Bismarck, life and his diplomacy, political thought?

Few men in German history have been so much traced by posterity as Bismarck. The great figure known as the "Iron Chancellor" has fascinated people like an enigma. His noble birth gave him a strong character; his rich experience gave him flexible means. Throughout his life, he accomplished the unification of Germany in his own way, and guided it into the ranks of European powers, making it a political force to be reckoned with in modern Europe. Like Peter the Great and Napoleon, Bismarck was already a legendary figure when he was alive.

In April 1815, in Schenhausen, west of Berlin, a typical Prussian Junker family welcomed their fourth boy. Although the significance of the boy's birth was not clear at the time, later history proved that the birth of the boy, Otto von Bismarck, heralded the reunification of Germany, which was no longer far away.

It was in this year that Napoleon's army was defeated at Waterloo, and the First French Empire, which had been sweeping the continent of Europe, passed into history, and Europe returned to the state of the great powers.

In the center of Europe, the once brilliant "Holy Roman Empire" is difficult to resurrect, in its ruins stood up by 38 states composed of the "German Confederation". This political organization, which was dominated by Prussia and Austria***, was loosely organized, and "Germany" had become a historical term that existed only in the imagination, but in reality it represented a state of fragmentation. In reality, it represented a fragmented state of affairs, and none of the major European powers wanted to see a united Germany in the center of Europe out of their own interests.

But German nationalism and economic integration, which had already emerged during the Napoleonic era, had already paved the way for political unity, and the only thing missing was the emergence of a great soul.

And as that soul had only just come into the world, Germany could only wait in silence for it to grow.

The road to school

Like many great men, the young Bismarck showed early signs of being different. In a portrait of Bismarck as a child that has survived, one sees a boy with full cheeks, disheveled hair, a snub nose, a pronounced chin, and lively eyes that show a mischievous and fierce expression. In later years, Bismarck compared himself to a goose in a Pomeranian marsh whose wings had been clipped by a ruthless townsman.

Bismarck had already begun to show the defiance and tenacity that made him one of the great men of German history.

Bismarck's later diplomatic success was due in large part to the path his mother designed for him. Hoping that he would become a diplomat, his mother sent the young Bismarck to Berlin's best school, the Prahlmann School, at an early age. He then went on to the Frederick William Gymnasium and the Gymnasium of the Abbey of the Gray Monks.

It was in these places that the boy Bismarck's talent was preserved in its fullest form, and that he began to fall in love with Goethe and Schiller, two patriotic poets whose great words y infected the young heart. It was also during this period that Bismarck made an in-depth study of the history of the struggles surrounding war and peace during the past centuries, and this deep sense of history helped him immensely in his future accurate judgment of the international situation.

In 1832, the young Bismarck completed his high school studies and, again at his mother's insistence, enrolled in the most advanced university in Germany at the time, the University of G?ttingen in Hanover.

At G?ttingen, the rebellious young man joined the Studentenwerk, an association that championed the spirit of the nation, and resolved to fight for the honor of the Prussian nobility. To this end, only three months after enrolling, he fought his first duel, which was followed by 24 more within the next nine months. Bismarck's rebellious behavior finally drew the ire of the school authorities and prompted him to transfer to Berlin.

In May 1835, he passed the exams to qualify as a judicial trainee, and in the following year he obtained the title of trainee officer. By this time, the young Bismarck was prima facie qualified to serve as a diplomat.

The Young Junker Loyal to the Monarch

While Bismarck himself had a strong desire to enter the European diplomatic service, and his mother tried to use the family's influence to help him realize that desire, it was perhaps his debauched university life that caused the Prussian foreign minister of the time, Johann von Ansillon, to have reservations about the young man, who was so full of Junker's habits, that he finally persuaded him to first take up a posting within Germany. postings within Germany first. This was clearly not what his mother and Bismarck himself had hoped for, so after several changes of post, in 1839, when his mother died, he finally submitted his formal resignation to the authorities in Potsdam, where he was serving. Of this resignation, he himself explained that his talents and qualifications were not suited to a subordinate position, "I know that my ambition is to command others, not to be commanded."

