Domestic policy of Otto von Bismarck. Otto von Bismarck - iron chancellor with a human face

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 founder of the German Empire, the "Iron Chancellor" and the de facto leader of the foreign policy of one of the greatest European powers. Bismarck's policy made Germany the leading military and 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 province of Brandenburg. Bismarck was the fourth child and second son of a retired captain of a small estate nobleman (they were called junkers in Prussia) Ferdinand von Bismarck and his wife Wilhelmina, nee Mencken. The Bismarck family belonged to the ancient nobility, descended from the conquering knights of the Slavic lands on Labe-Elbe. The Bismarcks traced their lineage all the way back to the reign of Charlemagne. Schönhausen Manor 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 largest landowners. Bismarcks have long served the rulers of Brandenburg in peace and military fields.

Bismarck inherited toughness, determination and willpower from his father. The Bismarck family was one of the three most self-confident Brandenburg families (Schulenburgs, Alvenslebens and Bismarcks), Friedrich Wilhelm I called them “bad, recalcitrant people” in his “Political Testament”. The mother was from a family of civil servants and belonged to the middle class. During this period, Germany was in the process of merging 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. He was educated at the private Plaman School, 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 matriculation exam. During this period, Otto was most interested in history. In addition, he was fond of reading foreign literature, studied French well.

Otto then entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied law. Study 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 tricks, visited pubs, dragged women and played cards for money. In 1833 Otto moved to the New Capital University in Berlin. During this period, Bismarck was mainly interested, in addition to "tricks", in international politics, and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bhis interests went beyond Prussia and the German Confederation, within which the thinking of the vast majority of young nobles and students of that time was limited. 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 scoundrel or the greatest reformer of Prussia."

However, good abilities allowed Bismarck to successfully complete his studies. Before exams, he attended tutors. In 1835 he received a diploma and began working at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837-1838. served as an official in Aachen and Potsdam. However, being an official quickly bored him. Bismarck decided to leave the civil service, which went against the will of his parents, and was the result of a desire for complete independence. Bismarck was generally distinguished by a craving for full will. The career of an official did not suit him. Otto said: "My pride requires me to command, and not to fulfill other people's orders."

Bismarck, 1836

Bismarck the landowner

From 1839, Bismarck was engaged in the arrangement of his estate Kniphof. During this period, Bismarck, like his father, decided to "live and die in the countryside". Bismarck studied accounting and agriculture on his own. He proved 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 during the nine years that Bismarck ruled them. At the same time, three years fell on the agricultural crisis.

However, Bismarck could not be a simple, albeit intelligent, landowner. There was a strength in him that did not allow him to live in peace in the countryside. He continued to gamble, sometimes in the evening he lowered everything that he managed to accumulate after months of painstaking work. He led a campaign with bad people, drank, seduced the daughters of peasants. For violent temper he was nicknamed "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. Intellectually, Bismarck was an order of magnitude superior to all the Junker landowners around him. In addition, Bismarck - the landowner participated in local government, was a deputy from the district, deputy landrat and a member of the Landtag of the province of Pomerania. Expanded the horizons of his knowledge through travels to England, France, Italy and Switzerland.

In 1843 Bismarck's life took a decisive turn. 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 dying. The personality of this girl, her Christian convictions and fortitude during her illness struck Otto to the core. He became a believer. This made him a staunch supporter of the king and Prussia. Serving the king meant serving God for him.

In addition, there was a radical change in his personal life. Bismarck met Johanna von Puttkamer at Maria and asked for her hand in marriage. Marriage to Johanna soon became Bismarck's mainstay in life, until her death in 1894. The wedding took place in 1847. Johanna bore Otto two sons and a daughter: Herbert, Wilhelm and Maria. A selfless wife and caring mother contributed to Bismarck's political career.

Bismarck with his wife

"Mad Deputy"

In the same period, Bismarck enters politics. In 1847 he was appointed representative of the Ostelbe knighthood in the United Landtag. This event was the beginning of Otto's political career. His activities in the inter-regional body of estate representation, which mainly controlled the financing of the construction of the Ostbahn (Berlin-Königsberg road), mainly consisted of delivering critical speeches directed against the liberals who were trying to form a real parliament. Among the conservatives, Bismarck enjoyed a reputation as an active defender of their interests, who was able, without really delving into substantive argumentation, to arrange a "firework", divert attention from the subject of the dispute and excite the minds.

