OTTO von BISMARCK

© MMXVII V.1.0.1
by Morley Evans

A century ago, the world was completely changed by the Great War. The world is changing completely again today. It is worth examining what happened then, even though it will not help us to know what the future has in store. We could at least try to learn something. The people who think they "have the most powerful military the world has ever known" (and they know who they are) need to reflect on the past. Wise up.

This essay by Eric Koch provides an insight into Germany, one of the most important protagonists of the twentieth century. It was originally published on his WordPress site and republished here with the author's kind permission. Thank you, sir. 

OTTO von BISMARCK

Eric Koch

Otto von Bismarck

Chancellor Angela Merkel has one thing in common with Otto von Bismarck. She dominates European politics. But what a difference!­ Would she have said, as her predecessor did, “The great questions of the day will be decided by blood and iron”?

Beginning in the revolutionary year 1848, the many elements that made up Germany could have proceeded towards unification along liberal democratic lines, or in a conservative militaristic spirit under the leadership of Prussia. The wrong path was taken. Thanks to Bismarck’s unique political gifts, unification, when it came in 1871, was achieved after the third military victory in wars he had provoked – against Denmark, Austria, France. The Second Reich he created became conservative and militaristic. Its constitution was non-democratic. When he spoke in the Reichstag, he invariably wore a uniform.

Bismarck was a giant. His gifts consisted of single-mindedness, high intelligence, a masterful grasp of strategy, an intuitive understanding of the psychology of his opponents, and a low opinion of mankind. It is one of the ironies of history that he introduced health, old age and disability insurance, the building stones of the modern welfare state. He did it not for any humanitarian reasons but to defang his socialist opposition.

After having achieved unification, he governed Germany for nearly another twenty years, making every effort to avoid war, seeing to it that Germany had good relations with Russia and resisting the temptation to acquire colonies in competition with England and France.

He was unable to see that the non-democratic Germany he created could only survive in the long run if it was governed with his skills. Once the country was under the control of the young, brash, theatrical Kaiser Wilhelm II, who thought he could do without Bismarck and who had none of his talents, the road was downhill all the way. The person ultimately responsible for the disaster was Bismarck, not the Kaiser who eventually turned out to be a mere tool of the general staff. It was Bismarck who had laid the ground for the catastrophe.


Wikipedia on Bismarck.