Episode 5.3

The final years of Otto von Bismarck after his fall from power.  Bismarck never forgave or forgotten how the Germen Emperor had removed him from power as chancellor of Germany.  He was determinded to attack in the press the Emperor and new chancellor especially over Germen foreign policy, the estangement between Russia and Germany which led to Franco - Russian military allance.  However Bismarck was now an old man and his health in decline, now us all even a truely great man must die.

Otto von Bismarck had remained the Germen chancellor because he had the support of Emperor Wilheim the First, however he died in 1888, his son was a dying man when he became Emperor and lived only for a few months.  It was the old emperor grandson, Wilheim the Second, who became the third emperor for that year, he felt Bismarck was too old, within two years their relationship had broken down and Bismarck was dismissed from power.

To combat the threat of the growing Social Democratic Party, Bismarck introducded a carot and stick policy to win over the Germen working class.  Bismarck introducted the first modern welfare state including old age pension and sickness insurance for Germen workers.  He also introducted anti - Socialist laws to crack down on Socialism groups whose meetings could now be broken by the Police.

The great powers meet in Berlin in 1884 to agree the rules on how to divide up Africa.  It was also agreed to set up the Congo Free State under the ruleship of King Leopold of Belgium, which would latter shock the world with the level of cruelity towards the native people.  A biography of King Leopold is given.  Bismarck reaches the age of seventy, he is now showing the signs of age.

This episode describes the background to the 1884 Congress of Berlin, in which all the great powers meet to discuss the division of Africa between the European Colonial powers and resolve the tensions between those colonial powers.  France and Britain had already began to occupy parts of Africa but there were other colonial powers such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany.  Bismarck was not an imperialist but he relied upon the support of Conservatives in the Reichsatg, who wanted Germen colonies.

Following the Reichstag election of 1878, in which the Liberals lost seats to the Conservatives, Bismarck ended his working relationship with the Liberals, and began to work with the Conservatives and even the Catholic Centre Party.  This allowed Bismarck to introduce tariffts to protect Germen business from foreign imports.

The outcome of thr Russo - Turkish War led to the threat of war between Britain and Russia.  Due to defuse the tension, Otto von Bismarck called a congress of the European powers in Berlin, Bismarck was to the honest broker of the congress.  Bismarck working with British Prime Minster Disreali did produce a successful peaceful resolution to the crisis.

The Russian invasion of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans proved to a major threat to the European order that Bismarck.  Winning that war would be hard work for the Russian becuase the Turkish troops would prove to able to fight well but in the end the sheer weight of numbers enable the Russian Army would overrun the Southern Balkans.  Both Austria and Britain reacted with alarm, indeed it seemed possible that there would be a war between Russia and Britain.

The term 'Culture War' is much used today but the first offical culture war occured in Germany in the 1870's when Bismarck working with Germen Liberals began a camapaign against the Catholic Church in Germany.  Legal constraints were placed upon thechurch, Bishops, Clergy and Lay Catholics were imprisioned but the campaign was a failure, it was the most foolish political act carried by Bismarck.

In order to acheive Germen unifaction, Otto von Bismarck engineered a war between France and the Germen Empire which cost thousands of lives.  He bullied the South Germen States and bribed the King of Bavaria, so that the South Germen states joined the new Germen Empire.  Yet when offered the King of Prussia, Willheim the role of the Emperor of Germany, he proved a very reculant monarch.  However there would be a new Germen State created and Willheim would be the monarch, so crowned in a cermony held in the Hall of Mirrors held at the palace of Versillers in January 1871