Opposing the liberals, Otto von Bismarck helped organize various political movements and newspapers, including the New Prussian Newspaper. Otto became a member of the lower house of the Prussian Parliament in 1849 and of 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 have-nots." Bismarck considered his main task to be the need to point out the historical role of Prussia and the nobility as the main driving force of the monarchy, and the protection of the existing socio-political order. The political and social consequences of the 1848 revolution, which engulfed much of Western Europe, had a profound effect on Bismarck and strengthened his monarchist views. In March 1848, Bismarck even planned to march with his peasants on Berlin in order to put an end to the revolution. Bismarck occupied the far right positions, being more radical even than the monarch.

During this revolutionary time, Bismarck acted as an ardent defender of the monarchy, Prussia and the Prussian Junkers. In 1850, Bismarck opposed a 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 Friedrich Wilhelm IV, on the recommendation of the Adjutant General of the King Leopold von Gerlach (he was the leader of the ultra-right group surrounded by the monarch), appointed Bismarck as Prussian envoy 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 debated the constitution with the liberals so vehemently that he even had a duel with one of their leaders, Georg von Vincke.

Thus, at the age of 36, Bismarck assumed 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 "Central Europe" led by Vienna, failed. The confrontation between Prussia and Austria in Germany during the revolution became clear. 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 the fear that the policy of Prussia, which oscillates between England and Russia, if it deviates towards Austria, an ally of England, could lead to war with Russia. “I would be careful,” Otto von Bismarck noted, “in search of protection from the storm, to moor our elegant and durable frigate to the old, worm-eaten warship of Austria.” He proposed to use this crisis wisely in the interests of Prussia, and not of 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, had to avoid possible opposing alliances, and not allow Austria or England to involve her in an anti-Russian alliance. Bismarck increasingly took an anti-English position, expressing his distrust of the possibility of a productive alliance with England. Otto von Bismarck noted: "The security of England's island location makes it easier for her to abandon her continental ally and allows her to leave him to her fate, depending on the interests of English policy." 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 moved further and further away from the ultra-conservatives. In 1855 and 1857 Bismarck paid "reconnaissance" visits to the French emperor Napoleon III and came to the conclusion 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 fiction." Bismarck believed that Prussia needed a temporary alliance with France 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 the revolution is now "England's favorite pastime."

As a result, Bismarck was accused of betraying the principles of conservatism and Bonapartism. Bismarck answered his enemies that "... my ideal politician is impartiality, independence in decision-making from sympathies or antipathies to foreign states and their rulers." Bismarck saw that the stability in Europe was more threatened by England, with her parliamentarism and democratization, than by Bonapartism in France.

Political "study"

In 1858, the mentally ill brother of King Frederick William IV, Prince Wilhelm, became regent. As a result, Berlin's political course changed. The period of reaction ended and Wilhelm proclaimed a "New Era", defiantly appointing a liberal government. Bismarck's ability to influence Prussian policy declined sharply. Bismarck was recalled from the Frankfurt post and, as he himself bitterly noted, sent "to the cold on the Neva." Otto von Bismarck became an envoy in St. Petersburg.

Petersburg experience greatly helped Bismarck as the future Chancellor of Germany. Bismarck became close to the Russian Foreign Minister, Prince Gorchakov. Later, Gorchakov would help Bismarck isolate first Austria and then France, making Germany the leading power in Western Europe. In Petersburg, Bismarck will realize that Russia still holds key positions in Europe, despite the defeat in the Eastern War. Bismarck studied the balance of political forces in the environment of the king and in the capital "light", and realized that the situation in Europe gives Prussia an excellent chance, which falls very rarely. 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 introduced to Wilhelm as a candidate for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Bismarck outlined his view on the possibility of unifying "non-Austrian Germany". However, Wilhelm did not dare to appoint Bismarck as a minister, as 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 the War Minister von Roon, 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.

To be continued…

On the theme "Otto von Bismarck"

Pupil 9 "D" class

Secondary School No. 15

Moldasheva Taira

Otto Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen Bismarck

Otto von Schoenhausen Bismarck came from a noble but impoverished Prussian noble family. He was born on the small estate of Schönhausen, not far from Berlin. Following family tradition, he was supposed to become a military man, but his mother dreamed of seeing her son as a diplomat and Otto entered the law faculty of the University of Göttingen.