At the same time Prussia was feeling the urge for economic change. 1834 saw the beginning of economic unification with the formalization of a unified German-wide customs union, which broke up the previous economic fragmentation of the 38 states from each other. From then on, the capitalist economy began to develop on a German-wide scale: in 1847, the Siemens Company was founded, and in the same year, a blacksmith named Krupp forged the first front-bore gun. With the rapid growth of economic power, especially the economic and cultural integration of the states into each other, the call for unification grew stronger.

This call caught the attention of Bismarck, who had resigned from public office. As part of the Junker class, he soon realized the political stirrings that lay behind the economic changes. This political sensitivity was due to his great interest in history and politics, which he had developed since the days of G?ttingen. This interest led him to study English party politics and literature, to read Hegel's metaphysics, David Friedrich Strauss's theology of biblical criticism, and Spinoza's materialism, which not only shaped his character, but also laid the cognitive foundation of his later "interest first" thinking. The trip to England in 1842 also laid the cognitive foundation for his later "supremacy of interest". His trip to England in 1842 further strengthened his belief in the idea of realist international relations.

The economically bourgeois Juncker wanted to develop the economy, but not democracy. As soon as he was elected to Parliament, he became, as he had been in G?ttingen, a champion of the king's rights and was recognized in parliamentary debates by the conservative "Court Party", which was loyal to the king. As one of the ministers of the time wrote: "Among the few speakers who supported the views of the government and represented the will of the king, a young man named Bismarck stood out. It was predicted that he would most likely play an important role in future meetings."

But Frederick William IV, King of Prussia at this time, hesitated. He ultimately did not accept Bismarck's advice to put an iron hand on the anti-royalist liberals in parliament, and there was no sign of Bismarck in the new government formed after the dissolution of parliament. In his eyebrow-raising refusal to appoint Bismarck as a cabinet minister, he wrote: "Red reactionaries - bloodthirsty - to be used again in the future."

The realist who defended the national interest

While Frederick William IV did not appoint Bismarck as a cabinet minister, his zeal for loyalty was recognized by the king, and in 1851 he was appointed Prussian ambassador to the Confederate Parliament in Frankfurt, at a time when he did not know that he had reached a turning point in his life. During his time in Frankfurt, Bismarck's political experience grew by leaps and bounds, and he gained a more comprehensive understanding of Germany in general. In particular, his acquaintance with the former Austrian chancellor, Metternich, led to a new understanding of Austria, and a sense of unity began to develop.

During his time in Frankfurt, in the course of his close contact with the urban bourgeoisie, he felt y that the development of the modern economy and the growth of the bourgeoisie's power could not be stopped, and that the bourgeoisie's demand for reforms and its participation in politics could not be eliminated, and that all this was prompting him to change his view of the bourgeoisie.

Bismarck by this time saw the danger and the way out for Prussia.

In Europe from the 1850s onwards, the national democratic movements were rising and the demand for national unity and development was increasing, while Prussia was still clinging to the alliance with Russia and Austria, not realizing that it was these two countries that were restricting Prussia's development, especially the latter and its leadership of the German Confederation. This weak position in diplomacy would seriously jeopardize the Prussian monarchy and Junker's rule at home. In Bismarck's view, the only way out lay in linking the economic interests of the bourgeoisie with those of Prussian power. To this end he advocated a degree of concession to the bourgeoisie internally and sought the unification of Germany under Prussian domination externally.

He particularly appreciated Clausewitz's view that "there is only one way to achieve political unity in Germany, and that is by the sword, with one state dominating the rest." This particular "state", in his opinion, was undoubtedly Prussia. Thus he thought that in order to realize the unification it was necessary to "exclude Austria from Germany", so that the unification could be completed by Prussia.

