Germany: A Nation Defined in Culture before Borders

Although many challenges existed along the road to the unification of Germany and the founding of a German state in 1871, one that remained present throughout much of the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries was the fact that several nations held stake in German territory, and none were willing to give up their claim or sincerely acknowledge the wishes of the German people.  The borders of Germany were consistently redrawn as its neighboring nations fought several wars for territorial and political gains.  As a result of these changes in power, Germany had little chance to develop as a political power, but this resulted in the development of a German identity based on cultural accomplishments.

Map of Austrian and Prussian Territory, and the German States

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - German Intellectual

 According to historian Hagan Schulze, “In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ‘German’ still referred only to a language, nothing more” (86).  The fragmentation of the nation forced the rulers of the small German states and governments to develop skills necessary to rule these territories, resulting in the rise of an educated class of Germans.  Princes sought to surround themselves with learned officials, so support increased for schools, universities, and academies (89).  This new educated class contributed to gains in the development of the German language that started with Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible, and also helped to create literature that fostered a “unified opinion and taste that extended across the borders of the German territorial states” (89).  Although Germans were not united within their nation’s boundaries, they achieved advances in intellect and language.  Schulze states that “Germany’s extraordinary cultural flowering made it the new Greece…powerless but intellectually supreme” (91).  In this sense, Germany existed only as a cultural center as opposed to a political power.

Theodor Korner - Poet/Contributor to Wars of Liberation

When the “protective shell” of the Holy Roman Empire disappeared in 1806, it became even more challenging to determine what Germany was and where its borders lie, but the devastation caused by the French and the impositions imposed by French customs duties set the stage for “the administrative reform of the German states along French lines, and the discovery of Germany as a nation” (102).  Germany continued to play its role as the cultural center as its poets contributed to the anti-French propaganda in the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon (106).  Even after the Wars, Germans were not free to develop their own constitutions due to the involvement of Prussia, Austria, and kings of Denmark, England, and the Netherlands in the German Confederation (110).  This suppression of German freedom, although a challenge, increased the sense of unity among Germans as they joined together in a fight for political power. 

Composer Ludwig van Beethoven

As before the Wars of Liberation, Germany still seemed only able to make cultural advances.  Paintings by Moriz von Schwind and Ludwig Richter, and music by Carl Maria von Weber, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy encountered great success.  Literature written by August von Platen and Heinrich Heine also thrived (114).  Schultz argues that Germany was “a poetic, historical, and utopian notion, an ideal that in its more earthly incarnation usually bore the name ‘Prussia’” (117).  Poets and leaders of the Wars of Liberation remained the voice of Germany into 1848, when many attended the German National Assembly on May 18 (124). 

Though it took several wars, revolutions, and the efforts of the culturally elite Germans, the nation of Prussia, and the leadership of Bismarck to eventually bring about the founding of Germany as a nation state in 1871, it is clear that the existence of Germany as a culture existed long before the modern nation was given its name.  While its borders and political rulers fluctuated, the unity of its people through its cultural achievements remained strong.  German identity evolved through the nation’s literature, art, and music, although its neighbors and rulers often posed a challenge to Germany’s ultimate founding.

Map of the German Empire of 1871