The German Question, Part One Hundred Fourteen

The Rise of Hitler and The Nazis" Part Two/B-4
"The Nightmare Begins: Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany"

Germans looked around for a party that could stem the Great Depression, and besides the election gains by the Nazis, the German Communist Party (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) also increased their share of  representation in the Reichstag, although less so than the Nazis. The largest political party during most of the Weimar Republic's existence was the Socialist Party (Sozialistische Partei Deutschlands), but they did not enjoy a majority. The German Center Party usually joined the Socialists and others in some form of coalition government.* By 1932, the Socialists became Germany's second largest party, as the Nazis surged ahead of them, but the Nazis too failed to receive a majority of German votes.**

With millions out of work, the government unable to get a grip on the situation, the republic besieged by extremists from both left and right, and the Reichstag often so divided that it couldn't pass legislation, President von Hindenburg frequently issued decrees instead. The constitution allowed for "emergency decrees" by the president, if he felt a crisis threatened the nation. These decrees were issued through the Chancellor and there were several such decrees during this tumultuous time. No question about it, this emergency power certainly weakened German democracy.

German businessmen and conservative political forces, some not all that taken with Hitler and the Nazis, felt the country needed someone who could maintain a stable government and thwart any possible communist takeover. Hitler's performance during the presidential election showed that he generated tremendous enthusiasm among working class and lower middle class segments of the population in all parts of the country, and that he was someone they wanted. President von Hindenburg was not a supporter of Hitler, but conservative leaders convinced him of the need to appoint Hitler as chancellor. To cement the deal, the basic idea was to give Hitler the chancellorship, but to load the cabinet with more traditional conservatives (including the Vice Chancellorship) to keep a check on Hitler, and only one other Nazi was given an actual cabinet position.*** The conservatives felt the situation was a winner, for if Hitler succeeded in stabilizing the country's political leadership and the economy, all would be well, and any communist threat would dissipate. If Hitler failed, and some thought he would, that would end his political career, and the country would be done with him. Seldom have men ever been so naïve. President von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. It was January 30, 1933, a nightmare was beginning.

Next..."The Nightmare Continues; Hitler Rules Germany"

* The German Center Party (Deutsche Zentrumspartei) had started out as a Catholic political party to protect and represent the interests of German Catholics, who were a minority in Germany. Its name was a good one, because it really was somewhere in the "center" of the political spectrum, sometimes leaning left, and sometimes leaning right, and this gave them an ability to work with both sides. They pretty much received a reliable, but modest share of the vote.

** Hitler ran for president in 1932. His opponent was Field Marshal von Hindenburg, who, though 84, chose to seek re-election. Hindenburg won by a wide margin, but Hitler solidified his position as a national political figure. To qualify to run, Hitler officially became a German citizen (remember, he was born in the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary; thus, while "German" in background and nationalistic point of view, he was not a German citizen).

*** This was Wilhelm Frick, who was appointed Minister of the Interior. Hermann Göring was made "minister without portfolio," which simply meant he had no specific office.

WORD HISTORY:
Flag (continued, Part 2)-English also has "flag," which means "a piece of flat stone, a slab of stone," and while not commonly used anymore, it is "supposedly" still in use by some dialects in England. It "seems" to go back to Old Norse "flaga," which also had to do with "flat stone slabs," This was from Old Norse "flak" (not the anti-aircraft weapon), which meant "piece cut or torn from a larger object." This was derived from Old Germanic "flagon/flakon/flakan," which carried the notion of "flatness." This traces back to the Indo European "plak," also with the notion of "flat, flatness," which came from Indo European "pele." When Old Germanic "spun off," so to speak, from Indo European, the "p" sound became "f" in Germanic. This form of the English word "flag" came into English circa 1500, and it is closely related to "flake," "a piece cut or broken off of a larger object." A verb form also developed meaning "to lay down stones."

There is yet another English word "flag," meaning "a type of plant with sword-like leaves," and it is also likely to trace back to Old Norse, and perhaps to the same base above, as a sword is "flat-shaped," but this in not certain. Danish, one of the descendants of Old Norse, has "flaeg," a name for a type of "iris." Old Norse, another Germanic language of old, had influences on English, as Norwegians and Danes, raided the English coast on a fairly regular basis, and eventually settled in the northeastern part of England and southern Scotland. While English and Old Norse were related (both Germanic), the Norse brought some new words into English, thus enriching the language.

