialists and even representatives of his own class - the Junkers. Despite this, under Bismarck, Germany began to turn into a colonial empire.
In 1879, Bismarck broke with the liberals and henceforth relied on a coalition of large landowners, industrialists, senior military and government officials.
Conflict with Wilhelm II and the resignation of Bismarck.
With the accession of Wilhelm II in 1888, Bismarck lost control of the government.
Under Wilhelm I and Frederick III, who ruled for less than six months, Bismarck's position could not be shaken by any of the opposition groups. The self-confident and ambitious Kaiser refused to play a secondary role, declaring at one of the banquets in 1891: "There is only one master in the country - this is me, and I will not tolerate another"; and his strained relationship with the Reich Chancellor became increasingly strained. Differences manifested themselves most seriously in the question of amending the "Exceptional Law Against Socialists" (in force in 1878-1890) and in the question of the right of ministers subordinate to the chancellor to a personal audience with the emperor. Wilhelm II hinted to Bismarck that his resignation was desirable and received a letter of resignation from Bismarck on March 18, 1890. The resignation was accepted two days later, Bismarck received the title of Duke of Lauenburg, he was also awarded the rank of Colonel General of the cavalry.Bismarck's removal to Friedrichsruhe was not the end of his interest in political life. He was especially eloquent in his criticism of the newly appointed Chancellor and Minister-President Count Leo von Caprivi. In 1891, Bismarck was elected to the Reichstag from Hanover, but never took his seat there, and two years later refused to run for re-election. In 1894, the emperor and the already aging Bismarck met again in Berlin - at the suggestion of Clovis Hohenlohe, Prince Schillingfürst, Caprivi's successor. In 1895, all of Germany celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Iron Chancellor. In June 1896, Prince Otto von Bismarck participated in the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Bismarck died in Friedrichsruhe on July 30, 1898. The "Iron Chancellor" was buried at his own request in his Friedrichsruhe estate, the inscription was engraved on the tombstone of his tomb: "Devoted servant of the German Kaiser Wilhelm I". In April 1945, the house in Schönhausen, where Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815, was burned down. Soviet troops.
Bismarck's literary monument is his "Thoughts and Memories"(Gedanken und Erinnerungen), and "Big Politics of European Cabinets"(Die grosse Politik der europaischen Kabinette, 1871-1914, 1924-1928) in 47 volumes serves as a monument to his diplomatic art.
References.
1. Emil Ludwig. Bismarck. - M.: Zakharov-AST, 1999.
2. Alan Palmer. Bismarck. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1998.
3. Encyclopedia "The World Around Us" (cd)
Otto von Bismarck is the first chancellor of Germany who united Germany along the Little German path. He has numerous awards and titles, including the title of Duke of Lauenburg.
The personality and deeds of Otto von Bismarck have been heatedly debated by politicians and historians over the past century. Attitudes towards him changed quite often, literally with every change in the historical era. There is a version that the assessment of his role in the history of Germany underwent changes as many as six times, so that different generations of German schoolchildren received different information about him. He was called the "iron chancellor", his expressions were often quoted, sometimes even attributing things that he never said. The role of Bismarck in uniting the peoples of Germany into one state can hardly be overestimated.
Childhood
The future famous politician was born on April 1, 1815 in the small town of Schönhausen in the province of Brandenburg. The full name of the boy sounded like Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, his parents are the small estate noblemen Ferdinand von Bismarck and Wilhelmina Mencken. Otto was more attracted to his father, but he paid little attention to the children, as he was in military service. He retired as a cavalry captain. Mom, on the contrary, spent all her time with the children, but did not show much love for them.
At the time of Otto's birth, three children were already growing up in the family, but they died as babies. When the boy was one year old, the family changed their place of residence and settled in Pomerania. In the city of Konarzhevo, Otto's father inherited an estate from his cousin, and it was there that the future chancellor of the country spent his childhood. Two more children were born there - Bernard and Malvina.
Seven-year-old Otto began his studies at an elite boarding school in the city of Berlin. Then he entered the gymnasium in Graue Kloster, after which, in 1832, he became a student at the University of Göttingen in Hannover. The young man studied at the law faculty of this university, but after the first year of study he returned back to Berlin. In addition to the main subjects, Otto was very attracted to diplomacy.
The young man began his working biography with administrative work, then he was admitted to the Potsdam Court of Appeal. But he soon got bored of the regularity and monotony of his activities, by nature Bismarck was very active and ambitious. This discipline bored him. In his student years, he developed a reputation as a quick-tempered and extraordinary person, he could afford any mischief, up to duels, from which he always emerged victorious.
Career and military service
In 1837, Otto volunteered for the Greifswald Battalion. In 1839, his mother died, and Bismarck, along with his younger brother, took over the management of the family estates. At that time, he was barely 24.
The young man managed to demonstrate such literacy and prudence, which no one expected from him. He was characterized as a thrifty, prudent, but very hot-tempered owner of the estate. In 1846, he took a job in an office, his duties included supervising the work of dams. He often went on trips to European countries, at which time his own view of politics begins to form.
In those years, he increasingly thinks about a career as a politician, but he did not succeed in moving quickly in this direction. Many acquaintances remembered him for his dubious reputation and explosive character. Only in 1847 did he manage to take a deputy chair in the United Landtag of the Kingdom of Prussia, and this was the beginning of his meteoric career. In those years, numerous revolutions broke out in Europe.
Many liberal and socialist parties tried to defend their rights guaranteed by the constitution. Bismarck adhered to conservative principles, so his appearance in state system was quite unexpected.
Supporters of the king of Prussia admired von Bismarck's oratorical skills, they were impressed by his views. Having risen to defend the rights of the monarchy, the politician fell into opposition.
Von Bismarck took up the formation of the conservative party and took an active part in founding the Kreuzzeitung newspaper. In parliament, he became a representative of the young nobility, and he perfectly understood that there could be no question of any compromise. He became a supporter of a single parliament and its complete subordination to power.
In 1850, von Bismarck entered the parliament of Erfurt, opposed actions that could lead to conflict with Austria. Otto was able to foresee the defeat that awaited Prussia. He was known as a shrewd politician, and thanks to this he occupies a ministerial chair in the Bundestag of the city of Frankfurt am Main. The lack of experience and diplomatic skills did not prevent Otto from soon becoming famous throughout the country.
In 1857, von Bismarck received a new appointment, now he represented Prussia in Russia. He held this position for five years, until 1862. He visited Russia quite often, visited St. Petersburg many times, where Vice-Chancellor Alexander Gorchakov soon turned out to be among his close friends. Otto learned a lot from Alexander, saw in him a "godfather" in the political field, and even began to adhere to his diplomatic style. Soon the German was fluent in Russian, got acquainted with the mentality and character of the Russian people.
Once von Bismarck uttered his famous statement in which he emphasized that a war between Germany and Russia was unacceptable, because for the German side it would have disastrous consequences. Otto managed to get so close to the Russian monarchs that he was offered a profitable position at court.
