200 years ago, on April 1, 1815, the first chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, was born. This German statesman went down in history as the creator of the German Empire, the "iron chancellor" and the de facto head of foreign policy of one of the greatest European powers. Bismarck's policy made Germany the leading military-economic power in Western Europe.
Youth
Otto von Bismarck (Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen) was born on April 1, 1815 at Schönhausen Castle in the Brandenburg province. Bismarck was the fourth child and second son of a retired captain of the land nobleman (they were called Junkers in Prussia) Ferdinand von Bismarck and his wife Wilhelmina, née Mencken. The Bismarck family belonged to the old nobility descended from the knights-conquerors of the Slavic lands on the Labe-Elbe. The Bismarcks traced their ancestry back to the reign of Charlemagne. The Schönhausen estate has been in the hands of the Bismarck family since 1562. True, the Bismarck family could not boast of great wealth and did not belong to the number of the largest landowners. The Bismarcks have long served the rulers of Brandenburg in a peaceful and military field.
Bismarck inherited toughness, determination and willpower from his father. The Bismarck clan was one of the three most self-confident families of Brandenburg (Schulenburgs, Alvensleben and Bismarcks), which Frederick William I called them "nasty, rebellious people" in his "Political Testament". The mother was from a family of civil servants and belonged to the middle class. During this period in Germany there was a process of fusion of the old aristocracy and the new middle class. From Wilhelmina Bismarck received the liveliness of the mind of an educated bourgeois, a subtle and sensitive soul. This made Otto von Bismarck a very extraordinary person.
Otto von Bismarck spent his childhood in the Kniphof family estate near Naugard, in Pomerania. Therefore, Bismarck loved nature and retained a sense of connection with it all his life. Educated at the private school of Plaman, the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium and the Zum Grauen Kloster Gymnasium in Berlin. Bismarck graduated from the last school at the age of 17 in 1832, having passed the examination for a matriculation certificate. During this period, Otto was most interested in history. In addition, he was fond of reading foreign literature, learned French well.
Then Otto entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied law. Studying then attracted Otto little. He was a strong and energetic man, and gained fame as a reveler and a fighter. Otto participated in duels, in various antics, visited pubs, dragged after women and played cards for money. In 1833, Otto transferred to the New Metropolitan University in Berlin. During this period, Bismarck was mainly interested, in addition to "tricks", international politics, and the area of his interests went beyond Prussia and the German Confederation, the framework of which was limited to the thinking of the vast majority of young noblemen and students of that time. At the same time, Bismarck had a high conceit, he saw himself as a great man. In 1834 he wrote to a friend: "I will become either the greatest villain or the greatest reformer of Prussia."
However, good ability allowed Bismarck to successfully complete his studies. Before exams, he visited tutors. In 1835 he received his diploma and began working at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837-1838. served as an official in Aachen and Potsdam. However, he quickly got bored of being an official. Bismarck decided to leave the civil service, which was contrary to the will of his parents, and was a consequence of the desire for complete independence. Bismarck was generally distinguished by a craving for full will. The official's career did not suit him. Otto said: "My pride requires me to command, and not execute other people's orders."
Bismarck, 1836
Bismarck the landowner
Since 1839, Bismarck was engaged in the arrangement of his Kniphof estate. During this period, Bismarck, like his father, decided to "live and die in the country." Bismarck independently studied accounting and agriculture. He proved himself to be a skillful and practical landowner who knew well both the theory of agriculture and practice. The value of the Pomeranian estates increased by more than a third in the nine years that Bismarck ruled them. At the same time, three years fell on the agricultural crisis.
However, Bismarck could not have been a simple, albeit clever, landowner. There was a strength in him that did not allow him to live peacefully in the countryside. He continued to gamble, sometimes in the evening he let go of everything that he could accumulate for months of painstaking work. He led a campaign with bad people, drank, seduced the daughters of peasants. For his violent temper he was nicknamed "the mad Bismarck".
