A long time ago, think late 1960s, when I was but a schoolboy, my parents decided that instead of the more regular summer in France to improve my French, I should be sent to Germany to improve my German. So off I went to stay with some friends in a town called Hagen, one of the smaller towns in the manufacturing heartland of the Ruhrgebiet. One afternoon, I set off with one of the daughters of the house and a friend of hers to go canoeing on the river. At nearly 60 years distance, I honestly can’t remember which river said friend kept his canoe on - it may actually have been the Ruhr, but I think it more likely to have been one of the smaller tributaries. Anyway, off we went, paddling away, and during the afternoon, they pointed out two particular items of historic interest to me. One was proximity of the dams raided by the dam busters in 1943 - quite how genuinely close they were I’m not entirely certain - and the other, looking up on the side of the valley we were cruising down, was the Bismarckdenkmal - the monument to Otto von Bismarck. 1960s schoolboy that I was, the former was the one that sort of excited me more - having read the book and seen the film - whereas the old Chancellor just reminded me of my history classes.
Everyone knows the story of the dam busters; Bismarck, maybe not so much. So, just briefly to recap. He was by birth a member of the Prussian Junker class, raised on the family estates, one a little to the west of Berlin, in Saxony, the other way off to the east in what is now part of Poland. He was elected to the Prussian legislature in 1847, as a royalist and reactionary politician. During and after the ‘events’ of 1848 - which swept across large parts of Europe as well as Prussia - he was a strong supporter of the doctrine of the divine right of kings and was elected to the reformed Prussian House of Representatives in 1849. Although initially opposed to the idea of German unification - believing it would weaken the power of the Prussian monarchy - a period as a delegate to the Diet of the German Confederation in Frankfurt slowly brought him round to the idea that only unification of the various kingdoms, electorates, principalities and states would enable Germany (for Bismarck read: Prussia) to stand on the level with the powers of France and Russia to the west and the east.
The only way to ensure that the unification happened in the ‘right’ way was through war. So, he set Prussia on the course for three wars. First, against Denmark, to settle the Schleswig-Holstein question (and I can never mention that without also including Palmerston’s wonderful quote: “The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I have forgotten all about it.”). Secondly, against Austria, the only German state which could in any way match Prussia in military power. Thirdly, against France, and as a kind of proof that Bismarck’s policy was succeeding, in that conflict, the other German states - swept up by German nationalism - helped out by sending troops to aid the Prussians.
So, war confirmed Bismarck and the Prussian monarchy as the supreme power in the newly unified nation. And what did Bismarck do with that power? He turned Germany effectively into a Prussian-dominated military dictatorship; yes, there was a parliament, and it had a social democrat movement which grew over the years, but opposition was theoretical rather than actual. The military and the state bureaucracy were the true power in the nation. (For an entertaining view of what he created, look for Carl Zuckmayer’s 1931 play, “Der Hauptmann von Köpenick”*; the events portrayed take place in 1906, well after Bismarck’s death, but the state described is the one he created.)
Arguably, the Prussian military state and the absolute monarchy of the Hohenzollerns was one of the major factors in the cataclysm that erupted on Europe in 1914, although I wouldn’t necessarily push that point too far - there were lots of other things going on as well.
Why have I decided to write about Bismarck? Well, in 1862 he made a speech that featured the phrase “Eisen und Blut” (mostly reversed in quotation to Blut und Eisen) which translates as Iron and Blood; from this he earned the soubriquet by which he is often known: the Iron Chancellor. We’ve heard that phrase used recently, haven’t we? Our esteemed Chancellor of the Exchequer, Ms Rachel Reeves, apparently wants to be known as an Iron Chancellor. Really, Rache? Wars, absolute monarchy, quasi military dictatorship? Are you sure you’ve bothered to read your history right? Or is there something you’re not telling us?
Please note, nothing I have written here should be taken to negate the fact that as well as what I have said, Bismarck was also a consummate diplomat, not just a big stick to beat people.
*The Captain of Köpenick, by Carl Zuckmayer
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