The political biography of von Bismarck developed quite successfully, but it flourished during the reign of Wilhelm I, who came to power in 1861. The confrontation between the king and the Landtag led to a constitutional crisis in Prussia. The parties to the conflict could not reach a consensus on the issue of the military budget. Wilhelm needed strong support, and he saw it in the person of von Bismarck, who in those years worked as ambassador to France.
Politics
The differences between the liberals and Wilhelm led to the fact that Otto von Bismarck began to gain weight as an important political figure. He received the post of prime minister and the chair of the minister of foreign affairs, was engaged in the reorganization of the army. The reform did not find support from the opposition, which did not like the ultra-conservative policies of von Bismarck. The confrontation of the opponents subsided for three years, due to the uprisings that arose in Poland. Otto supported the Polish king, and this caused dissatisfaction with his actions in Europe, but Russia trusted him completely and unconditionally.
Soon similar conflicts broke out in Denmark, and Otto was directly involved in their resolution. He again resisted the national movement. In 1866, Prussia began a war with Austria and the division of state lands. Italy fought on the side of Prussia. After the victory, Otto's political positions were noticeably strengthened, Austria was no longer a threat.
In 1867, von Bismarck was directly involved in organizing the North German Confederation. Confederation contributed to the unification of duchies, principalities and kingdoms. Now Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of Germany and the initiator of the introduction of the Reichstag suffrage, all power was concentrated in his hands. In his jurisdiction was foreign policy Germany and the internal situation in the country, he was aware of everything that was happening in the state departments.
At that time, France was ruled by Napoleon III, who really did not like the unification of states. He decided to stop this process by military means. The Franco-Prussian war was won by von Bismarck, the French emperor was captured. In 1871, the German Empire arose, the Second Reich, ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm I.
From that time on, von Bismarck had to contain the external threats coming from Austria and France, as well as the internal conflicts that the Social Democrats threatened. All of them were afraid of the power of the created state. Otto was nicknamed the Iron Chancellor, and his foreign policy was called none other than Bismarck's system of alliances. He kept a close eye on European countries did not unite in a coalition against Germany, in order to provoke a war. He agreed to any conditions if it promised benefits in the foreign and domestic policy of the country.
The German elite could not decipher von Bismarck's "multi-move" in any way, so he greatly irritated the nobles, who advocated a war, if only to achieve a redistribution of land. The statesman did not accept the colonial policy, although already in those days Germany acquired the first subordinate lands in the Pacific Ocean and Africa.
But the new generation of statesmen needed power, they were not interested in the unity of Germany, they wanted to get world domination. 1888 went down in the history of the country as "the year of the three emperors". That year, Wilhelm I and his son Frederick III died - his father died of old age, his son from oncology (suffered from throat cancer). After their death, Wilhelm II began to rule the country, who tied Germany into the First World War, which turned out to be fatal for the country.
In 1890, Otto turned 75, he wrote a letter of resignation. At the beginning of the summer, Russia, France and England joined forces against Germany.
Personal life
Otto met his wife Joanna von Puttkamer in 1844, when their family lived in Konarzewo. The young man fell in love and soon realized that this was his destiny. The lovers got married in 1847, Otto was immensely happy. The wife became a real support and support for von Bismarck, and he, in turn, tried not to disappoint her. Although at that time he began an affair on the side. The subject of passion was the wife of the Russian ambassador, Ekaterina Orlova-Trubetskaya.
The personal life of the Chancellor has developed well. His wife bore him three children - Mary, Herbert and William. Their family idyll continued until the death of Joanne, who died at the age of 70. Otto was very upset by her departure, he built a chapel where the ashes of his beloved were interred. Then the remains of Joanne were reburied in the mausoleum of the city of Friedrichsruhe, where von Bismarck himself found the last shelter.
The politician was a very versatile person. He was fond of horse riding and collecting thermometers. Frequent visits to Russia led to the fact that he fell in love with the Russian language, knew it almost perfectly. He liked to repeat the word "nothing", meaning "nothing to worry about." Most often, this word was found in memoirs and books about Russia.
Death
AT last years The life of a politician did not need anything. The rulers of Germany understood what contribution he made to the development of the country. In 1871, he became the owner of land in the duchy of Lauenburg, and in honor of his 70th birthday, he was awarded a large sum of money. With these funds, he bought the estates of his ancestors, bought a manor in Pomerania, and used it as a country residence. The remaining amount was used to create a fund for helping students.
After retiring, the politician became the Duke of Lauenburg, this non-heritable title was granted to him by the government of the country. He never once used it for personal purposes. Von Bismarck moved near Hamburg, wrote articles for periodicals in which he criticized the political system in Germany.
Otto von Bismarck died on July 30, 1898. At that time he was 85 years old and died of natural causes. The place of his burial was the mausoleum in Friedrichsruhe.
Monuments to Otto von Bismarck
During World War II, von Bismarck's name was used for propaganda purposes. Many German politicians cited his book The Great Politics of European Cabinets, which is the literary legacy of the great politician, as well as his second work, Thoughts and Memories.
Links
The relevance and reliability of information is important to us. If you find an error or inaccuracy, please let us know. Highlight the error and press keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Enter .
Otto von Bismarck
"The most urgent question will be decided not by speeches and majority votes, but by iron and blood."
Otto von Bismarck
"People are a lot dumber than I thought they were."
Otto von Bismarck
The life of the founder of the Second Reich of Germany, the legendary Iron Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, upon its careful and detailed consideration, appears before us as an amazing example of persistent and consistent struggle, during which, thanks to the rigid supremacy of the will, a person managed to complete a long chain of unsuccessful attempts with a colossal victory, which allowed him to take a prominent line in world history.
An unbiased look at success and the strategy for achieving it, no doubt, will not allow us to ignore the birth and development of this extraordinary personality, a man who became a legend during his lifetime.
Otto von Bismarck was the fourth child of a Prussian landowner. The fact that two older brothers of the future chancellor died in infancy, and his immediate predecessor turned out to be in very poor health, had a considerable influence on the attitude of father and mother towards the fourth boy and, accordingly, on the attitude of the latter to himself. Otto was not just loved - the hopes of his parents were connected with him, he was given the lion's share of parental attention and he was inspired by the belief that he had a great future. It was this attitude towards the fourth son that contributed to the transformation of the boy into an unpredictable and determined egoist, ready for any eccentric act and believing in his own infallibility. And looking ahead, it can be argued that later this played a significant role in the appearance in his mature years of his thoughts about his own messianism - coming to German soil to glorify it.
Being a junker (German landowner), Bismarck-father formally belonged to the nobility, but was not the owner of such material wealth that would guarantee him the necessary degree of influence in the state. On the other hand, the origin of the mother (she was from the family of an official close to the court of King Frederick William II) played a significant role directly in determining Bismarck's life path and even opened up some starting opportunities for him. In addition, Bismarck's mother, who lived in childhood and early youth at the royal court, not only learned about the art of court intrigues, but also managed to develop a flexible inventive mind, no doubt passed on to her son, in whom she almost unconditionally believed.
