Germany in 1874?

Question

I'm writing an essay - what are some reasons that Germans around 1870-1880 had to move out of Germany?

Answer 1

You are discussing the period of German unification. Prussia, by defeating France decisively in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, achieved a strategic and political strength to enable creation of a single nation, Germany, out of the remnants of the "Holy Roman Empire." the following year, in Paris, Wilhelm I of Prussia is proclaimed as Emperor of Germany.

Huge social movements are underway in Europe - this is also the time of the Paris Commune, the rise of anarchism, the spread of early socialist political and cultural movements, and a rising tide of anti-clericalism. In Germany, the "kulturkampf," or "cultural struggle" begins against the influence and political might of the Roman Catholic Church.

Especially from the south-eastern Germany, in Bavaria, great numbers of people flee oppression and danger, mostly for religious reasons, but also because the economies of many formerly independent states are disrupted, old rivalries are being settled, and political dissidents are not welcome under the authoritarian rule of German Chancellor Bismarck.

Some fascinating aspects of these conflicts are reported as an aside in "The History of Spain," Peter Pierson, ISBN 0-313-30272-3. More details are in "The Timetables of History," Bernard Grun, ISBN 0-616-74271-X; "The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich ," Robert M. Citino, ISBN 0700614109; "The Unification of Germany, 1815-90," by Andrina Stiles and Alan Farmer, ISBN 0340781424.