I was awake last night thinking about what we have seen here so far, and our attitudes toward Germany. An ignorance of German history is a handicap in my appreciation of the culture. We are travelers who go to see sights, to wonder at natural beauty or human events that a place has been witness to. This of our way of traveling because of our personal natures. Not very extroverted. Matt is a more social traveler, more interested in the people he meets. So,with no historical reference my personal enrichment during travels is lessened.
So, while I was awake last night I used the free wifi to research the story of Germany. At the risk of boring you, and of being factually wrong, I will proceed to share what I learned, so that you too might get enough understanding to help make this travelogue better. So please excuse this little history discourse, or disregard it if you like.
Working our way back in time may make it easier. Of course, re- unification is the most recent major event of German history. Its importance is amplified by the long term history. Similarly, the nationalism that Hitler used as a lever had very strong roots in the same history. In my imperfect understanding Germany has been a set of small separate little local governments that wanted to be brought together, for there is a national consciousness. Prior to the rise is National Socialism and the mess that was the cause and result of WW I the government of Germany was enjoying its first consolidation in its history. This was the work of Bismarck, one of the greatest politicians and leaders of the time.
Bismarck had built the German government out of a divided and disparate group of little kingdoms, baronys and duchies, as large Bavaria and as small as a single town. It was this period that was the high point of German culture to this time, Goethe, Nitche, Wagner. This is the time when many of the big castles were built, and the gothic masterpieces that we see here and there. Unfortunately, much of this was destroyed in the last war.
Each of these little independent governments was ruled by a noble with autonomous authority. This state of affairs was maintained and exploited by powers outside of Germany. This was done by the major powers of France, Austria ( the Hapsburg Empire), Spain and Russia in order to keep central Europe from lending its strength to anyone else, disturbing the balance of power. In fact this state of affairs was maintained through various treaties over centuries. Perhaps the most impactful of these, again working backwards, was written by Napoleon. During the early years of the 19th century, he first completely disolved the remains of The Holy Roman Empire, which the Germans had been clinging to, then he set up small kingdoms with his family and cohorts on the thrones (the same thing he did in Italy), thus ensuring no chance of any unified opposition. The demise of The Holy Roman Empire was then a permanent fact, but became an obsession of the Nazis who sought to renew their glory from centuries past as another way to justify their thirst for conquest.
Before Napoleon, the barons and other nobles had been engaged in the usual activities of war for centuries. Most notably, the 30 Years War. This was a war that was pan- European, fought in the 15th century. It started off as a war about religion, but quickly morphed into the usual war for power as Catholic France sided with the protestants against the Russian, Austrians and Spanish in order to ensure that France was not over shadowed by these Empires whose monarchs were all related.
The 30 Years War was fought in the German lands. The armies were mostly mercenaries recruited in Germany. The loss of life was staggering, and devastating to the civilian population, estimated at over 30%, and in some regions over 50%. Germany didn't recover from this disaster for decades, and the scars on the general psyche lasted for centuries.
This takes us to the formation of the Protestant movement. The ideas were circulating and being discussed by intellectuals for some time before Martin Luther was tried for his writing, and gave the Protestants a personage. His courage at Worms was a defining moment in what was a world ruled by kings who believed they were the Catholic Church' protectors. In fact, through the middle ages the idea of a Holy Roman Empire was kept alive here in Germany, even though it meant little to the rest of the world.
So, why did Germany have so little success building a cohesive nation when other countries all around it were consolidating power in single families? Simple: German tradition and law dictated that all inheritance went equally to each son, not just the oldest. Thus properties and titles were continually being eroded into smaller parcels that sons then had to work or fight to re- consolidate.
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