Some biographers of Bismarck argue that the fact of his father's non-participation in liberation war 1813–1814 definitely affected the character of the boy, because the patriotic mood of that time often forced children to defend the honor of their family with their fists. So, Alan Palmer even came to the conclusion that in childhood Otto was "an aggressive outsider, acutely aware of his inferiority." It is possible that the trembling experiences of childhood and early youth, the unpleasant and shameful feelings of one's own vulnerability, the difficulty of overcoming frustration for the militant and indomitable character of Bismarck later aroused in him a thirst for significance precisely in the field of German statehood and the development of the national idea. An equally important factor influencing the formation of Bismar's super-idea was the mother, who not only passed on ardent ambitions to her sons, but also provided them with a completely decent education. The latter is an important factor, given that we are talking about the prestigious and extravagant at that time Berlin Plaman school, where, at the firm insistence of the mother, both boys were sent. It seems that in this educational institution, where special attention was paid to the development of original personal qualities, young Bismarck and mastered the basics of multifaceted strategic thinking in five years of study. In addition, the school has become not only a gym for the development of a young, rather tenacious and prolific mind, but also a good tempering of independence. Although, paying tribute to objectivity, it is worth noting that the future chancellor of Germany was very burdened by the rather strict discipline of the school. It could not be otherwise - cut off from home and being in a tightly controlled team from the age of seven, he, on the one hand, was forced to abandon childish self-pity, and on the other, he learned early to live in the world with his sometimes very violent emotions and experiences. Moreover, the result of such independence was the emergence of an unshakable self-confidence, which played such a significant role in his later life.
Important for the later life of the young Bismarck was the fact that after graduating from school, he not only did not leave the big city, but, on the contrary, continued his studies, even managing to change two gymnasiums. Most likely, the role of the mother was decisive in this key turn of events. It is also quite obvious that early isolation from the parental home and forced independence, which almost always gave rise to impressionability and a certain isolation of thoughts that almost always accompany them, determined the bias of the young man's education - the educational institutions attended by Otto had a clear humanitarian focus. The early identity of the young Bismarck is also confirmed by the fact that he was an unremarkable average student, that is, he treated school as it was supposed to - as a mandatory, quite ordinary, and therefore not very important for future life, an almost chimerical pursuit with no definite purpose. But at the same time, he very early became self-confident and arrogant. So much so that, as a university student, he managed to participate in twenty-five duels in the first nine months. This is an excellent illustration of Bismarck's early desire for the realization of ambitious behavior. He did not agree to accept the position of an "ordinary" or "average" student, and a fierce protest served as a perverted and caustic form of self-expression. The unwillingness of a young person to respond to the demands of mentors and his attempts from the very beginning of his life to find his own style of perceiving information can also be attributed to a certain character trait. However, instead of studying and good grades the boy read avidly, mainly English and German authors, and later directed his efforts to mastering the features international relations countries of Europe. It is possible that the latter was precisely the result of the negative experiences of childhood associated with the protection of family honor. But reading avidly, as usual, served him well - later, it was the unique knowledge of history and, in general, the peculiarities of the relationship between European states, coupled with the synthesis of the current political situation, which the flexible Bismarckian mind turned out to be capable of, determined the direction of the main efforts and the final choice of life path.
It is interesting that if the father did not express any distinct attitude towards the education of his sons, then the much more demanding and pretentious mother was extremely dissatisfied with his level. For example, in her opinion, young men should have had a much more accurate idea of the ideas that they were to devote their future lives to. Surprisingly, it was the woman's instinct and intuition that told Bismarck's mother that ideas were driving force human development. She could not realize only one thing - ideas are not born in spiritual bondage, they come only at moments of the greatest creative insight, a favorable environment for which is the atmosphere of complete freedom of peace of mind. The tenets of the Berlin studies, even with their progress, weighed down the development of Bismarck's ideas about his role, despite the fact that they opened the way for him into the world of reflection.
Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning the influence on the young Bismarck of one mentor - the theologian Dr. Schleiermacher, who instilled in Otto a rational approach not only to religion, but also to life itself. However, the attitude towards religion in general after talking with a famous scientist forever remained only emphatically cold - the pragmatic mind of the emerging personality did not find a rational grain in it. At the end of the gymnasium at the age of seventeen (according to the recollection of the chancellor himself), he had a firm conviction that "the republic is the most reasonable form of government."
However, the real idea was still so far away that it might never have been born.
The fledgling and rather ambitious Bismarck was again pushed onto the true path by his mother, insisting on sending him to the Georg August University in Göttingen. Obviously, the developed maternal feeling did not fail here either - the educational institution was famous for its serene free-thinking and the breadth of its intellectual outlook, unusual for that time. It seems that the mother felt a certain lack of complexes and narrow-mindedness in her son's views and therefore made another effort to unobtrusively determine his life path. It is not surprising, however, that the future chancellor's attitude to academic studies did not change at the university either. On the contrary, his self-respect began to take on such outlandish forms that, without exaggeration, one could already be called delusions of grandeur. The attitude towards the professors, among whom were well-known in the country, venerable colossi of science, was contemptuously ironic. Although there were exceptions, of course. But it is surprising that Bismarck's degree of respect for this or that scientist was in no way connected with the perception of the rest of the students and with the official assessments of the teacher's merits before science - already at such a young age he managed to separate the true charm from the props of titles and symbols. In other words, in the judgments of the young Bismarck there was a level of freedom and radicalism inherent only in people who are ready for serious deeds, confident in their own aspirations and not burdened by the influence of the surrounding masses. The latter, no doubt, was the achievement of the mother, demonstrating a non-conformism towards her husband, unique for that time.
Bismarck, a student, even dressed pretentiously, which confirms the unbridled desire to stand out from the crowd, to be different from the faceless mass, although at that moment there were no internal prerequisites for this. At the same time, the very irresistible physical desire to be different, which found expression in extraordinary behavior, a tendency to exaltation and chaotic half-wild antics, gave rise to an internal need to somehow reinforce one's exclusivity. In order to succeed in originality and color, Bismarck, it seems, was ready for anything. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to assume that already in his early student period he was in search of a worthy idea and deliberately developed audacity, which served as a clear sign of disagreement with a faceless and weak-willed world.