In 1856, Bismarck, after a thorough examination of Prussia's domestic and foreign affairs, put forward a systematic memorandum of Prussian policy toward Germany and Europe. The starting point of this policy was the so-called "Prussian national interest", which called for "national egoism" as the "only healthy basis" for the policy of a great power. The goal of the policy was to establish Prussian hegemony in Germany. Bismarck believed that Prussian "power politics" would not only serve the interests of the Prussian monarchy but also attract the interest and support of the bourgeoisie. Here he sought to channel the growing national forces in Prussia towards the struggle for Prussian hegemony. The key to this policy was the exclusion of Austria from Germany by weakening her and "blowing up" the German Confederation.

The core of Bismarck's salvation lay in the fact that the monarchy was in the forefront of the national movement, and that a certain amount of constitutional reforms within the state, which led the bourgeois parliament to give up the demand for separate rule, would ease the internal turmoil. He envisioned a constitutional monarchy of the Germanic type, which would ensure the dominance of the monarchy and at the same time satisfy to some extent the aspirations of the bourgeoisie.

This way of salvation, which ensured the dominance of the monarchy and Junker rule, was in keeping with the king's needs in the historical circumstances of the time. So when William I (William IV's younger brother, who succeeded to the throne in 1861) was in a crisis of abdication because Parliament refused to approve a new military budget, he thought of this "bloodthirsty" fellow.

In September 1862, far away in France, Bismarck received an expedited telegram he had been waiting for: "Come quickly, the crisis is continuing." On September 22, Bismarck met with the king in Berlin. After the meeting, the king tore up the abdication edict, and out of the palace Bismarck was already Prussia's prime minister and foreign minister. The great soul of German unity was finally where he belonged.

At this time in front of Bismarck's eyes is just a once-in-a-lifetime favorable situation to promote the unification: in Germany, the Customs Union area has been operating like a country's internal market, the more economically developed, the more urgent the desire for unification; Prussia's national strength, full of wings, the army has long been ready to fight; the rival Austria in the neighboring countries in the fight, but greatly wounded. On the international front, Britain was busy exploring its sphere of influence in Latin America and Southeast Asia; Russia, after its disastrous defeat in the Crimean War, turned its attention to the reform of serfdom at home and had no time to worry about anything else; and France was the only one left who could possibly stand in the way of Germany. Everything seemed to be tilting in Prussia's favor.

On September 30, 1862, Bismarck delivered his famous "Iron Speech" to the Reichstag, in which he claimed that the time had come for Prussia to rely on her military strength to her advantage. "Prussia must build up her strength and hold it in her hands for a favorable time." Such a time, he said, "has been missed several times. The boundaries of Prussia, as defined by the Treaty of Vienna, are not conducive to sound national life. The great questions of the day are not to be solved by speeches and majority decisions-which was the great mistake made in 1848 and 1849-but by iron and blood." The "Iron and Blood Speech" showed that Bismarck had transformed himself from a Prussian Junker into a German statesman.

Founder of the Second German Reich

With Bismarck's ascension to the highest levels of Prussian power, German unification was on the agenda.

Bismarck clearly realized that once he put forward the mission of unification of Germany, his own destiny, the fate of the Junker class, and the fate of the Prussian monarchy were all linked to the Prussian unification of Germany. The problem of Germany, because of its location in the center of Europe, has never been a problem of Germany alone; it has always touched the nerves of the whole of Europe. Therefore, the process of unification of Germany will be a big change in the political chessboard of Europe, and none of the pieces can be missed.

In order to conduct the war without going belly-up, Bismarck used diplomacy flexibly, crisscrossed the European diplomatic arena, boldly and cunningly utilized international disputes to break through the traditional bonds of European parity, looked for gaps between European countries, constantly turning enemies into friends and friends into enemies, miraculously making countries neutral at the right moment, thus ensuring that Prussia always had only one enemy, Prussian army fought only on the front line, and finally realized the dream of unification through the three dynastic wars of Prussia, Prussia and Austria, and Prussia and France.