The future chancellor did not trouble himself with sciences, devoting most of his time to fencing and beer. Subsequently, he repeatedly boasted of victories in 27 duels. After graduating from the University of Berlin, Bismarck tried to enter the diplomatic service, but could not do this due to lack of connections and became an official of the judicial department. However, this service did not last long, because Bismarck soon left his post and went to the village, where he began to manage two of his father's estates. Soon he became a prosperous landowner who was famous for his hunting and other victories.

Bismarck was an unusually strong-willed and physically hardy person. In secular circles, he was called the "mad junker." Politically, Bismarck was an ardent monarchist. Subsequently, one of his associates formulated his political credo as follows: "Force prevails over right!"

In the days of the revolution of 1848, Bismarck came to Berlin to suppress the rebels at the head of an armed detachment of his peasants. Bismarck's actions were noticed by the authorities, and a few years later it was he who was entrusted with the post of head of German foreign policy.

Bismarck's political career began with the post of Prussian envoy to the Allied Diet in Frankfurt. There he studied all the intricacies of Austrian politics and realized that Austria wanted to weaken the influence of Prussia and play a major role in the political arena. In order to oppose Austria in this aspiration, it was necessary to acquire a strong ally.

Bismarck visited St. Petersburg and Paris as an ambassador and realized that Russia and France were the best allies for Germany. In 1862, he went to his homeland and at the same time became prime minister. On September 30, 1862, he delivered a famous speech in the Landtag: "The great questions of the time are not decided by speeches and not by decisions of the majority, but by iron and blood." Ignoring the liberal opposition, Bismarck completed military reform and strengthened the German army.

From that time on, Bismarck firmly and resolutely began to move towards the intended goal - the unification of Germany. In 1864 he led the war against Denmark and, with the support of Austria, captured Silesia and Holstein. The Prussian army then marched against Austria and defeated it in the Seven Weeks' War in 1866. As a result of the defeat, Austria recognized the right of Prussia to create the North German Confederation, which united 21 states.

German unification was completed in 1871 when Prussian troops defeated France. This is how Bismarck's plan to turn Germany into a German Reich was realized. On January 18, 1871, the Prussian king was proclaimed German emperor, and Bismarck became his chancellor.

However, Bismarck's career ended shortly after the death of Wilhelm I (1797 - 1888). His successor, Wilhelm II, feared the rise of Bismarck's influence. Bismarck's request for resignation was submitted and accepted on March 20, 1890. He left Berlin, with crowds of people noisily cheering for services to Germany. Already during his lifetime, he became an object of worship and imitation, and after the death of Bismarck, he was even erected monuments in different parts of the empire.

Name: Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen

State: Prussia

Field of activity: Politics

Greatest Achievement: Became chancellor of Prussia, united Germany.

Otto von Bismarck is one of the brightest personalities in the history of Germany. Prussia achieved absolute supremacy in Europe in many respects thanks to its policy of "iron and blood". Bismarck became a folk hero, founding father and first chancellor of the Second Reich, whose name was associated with social reforms and with the struggle against socialism and the Catholic Church. His era ended in 1890, but the memory of his outstanding achievements is still alive today.

Childhood and youth

Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815 in Schönhausen in the Brandenburg province. His mother belonged to a prominent family of scientists, and his father was a hereditary nobleman with considerable influence in the political arena. It was he who became an example for his son, who after school began to study law in Göttingen and Berlin.

When Bismarck's mother dies in 1838, he interrupts his studies and returns to his native estate, which he manages with his brother, Bernhard. After the death of Bismarck Sr. in 1845, Otto becomes the full owner of Schönhausen. He actively enjoys and enjoys all the privileges of the life of a wealthy squire and marries a Catholic Johanna von Putkammer, with whom he has three children - Marie, Herbert and Wilhelm.

The beginning of the political path

In addition to managing the estate of his father, Bismarck begins to actively manifest himself in the political sphere. Coming from a deeply conservative family, he was an ardent conservative and supporter of the monarchy. It is not surprising that during the revolutionary events of 1848-49 in Germany, he fully supported Frederick William IV.

The king appreciated Bismarck's loyalty and in 1851 sent him to Frankfurt am Main, where he represented the interests of Prussia in the German Confederation until 1859.

