Once Upon a Time in Berlin: D-Term 2011: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte

Although the formation of the German state was a long time coming, there were a lot of events that occurred around the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries that seemed to speed up the process. For example, Martin Luther’s German Bible set the standard for the German language and his ninety-five theses allowed for the people of the Holy Roman Empire to break from the Catholic Church and practice a religion of their own. Ferdinand I’s cuius regio provided the principalities the power to choose what religion they practiced, therefore choosing the religion for their subjects as well. Later, the Enlightenment lead common people to believe they had the right to power and happiness which spawned revolutions in America and France (93).

After the fall of the French Monarchy, chaos ensued in France (93). Eventually, Napoleon Bonaparte, a small man from the island of Corsica, came to power as the emperor of France. It was his goal to eventually conquer all of Europe and he set out to do so (97-98). While he was very successful with the mainland, he failed to capture Britain. After his defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon fell out of favor with the French and was eventually exiled to Elba, where he planned how he would reclaim his power over France, led a successful campaign over the Alps and once more became emperor of France. Napoleon faced the Duke of Wellington, who was joined by Prussian troops, at Waterloo and lost. Again facing defeat, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena and never was able to regain that which he had lost (106).

Napoleon is most often associated with France, however, the effects of his campaign to conquer Europe had a direct effect on the formation of the German State. Although, Germany as a nation had not existed prior to 1871, the German principalities, cultural region and Holy Roman Empire (from now on HRE) functioned with little interference from outside nations. Of course the Catholic Church held some power over the HRE and the threat of the Ottoman Empire always loomed near. At the same time, battles were fought between people of the same culture of religion in the Thirty Years War, however, the people of the HRE had never suffered a substantial defeat like the one dealt it by Napoleon. In defeat, the German principalities, specifically the Confederation of the Rhine, found themselves conquered and embarrassed by the swift advancement of the French troops (102). The lack of prior confrontation left little preparation for an attack which allowed for a quick takeover by Napoleon and the consequent dissolution of the HRE. Under French rule, state lines were drawn and laws were enacted for the newly formed regions (102). The old regions lost the individual power that they held, however, the new laws that were put into place built up the foundation for the formation of the nation of Germany (103).

French occupation was not something that was welcomed by the German people. They were not French, therefore, the French soldiers that inhabited their cities were taking away from their culture (104). Words such as “fatherland” and “nation” gained power in what was to become Germany. The idea of a German nation grew with the use of these words and the German people took more steps closer to the 1871 Unification. Napoleon started to lose his control over Europe in the eighteen-teens and was eventually defeated in the War of Liberation (106).

Napoleon left the HRE dissolved, however, he also left the German people with a sense of unity. Through French rule they had come to know what the word “nation” truly meant to them and they wanted it for themselves. Although it would still be almost sixty years until Germany officially unified, its people had already begun to think of a unified German state.