It is hardly surprising that the quite capable student Bismarck did not complete his studies at the University of Göttingen - bringing the local professorship to the extreme degree of indignation with his emphatically inadequate defiant behavior, unwillingness to accept the academic school and obey the established authorities. In addition, feeling financial difficulties from too lush and inadequate income life in Göttingen, and also, it is possible, realizing the futility of efforts to obtain a formal education, he decided to move to the capital's educational institution. From the point of view of the formation of an idea and the inclusion of strong-willed efforts in the implementation of a life strategy, at least two events of the near-student period of the future statesman's life, which were imprinted on his entire later life, are of interest. The first is connected with his studies in Berlin, where he not only studied desperately with tutors, but stubbornly and furiously, with incredible efforts, bit into the very essence of knowledge with the help of books, while continuing defiantly and with his characteristic cholericness to ignore attending lectures. This testifies not only to the strength of character, ready for difficulties (after all, Bismarck proved to himself and others that he had a rather unique intellectual potential when he completed his dissertation in philosophy and political economy), but also that he was still under the influence of mother, who inspired her mad son that the path to greatness definitely lies through knowledge and acquired, even if ephemeral, titles. It was she who pointed out to her son a quite prestigious and rather interesting diplomatic career. The second point is unique in Bismarck's approach to solving any problem - using absolutely all means: going ahead, pre-emptive action and cunning. His set of dynamic and extraordinary tools has become the basis of a unique and completely new diplomacy with an undeniably strategic vision of the European map, as well as a willingness to fight on several fronts at once, while despising any opponent. The reaction to the first tangible obstacle in life and the failure associated with the refusal of the Prussian Foreign Minister to satisfy the ambitions of a young man, whose stormy temperament, pride and narcissus like a mountain river, did not inspire any confidence in the cautious and balanced first diplomat of the country, is also interesting. It is noteworthy that the young man, who had barely completed his university education, managed to get through to an appointment with the minister and, discarding excessive timidity, quite specifically asked him for assistance. Such an act is not only evidence of extreme decisiveness and calculation. This is, first of all, an indicator that Bismarck, already in his youth, was ready for any action, including asymmetric situations of action (which, by the way, neither his opponents nor those who surrendered under his inexorable onslaught were ready for). ) to move him towards his goal. Bismarck was ready to use all means, if only their application would bring results. In addition, he was ready to play, and it is possible that this dizzying balancing act on the verge of a fatal fall became the source of the idea to realize oneself in gambling diplomacy. This unique feature, characteristic only for very successful and surprisingly persistent and assertive people, was carried by them through all the changeable and all-weather life and, of course, brought dividends. In the case of the audience, the only problem was that Bismarck did not yet have a clearly formulated goal, or a specific program of action, or violent intentions, or the very idea in which he would already believe himself and for the implementation of which he would be ready to involve all his unshakable will and fantastic energy. However, he was already ready to go through a chain of unsuccessful attempts, because he reacted to the minister's advice with a certain amount of irony.
No less interesting is the fact that already at the age of nineteen, the young man had vague thoughts about the transformations of Prussia. It seems that he, not yet knowing where to direct his energy, had already entered the phase of active search and considered the idea of sculpting himself as a heroic image of a statesman as one of several ways of self-realization. But it also seems that the immature Bismarck had no doubts that he had to become SOMETHING. By whom, he did not yet know. But the presence of thoughts of this kind is a very important detail in the formation of any genius and creator.
Is it possible to say that the mother created Bismarck by giving him the best education and arbitrarily seated on the starting track of a diplomatic career? Knowledge, connections and her instinct of a former court lady acquired in her younger years played an extraordinary role. But even if Bismarck had been consistent in carrying out his mother's advice and silenced his own voice, desperately breaking through to the surface, he could only count on the routine career of an average diplomat and would never have managed to write his name into history. But Bismarck's charismatic impulsiveness, his choleric exaltation, his precocious ability to move ahead and contempt for the foundations, multiplied by knowledge and reinforced by maternal support, gave him starting opportunities. Not without mother's help young years Bismarck learned to see the world through the prism of his own interests, a trait essential to any victory. Perhaps this was the main achievement of many years educational process young Bismarck.
It is typical for every person who has ever achieved success to master a certain package of books, which, if not formed his character, then left an indisputable and indelible imprint on the development and formation of his personality. In practice, the composition of such a package can vary significantly, but in reality, in the life of a person of the second millennium, it is unlikely that anything can replace its presence, because the synthesis of human experience is one of the main conditions for the birth of a new genius. Bismarck was no exception to the rule. It was formed by the writings of Goethe and Schiller, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Byron and Scott, as well as materials on the history of politics. Undoubtedly interesting is the rate of the mother of two Bismarck sons on "penetrating the world of ideas" and the well-founded disappointment associated with this: neither Otto nor his brother Bernhard demonstrated the presence of any noteworthy ideas at the time of graduation. It seems that at this time the mother made more ambitious plans than her fledgling children. In the end, it was thanks to her that Otto went to Aachen to serve in the administrative board of the city, where the service was not burdensome, but slightly opened the way to self-improvement. It cannot but be noted that the young Bismarck easily succumbed to the fleeting inclinations of youth and did not burden himself at all with the performance of official duties. This is only additional evidence of his lack of a real idea at that time, and a chain of frivolous mistakes dominated the beginning of his rather mediocre diplomatic career. Undoubtedly, the choleric temperament, clearly expressed by extravagant deeds, led him along the edge of the abyss, falling into which once, he would never have got out of it. In the end, he showed himself again, practically leaving his place of service for the sake of amorous deeds without any convincing explanations. The series of erroneous and mysterious ill-conceived steps was thus continued. Not surprisingly, the mother was beside herself with the completely unpredictable frivolous behavior of her son. The only and absolutely irremovable reason that Bismarck had nowhere to direct his crushing energy and brilliant mind prone to dynamic combinations was the absence of an idea as such. He, like a powerful ship of a new unique design, could not move forward on a long voyage, because he did not have sails.
Not surprisingly, with the death of his mother, who pushed her son through her own connections and urged him to take his career more seriously, the diplomatic card of the young Bismarck was practically beaten. Resignation followed almost immediately. But at that time he had already formed as a person who not only loved to stand out from the general homogeneous mass, but was eager to literally shock others so that, God forbid, he would not turn out to be colorless. He went through life like an icebreaker, crushing and crushing everything that could not or did not want to accept his way of thinking and seeing the world, without experiencing any feelings and not succumbing to anyone's influence. To some extent, Bismarck's behavior after failures on diplomatic field can be regarded as the usual overcompensation for one's own weakness and the need to prove one's own importance to oneself by using the prism of a dim environment. But at the same time, he continued to persistently and seriously work on books, delving into literature and the history of diplomacy, without ignoring, however, philosophy. Several years of seclusion hastened the end of the internal crisis and began to form the first outlines of a future fundamental idea. Thinking about his own role exhausted him so much that he even entered the service of the Potsdam administration, but soon could not stand office work and returned to rural seclusion. Twice undertakings to build the foundation of a career failed ... Undoubtedly, the twenty-nine-year-old Bismarck was actively searching for himself, not finding a channel in which he could direct his fury and extreme energy.
But each one who seeks himself more than once is presented with a real opportunity to change everything and continue to dare not in thoughts, but in reality. And the point here is not at all in fate and diabolical fate, but in the fact that the world is ready to be transformed by the hand of the strong, if only the one who decided on something serious would believe in himself. Bismarck is ripe for the transformation of his life. His will, knowledge obtained from books and aspirations to vague, obscure and transcendental heights were ready to forcefully break the ridiculous ring that had formed around him, which was not characteristic of his violent passions of peace and dull voluptuousness. Bismarck craved fights and victories. This is how he created himself and could no longer hold his demonic will captive.
And the key turn in the life of the dejected landowner, who most of all admired the harsh spectacle of the ice drift, nevertheless occurred when, in an effort to expand the circle of acquaintances, he was introduced to the Gerlach brothers, quite influential in the country. The latter were at that time advisers to King Frederick William IV. During meetings with them, Bismarck quickly demonstrated both the skills of large-scale statesmanship and his whirlwind temperament, perceived as a capacity for strong deeds. And when the opportunity presented itself to replace the ill deputy from Magdeburg in the United Landtag, Bismarck, in the role of a novice politician, did not hesitate to go to Berlin.