At the same time, Bismarck continued to educate himself, read the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, David Friedrich Strauss and Feuerbach, and studied English literature. Byron and Shakespeare fascinated Bismarck more than Goethe. Otto was very interested in English politics. In intellectual terms, Bismarck was an order of magnitude superior to all the surrounding landowners-junkers. In addition, Bismarck, a landowner, participated in local self-government, was a member of the district, deputy to the Landrat and a member of the Landtag of the province of Pomerania. He expanded the horizons of his knowledge through travels to England, France, Italy and Switzerland.
In 1843, a decisive turn took place in Bismarck's life. Bismarck made acquaintance with the Pomeranian Lutherans and met the bride of his friend Moritz von Blankenburg, Maria von Thadden. The girl was seriously ill and was dying. The personality of this girl, her Christian convictions and staunchness of character during her illness struck Otto to the depths of his soul. He became a believer. This made him a staunch supporter of the king and Prussia. Serving the king meant serving God to him.
In addition, there was a radical turn in his personal life. Maria Bismarck met Johanna von Puttkamer and asked for her hand in marriage. The marriage with Johannes soon became for Bismarck his main support in life, until her death in 1894. The wedding took place in 1847. Johann gave birth to Otto two sons and a daughter: Herbert, Wilhelm and Mary. A selfless spouse and caring mother contributed to Bismarck's political career.
Bismarck with his wife
Raging Deputy
In the same period, Bismarck entered politics. In 1847 he was appointed the representative of the Ostelbe knighthood in the United Landtag. This event was the beginning of Otto's political career. His activities in the interregional body of estate representation, which mainly controlled the financing of the construction of the Ostbahn (Berlin-Königsberg road), mainly consisted of delivering critical speeches against the liberals who were trying to form a real parliament. Among conservatives, Bismarck enjoyed a reputation as an active defender of their interests, who is able, without delving too deeply into substantive argumentation, to arrange "fireworks", to divert attention from the subject of controversy and stir up minds.
Opposing the liberals, Otto von Bismarck helped organize various political movements and newspapers, including the Novaya Prusskaya Gazeta. Otto became a member of the lower house of the Prussian parliament in 1849 and the Erfurt parliament in 1850. Bismarck was then opposed to the nationalist aspirations of the German bourgeoisie. Otto von Bismarck saw in the revolution only "the greed of the poor." Bismarck considered his main task to be to point out the historical role of Prussia and the nobility as the main driving force of the monarchy, and to protect the existing socio-political order. The political and social consequences of the 1848 revolution, which engulfed a large part of Western Europe, deeply influenced Bismarck and strengthened his monarchical views. In March 1848, Bismarck even intended to march with his peasants to Berlin to end the revolution. Bismarck held an ultra-right position, being more radical even than the monarch.
During this revolutionary time, Bismarck acted as an ardent defender of the monarchy, Prussia and Prussian Junkers. In 1850, Bismarck opposed the federation of German states (with or without the Austrian Empire), as he believed that this union would only strengthen the revolutionary forces. After that, King Frederick William IV, on the recommendation of the Adjutant General of King Leopold von Gerlach (he was the leader of an ultra-right group surrounded by the monarch), appointed Bismarck as the envoy of Prussia to the German Confederation, in the Bundestag, which met in Frankfurt. At the same time, Bismarck also remained a member of the Prussian Landtag. The Prussian Conservative argued so violently with the liberals over the constitution that he even had a duel with one of their leaders, Georg von Winke.
Thus, at the age of 36, Bismarck occupied the most important diplomatic post that the Prussian king could offer. After a short stay in Frankfurt, Bismarck realized that the further unification of Austria and Prussia within the framework of the German Confederation was no longer possible. The strategy of the Austrian Chancellor Metternich, trying to turn Prussia into a junior partner of the Habsburg empire within the framework of "Central Europe" led by Vienna, failed. The confrontation between Prussia and Austria in Germany during the revolution became obvious. At the same time, Bismarck began to come to the conclusion that war with the Austrian Empire was inevitable. Only war can decide the future of Germany.