In 1863, Bismarck's long-awaited moment finally arrived. In 1863, under the impetus of the Danish National Movement, the Danish Parliament adopted a new constitution, which included Schleswig and Holstein (two German-speaking duchies belonging to the German Confederation but allied with Denmark) in the Danish territory. This undoubtedly gave Prussia the best excuse. Under these circumstances, Bismarck declared war on Denmark in conjunction with Austria in order to show that Prussia was the defender of German national interests. This move not only removed the wariness of the European powers, but also stabilized Austria.

The war soon ended in a Prussian-Austrian victory. The division of the spoils was also clear, with Schleswig going to Prussia and Holstein to Austria. However, Holstein was an "enclave" for Austria because it was separated from Prussia. This was Bismarck's deliberate plan, and soon he moved his army into the area, and war was imminent between Germany's two largest states, which had just become allies.

But this time his war policy was widely questioned, "The liberals were against the war out of conviction, the workers for the sake of solidarity, the clergy out of moral conviction, the Queen out of fear, the Crown Prince out of his love of peace, and the King because he was seventy years old." Yet Bismarck clearly saw that Austria would be the greatest threat to Prussia's united Germany, so he stood his ground and said firmly in the royal council, "It is often said that fate is unpredictable. I will bet my head, even if I have to go to the guillotine, I will bet to the end. Neither Prussia nor Germany can remain as they are; both must take the road of force, there is no other way!" "The intractable knot of German destiny cannot be untied in such a mild way as the policy of dualism, but can only be cut with the sword."

No amount of resistance could stop Bismarck's determination. In order to make war on Austria, he began to use his skillful diplomacy again, first to alienate Russia and Austria, then to dismantle the Franco-Austrian alliance by using the non-opposition to French expansion as a bargaining chip, and finally to use the Austro-Italian conflict even more successfully to pull Italy into his chariot.

The Austro-Prussian War of June 16, 1866 was finally fought. Although Bismarck had done his best in diplomacy, he was not sure of victory on the battlefield because the people did not support him. The only thing Bismarck could rely on were the excellent Prussian officers and the disciplined soldiers.

But after only seven weeks the war ended with a Prussian victory. When he heard the glad tidings of victory, Bismarck was thrown into ecstasy, and he slammed the table and exclaimed, "I've beaten them all, all of them!"

By "them" I fear I mean not only Austria, but also the majority of the Prussian nation, which had opposed the war. Bismarck used the war to exclude Austria from the German Confederation, to establish Prussian hegemony in North Germany, and to win German recognition of himself.

But Bismarck was soon embroiled in yet another round of quarrels and doubts. Just as everyone was basking in the glow of victory and preparing to ride out the victory to take Vienna, the man who had started out as a war advocate turned into a peace advocate, while those who had been anti-war clamored for the war to go on to the end.

While everyone was perplexed, Bismarck was very sensible, and in the face of questioning, he once again showed the vision and tact of an outstanding statesman. He saw clearly that the great powers of Europe were nervously watching the rapidly expanding Prussia, and that further advancement of the war would inevitably lead to the intervention of powerful nations. On the other hand, at this time Bismarck's eyes had already skipped Austria, he knew that the final step to unify all of Germany would be to go to war with France, "after the war against Austria, the next step is inevitably the war against France", for this reason, "not to humiliate Austria is an absolute necessity, do not do anything to make the future friendly relations with it impossible. friendship impossible in the future."

Austria was punished very lightly, but it was undoubtedly excluded from German affairs, and in 1866 a federal state of North Germany, consisting of 21 states and three free cities, was formally established, which became the basis of what was to become the German Empire.