An ardent supporter of the unification of Germany, Bismarck was extremely negative about any attempts by Austria to show his superiority (in particular, the intention to mobilize German troops during the Crimean War) and tried by all means to expand and strengthen the influence of Prussia.

Path to power

A huge role in the life and outlook of Bismarck was played by his service in St. Petersburg as a diplomat. During the three years spent in Russia (1859-1862), he managed to learn the language quite tolerably and become imbued with culture, which subsequently had a significant impact on his approach to relations with the Russian Empire.

In 1862, he returned to his homeland - the return is very welcome: discord reigns in the country between the branches of power. Soon the Kaiser appoints him first head of government, and then minister of foreign affairs.

According to Bismarck himself, Prussia and Austria had only one solution in the struggle for supremacy - "not with speeches, but with iron and blood." It is noteworthy that the authorship of the expression "The winner is always right" is also attributed to Bismarck. War and violence, apparently, for this person have always been the only and most certain ways to achieve the desired result.

Prussian victory

A flourishing national consciousness, dreams of a united and powerful nation fueled Bismarck in his desire for unification.

When a conflict broke out with Denmark over the issue of Schleswig and Holstein - Danish territories with ethnic Germans living there, Bismarck did not hesitate for a long time. By joining forces with Austria, the Prussian troops won, and in the course of short and effective battles, Schleswig fell into the possession of Prussia, and Holstein went to Austria. But, allies in the same war, Prussia and Austria still remained enemies in the battle for supremacy.

In 1866, she joined forces with Italy, which had plans for part of Austria - Venice. The Italian-Prussian alliance succeeded, and Austria lost, ceding the lands it claimed to Prussia and signing a peace treaty.

In 1867, the North German Confederation was formed, whose chancellor and author of the Constitution was Bismarck. It would seem that his dreams of a united state began to come true, but no - the main contender for the Spanish throne was Leopold, a prince from the house of Hohenzollern, and if Alexander II was not particularly worried about this, the French government was puzzled by this fact. To allow a German subject to occupy such an important position would be folly. Fuel to the fire was added by the fact that the lands in southern Germany were in the hands of France, which significantly hindered the unification. Bismarck needed a war, he needed blood and iron to finish what he started.

Having forged a telegram allegedly written by Wilhelm I to Napoleon III, Bismarck endowed it with an extremely derogatory content for the latter, and then publicly announces this in the newspapers. Of course, France immediately declares a war, which it loses. As a result, Prussia annexes the southern lands of France. On January 18, 1871, the creation of the Second Reich was announced, Wilhelm I received the title of emperor, and Bismarck was awarded the title of prince and estate.

Kulturkampf

Huge territories and the growth of industry make Germany one of the strongest powers, but the rapid unification of such vast lands also united territories inhabited by people with very different cultures and religions, warring clans and communities. The so-called Kulturkampf began - Bismarck's struggle for the cultural unity of the Reich.

Since 1873, all religious organizations are controlled by the state, and marriage was henceforth recognized as legal only after registration in an official institution. The autonomy of the church has been abolished.

Change of power and resignation

Bismarck also authored a number of social reforms that significantly improved the lives of the working class and, for sure, could still serve the homeland, but in 1888 he takes the throne - ambitious and young, who did not want to fight for public attention with the famous chancellor. Bismarck resigns and receives the title of duke, but he is not going to leave politics at all - he has done too much, his memories are too fresh.

Trying to influence his own image in the popular mind and not lose influence, Bismarck publishes memoirs, and also regularly publishes critical essays and articles about members of the Reichstag and about Wilhelm II himself.

Last years

The death of his wife in 1894 greatly affected Bismarck's emotional and physical state, and his health began to deteriorate. The great and terrible, the most controversial politician of his time (and not only) died in 1898, leaving a deep mark on the history and hearts of people.

Date of birth: April 1, 1815
Birthplace: Schönhausen, Germany
Date of death: July 30, 1898
place of death: Friedrichsruh, Germany

Otto Bismarck- German politician

Otto Eduard Leopold Bismarck von Schönhausen was born April 1, 1815 in Germany. His family was descended from noble junkers.

In the years 1822-1827, Bismarck studied at the Plament school, from where he left due to dissatisfaction with too close attention to the physical development of students. After school, he began to study at the gymnasium named after Frederick the Great, but at the age of 15 he exchanged it for the gymnasium at the gray monastery. During his studies, he was prone to learning languages, read a lot, was fond of politics and military affairs.