Further, there is the verb "flag," "to tire or weaken to the point of stopping," as in, "We will not flag in our quest to give tax cuts to the very wealthiest Americans, as they are the productive class." (I think I just came up with a new slogan for the Republicans!) Anyway, this form seems to have come about in English during the 1500s, and it is likely related to "flag, the piece of cloth," in the sense of the flag drooping. This shows how words can shift basic meanings, as "flag," the "cloth banner," came from a word meaning "to flutter," but "flag," the verb, came to mean "droop;" thus, "tire, weaken." 

The German Question, Part Sixty-One

"Bismarck" Part Five/F "Bismarck as Chancellor & A Treaty With 'Contentious Relatives' ""Ethnic Minorities in Bismarckian Germany/West

I should have noted in the last installment: Frisians in Bismarck's Germany, while proud of their heritage, would have undoubtedly also seen themselves as "Germans," just as those in the Netherlands would have seen themselves as "Dutch," and those in Denmark would have seen themselves as "Danes." In all three cases there may well have been a few "hold outs," but it was likely much more like what we have had with so many different groups in America; that is, immigrants came to the United States, but their children and later additions saw themselves as "Americans," while some still kept alive the traditions of their ancestors in various ways. Also, in Denmark, there are very few (North) Frisian speakers (and there were not that many even dating back to Bismarck's time onward); so few in fact, that I could not find any recent data on the subject. This is just a guess, but any Frisian speakers still in existence all undoubtedly speak Danish on an every day basis, and there are no Frisian-language newspapers in Denmark. Some sources even noted that Frisian is no longer spoken in Denmark.

In the western areas of Germany, in Alsace-Lorraine, lived more than 211,000 French-speaking inhabitants (according to the 1900 census), which represented 11 1/2% of the population of the province (the other 88 1/2% spoke German). Just an assumption, but I would think nearly all French-speaking inhabitants were Catholic (the "German" population was mixed Protestant and Catholic). Also, in a fairly small area in what is now part of Belgium, in the area usually referred to as "Eupen-Malmedy," there were some 12,000 Walloon and French-speaking residents (about 29% of the region), and it is just as likely that they were all Catholic.* (The "German" population there, about 71%, was undoubtedly Catholic too.) The Catholics in both Alsace-Lorraine and Eupen-Malmedy were subject to all of Bismarck's anti-Catholic policies mentioned previously in this series. Since there was no actual "Poland" (as a nation) at that time, the Polish population in Germany was certainly different from the French-speaking population in Alsace-Lorraine, since France was very much in existence, a major power, and the ties of the French-speaking part of the population to France were strong. The French-speaking residents were always "suspect" (to the Germans), but not even all of the German speaking citizens were always solidly committed to Germany, especially those of the upper classes, where people tended to be fluent in both French and German, but where French was often preferred to German. Interestingly, the German government permitted French to be used in schools in French-speaking areas, but German was used in all governmental affairs (not that this is necessarily unreasonable).*** Perhaps the main difference between the German residents of Alsace-Lorraine and the Germans in the rest of Germany is something that is difficult to gauge, but it had to do with the fact of French rule in the area for a couple of centuries, but most importantly, the French Revolution, and the participation by many people in the area in that revolution. In the German states, their own revolutions had not been successful, and they had lived under autocratic rule, so there was more of a lighter democratic tradition in Alsace-Lorraine. Time gradually favored the German point-of-view, as younger generations did not feel the same connection to the previous French rule.****

Next, "The Jewish Minority in Bismarck's Germany".... (A Word History is below the notes)

* Take your pick, Walloon is either a separate language closely related to French, or a dialect of French, based in part of modern Belgium (the other main linguistic group of Belgium being "Flemish," see note **) Linguists have had disagreements over its official classification. Whatever the case, it is Latin-based, but it has had many influences from the nearby Germanic dialects/languages, specifically Flemish, Dutch, and German (including German dialects in the area, like Luxemburgisch). For decades now, the debate is essentially only of historical importance, as Walloon is almost extinct, with only a handful of people actually being fluent anymore, since in the early part of the 20th Century, "standard" French (I'll use that term) was used in all schools in the Walloon region.

