From "Germany's Rulers of the 18th Century," on October 12, 2011, History 1700s.com, "Germany was not a unified country, during the first half of the century. It would not be until Bismark, that Germany would be unified." The Holy Roman Empire existed from 800 to 1806, and Germany was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Since the peace of Westphalia in 1648, the empire, including Germany, the territories involved were separate and independent, and were largely govern by princes. Two parts of Germany that had a large amount of territory and power were Austria and Prussia. From "Germany's Rulers of the 18th Century," on page 1, "...it was the Prussian House of Hohenzollern that unified Germany and made Germany a power to be reckoned with."
From "18th Century History of Germany," on October 12, 2011, Wikipedia.org, on page 1, "Frederick III (1688-1701) became King Frederick I of Prussia in 1701. Since there was only one King of the Germans within the Empire, Frederick gained the assent of Emperor Leopold I (in return for alliance against France in the War of the Spanish Succession) to his adoption (January 1701) of the title of 'King in Prussia' based on his non-Imperial territories." This German King came from the house of the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg.
Under Frederick William I King of Prussia, the German land's of Bremen-Verden and Stettin returned back from Sweden after this country lost tn the Great Northern War (1700-1721). From History of Scandinavia, by T. K. Derry, on page 163, "In the winter of 1719-20 two treaties were negotiated in Stockholm by George I's ambassador and future secretary of state, Lord Carteret; by the first Sweden surrendered Bremen-Verden to Hanover, and by the second Stettin and the neighbouring parts of Pomerania to Brandenburg-Prussia." The Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg had influence in Pomerania since 1472, according to "18th Century History of Germany."
From Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, by Terence Ball and Richard Dagger, on page 53, "...status mattered very much in earthly life, for one's position and prospects were fixed by one's social 'rank,' 'order,' or 'estate.' This was especially true under feudalism, which became the main form of social and economic organization in Europe after the disintegration of Charlemagne's empire in the ninth century." Under this relationship there were knights, or they were called lords, and these individuals would let lesser knights control sections of land in exchange for service in the military. These lesser knights might also be called vassals, and these vassals would allow serfs, also known as commoners, to work the land for rent. Or, this vassal, would rent this land to land owning peasants for them to farm. Under feudalism, two classes of people took shape, nobles and commoners; and the nobility kept a hold on the the land they owned through inheritance. Ball and Dagger write on feudalism on page 30, "...every person occupied a rank or station in society and was expected to perform the duties and enjoy the privileges of that rank or station. In this way everyone supposedly contributed to the common good,...." Feudalism created an interdependent relationship of rank, status and loyalties where the land owning nobles enjoyed great privileges and liberties; these nobles did keep a military, but they also kept the serfs attached to land in order to serve the lord.
Feudalism under the Holy Roman Empire, in part, was due to the need for the people to have protection. Ball and Dagger write on page 30, " This form of social organization, rooted in the need for protection from marauding Vikings and Magyars,...." Problems developed, the Holy Roman Empire suffered when the king, and the emperor, spent too much time in their own local lands and did not spend enough time with the core lands of the empire. From "Holy Roman Empire," on October 19, 2011, Wikipedia.org, "Without the presence of the king, the old institution of the Hoftag, the assembly of the realm's leading men, deteriorated." With this assembly of the Hoftag, not holding on to enough political control over their local area's, the dukes within these territories started to fight against one and another. From "Holy Roman Empire," on page 8, "Simultaneously, the Church was in a state of crisis too,....The conflict between several papal claimants (two anti-popes and the legitimate Pope) was only resolved at the Constance (1414-18); after 1419,....The medieval idea of unifying all Christendom into a single political entity, began to decline." The people of the German territories, and these territories were now starting to resemble modern states, were more inclined to give their allegiances to those rulers within their own local area.
Changes in feudalism and local government came with more people owning property, "the rising bourgeoisie." From the "Holy Roman Empire," about the 13th century, on page 7, "Instead of personal duties, money increasingly became the common means to represent economic value in agriculture. Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute for their lands. The concept ot 'property' began to replace more ancient forms of jurisdiction,...." But changes to Germany's government of local autonomy, which was moving toward a unified nation-state, was a slow process in comparison to Britain and France during the 18th century. From "German Nationalism," on November 2, 2011,
Credoreference.com, on page 1, "But 'Germany,' unlike Britain or France, remained backward and divided, lacking a strong central state with established administrative, legislative, and legal institutions...Even as late as the mid-18th century, Germany was still a collection of dozens of autonomous political units." The political movement in Europe was toward a nation-state, and these changes was helped by ideas coming from the Enlightenment, ideas form nationalism, and because of economic and military reasons.