After graduating from high school, at the insistence of his mother, Otto began to study at the University of George Augustus in Göttingen. However, he did not finish it, as he led a wild life, spent too much and left the city in order not to be arrested. After that, Bismarck studied at the New Capital University in Berlin, graduating with a dissertation on economics in politics.

He did not want to study further, looking for a career, in the end he began to work in the diplomatic service in Aachen, where he resolved the issues of joining the city to the customs union of Prussia. In 1838, he was assigned to military service, but however, he did not stay there for a long time, since his mother died. Bismarck's further career became connected with the management of the estates he inherited in Pomerania.

Compared to his student years, he became more serious, began to think about increasing the profits from the estates, and soon became a respected landowner, and soon married.

In 1847 he became a deputy in the United Landtag of the Kingdom of Prussia, and after the first speech in his new position, he became famous, but notorious.

In 1848, a series of revolutions took place in Europe, Bismarck was inspired and wanted to send an army to Berlin, but surrendered, as the king gave in to the people in his demands for the unification of Germany and the formation of the Constitution.

He did not get into the newly created Prussian National Assembly because of his scandalous reputation, so he returned to his estate again and began writing articles for the Kreuzzeitung newspaper. In 1848, the king nevertheless sent troops and created the Constitution, and a year later Bismarck again became a deputy.

A year later, a conflict arose between Prussia and Austria, and the king appointed Bismarck as the representative of Prussia. During the Crimean War, Bismarck was opposed to the support of Austria and advocated the German Confederation.

In April 1857, he visited the French Emperor Napoleon III, with whom he wanted to sign an alliance with Russia and France. But due to the death of the emperor, it was not possible to conclude an alliance, and Bismarck was sent to work as an ambassador to Russia.

He stayed there until 1861, communicating with the tsar and Vice-Chancellor Gorchakov. In January 1861, after the death of the king, Bismarck became ambassador to Paris.

In September 1862, he delivered a speech before the parliamentary budget committee in which he famously spoke about the way to unite Germany - with iron and blood, and advocated an active foreign policy.

In 1864, war broke out between Germany and Denmark, as a result of which the cities of Schleswig and Holstein, which were disputed territories, were annexed to Germany.

The cities were divided with Austria, with which a conflict had long been brewing. In 1866, the Austro-Prussian-Italian war began, in which Bismarck defeated the Austrians and concluded a peace treaty with them.

After that, in 1867, Bismarck began to work on the creation of the North German Union and the Constitution for it. By that time he was already chancellor, and soon his work received light - the North German Confederation was formed. The French opposed this and unleashed the Franco-Prussian war in 1880, where Bismarck again won, for which he received the title of prince, a new estate, Wilhelm the First became emperor, and Germany itself became the Second Reich.

After joining numerous lands to Germany, Bismarck began to conduct Kulturkampf - the struggle for the cultural unification of the country, and already in 1871 issued an order on the Cathedral paragraph, according to which it was forbidden to conduct political propaganda in the church. In 1873, a law was passed on state control over religious educational institutions, a law on the registration of marriage in state institutions, the church was deprived of any funding from the state.

After that, the Vatican was outraged by the actions of Bismarck, but he was adamant and even expelled a number of religious figures from the country. The people were also against it, but in order to pacify him, Bismarck went to rapprochement with the National Liberals and their leader Lasker.

After the Second Reich, Bismarck considered the issues of strengthening the country, as it became clear that Germany would not become dominant in Europe, since Austria, as well as France, which had been hiding so far, interfered too much with this.

In order to strengthen his forces, Bismarck began to draw closer to Russia and signed the London Convention with her on the right of Russia to have a navy on the Black Sea. His next step was the conclusion of an agreement between Prussia, Austria and Russia. After the Russian-Turkish war in 1878, Bismarck was the head of the congress on its results, he signed the Berlin Treaty on the establishment of new borders in Europe.

Russia was dissatisfied with the togas of the congress, so she began to oppose Germany, to which Bismarck, in fright, began to cooperate again with Austria, which hinted to him about the rapprochement between Russia and France. Not understanding what he was doing, Bismarck concluded a mutual agreement with Austria, to which Russia responded with an agreement with France, thus destroying the former trusting relationship with Germany. Plans began to be developed to capture countries.

