Reims

In my opinion, from 1871 until 1990 Germany fought for their own identity. Up until this time, their identity was being constantly dictated, controlled, or lost because of the ways of other countries. There are some scattered parts of history where Germany did have their own identity in some capacity; some of these parts include World War I, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the Second World War. Although they had some sort of identity during these times, they were still struggling to find a complete identity, something was always missing.  I believe that on May 8^th 1945, Germany hit rock bottom, which helped push them find their own identity, and more importantly, help them come to where they are today.

            On May 8^th 1945, a German general met with other high-ranking military officials people involved in the World War to sign an unwavering peace treaty. The treaty admitted Germany’s defeat in the world. The treaty was written in Reims, France.Drastic actions had to be made through the war and the treaty. Germany lost a millions of lives, their homes, and their land.

Here you can see how much land Germany lost.

 The German spirit was crushed. Hagen Schultz wrote, “Equally serious was the amount of moral destruction wrought by the violent dictatorship, the war, and a full knowledge of the horrors of the mass murders committed in the extermination camps, which were inky now penetrating Germans’ collective awareness in unfiltered form”(Schultz, 287).Once the treaty was written, Germany was divided into four parts. From 1945-1949, there was no Germany. 

        There were only sectors: American, French, Britain, and Soviet Union. Then in 1949 the UN came and said that Western Germany could come together and for the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, while East Germany was going to be called Deutsche Demokratische Republik. Germany was once again a nation. Unfortunately, a nation divided into two separate parts, with hardly any similarities between the two halves.  It was divided between democracy and communism. Then the Deutsche Demokratische Republik took it to a new extreme. They built a wall, stripped people of their basic rights, and even tried blockading Berlin, which was also divided just like Germany. The United Nations were not going to allow this and a massive Airlift took place to get supplies to the people in Berlin.

The wall was built in 1961 to stop Eastern German people from trying to flee to the West. It was for the most part successful, but people knew they were still being oppressed. An increasing urge to become one nation again was building. On November 9^th, 1989 East and West Germany citizens rose up against the wall and the oppression. People were out standing on the wall, helping others over. No one was getting shot. Everyone wanted to be one nation again.

 In this picture you can see that amazing, inspirational night. No longer could Germany be divided.All of this reflects how far Germany had to come to obtain where they are today. The signing of the treaty in Reims was the beginning of solidifying German identity. It took a while; mistakes were made in the process. In the end though, a successful, democratic nation emerged from the ruins of World War II. It leads to the question of what if? What if Germany was never divided? Would they still be trying to find their place in this world? What would their government system be? There are so many uncertainties, but none of it matters anymore! After hundreds of years, Germany is finally a nation and is doing fantastic against all odds. To me, them signing the treaty in Reims was them hitting rock bottom. And as Thomas Wayne would say, “Why do we fall down? So we can learn to pick ourselves up ”.

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The Beginning of Germany as a Nation… 40 days!

In my opinion, Germany was founded because the people were tired of the social tensions between socioeconomic statuses, and demanded change. Hagen stated, “During this period, known as the Vormärz (“pre-march”, since the Revolution of 1848 broke out in that month in Germany), the growing social tensions added to the bitterness felt over broken promises to introduce real constitutional reforms”(Hagen, 118). A major challenge of forming Germany as a whole country had to of been the lack of a true Constitution. They had made many, but none held actual power. Hagen also said, “But the constitution was not recognized, and the government had no power ”(Hagen, 126); this was the “Third Germany”, the one that wanted a democracy. This also made it hard to create Germany, as one nation. Different groups of peoples wanted different things and they couldn’t agree upon one idea or form of government. 

Gluck, Bach, Strauss, Telemann, Wagner
Welll, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann

As the German identity evolved, I believe that the culture really helped shape it. People such as: Ludwig von Beethoven, Conradin Kreutzer, Friedrich Rückert, and Karl Friedrich Schinkel really helped shape the German cultural. Without their own individual work, Germany could not have its own individual and different types of arts. One of the most famous things about Germany and its culture is its arts. People admire Germany for its architecture, which has spread throughout the world, including Chicago.  Also, from a musical standpoint, many famous composers either were from Germany, or studied there at one point in time. This is shown above in the picture of all famous composers. Most are before Germany became a nation, or just around that time. It’s interesting to think that maybe they wrote their pieces to maybe help inspire the people to stand up. We, of course, cannot know this but it is interesting to think about. So much was going on at this time, and yet they rose and created masterpieces.  Some of the most remarkable and famous compositions were written in small German towns, that were not even part of a nation yet. It wasn’t until the 20^th Century style of Music that Germany became a nation. Therefore, one can guess that German nationalism, culture, and life effected music in the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras. It is remarkable to think how all of this was done without the nation of Germany actually being formed yet.

 A large issue that Germany faced during its attempt to become a nation was that everyone wanted something different than everyone else. So in a sense Germany was divided into three different parts. You can see it in the picture above. There was “Großdeutschland”, which consisted of German regions and part of Austria. It was also ruled by the Hapsburg emperor (125).  The other was “Kleindeutschland”, which was the Northern part and was ruled by the Hohenzollern emperor (126). However the third part was a small section of SouthWest Germany which wanted a democracy and fought for it (126). 

In this picture you can see the German barricades that sprung up quite often from the people demanding their freedom and a government. Around this time French Revolution was also taking place. It was also right after America seceded from Great Britain. Freedom and Industrialization was floating through the air and the oppressed people wanted every part of it as well. They were tired of having nothing and were making that clear to the people of power.

Eventually, they were successful. They found a constitution that worked and a government as well. On January 18^th, 1871, Germany was finally a nation. The map above shows Germany from 1871-1918, finally Germany was one nation, and had one sense of identity.

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