From "18th Century History of Germany," on page 2, "From 1763, against resistance form the nobility and citizenry, an 'enightened absolutism' was established in Prussia and Austria, according to which the ruler was to be 'the first servant of the state.' The economy developed and legal reforms were undertaken, including the abolition of torture...." This was the period in German history, 1763, of the emancipation of the peasants, and education was also now being promoted in Germany, according to "18th Century History of Germany."
The War of the Austrian Succession began in 1740 when King Frederick II invaded Silesia. This began a number of military conflicts involving Germany. During the Seven Year's War, (1756-1757), Germany defeated the Austrian army at the Battle of Burkersdorf, and from this victory there became more of an intense rivalry between the two major territories of Prussia and Austria. Between 1772-1795, Germany, Austria, and Russia did agree on one area of concern between them, and that was to claim Poland's area for themselves. And while Austria and Prussia was claiming land from Poland, which brought both countries more influence and power in Europe, Prussia was fighting a war with France during this same time. Soon Austria and Prussia, despite their own issues, would be facing a new threat coming out ot France, emperor Napoleon.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Writers and Poets of 20th Century Germany
oWriters and Poets of 20th Century Germany
oBy: Matt Dehn, Miranda Scherer, Lacey Harp, Robert Niehoff,
oTom Monson, Angela Balcome, Tim Cox and Starsha Vang
oHans Fallada
oBorn in Greifswald in 1893
oPseudonyms come from Grimm Fairy Tales
oDied in 1947 at 54 years of age
oWorks include
nLittle Man- What Now?
nAlone in Berlin
oLittle Man- What Now?
oPublished in 1932
oMade into a Movie- released in US in 1934
oAlone in Berlin
oPublished in 1947
oBased on true story
oBecame bestseller in US/UK when translated into English
oThomas Kling
oPoet
oWrote Manhatten Mouthspace about 9/11 disaster
oDied in 2005
oAnna Seghers/ Netty Reiling
oBorn as Netty Reiling in Mainz
oStudied Philology (study of language), History and Sinology (study of classical language and literature) at Heidelber in Cologne.
oPublished Die Gefährten in 1932 warning about fascism. Leading to her arrest and later working for an anti-fascist magazine.
oIn 1950 she was a co-founder of the GDR.
oDied in 1983
oGünter Eich
oBorn February 1, 1907 in Lebus, Brandenburg
oServed in German Army during WWII
oPoet, Playwrite, Author
oDied 1972
oWorks of Günter Eich
oRebellion in der Goldstadt (1940)
oZüge im Nebel (1947)
oAbgelegene Gehöfte (1948)
oTräume. Vier Spiele (1953)
oDas Jahr Lazertis (1954)
oBotschaften des Regens (1955)
oStimmen (1958)
oZu den Akten (1964)
oAnlässe und Steingärten (1966)
oMaulwürfe (1968)
oEin Tibeter in Meinem
oBüro (1970)
oNach Seumes Papieren (1972)
oErich Remarque
oBorn 1898
oWrote All Quiet on the Western Front after his experience on the Western front
oLeft Germany in 1931
oIn 1933 the Nazi’s banned and destroyed all copies of All Quiet on the Western Front
oIn 1943 the Nazi party arrested his sister for ‘undermining morale’. She was sentenced to death by guillotine
oOther Works of Erich Remarque
oThe Road Back
oThree Comrades
oArch of Triumph
oA Spark of Life
oTime to Live and Time to Die
oChrista Wolf
oBorn March 18, 1929 in Brandenburg
oLiteracy Critic, Novelist, Essayist
oOne of the best-known writers from East Germany
oFirst recipient of the German Book Prize
oBest known work was with Der Geteilte Himmel (1963)
oAnne Frank
oBorn June 12, 1929
oGerman-Jewish teen, forced into hiding during the Holocaust
oSpent 25 months above her father’s office in Amsterdam
oIn March, 1945, 9 months after she and her family was found. Anne Frank died of typhus at the age of 15.
oHer Diary was published in 1947, later becoming one of the most widely read books in the world
oAldona Gustas
oBorn in Lithuania March 2, 1932
oMoved to Berlin in 1941
oPublished 11 books of poetry between 1962-1980.
nMain theme being Love
oReceived Rahel Varnhagen Medal in 1997.
oErich Kastner
oBorn in Dresden on February 23, 1899
oAuthor, Screenwriter
nSatire
nHumorous Poetry
nChildren’s Literature
oDrafted in WWI at 18 years old
oPublished Emil Und Die Detektive (1928)- Best-known children’s book
oNovel Fabian (1931) made into movie released in 1980
oAlfred Döblin
oWorked at Journalist in Berlin
oWon Fontane Prize for Die drei Sprünge des Wang-Lung (1915)
oWas German Army doctor during WWI
oBecame President of German Writers Association in 1924
oMost famous work was Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929)
oWorked for MGM Studios in USA in 1940 before moving to France in 1945
oSources
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