** Belgium is one of those countries where there is more than one language spoken by significant portions of the population. As I have attempted to show in some of these articles on the Germans, until the 1800s, territories were conquered, annexed, sold, or inherited, without regard to the "background," including language, of the local population. "Nationalism" among various "ethnic groups" began to spread, especially during the 1800s, and it became a serious problem for Austria, which possessed a wide variety of non-German populated lands. "Ethnically/linguistically" modern Belgium is about 39% Walloon (French speaking), most living in the "Wallonia" southern part of the country, and about 60% Flemish, most living in the "Flanders" northern part of Belgium. There is a German minority (the area discussed in this article) along the German border, but it numbers just less than 1% of the population, and an even smaller (less than half a percent) "Luxembourgish" population, believe it or not, located on the border with Luxembourg (imagine that). The relationship between the various groups has been contentious at times over the last century or two. Some linguists in just the last decade or so have declared Flemish to be a dialect of Dutch, rather than a separate language in its own right, but not everyone agrees.

*** There were fairly strong elements of the population of Alsace-Lorraine that were very pro-German, and I don't want to lead anyone to believe that this element was not influential.

**** It also should be noted that about 100,000 "pro-France" residents left Alsace-Lorraine for France after the German annexation. As these people were obviously the most "French," that must have lessened pro-French activities in Alsace-Lorraine.

WORD HISTORY:
Lore-This word, perhaps more common in the compound "folklore," simply means "knowledge, accumulated learning." It is closely related to "learn." It goes back to the Indo European root "leis/lais," which had the notion of "to follow a track or path." This then gave Old Germanic "laizo," which was passed on to its offspring, West Germanic, as "laiza,"^ and then also with the advanced meaning of "teach, instruct." (I suppose in the sense, "teach people to follow a path or course.") This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "lar," with a long "a" sound, and meaning "knowledge, things that are taught." The Middle English period gave us the modern spelling. So, "folklore" means "the accumulated knowledge of the people through the course of time." German has "Lehre," Low German has "Lehr," West Frisian "leare," Norwegian and Danish have "lære," Swedish has "lära," Icelandic has "laera," and Dutch has "leren," all with the basic meaning of "teach, instruct (instruction, for nouns)." 

^ These forms with 'z' came to be rendered with 'r' due to rhotacism; that is, a tendency to convert some consonant sounds, usually 'z,' to 'r.' This happened with the Germanic forms "laizo/laiza" that took the course about "teach, instruct," but another branch maintained the "z" sound (altered a bit to the similar 's') and the basic meaning "track, path," which gave German what eventually became modern "Gleis," the rails of a train track. This same Old Germanic form gave English some forms of "last," including the verb meaning "to endure, hold out" (from the notion of "continue on a path").      

The German Question, Part Fifty-Seven

"Bismarck" Part Five/B "Bismarck as Chancellor & A Treaty With 'Contentious Relatives' "
"Ethnic Minorities in Bismarckian Germany/East"

Bismarck and other Germans feared a repeat of what had been happening in Austria for quite some time, and the major reason Austria was no longer a part of Germany; that is, large areas of territory governed by German Austrians, but with non-German majorities (namely: Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians/Ruthenians, Rumanians, Slovenians, Croats, Serbs, Bosnians, Italians, and some others, including Jews. I never feel comfortable listing Jews separately, but they were often seen that way by the Germans and by the various other groups I've listed above; and, that perceived "separateness" will play a major part in the ugly tragedy I will be covering in the not too distant future as a part of this series). In then northeastern Bismarckian Germany (within the state of Prussia), there was a fairly substantial Lithuanian population (more than 100,000), many of whom, unlike the solidly Catholic Lithuanians just over the border, were Lutherans. They spoke both German and Lithuanian, and they maintained their Lithuanian culture with Lithuanian language newspapers and community groups. While certainly not all agreed, from what I've read, the overwhelming majority supported Prussia, and then, upon unification, Germany, in their allegiance.* Likewise was the case with the Slavic elements in and around the city of Danzig, and other small Slavic minorities along the Baltic coastal area, and in eastern parts of Prussia (to clarify: they were minorities in the overall sense of Prussia, but they "may" have actually had local majorities in "some" communities). They too spoke their own Slavic dialects, but they also spoke German, with many using German as a first language. Many were also Lutheran, although a fairly small portion maintained their adherence to Catholicism.** Where there was a major difference was in those former Polish territories taken by Prussia in the late 1700s, early 1800s, the city of "Posen" ("Poznan," in Polish) being one of the major cities.*** Here not everyone spoke German as a first, or even as a second, language, and Polish was the every day language of a majority of the population. The region's population was around 1,750,000, and about two-thirds of that was Polish. The Poles remained Catholics, whereas the German minority in the region was largely Lutheran, with only a small percentage of Germans there being Catholic.****