This was already the third attempt, but neither the failed career of a diplomat, nor the impulse to become an employee that ended in resignation undermined the young man's self-confidence. And the demonstrative type of his personality was the best suited for the realization of a political career. True, for a long time he experienced difficulties in order not to tell the enemy everything that he thought about him. Although sometimes frank statements on his part were perceived as a game and added points to Bismarck himself. It is not surprising that the blood of Bismarck, stagnant in the countryside over the long years of hermit life, began to play at the first opportunity to realize itself. He already had enough knowledge - the direction had not yet been finally formed. The latter was to be found.
Bismarck did not want to wait. He felt that if he took the initiative, he could catch the wave. The main thing is that now it was already the scale of the country, and therefore everything looked much more attractive than the first step of a diplomatic career somewhere in the backyards of a great power. Intuitively, he understood that the brightness of the personality can be a contributing factor to ascent, especially in the political arena. He introduced an iron rule into his life, which is that not a single one of his public speaking as a politician or statesman should not go unnoticed. The solution of such a task required both incredible efforts and extensive knowledge, but on the other hand, the sharpness of the young Bismarck in dealing with opponents, multiplied by oratorical virtuosity and a clear understanding of both the rapidly changing situation in the international arena and the general balance of power on the continent, instantly distinguished him from unvaried mass of more or less mediocre politically active Germans. All the more or less noticeable personalities claiming authority, he suppressed with his assertiveness and extraordinary determination. In general, his activity was so volcanic that it was sometimes unclear how he managed not to get tired for a long time. It is very curious that even in his mature years, Bismarck paid no less attention to oratory than, say, acting, and sometimes he managed to completely control the audience, which, of course, influenced his popularity and perception as the savior of Germany. Moreover, in both young and mature years, this statesman gave vent to emotions during his speeches, so that it was very difficult for his opponents to distinguish acting from true feelings, which often played into the hands of promoting Bismarckian intrigues. So, when he first spoke at the age of thirty-two from the rostrum of the Landtag on the topic of national honor, Bismarck practically did not change himself - almost every appearance on the rostrum was associated with a scandal in which he assigned himself the role of defender of the German national feeling.
Only one tough and extraordinary performance in the Landtag led to the fact that in one day he achieved what he could not achieve for many years: a scandalous celebrity and the transformation into an odious, but recognizable figure were provided. It seems that this is what contributed to overcoming the main milestone for any politician - he came to the attention of the first persons of the state. And although the king during official receptions did not indulge in the attention of an unrestrained and furious parliamentarian, nevertheless, having met Bismarck, who was barely married to his young wife, in Venice, he suddenly invited the couple to dine. Obviously, even then the monarch’s thoughts regarding future role young ambitious politician forced him to take a closer look at him.
For a long time, Bismarck made many mistakes in his desire to play as much as possible. essential role for the environment and a burning desire to attract as much attention to his person as possible. However, Bismarck's mistakes and miscalculations, like those of other statesmen of the highest rank, continued throughout his life; they drowned and dissolved in dynamism, activity and those successes that accurate hits brought. And it seems that it was during this period of the formation of a politician and statesman that he firmly decided what he would devote his life to. Bismarck found a worthy goal - to realize himself as a statesman, and this idea was adequate to his inflated ambitions. Now that Bismarck was ready and striding strong man, who brought up an unshakable will in himself, comprehended the art of intrigue and tasted with pleasure the smell of the excitement of a big game, he turned out to be armed with the main weapon - the thirst for ascent. He, like a climber who finally got into high mountains, saw the clear outlines of his peak - alluring and dazzling. Most importantly, psychologically, he was prepared for breakdowns and falls. Finally, he was ready to become more patient, although his stormy and impetuous nature languished from the wait that diplomats so needed. Bismarck, who had twice left public service, now much less often rushed to extremes headlong - even the fact of his informal meeting with the brilliant and disgraced foreign policy chancellor of Austria Clemens Metternich, who for 39 years set the tone not only in the German Union, but in Europe as a whole, confirms the desire of the future chancellor to comprehensively study situation in Europe, imbued with all the undercurrents and understand where traps can be set for unlucky leaders. Having reached the age of Jesus, he was full of strength and ready to withstand any fight. In addition, it was precisely now that Bismarck was becoming a danger to so many. But most importantly, he now had a reason to live and a reason to fight.
This text is an introductory piece.Otto von Bismarck (Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen) was born on April 1, 1815 in the family estate of Schönhausen in Brandenburg northwest of Berlin, the third son of the Prussian landowner Ferdinand von Bismarck-Schönhausen and Wilhelmina Mencken, at birth he received the name Otto Eduard Leopold.
Schönhausen Manor was located in the heart of the province of Brandenburg, which occupied a special place in the history of early Germany. Five miles to the west of the estate was the Elbe River, the main waterway of Northern Germany. Schönhausen Manor has been in the hands of the Bismarck family since 1562.
All generations of this family served the rulers of Brandenburg in peace and military fields.
Wilhelmina, Otto's mother, came from a family of civil servants and belonged to the middle class. Such marriages increased in the nineteenth century as the educated middle classes and the old aristocracy began to coalesce into a new elite.
At the urging of Wilhelmina, Bernhard, the elder brother, and Otto were sent to study at the Plamann School in Berlin, where Otto studied from 1822 to 1827. At the age of 12, Otto left school and moved to the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium, where he studied for three years. In 1830, Otto moved to the gymnasium "At the Gray Monastery", where he felt freer than in previous educational institutions. Neither mathematics, nor the history of the ancient world, nor the achievements of the new German culture attracted the attention of the young cadet. Most of all, Otto was interested in the politics of past years, the history of military and peaceful rivalry between different countries.
After graduating from high school, on May 10, 1832, at the age of 17, Otto entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied law. When he was a student, he gained a reputation as a reveler and a fighter, and excelled in duels. Otto played cards for money and drank a lot. In September 1833, Otto moved to the New Capital University in Berlin, where life turned out to be cheaper. To be more precise, Bismarck was only listed at the university, since he hardly attended lectures, but used the services of tutors who attended him before exams. In 1835 he received a diploma and was soon enlisted to work at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837, Otto took up the post of tax official in Aachen, a year later - the same post in Potsdam. There he joined the Guards Jaeger Regiment. In the autumn of 1838, Bismarck moved to Greifswald, where, in addition to performing his military duties, he studied animal breeding methods at the Elden Academy.
Bismarck is a landowner.
On January 1, 1839, Otto von Bismarck's mother, Wilhelmina, died. The death of his mother did not make a strong impression on Otto: only much later came to him a true assessment of her qualities. However, this event resolved for some time an urgent problem - what should he do after the end of his military service. Otto helped his brother Bernhard manage the Pomeranian estates, and their father returned to Schönhausen. His father's financial loss, together with an innate distaste for the lifestyle of a Prussian official, forced Bismarck to resign in September 1839 and take over the management of the family estates in Pomerania. In private conversations, Otto explained this by the fact that, due to his temperament, he was not suitable for the position of a subordinate. He did not tolerate any superiors over himself: "My pride requires me to command, and not to carry out other people's orders". Otto von Bismarck, like his father, decided "to live and die in the village" .
