As we all know, Germany was seriously divided more than 100 years ago. However, in 187 1 year, Germany was finally unified by the kingdom of Prussia, and Germany was no longer just a geographical term.
So why did Prussia unify Germany instead of other countries? Not the equally powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Educational factors The Kingdom of Prussia has established a perfect and effective education system.
First of all, Prussia divided education into primary, intermediate and advanced levels. Primary school lasts for four years, middle school lasts for six years, and institutions of higher learning are universities. To enter secondary and higher schools, you must pass the entrance examination, thus breaking the stereotype that you get the right to education according to your younger brother.
Second, education focuses on cultivating talents who love the motherland, advocate personal freedom and can get all-round development. In addition, the Prussian kingdom strictly stipulates that only qualified teachers who have received training can teach, which has significantly improved the level of teachers.
Prussia has also built a number of new colleges and universities, focusing on cultivating high-quality talents.
The University of Berlin was founded in 1809. This school implements the principles of "academic freedom", "combination of teaching" and "leading scientific research", and employs a large number of academic celebrities to teach.
Later, these Prussian universities, represented by Berlin University, finally made indelible scientific contributions to the outbreak of the second industrial revolution in Germany and objectively accelerated the process of Prussia's unification of Germany.
The French call Prussia a country of "barracks and schools", and its excellent education system can be seen. Science and technology are the primary productive forces, and education is the only way to promote science and technology.
It is the perfect education system that greatly increases Prussia's soft power and lays a solid foundation for the future reunification of Germany.
Economically, Prussia led the German states to establish a unified economic system, which laid the economic foundation for the establishment of the German Empire in the future. There are two points worth noting, one is the abolition of serfdom, and the other is the establishment of a customs union.
Abolish serfdom Although the reform of serfdom in Prussia was incomplete and top-down. Prussia formally abolished serfdom through legislation as early as the beginning of19th century.
However, due to the obstruction of the Yongke nobles, the results were minimal. Finally, after the revolution broke out, the Yongke nobles made a compromise, and the government made serfs free through land redemption.
The abolition of serfdom provided sufficient labor for Prussia's capitalist economic development, accelerated the process of industrial development, and made Prussia an industrial country. On the other hand, Prussia's measures to abolish serfdom also deeply affected the States.
The German states are gradually "Prussian". The nobles of Yongke gave up serfdom for their own interests, and finally brought vitality to Prussia and Germany.
The establishment of customs union Although we don't know how the German customs union arose, there is no doubt that Prussia is the main promoter of this alliance.
The customs union stipulates that the participating German states cancel all domestic checkpoints, consumption taxes and domestic tariffs, and implement the free circulation of goods.
On the one hand, customs union reduces the administrative cost and efficiency of each state, makes goods circulate freely, and realizes the maximum circulation and utilization of resources, thus making the economy of each state in Germany develop by leaps and bounds.
Objectively speaking, the Union unified Germany's weights and measures and monetary system. Since then, Germany has become a real ethnic area.
With the development of economy, Prussia has achieved a leading position in Germany with its excellent mineral resources and developed economic system.
On the other hand, Austria still has a self-sufficient economy and its industrial products are not competitive. Therefore, Austria implemented a protective tariff policy and did not join the customs union. In this way, Austria was economically excluded from Germany.
There is no denying the military factors, and the early Prussian kingdom had a little shadow of militarism.
Prussia implements the compulsory conscription system, and thoroughly implements and implements this system from beginning to end.
First, in 18 14, Prussia's revised Military Service Law stipulated that all healthy men aged 17 to 50 must perform military service and wrote it into the Constitution.
Second, the Military Service Law also stipulates that every male conscript must serve in the standing army for three years and then in the reserve for four years before he can be transferred to the reserve. The national military service system prohibits substitution and substitution. This means that every Prussian man who meets the requirements for enlistment needs to serve in the military for seven years!
Third, the retired reserve forces also need to undertake the vast majority of garrison tasks and rear services, so that Prussia has the largest proportion of troops in continental Europe.
Bismarck, the hot-blooded prime minister, was talented, developed the economy and greatly strengthened his military capabilities. These so-called hardware facilities are prerequisites for Prussia to unify Germany. But if one person is missing, it may take several years for Prussia to unify Germany.
This man is the famous iron and blood prime minister Bismarck.
Bismarck practiced autocracy at home, eased the financial crisis and completed the military reform. Flexible diplomacy was carried out, and three wars, namely, Pudan War, Puao War and Franco-Prussian War, were launched, and finally the so-called "little Germany" excluding Ollie was unified.
Bismarck was the real implementer of the whole German reunification, and it was his ruthless policy and flexible diplomatic skills that accelerated the reunification of Prussia.
However, after reunification, Germany's national pride and national ambition have greatly expanded, and it is gradually falling into the quagmire of competing for interests with Britain and France, two European powers.
After the two world wars, the country split again and the people suffered greatly, which was not unrelated to the militaristic road determined during the reunification period.