Bismarck's "Kulturkampf" and later laws forbade the use of Polish in Catholic Mass. Polish language religious schools were closed, with German language schools substituted. The government then tried to buy Polish-owned land, usually farmland, and sell it to new "German" settlers. Further, Poles were forbidden to build new homes. Later, the government even tried to force Poles to sell their properties. Overall the policy failed, as too few "Germans" were willing to resettle in the region. Poles and Jews "identified" as Russian citizens were sent to Russia, and the border was closed to admitting Poles.^

The whole process only intensified Polish nationalism and the desire of Poles to see a rebirth of an independent Polish nation.

Next, "minorities in the western areas".... (A Word History is below the notes)

* Lithuania itself was then a part of the Russian Empire, which had a far less tolerant government concerning Lithuanian language and culture, and where publications in Lithuanian were suppressed. Lithuanian is a language classified by some linguists as "Baltic," and by other linguists as "Balto-Slavic." It is related to Latvian and to the now "dead language," Prussian. The last speaker of Prussian, by all accounts, passed on in the 1700s. The names "Prussia" and "Prussians" continued, but they were adopted by the German settlers to that area centuries before. Since the end of World War Two, due to other nations' strong association of Prussia with German militarism and aggression, the state of "Prussia" was abolished.

** The Wends (or Sorbs), in the region (called "Lausitz" in German; rendered as "Lusatia in English) somewhat south of Berlin, down to what is now the border with the Czech Republic, were similar. They tended to speak both German and Sorbian (a minority spoke only Sorbian) and they were a mixture of Lutheran and Catholic. A couple of the main cities of the region are Bautzen and Cottbus. Today, the number of Sorbian speakers (about 50,000 to 60,000) is quite diminished from Bismarck's time, when somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 people spoke Sorbian as a first or second language in the region, as today most people prefer German only.

*** Silesia ("Schlesien" in German, "Śląsk" in Polish ) was another region where some areas had Polish majorities.

**** More than a quarter million Poles left the Polish areas of eastern Germany to work in the heavily industrialized Ruhr area in western Germany. There, they endured various persecutions, including special ID cards and suppression of Polish festivities, as well as the same persecutions as German Catholics, because of their staunch Catholicism. Since those times, the "mixing" (assimilation) of Poles with Germans in the region has eliminated this Polish minority.

^ In those times, the vast bulk of Polish territory, including Warsaw, was part of the Russian Empire, and thus Germany and Russia shared a common border.

WORD HISTORY:
Danke (Thanks)-This word is pretty well known in English, and it simply means "thanks." It, like its English cousin "thank," go back to Indo European "tong," which meant "to think, to feel," and yes, it is related to our word "think" and to German "denk(en)," which also means "to think." A variant Indo European form, "teng," had the notion of "being thoughtful, having grateful thoughts, to think of in a grateful way," to the act of expressing such. The Indo European form gave Old Germanic "thanka(z)." This then gave Old English "thankian," and Old High German "dancon." Later English dropped the ending, giving it the modern word. The Old High German form then became "danken," and that is still the same today. The shortened form in German, "danke," comes from "Ich danke," meaning "I thank." The 1500s saw the negative expression of blame, as in, "Thanks to you being so slow, we are now late for the concert." The noun "thank," now more commonly expressed in the plural, "thanks," is from the idea of "a thought of gratitude." Besides the German and English forms, the other Germanic languages have: Low German has "dank," Dutch has "danken," Frisian has "tank," Danish has "tak," Swedish has "tacka," Norwegian has "takk," Icelandic has "thakka." Notice that Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic, all from the North Germanic branch of Germanic, have lost the "n" sound.

The German Question, Part Fifty-Six

"Bismarck" Part Five/A "Bismarck as Chancellor & A Treaty With 'Contentious Relatives' "

Just a note about Luxemburg/Luxembourg to start: Luxembourg remained an independent country and a possession of the Dutch throne, but it also remained a member of the German Customs Union ("Zollverein"), thus, giving it continued strong ties to Germany without being a member state.

