Egon Harings

Germany before
World War I

From Napoleon to the signs of World War I

Prologue

Napoleon prevailed in Europe and decided on nations. The “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” left the stage of history. The German Emperor Franz II became the first emperor of Austria and called himself Franz I of Austria. At Waterloo Napoleon fought his last battle and the Congress of Vienna redefined the borders of Europe. The years 1815 and 1871 marked as start and end points important events of German History. 1815, the year of the Congress of Vienna, was the beginning of a new era of 33 years, which is called “The Time of the Reaction” or “The Time of Restoration” or “The Age of Metternich”, because the almighty Chancellor Prince Metternich drew not only the fate of the Habsburg monarchy, but also influenced the policy of the German Confederation that loose constitutional structure, which had taken the place of the “Holy Roman Empire”.

The period of Metternich was abruptly terminated by the Revolution of 1848/49. At the beginning of this revolution, in the German states the revolutionary forces won the political predominance. This ultimately led to decisive struggle between Austria and Prussia for supremacy in Germany. With the war of 1866 and the “Peace of Nikolsburg” Austria finally left the German loose confederation. Thus Austria’s involvement in the German History ended, although the indirect connection continued to exist through Bismarck’s policy of alliances and the weapons community in the First World War. In 1870, the Franco-German War began and in January 1871, the new German Empire was founded. Here Otto von Bismarck played a dominant role.

The history of the “First German Reich (Empire) lasted from 919 to 1806. Then, in 1871, the history of the “Second Reich” began, which ended with Hitler’s seizure of power.

In the first two decades of the “Second Reich” Otto von Bismarck led the domestic and foreign policy of the Empire. He was the determining Chancellor. Then, in 1890, it followed a generational and leadership change. Bismarck was dismissed and Emperor Wilhelm II influenced the development of Germany definitively. It was the Wilhelmine Period, which ended in 1918.

During the Bismarck era it was established a colonial empire in Africa and in the South Seas (Pacific). In this book, much is reported. Especially about South West Africa, the reader can learn much. 1889 – 1894 Major Kurt von François was governor of “German South West”. During his time as governor many German farms were established there. In those days the local population consisted of Ovambo people, Okavango, Damara, Hottentots, Bushmen and Herero.

The Herero appeared at the end of the 18th century in South West. They killed, expelled and enslaved the natives, also they took in possession their pastures and hunting areas. They were the lords of the land. Then, the Hottentots appeared under the leadership of Jonker Afrikaner. The Hottentots possessed firearms from the Cape. Now, a sixty-year’s war of extermination between Herero and Hottentots began. Only with the German seizure of the country South West in 1883 the killing ended. Then there was peace for some years. But in 1904 the Herero rose against the Germans. The war lasted two years and was taken from both sides with the utmost bitterness. After the decisive battle at the Waterberg the defeated people fled with wives and children and all the rest of the cattle into the waterless Kalahari, where almost half of the approximately sixty thousand Herero perished of hunger and thirst. – By this book the reader becomes acquainted with the landscapes in South West, which he certainly never heard. Who knows the Caprivi Strip, this narrow strip of land of South West, where took place the disaster of the proud Herero people? Hardly anyone knows today that this strip of land was named after the former German chancellor Leo Graf von Caprivi.

A funny short story enriches this book yet. It is the story of Schinderhannes. In Germany, hardly anyone knows Schinderhannes, whose real name was Johann Bückler. He was born on 15 May 1783 in Miehlen, a little town in Taunus, a mountainous region near Frankfurt, and was executed on November 21, 1803 in Mainz. As leader of a gang he committed highway robbery and extortion acts on the Rhine and in the mountains of Taunus. He sold security cards, which assured the safe conduct to the purchaser. It is said he has also committed his crimes in the mountains of Hunsrück, which is why you often encounter his name there. Schinderhannes was arrested several times, but he escaped again and again. In 1802 he was arrested again. In a long show trial, he was now sentenced to death. The people in the mountains of Taunus and Hunsrück admire him today as a “noble robber”. He was Robbin Hood of their mountains.

There was a time when there were no humans living in today’s Germany. This time is well over 2 million years back. The country was a paradise for animals that we do not know today.