Otto von Bismarck himself studied accounting, chemistry, and agriculture. His brother, Bernhard, took almost no part in the management of the estates. Bismarck proved to be a quick-witted and practical landowner, winning the respect of his neighbors both with his theoretical knowledge of agriculture and with his practical successes. The value of the estates rose by more than a third in the nine years Otto ruled them, with three of the nine years experiencing a widespread agricultural crisis. And yet Otto could not be just a landowner.
On the estate, Bismarck continued his education, taking up the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, David Friedrich Strauss and Feuerbach. Otto was an excellent student of English literature, for Bismarck was more interested in England and her affairs than in any other country. Intellectually, the "mad Bismarck" was far superior to his neighbors - the junkers.
In mid-1841, Otto von Bismarck wanted to marry Ottoline von Puttkamer, the daughter of a wealthy Junker. However, her mother refused him, and in order to unwind Otto went traveling, visiting England and France. This vacation helped Bismarck to dispel the boredom of rural life in Pomerania. Bismarck became more sociable and made many friends.
Bismarck's entry into politics.
After his father's death in 1845, the family property was divided and Bismarck received the Schönhausen and Kniephof estates in Pomerania. In 1847 he married Johanna von Puttkamer, a distant relative of the girl he courted in 1841. Among his new friends in Pomerania were Ernst Leopold von Gerlach and his brother, who not only were at the head of the Pomeranian pietists, but were also part of a group of court advisers.
Bismarck, a student of Gerlach, became known for his conservative stance during the constitutional struggle in Prussia in 1848-1850. From a "mad junker" Bismarck turned into a "mad deputy" of the Berlin Landtag. Opposing liberals, Bismarck contributed to the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the "New Prussian newspaper" ("Neue Preussische Zeitung"). He was a member of the lower house of the Prussian parliament in 1849 and of the Erfurt parliament in 1850, when he opposed a federation of German states (with or without Austria), because he believed that this union would strengthen the revolutionary movement that was gaining strength. In his Olmutz speech, Bismarck spoke in defense of King Frederick William IV, who capitulated to Austria and Russia. The contented monarch wrote of Bismarck: "Ardent reactionary. Use later" .In May 1851, the King appointed Bismarck as Prussian representative to the Allied Diet in Frankfurt am Main. There, Bismarck almost immediately concluded that Prussia's goal could not be a German confederation under Austrian dominance, and that war with Austria was inevitable if Prussia were to dominate a united Germany. As Bismarck improved in the study of diplomacy and the art of government, he increasingly moved away from the views of the king and his camarilla. For his part, the king began to lose confidence in Bismarck. In 1859, the king's brother Wilhelm, who was then regent, relieved Bismarck of his duties and sent him as an envoy to St. Petersburg. There, Bismarck became close to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince A.M. Gorchakov, who assisted Bismarck in his efforts to diplomatically isolate first Austria and then France.
Otto von Bismarck - Minister-President of Prussia. His diplomacy.
In 1862, Bismarck was sent as an envoy to France at the court of Napoleon III. He was soon recalled by King William I to resolve the contradictions on the issue of military appropriations, which was vigorously discussed in the lower house of parliament.
In September of the same year, he became the head of the government, and a little later - the minister-president and minister of foreign affairs of Prussia.A militant conservative, Bismarck announced to the liberal middle-class majority in parliament that the government would continue to collect taxes in accordance with the old budget, because parliament, due to internal contradictions, would not be able to pass the new budget. (This policy continued in 1863-1866, which allowed Bismarck to carry out military reform.) At a meeting of the parliamentary committee on September 29, Bismarck emphasized: "The great questions of the time will not be decided by speeches and majority resolutions - this was a blunder in 1848 and 1949 - but iron and blood." Since the upper and lower houses of parliament were unable to develop a unified strategy on the issue of national defense, the government, according to Bismarck, should take the initiative and force parliament to agree to its decisions. By limiting the activities of the press, Bismarck took serious measures to suppress the opposition.
For their part, the liberals sharply criticized Bismarck for offering to support the Russian Emperor Alexander II in suppressing the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 (the Alvensleben convention of 1863). Over the next decade, Bismarck's policies led to three wars: the war with Denmark in 1864, after which Schleswig, Holstein (Holstein) and Lauenburg were annexed to Prussia; Austria in 1866; and France (the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871).
On April 9, 1866, the day after Bismarck signed a secret agreement on a military alliance with Italy in the event of an attack on Austria, he submitted to the Bundestag his draft of a German parliament and universal secret suffrage for the country's male population. After the decisive Battle of Kötiggrätz (Sadovaya), in which the German troops defeated the Austrian ones, Bismarck managed to get the annexationist claims of Wilhelm I and the Prussian generals, who wanted to enter Vienna and demanded large territorial acquisitions, to be abandoned, and offered Austria an honorable peace (Prague Peace of 1866) . Bismarck did not allow Wilhelm I to "bring Austria to its knees" by occupying Vienna. The future chancellor insisted on relatively easy peace terms for Austria in order to ensure her neutrality in the future conflict between Prussia and France, which year by year became inevitable. Austria was expelled from the German Confederation, Venice joined Italy, Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Kasel, Frankfurt, Schleswig and Holstein went to Prussia.
One of the most important consequences of the Austro-Prussian war was the formation of the North German Confederation, which, along with Prussia, included about 30 more states. All of them, according to the constitution adopted in 1867, formed a single territory with laws and institutions common to all. The foreign and military policy of the union was actually transferred into the hands of the Prussian king, who was declared its president. A customs and military treaty was soon concluded with the South German states. These steps clearly showed that Germany was rapidly moving towards its unification under the leadership of Prussia.
The southern German lands of Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden remained outside the North German Confederation. France did everything possible to prevent Bismarck from including these lands in the North German Confederation. Napoleon III did not want to see a united Germany on his eastern borders. Bismarck understood that this problem could not be solved without a war. In the next three years, Bismarck's secret diplomacy was directed against France. In Berlin, Bismarck introduced a bill to Parliament exempting him from liability for unconstitutional acts, which was approved by the Liberals. French and Prussian interests kept clashing on various issues. In France at that time militant anti-German sentiments were strong. Bismarck played on them.
Appearance "ems dispatch" was caused by the scandalous events around the nomination of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern (nephew of Wilhelm I) to the Spanish throne, vacated after the revolution in Spain in 1868. Bismarck correctly calculated that France would never agree to such an option, and in the event of Leopold's accession in Spain, he would begin to rattle weapons and make belligerent statements against the North German Confederation, which would sooner or later end in war. Therefore, he vigorously promoted the candidacy of Leopold, assuring, however, Europe that the German government was completely uninvolved in the claims of the Hohenzollerns to the Spanish throne. In his circulars, and later in his memoirs, Bismarck denied his participation in this intrigue in every possible way, arguing that the nomination of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne was a "family" affair of the Hohenzollerns. In fact, Bismarck and Minister of War Roon and Chief of Staff Moltke, who came to his aid, spent a lot of effort to convince the reluctant Wilhelm I to support Leopold's candidacy.
