Wilhelmine Germany

HI136, History of GermanyLecture 4

The Army and German Society The garrison was the centre of

social life in Imperial Germany. The German Army was made up of

conscripts – every male between the ages of 17 and 45 was eligible for military service.

The Army therefore touched the lives of the majority of the German population.

The Army an important unifying institution and focus for patriotic feeling.

A uniform entitled the wearer to the respect of his fellow Germans.

120,000 reserve officer corpsregular officers rising from 17,000 to 30,000Mass army of conscripts: 400,000 in 1870s; 600,000 by 1900;

800,000 by 1913Professionalism, drill, quick transportation, proficiency,

modern weaponsDifferent world from civilians, breaking in of newcomers,

plummeting rates of suicides.Modernizing of the new-coming peasants, created a male-

bonding culture, proving men’s status and appropriate gender.

Military: background facts

The Officer CorpsThe higher ranks still dominated by

the aristocracy.Freedom from parliamentary

oversight gave the military virtual political autonomy.

Direct access to the Kaiser.Contempt for civilians and

politicians.David Stone: the lack of a war to

fight after 1871 led the officer corps to focus its energies on preserving the social status and political influence of the Army.

A Military Society?Social make-up of the officer corps – in 1913, 70% of officers

and 50% of colonels and generals were from non-noble families. However, “better” barracks largely inhabited with nobility

Contemporary critics of the German Army Criticism in the left-wing press Satirical novels criticising the behaviour of the officer corps The Zabern Affair (1913) – public outcry over military behaviour

This more of a Prussian than a German phenomenon – the Bavarians routinely mocked Prussian militarism.

Germany not the only nation in Europe where the army and navy were held in high esteem.

The Zabern Affair (1913)

Simplicissimus, 1913

The Captain of Köpenick On 16 October 1906 an unemployed

shoemaker named Wilhelm Voigt dressed as a captain in the German Army.

Collecting together a small group of soldiers off the streets he went to the small town of Köpenick outside Berlin, occupied the town hall, arrested mayor and demanded 4000 marks.

Such was the authority that his uniform gave him, all of Voigt’s orders were obeyed without question.

He absconded with the money, only to be picked up by the police and sentenced to four years in prison.

Hauptmann von Köpenick (Helmut Käutner 1956)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YeJLPIFXAI

Kaiser and his Court The power of the Kaiser made

the court an important place in Imperial politics and society.

The court provided access to the monarch and opportunities to gain political/social influence.

John Röhl – Wilhelm II presided over a political system in which the imperial court successfully established a primacy over other sources of power.

However, Wilhelm II more of a playboy than an omnipotent autocrat – he lacked the self-discipline necessary for effective government and administration.

‘Structuralist’ Interpretations Interpretation suggested by Wehler et al explaining developments

by an examination of social, political, and economic factors.Argued that after Bismarck there was a power vacuum that created

“a permanent crisis of the state behind its façade of high-handed leadership.”

This power vacuum allowed Prussian elites – the Junkers, the officer corps, the industrialists, and ring ring lobby groups – to dominate state affairs (rather than the Kaiser).

Faced by the social and economic changes wrought by industrialization, these elites banded together to preserve their power and influence (Sammlungspolitik, ‘policy of concentration’) and sought to distract attention from domestic political and social inequalities through foreign policy adventures (‘Social Imperialism’).

Deutschkonservative Partei (German Conservative Party) – Representing farmers and Prussian landowners.

Reichspartei (Free Conservative Party) - Representing industrialists and landowners.

Zentrumspartei (Centre Party) – Formed in 1871 to uphold the interests of the Catholic Church, its support came from Catholics of all classes.

Nationalliberale Partei (National Liberal Party) – The party of the liberal Protestant upper-middle-classes.

Deutsche Freisinnige Partei (German Free Thought Party) – The party of more radical liberals. Split in 1893 & reunited in 1910 as the Fortschrittliche Volkspartei (Progressive People’s Party)

Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Democratic Party) – Representing the working classes.

Democratization and Party Politics

The state opening of the Reichstag, December 1894

1872, 40 mill. people at the first census, 56 mill by 1900, 67 mill by 1913 By 1913 ca 1,3 mill foreigners The largest percentage of young people just before the war, largest in

modern German history Improved life expectation, from 37 y in 1870s to 45m/48w years in 1900s Berlin grew from 412,000 inhabitants in 1850 to ca 1,100,000 in 1880 to

just over 2 mill in 1910 Population growth correlated with industry (cities such as Cologne,

Chemnitz, Duisburg, Essen) Pomerania and East Prussia (parts of West Prussia too) very thinly

populated, people moving to cities Growth of white collar jobs (3,3 mill in 1910)

Population growth

Workers' living conditions

Heinrich Zille, Working class family home

The ‘New Woman’ Traditionally women seen as fundamentally

unsuited to public life and politics, being naturally predisposed towards a domestic and caring role.

1865: The Allgemeiner Deutsche Frauenverein (General Association of German Women) founded.

1894: The ADF replaced by the Bund Deutscher Frauenverbände (Federation of German Women’s Associations).

Increasing demand from the middle classes for more educational and employment opportunities for single women.

1880s: Secondary Education extended to middle class girls.

New Civil Legal Code (1900) allows women to hold wealth and property independent of their husbands.

1900-1909: Women permitted to attend German universities.

Poster advertising a demonstration in favour of women’s suffrage, 8

March 1914

Cultural Change Heinrich Mann (1871-1950), Professor

Unrat (1905), Der Untertan (1918). Freie Volksbühne (free people’s

theatre) – established 1889 and staged plays with a social message such as Gerhard Hauptmann’s Die Weber.

Scientific Discoveries X-rays (1895) Radioactivity (1896) The electron (1897) Quantum theory (1900) Special theory of relativity (1905)

Munich Secession (1892). Berlin Secession (1898). Die Brücke (1905) Der Blaue Reiter (1911-14)

August Macke, Woman in Front of a Hat Shop (c.

1914)

The sexologist Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935)

The Kaiser’s favourite: Prince Phillip zu Eulenburg (1847-

1921)

Sexuality

Front covers of Pan, Jugend and Simplicissimus

Mass Culture/Entertainment

Mass Culture Publishing explosion after 1880 to service the new literate mass market for

printed matter. Popular literary, arts and satirical magazines such as Pan (1895-1900),

Jugend (founded 1896) and Simplicissimus (1896-1967) had wide circulations.

Electric lighting led to the proliferation of dance halls and cabarets. The first ‘moving pictures’ shown in Berlin in 1895 – by 1914 3,000

throughout Germany. Sport – riding, golf and tennis for the upper and middle classes, cycling and

boxing for the working classes. Sport was encouraged by the SPD and was an important feature of many

working-men’s clubs and associations. Footbal, however, remained a thing of working classes