During the Eastern crisis, even before the outbreak of the Crimean War, Bismarck, in a letter to Prime Minister Manteuffel, expressed concern that the policy of Prussia, which hesitates between England and Russia, in the event of a deviation towards Austria, an ally of England, could lead to war with Russia. "I would be careful," Otto von Bismarck noted, "to moor our smart and robust frigate to an old worm-eaten Austrian warship in search of protection from the storm." He suggested that this crisis be wisely used in the interests of Prussia, not England and Austria.
After the end of the Eastern (Crimean) War, Bismarck noted the collapse of the alliance based on the principles of conservatism of the three eastern powers - Austria, Prussia and Russia. Bismarck saw that the gap between Russia and Austria would last for a long time and that Russia would seek an alliance with France. Prussia, in his opinion, should have avoided possible opposing alliances, and did not allow Austria or England to involve her in an anti-Russian alliance. Bismarck increasingly took anti-British positions, expressing his distrust of the possibility of a productive alliance with England. Otto von Bismarck noted: "The security of England's insular location makes it easier for her to abandon her continental ally and allows her to leave him to the mercy of fate, depending on the interests of British politics." Austria, if it becomes an ally of Prussia, will try to solve its problems at the expense of Berlin. In addition, Germany remained an area of confrontation between Austria and Prussia. As Bismarck wrote: "According to the policy of Vienna, Germany is too small for the two of us … we both cultivate the same arable land …". Bismarck confirmed his earlier conclusion that Prussia would have to fight against Austria.
As Bismarck improved his knowledge of diplomacy and the art of government, he increasingly removed himself from the ultra-conservatives. In 1855 and 1857. Bismarck made "reconnaissance" visits to the French emperor Napoleon III and came to the opinion that he was a less significant and dangerous politician than the Prussian conservatives believed. Bismarck broke with Gerlach's entourage. As the future "iron chancellor" said: "We must operate with realities, not fictions." Bismarck believed that Prussia needed a temporary alliance with France in order to neutralize Austria. According to Otto, Napoleon III de facto suppressed the revolution in France and became the legitimate ruler. The threat to other states with the help of revolution is now "England's favorite occupation."
As a result, Bismarck was accused of treason to the principles of conservatism and Bonapartism. Bismarck replied to his enemies that "… my ideal politician is impartiality, independence in decision-making from likes or dislikes towards foreign states and their rulers." Bismarck saw that stability in Europe was more threatened by England, with its parliamentarism and democratization, than Bonapartism in France.
Political "study"
In 1858, the brother of King Frederick William IV, who suffered from mental disorders, Prince William, became regent. As a result, the political course of Berlin changed. The period of reaction was over and Wilhelm proclaimed a "New Era" by demonstratively appointing a liberal government. Bismarck's ability to influence Prussian politics fell sharply. Bismarck was recalled from his Frankfurt post and, as he himself noted with bitterness, was sent “into the cold on the Neva”. Otto von Bismarck became an envoy to St. Petersburg.
Petersburg experience greatly helped Bismarck, as the future chancellor of Germany. Bismarck became close to the Russian foreign minister, Prince Gorchakov. Gorchakov would later help Bismarck isolate first Austria and then France, making Germany the leading power in Western Europe. In St. Petersburg, Bismarck will understand that Russia still holds key positions in Europe, despite the defeat in the Eastern War. Bismarck studied well the alignment of political forces in the tsar's entourage and in the capital's "world", and realized that the situation in Europe gives Prussia an excellent chance, which very rarely falls. Prussia could unite Germany, becoming its political and military core.
Bismarck's activities in St. Petersburg were interrupted due to a serious illness. For about a year, Bismarck was treated in Germany. He finally broke with the extreme conservatives. In 1861 and 1862. Bismarck was twice presented to Wilhelma as a candidate for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Bismarck outlined his views on the possibility of unification of "non-Austrian Germany". However, Wilhelm did not dare to appoint Bismarck as minister, since he made a demonic impression on him. As Bismarck himself wrote: "He found me more fanatical than I really was."
But at the insistence of von Roon, Minister of War, who patronized Bismarck, the king nevertheless decided to send Bismarck "to study" in Paris and London. In 1862, Bismarck was sent as an envoy to Paris, but did not stay there long.