After establishing the North German Confederation, Bismarck quickly turned his focus to the South German states. But this was France's sphere of influence, and Napoleon III would never give it up, declaring: "Only if Bismarck respects the status quo can I guarantee peace. If he pulls the South German states into the North German Confederation, our cannons will fire of their own accord." Russia and Britain also opposed Prussia's forcible annexation of South Germany, with British Foreign Secretary Clarington going so far as to say that "Prussia's policy of pressure beyond the Rhine boundary cannot be tolerated."

At this particular moment in history, Bismarck's skillful diplomacy once again played an amazing role. First, he took advantage of France's covetousness for the territory of Süd, and pulled the four states to his side with a lenient treaty, and then, when France demanded the annexation of Belgium and Luxembourg, Bismarck demanded that France produce a written document, and at the same time, he secretly notified Britain and Russia of France's ambitions. Thus French ambitions began to worry Britain y, while Russia had always been at odds with France over Poland and the Orient, and Italy had cold relations with France because of its support for the papal territories within its borders. With Bismarck's prodding, soon France was alone.

At the same time, a national movement was rising in Germany, and Bismarck took advantage of France's aggressive interference in German affairs to prepare the ground for a "war of national defense". The Franco-Prussian War was on the verge of being fought.

In 1868, when the throne of Spain was vacant because of civil unrest in the country, Bismarck sent men to Spain to make the Spanish government declare that it would offer the throne to a prince of the Prussian royal family. France was furious and demanded a written guarantee from Prussia to relinquish this throne. William I, intimidated by the French threat, showed forbearance and sent a telegram to Bismarck. But the cunning Bismarck abbreviated the telegram, so that the words "to discuss" became "there is nothing more to say", and the meaning of conciliation became contemptuous rejection. The war that would have been dissolved into thin air became another important link in the process of German unification because of this telegram. The telegram became another important link in the process of German unification.

As Bismarck had expected, the publication of the abbreviated telegram in the newspapers provoked the wrath of Napoleon III, a monarch who was also eager to divert attention from the crisis at home, and he soon formally declared war on Prussia. The "war of defense" that Bismarck had been waiting for had begun. All the German states united for the cause of national unity. The South German states mobilized their armies to form a 500,000-strong German national army together with the North German army***. And the European states declared their neutrality.

The balance of victory was soon tipped in Prussia's favor by her superior firepower and high morale, and on Sept. 2, in the duel at Sedan, the French were defeated and Napoleon III was captured by Prussian Marshal Mauch.

The task of national war was over, but Bismarck wanted far more. Instead of mainlining peace, this time he continued to swing forward, straight into Paris.

On January 18, 1871, in the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, the Hall of Mirrors, formerly set up to show off the French monarch, was a solemn place, ringed by more than 600 Prussian soldiers in uniform. Suddenly a thunderous cheer broke out from more than 600 throats. The cheers were repeated six times back and forth, and the echoes could not pass away for a long time.

It was in this French palace that the historic Second German Empire was born, and King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned emperor of the new empire. From this moment on, Germany, which had been divided for centuries, was finally unified. From this moment on, Germany stood on the world's political stage as a united nation-state. And history remembers at this moment a great name - Otto von Bismarck.

After 300 years of waiting, Germany finally returned to the world's political scene with a new and complete image. When this belated arrival made its debut, it took the world by surprise. In terms of total population, gross national product, steel production, coal production, and railroad mileage, the newborn Germany had already surpassed France, and was second in Europe only to Great Britain, which had been dominating the world for more than a century. From then on, the German nation was no longer the object of arbitrary bullying by its powerful European neighbors. The Germans could finally proudly say to any nation, "I am a German."

The creator of all this, Bismarck, was undoubtedly the greatest hero, but he always denied that the individual played an important role in the unification of Germany, until after his retirement, he also said: "Man can neither control the timing, nor can he steer its direction. The only thing one can do is to follow it forward with more or less skill and experience."

On July 30, 1898, Bismarck died. His tombstone reads simply: Margrave von Bismarck ...... Faithful German Servant of Emperor Wilhelm I.