So with a newly united nation, Bismarck set out in his mind to strengthen that unity. Germany was a nation with a predominately Protestant north, and with a predominately Catholic south.* Now that staunchly Catholic Austria was excluded from the new nation, and with Protestant Prussia having led the unification efforts, Protestantism was the favored religion, and most positions in the national government were occupied by Protestants. The Papacy had been controversial for centuries, and not only in the German territories, but within Christianity as a whole. The Catholic Church was organized to control matters and adherents of the Church, with a central authority in Rome. With such a governing system, non Catholics always feared that adherents to Catholicism would have divided loyalties between Church and state.**

Bismarck was the "Reichskanzler" of Germany ("Imperial Chancellor," or "prime minister," for a term better known to many English speaking people), but he also was still the head of the government of Prussia. In his first few years as head of the new government, Bismarck implemented policies to try to lessen the influence of the Catholic Church in Germany, and sometimes just in Prussia. Further, there were efforts to "Germanize" Jews, Poles, and Wends (Sorbians). This overall approach to lessen various influences in Germany came to be known as the "Kulturkampf," or "Culture War;" although, some historians limit the term to the attempt to lessen Catholic influence. To be brief here, over time, the laws to lessen Catholic influence: forbade clergy from discussing or preaching about political matters to congregants, under threat of imprisonment; banished the Jesuits from Germany; gave the government the right to inspect religious schools; gave the government the right to train, appoint, and discipline members of the clergy; removed marriage from religious control to that of the "civil authorities." Clergy who protested the laws were arrested. The measures and their enforcement inflamed relations between the German government and the Papacy, with Bismarck literally breaking off diplomatic contacts with the Pope. This war against the Catholic Church, instigated by German nationalists and by the German government, enforced by German police and civil authorities, was an ominous precursor to what would come a little more than six decades later.

The overall measures against Catholic influence had some success, but it also had many negatives, including the negative view of such among some foreign nations, especially those with strong Catholic traditions. Political parties were growing in Germany, and Catholics rallied to the "Catholic Center Party," which gained in popularity, and which also contained traditional conservative Catholics, something Bismarck eventually needed politically. The whole matter tarnished Bismarck's reputation to some extent, and he reconciled with the Papacy to some degree when a new Pope took over the Catholic Church in 1878.

To be continued with Bismarck's attempts to "Germanize" the non-German population..... (A Word History is below the notes)

* Notice in both cases I used the word "predominantly." Especially in the north, there were some especially strong Catholic areas, including parts of the Rhineland, part of Alsace and part of Lorraine in the west. Then there were the staunchly Catholic Poles, and some German Catholics in the eastern part of the country. The southern areas were more uniformly Catholic, but there were some Protestants there.

** This was also the case in America. Catholic candidates, especially for high office, were often overtly and covertly thought to be puppets for the Papacy, which was trying to take control of the country. For those old enough to remember, when John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, ran for President, many Protestants openly said how the Pope would give Kennedy his orders, if Kennedy won the election. I can distinctly remember some people saying, "We're going to be controlled from 'across the pond.' " Kennedy won, and all Americans did not suddenly become members of the Knights of Columbus, don Rosary Beads, attend six o'clock Mass, or say "Hail Marys," except in reference to long, desperate passes by quarterbacks on the football field. To be honest, however, in Bismarck's time, the Church had much more direct influence on many of its members than it seemingly has in more modern times, although the Papacy had been dealt a serious blow as a result of the "Franco-Prussian War," which was just covered in the previous installments here. Because of the war, Napoleon III withdrew his troops from their protection of the Papacy role in Rome. This permitted Italian troops to enter Papal territory and for Italy to annex the territory to the still relatively new Italian nation. Rome, which had been named the capital of the new nation nearly a decade before, then truly became the seat of the Italian government.

WORD HISTORY:
Krieg-Since I did "Blitz" earlier, here is the "krieg" part of the compound. First, interestingly the Germanic languages did not seem to have a common word for "war." I could not find a lot of information on this word; thus its origin is unknown to me. It goes back to Old High German "krig," which supposedly meant "stubbornness." Old High German is a term linguists use to denote the Germanic dialect that developed not long after the Germanic elements that went to Britain left the Continent, and it is the direct ancestor of modern German. Later the form "kriec" developed, with the meaning "strain, endeavor," and this then developed into the meaning "war."

For an updated version, see:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/11/revised-word-history.html

For "Blitz," see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/11/german-question-part-fifty-two.html