German Empire (Our Place in the Sun)

The German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich, officially Deutsches Reich), also known as Germany (German: Deutschland), is a constitutional monarchy situated in central and western Europe that has existed since the unification of Germany in 1871. It has historically been a dominant military, political, and economic force in Europe and currently has the largest economy and population of all of the European Union member states.

Since the 10th century, the area which is now Germany had consisted of many independent nations which made up the larger Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars. The many independent German states, excluding Prussia, were consolidated into the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon’s protection, which led to the rise of pan-Germanism and, eventually, the establishment of the German Empire. The empire was officially established in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War and has been ruled by monarchs of the House of Hohenzollern ever since.

When World War I broke out in 1914, Germany was one of the main combatants. Its plans to quickly capture Paris by invading neutral Belgium failed and led to a lengthy stalemate in which Germany fought against Britain and France on the western front. During this period, the British naval blockade of Germany also made food and resources scarce, as part of an attempt by the Entente Powers to starve the Germans into defeat. While Germany saw great successes against Russia on the eastern front, the situation in the west remained stagnant for three years until the French and British war effort rapidly fell apart after the Summer Offensive. The war officially ended in victory for Germany and the rest of the Central Powers on 1 January 1918.

After the war, Germany emerged as the dominant power in Europe and ushered in a brief era of hegemony in which Europe experienced a level of political unity not seen since the height of Napoleon’s empire. Despite the victory, Germany faced increasing internal political strife and instability from liberal and socialist movements, culminating in the June Constitution of 1919, which transformed the empire into a constitutional monarchy in which the kaiser’s power was limited gave rise to German electoral democracy. The empire underwent further political transformation and liberalization after the Uprising of 1953, which saw the end of the centralized authoritarian regime of Adolf Hitler, which had arisen from the Great Depression.