As Bismarck had hoped, Leopold's bid for the Spanish throne caused an uproar in Paris. On July 6, 1870, the French Foreign Minister, the Duke de Gramont, exclaimed: "This will not happen, we are sure of it ... Otherwise, we would be able to fulfill our duty without showing any weakness or hesitation." After this statement, Prince Leopold, without any consultation with the king and Bismarck, announced that he was renouncing his claims to the Spanish throne.
This step was not included in Bismarck's plans. Leopold's refusal destroyed his hopes that France herself would unleash a war against the North German Confederation. This was fundamentally important for Bismarck, who sought to secure the neutrality of the leading European states in a future war, which he later succeeded largely due to the fact that France was the attacking side. It is difficult to judge how sincere Bismarck was in his memoirs when he wrote that upon receiving the news of Leopold's refusal to take the Spanish throne "My first thought was to retire"(Bismarck repeatedly submitted his resignation to William I, using them as one of the means of pressure on the king, who without his chancellor meant nothing in politics), however, another of his memoirs dating back to the same time looks quite authentic: "I already at that time considered the war a necessity, from which we could not honorably evade" .
While Bismarck was thinking about other ways to provoke France into declaring war, the French themselves gave an excellent reason for this. On July 13, 1870, the French ambassador Benedetti came to William I, who was resting on the Ems waters, in the morning and conveyed to him a rather brazen request from his minister Gramont - to assure France that he (the king) would never give his consent if Prince Leopold again put forward his candidacy for Spanish throne. The king, outraged by such a trick that was really daring for the diplomatic etiquette of those times, answered with a sharp refusal and interrupted Benedetti's audience. A few minutes later, he received a letter from his ambassador in Paris, which stated that Gramont insisted that Wilhelm, in his own hand, assure Napoleon III that he had no intention of harming the interests and dignity of France. This news completely pissed off William I. When Benedetti asked for a new audience for a conversation on this topic, he refused to receive him and conveyed through his adjutant that he had said his last word.
Bismarck learned about these events from a dispatch sent that afternoon from Ems by adviser Abeken. The dispatch to Bismarck was delivered at lunchtime. Roon and Moltke dined with him. Bismarck read the dispatch to them. The dispatch made the most difficult impression on the two old soldiers. Bismarck recalled that Roon and Moltke were so upset that they "neglected food and drink." Having finished reading, after some time Bismarck asked Moltke about the state of the army and about its readiness for war. Moltke replied in the spirit that "an immediate outbreak of war is more advantageous than a delay." After that, Bismarck edited the telegram right there at the dinner table and read it to the generals. Here is its text: "After the news of the abdication of the Crown Prince of Hohenzollern was officially communicated to the French imperial government by the Spanish royal government, the French ambassador presented an additional demand to His Royal Majesty in Ems: to authorize him to telegraph to Paris that His Majesty the King undertakes for all future times never give his consent if the Hohenzollerns return to their candidacy. His Majesty the King refused to receive the French ambassador again and ordered the adjutant on duty to tell him that his majesty had nothing more to tell the ambassador. "
Even Bismarck's contemporaries suspected him of falsification "ems dispatch". The German Social Democrats Liebknecht and Bebel were the first to speak about this. Liebknecht in 1891 even published the pamphlet "The Ems Despatch, or How Wars Are Made". Bismarck, in his memoirs, wrote that he only crossed out "something" from the dispatch, but did not add "not a word" to it. What did Bismarck strike out of the Ems dispatch? First of all, something that could point to the true inspirer of the king's telegram appearing in print. Bismarck crossed out the wish of Wilhelm I to submit "to the discretion of your Excellency, i.e. Bismarck, the question of whether our representatives and the press should be informed of the new demand of Benedetti and the refusal of the king." To reinforce the impression of the French envoy's disrespect for William I, Bismarck did not include in the new text the mention that the king had responded to the ambassador "rather harshly." The rest of the reductions were not significant. The new edition of the Ems dispatch brought Roon and Moltke, who dined with Bismarck, out of depression. The latter exclaimed: "That sounds different; before it sounded like a signal to retreat, now it's a fanfare." Bismarck began to develop his future plans for them: “We must fight if we do not want to take on the role of the defeated without a fight. But success depends largely on the impressions that the origin of the war will cause in us and others; it is important that we are those who who was attacked, and Gallic arrogance and resentment will help us in this ... "
Further events unfolded in the most desirable direction for Bismarck. The publication of the "Ems dispatch" in many German newspapers caused an uproar in France. Foreign Minister Gramont shouted indignantly in parliament that Prussia had slapped France in the face. On July 15, 1870, the head of the French cabinet, Emile Olivier, demanded a loan of 50 million francs from Parliament and announced the government's decision to call up reservists into the army "in response to the call to war." The future President of France, Adolphe Thiers, who in 1871 would make peace with Prussia and drown the Paris Commune in blood, was still a member of parliament in July 1870, and was perhaps the only sensible politician in France in those days. He tried to convince the deputies to refuse credit to Olivier and to call up reservists, arguing that since Prince Leopold had renounced the Spanish crown, French diplomacy had achieved its goal and that one should not quarrel with Prussia over words and bring matters to a rupture on a purely formal occasion. Olivier replied to this that he was "with a light heart" ready to bear the responsibility that henceforth fell on him. In the end, the deputies approved all the proposals of the government, and on July 19, France declared war on the North German Confederation.
Bismarck meanwhile communicated with the deputies of the Reichstag. It was important for him to carefully hide from the public his painstaking behind-the-scenes work to provoke France into declaring war. With his usual hypocrisy and resourcefulness, Bismarck convinced the deputies that in the whole story with Prince Leopold, the government and he personally did not participate. He shamelessly lied when he told the deputies that he learned about Prince Leopold's desire to take the Spanish throne not from the king, but from some "private person", that the North German ambassador left Paris himself "for personal reasons", but was not recalled by the government (in fact, Bismarck ordered the ambassador to leave France, being annoyed by his "softness" towards the French). Bismarck diluted this lie with a dose of truth. He did not lie when he said that the decision to publish the dispatch about the negotiations in Ems between William I and Benedetti was made by the government at the request of the king himself.
William I himself did not expect that the publication of the Ems Dispatch would lead to such a quick war with France. After reading Bismarck's edited text in the papers, he exclaimed: "This is war!" The king was afraid of this war. Bismarck later wrote in his memoirs that William I should not have negotiated with Benedetti at all, but he "left his person as a monarch to the shameless processing of this foreign agent" largely due to the fact that he succumbed to the pressure of his wife Queen Augusta with "her justified in a feminine way by timidity and the national feeling that she lacked. Thus, Bismarck used Wilhelm I as a front for his behind-the-scenes intrigues against France.
