The German Question, Part Fifty-Five

"Bismarck" Part 4/D  "The Germans Unite...Sort Of-The Founding Of Modern Germany"

Historically, there was overlap between the Franco-Prussian War and political events that united the Germans. I chose to keep the two things separate, except for the treaty that ended the war and expanded German territory.

The "Treaty of Frankfurt" officially ended the war between the German Empire and France (the Germans united just prior to the French defeat; thus it was the German Empire; see below). One of the main provisions of the treaty was that France ceded to Germany the province of Alsace (Elsass, in German) and about a third of Lorraine (Lothringen, in German). Those areas were still heavily German in character in those times.* The predominately French areas were left as part of France, except as I will mention later. As part of Germany, the majority German territories were united into a province called "Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine," or simply "Alsace-Lorraine," which although incorrect, is still how many non-Frenchmen, at least many Americans, refer to the area.

When Prussia formed the "North German Confederation" after excluding Austria from German affairs in 1866, Bismarck implemented a basic constitution for member states. That constitution was essentially what became the constitution of a united Germany. Remember, Bismarck was not a democrat (small "d," Americans), but a monarchist. He understood the political realities of his times, however, and he chose to bring change, first to Prussia, and then to a united Germany, on his own terms; thus his constitution should not be thought of as comparable to that of the U.S., or many other free societies, but it did begin a process of more freedoms for Germans. It made the Prussian king the automatic "Kaiser" ("emperor") of the German Empire.** The new empire was a federation; that is, it had a national (actually, imperial) government, but also individual state governments. The state governments were still controlled by various noble families of varying titles (king, prince, grand duke, etc), so they were still "monarchical," too. The Kaiser was also the President of the Bundesrat, or "Federal Council." This council had to agree to all legislation, and it essentially consisted of representatives of the state "monarchies." Then there was a major democratic element; "the Reichstag." It consisted of representatives chosen by the people in a secret ballot, although in those times, "the people" meant "men 25 years and older." The Kaiser had the power to appoint the head of the government, the "Reichskanzler," or Chancellor, who headed a number of ministerial offices. This kept power in the hands of the Kaiser, since the Chancellor was not connected in any way to a vote of the people. German "national" citizenship was established, overriding the citizenship previously granted by the individual states. The Kaiser could declare war, make treaties, and conduct foreign policy. He was also head of the military. Most other matters were in the hands of the individual states, which also oversaw any national laws. This constitution was signed by the monarchs of the various states, including the south German states which had remained outside of the North German Confederation. On January 18, 1871, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned Kaiser Wilhelm I of the German Empire in the Palace of Versailles, France (the war with France was still ongoing). The official name of the new nation was "das Deutsche Reich," "the German Empire."

So, we have come a long way since the days when a multitude of ancient Germanic tribes were roaming over parts of Europe, including those which settled in Britain and established England; thus giving the world the English language. We have seen groups thought of as "Germans" by many, gradually split off to form new nationalities; the Dutch, the Swiss Germans, the Liechtensteiners, but most painfully, the Austrian Germans. So while the Germans finally united into a modern nation, it lacked a group that had been a substantial part of German history, but this was still not the end of possible Austrian participation in Germany.*** (A Word History is below the notes)

Next, "Bismarck as Chancellor & A Treaty With 'Contentious Relatives' "

* Since the end of World War Two, both areas have become less German in character, as French has overtaken the German and German dialects of these areas, although there have been more recent local attempts to promote the dialects, perhaps more out of quaintness, and also the fact that Germany and France are far less hostile to one another these days. Hitler's crimes certainly made the people of Alsace and the "German" part of Lorraine (for lack of a better term) put distance between themselves and any association with Germany. Sources are sketchy, but just to put a number onto things, only about 35-40% of the people in Alsace still speak German fluently, and in the former "German part" of Lorraine, it is perhaps only 20%. The German dialects of the two areas are different, as the Alsatian German dialect (Elsässisch), traces back to the old Germanic tribe, the Alemanns, as do the German dialects in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, extreme western Austria and southwestern Germany. The German dialect of Lorraine traces back to the Germanic tribe, the Franks.

** Remember in the "old" German Empire (the Holy Roman Empire), the German emperor was chosen by special electors (Kurfürsten) from certain German states. While not exactly democratic, at least there was an election, and while eventually the Habsburg family of Austria came to dominate the process, they technically were not the hereditary emperors. Under Bismarck's constitution, the Prussian king was always to be the German Kaiser; no election required for either position, but rather always hereditary.

*** Lest we forget, while most of the inhabitants of the new German Empire were indeed Germans, or at least declared themselves to be Germans, there were still a fairly substantial number of people of Polish heritage in the eastern areas, and some people of French heritage in the western areas; namely Alsace, Lorraine, and the Saarland area. A few people of Danish heritage were in the north, in Schleswig, and while many people likely considered the Frisian population in the north to be "German," many linguists and ethnographers (people who study ethnic groups), but not necessarily all, saw them separately, at least at that point in time, and into the near future, although they gradually "became Germans." Further, a group of Slavic people, usually referred to as "Sorbians," resided somewhat south of Berlin, down near the border with what is now the Czech Republic" (the area known as "Lausitz," in German, or usually rendered as "Lusatia," in English). In those times they retained their own Slavic language and culture, although I believe many, if not most, also spoke German. Today, the number of fluent Sorbian speakers has diminished quite significantly, and all also speak German.

WORD HISTORY:
Mustard-Germans have various types of mustard, including sweet, which tends to be more common in Bavaria. I know several Americans who were stationed in Germany during the Cold War, or otherwise lived there for a period. They all swear by German mustard being the best in the world. While I like mustard, I'm more of a ketchup guy, so I'll defer to these people. Anyway, Germans generally call mustard "Senf," a word which traces back to Latin ("sinapi(s)," and Latin got it from Greek (transliterated "sinapi(s)"). Its history prior to that is uncertain, with some suggesting that it is not derived from Indo European, but a borrowing from perhaps North Africa or the Middle East. In the northeastern part of Germany (including Berlin), there is a tendency to use the word, "Mostrich," which is related to the word "mustard" (at least the first part, see below).

The English word "mustard" goes back to Indo European "meus," which meant, "wetness, dampness." This gave Latin "mustum," which meant "new wine." Long ago, the seeds of the mustard plant were crushed and mixed with new wine to form an old form of mustard, and this passed to Old French as "moustarde." English borrowed the word in the 1200s. "Mustard" is related to "must" (NOT to the verb, as in, "You must not do that") which usually refers to grape juice, as does German "Most," which tends to be southern in usage and can also still mean new wine, but also cloudy fruit juice or cider, not necessarily just grape juice.