In 1870 Prussia and the German States fought a war against France which was known as the Franco-Prussian war. It united Prussia and the German states into the German Empire and won in 1871. The victory of the German Empire in the Franco-Prussian War against France caused many significant changes in German nationalism. This paper will detail how German nationalism has changed following the end of the war in 1871. German Nationalism grew through uniting into a single German nation. During the Franco-Prussian War, the North German Confederation and all other German states rallied to defeat France, and they joined together into the German Empire before the war ended. Essentially, the war caused the German Empire to be created. This brought a new wave of German nationalism and pride as the German people excluding Austria were united into a …show more content…
The German Empire was built with Prussian culture and authoritarianism. Prussia was the strongest German nation, it defeated the second strongest German nation Austria in a previous war, so it only made sense for them to become the face of the empire and the symbol to unite all Germans. This is how the Holy Roman Empire united under the strongest German States until it was dissolved by Austria during the Napoleonic wars. Prussian beliefs spread across the empire which united Germans in what they believed, and many areas started adopting Prussian culture and traditions which helped put them all under a single German national identity. Beliefs that were adopted were authoritarianism, anti-Catholicism, anti-Socialism, reactionism, conservatism, anti-liberalism, and racial superiority (Source A). Furthermore, it united Germans and created common enemies for the population to stand together against such as Catholics, Liberals, non-Aryan and non-Germans such as France which was already a natural enemy of German states due to historical conflict and cultural