When the Prussian generals began to win victory after victory over the French, not a single major European power stood up for France. This was the result of the preliminary diplomatic activity of Bismarck, who managed to achieve the neutrality of Russia and England. He promised Russia neutrality in the event of its withdrawal from the humiliating Treaty of Paris, which forbade it to have its own fleet in the Black Sea, the British were outraged by the draft treaty published at the direction of Bismarck on the annexation of Belgium by France. But the most important thing was that it was France that attacked the North German Confederation, despite the repeated peace-loving intentions and small concessions that Bismarck made towards her (withdrawal of Prussian troops from Luxembourg in 1867, statements of readiness to abandon Bavaria and create from it a neutral country, etc.). In editing the Ems dispatch, Bismarck did not impulsively improvise, but was guided by the real achievements of his diplomacy and therefore emerged victorious. And the winners, as you know, are not judged. The authority of Bismarck, even in retirement, was so high in Germany that it never occurred to anyone (except the Social Democrats) to pour tubs of dirt on him when, in 1892, the original text of the Ems dispatch was made public from the Reichstag rostrum.
Otto von Bismarck - Chancellor of the German Empire.
Exactly one month after the start of hostilities, a significant part of the French army was surrounded by German troops near Sedan and capitulated. Napoleon III himself surrendered to William I.
In November 1870, the South German states joined the Unified German Confederation, which had been transformed from the North. In December 1870, the Bavarian king offered to restore the German Empire and the German imperial dignity, destroyed in his time by Napoleon. This proposal was accepted, and the Reichstag turned to Wilhelm I with a request to accept the imperial crown. In 1871, at Versailles, William I wrote the address on an envelope - "Chancellor of the German Empire", thus confirming Bismarck's right to rule the empire that he created, and which was proclaimed on January 18 in the mirror hall of Versailles. On March 2, 1871, the Treaty of Paris was concluded - difficult and humiliating for France. The border regions of Alsace and Lorraine were ceded to Germany. France had to pay 5 billion indemnities. Wilhelm I returned to Berlin as a triumph, although all the merit belonged to the Chancellor.
The "Iron Chancellor", representing the interests of the minority and absolute power, ruled this empire in 1871-1890, relying on the consent of the Reichstag, where from 1866 to 1878 he was supported by the National Liberal Party. Bismarck reformed German law, administration and finance. The educational reforms he carried out in 1873 led to a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, but the main reason for the conflict was the growing distrust of German Catholics (who accounted for about a third of the country's population) in Protestant Prussia. When these contradictions surfaced in the activities of the Catholic "Centre" party in the Reichstag in the early 1870s, Bismarck was forced to take action. The struggle against the dominance of the Catholic Church was called "Kulturkampf"(Kulturkampf, struggle for culture). During it, many bishops and priests were arrested, hundreds of dioceses were left without leaders. Now church appointments had to be coordinated with the state; church employees could not be in the service of the state apparatus. Schools were separated from the church, civil marriage was introduced, the Jesuits were expelled from Germany.
Bismarck built his foreign policy on the basis of the situation that developed in 1871 after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war and the capture of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, which became a source of constant tension. With the help of a complex system of alliances that ensured the isolation of France, the rapprochement of Germany with Austria-Hungary and the maintenance of good relations with Russia (the alliance of the three emperors - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1873 and 1881; the Austro-German alliance in 1879; "Triple Alliance" between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882; "Mediterranean agreement" in 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and "reinsurance agreement" with Russia in 1887), Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe. The German Empire under Chancellor Bismarck became one of the leaders in international politics.
In foreign policy, Bismarck made every effort to consolidate the gains of the Peace of Frankfurt in 1871, contributed to the diplomatic isolation of the French Republic, and sought to prevent the formation of any coalition that threatened German hegemony. He chose not to participate in the discussion of claims to the weakened Ottoman Empire. When at the Berlin Congress of 1878, under the chairmanship of Bismarck, the next phase of the discussion of the "Eastern Question" ended, he played the role of an "honest broker" in the dispute between the rival parties. Although the "Triple Alliance" was directed against Russia and France, Otto von Bismarck believed that a war with Russia would be extremely dangerous for Germany. The secret treaty with Russia in 1887 - the "treaty of reinsurance" - showed Bismarck's ability to act behind the backs of his allies, Austria and Italy, to maintain the status quo in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Until 1884, Bismarck did not give clear definitions of the course of colonial policy, mainly because of friendly relations with England. Other reasons were the desire to preserve Germany's capital and keep government spending to a minimum. Bismarck's first expansionist plans provoked vigorous protests from all parties - Catholics, statesmen, socialists and even representatives of his own class - the Junkers. Despite this, under Bismarck, Germany began to turn into a colonial empire.
In 1879, Bismarck broke with the liberals and henceforth relied on a coalition of large landowners, industrialists, senior military and government officials.
Conflict with Wilhelm II and the resignation of Bismarck.
With the accession of Wilhelm II in 1888, Bismarck lost control of the government.
Under Wilhelm I and Frederick III, who ruled for less than six months, Bismarck's position could not be shaken by any of the opposition groups. The self-confident and ambitious Kaiser refused to play a secondary role, declaring at one of the banquets in 1891: "There is only one master in the country - this is me, and I will not tolerate another"; and his strained relationship with the Reich Chancellor became increasingly strained. Differences manifested themselves most seriously in the question of amending the "Exceptional Law Against Socialists" (in force in 1878-1890) and in the question of the right of ministers subordinate to the chancellor to a personal audience with the emperor. Wilhelm II hinted to Bismarck that his resignation was desirable and received a letter of resignation from Bismarck on March 18, 1890. The resignation was accepted two days later, Bismarck received the title of Duke of Lauenburg, he was also awarded the rank of Colonel General of the cavalry.Bismarck's removal to Friedrichsruhe was not the end of his interest in political life. He was especially eloquent in his criticism of the newly appointed Chancellor and Minister-President Count Leo von Caprivi. In 1891, Bismarck was elected to the Reichstag from Hanover, but never took his seat there, and two years later refused to run for re-election. In 1894, the emperor and the already aging Bismarck met again in Berlin - at the suggestion of Clovis Hohenlohe, Prince Schillingfürst, Caprivi's successor. In 1895, all of Germany celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Iron Chancellor. In June 1896, Prince Otto von Bismarck participated in the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Bismarck died in Friedrichsruhe on July 30, 1898. The "Iron Chancellor" was buried at his own request in his Friedrichsruhe estate, the inscription was engraved on the tombstone of his tomb: "Devoted servant of the German Kaiser Wilhelm I". In April 1945, the house in Schönhausen, where Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815, was burned down by Soviet troops.
Bismarck's literary monument is his "Thoughts and Memories"(Gedanken und Erinnerungen), and "Big Politics of European Cabinets"(Die grosse Politik der europaischen Kabinette, 1871-1914, 1924-1928) in 47 volumes serves as a monument to his diplomatic art.
References.
1. Emil Ludwig. Bismarck. - M.: Zakharov-AST, 1999.
2. Alan Palmer. Bismarck. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1998.
3. Encyclopedia "The World Around Us" (cd)