In 1879 Russia again broke with France, and in 1881 an agreement was concluded between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. Thus, neutrality was achieved in relations. Bismarck tried to conclude an agreement with Britain, but she refused.

Bismarck was attacked more than once, which he tried to prevent by passing a law on the ban and control of all clubs in the country, but was refused. In 1878, they tried to attack the emperor 2 times, which Bismarck declared a socialist evil and tried to pass a law banning socialists. Thus, Bismarck gathered around him many like-minded people, which allowed him to remain in office.

In 1882 he signed the Tripartite Alliance between Germany, Austria and Italy. In 1883, he proposed a project for workers' health insurance, and in 1889, a pension law. In 1881, Germany gained new colonies in Africa.

In 1890, the new emperor removed him from service, but Bismarck continued to be an influential figure and became a member of the Reichstag. In retirement, he began to write memoirs, but due to poor health and the death of his wife, he died on July 30, 1898.

Achievements of Otto Bismarck:

Unified Germany

Dates from the biography of Otto Bismarck:

April 1, 1815 - born in Germany
1822-1827 - study at the Plaman school
1847 - deputy
1857-1861 - Ambassador to Russia
1862 - Chancellor of Germany
1864 - annexation of Schleswig and Holstein
1867 - formation of the North German Confederation
1871 Kulturkampf
1890 - resignation
July 30, 1898 - death

Interesting Otto Bismarck Facts:

In his youth, he was quick-tempered and participated in 27 duels
Attended the coronation of Nicholas II
Lincoln, flagship, archipelago, sea, US state capital, cape and school bear his name

Otto von Bismarck (Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen) was born on April 1, 1815 in the family estate of Schönhausen in Brandenburg northwest of Berlin, the third son of the Prussian landowner Ferdinand von Bismarck-Schönhausen and Wilhelmina Mencken, at birth he received the name Otto Eduard Leopold.
Schönhausen Manor was located in the heart of the province of Brandenburg, which occupied a special place in the history of early Germany. Five miles to the west of the estate was the Elbe River, the main waterway of Northern Germany. Schönhausen Manor has been in the hands of the Bismarck family since 1562.
All generations of this family served the rulers of Brandenburg in peace and military fields.

The Bismarcks were considered Junkers, descendants of the conquering knights who founded the first German settlements in the vast lands east of the Elbe with a small Slavic population. Junkers belonged to the nobility, but in terms of wealth, influence and social status, they could not be compared with the aristocrats of Western Europe and the Habsburg possessions. The Bismarcks, of course, did not belong to the ranks of the land magnates; they were also pleased with the fact that they could boast of a noble origin - their genealogy can be traced back to the reign of Charlemagne.
Wilhelmina, Otto's mother, came from a family of civil servants and belonged to the middle class. Such marriages increased in the nineteenth century as the educated middle classes and the old aristocracy began to coalesce into a new elite.
At the urging of Wilhelmina, Bernhard, the elder brother, and Otto were sent to study at the Plamann School in Berlin, where Otto studied from 1822 to 1827. At the age of 12, Otto left school and moved to the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium, where he studied for three years. In 1830, Otto moved to the gymnasium "At the Gray Monastery", where he felt freer than in previous educational institutions. Neither mathematics, nor the history of the ancient world, nor the achievements of the new German culture attracted the attention of the young cadet. Most of all, Otto was interested in the politics of past years, the history of military and peaceful rivalry between different countries.
After graduating from high school, on May 10, 1832, at the age of 17, Otto entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied law. When he was a student, he gained a reputation as a reveler and a fighter, and excelled in duels. Otto played cards for money and drank a lot. In September 1833, Otto moved to the New Capital University in Berlin, where life turned out to be cheaper. To be more precise, Bismarck was only listed at the university, since he hardly attended lectures, but used the services of tutors who attended him before exams. In 1835 he received a diploma and was soon enlisted to work at the Berlin Municipal Court. In 1837, Otto took up the post of tax official in Aachen, a year later - the same post in Potsdam. There he joined the Guards Jaeger Regiment. In the autumn of 1838, Bismarck moved to Greifswald, where, in addition to performing his military duties, he studied animal breeding methods at the Elden Academy.

Bismarck is a landowner.

On January 1, 1839, Otto von Bismarck's mother, Wilhelmina, died. The death of his mother did not make a strong impression on Otto: only much later came to him a true assessment of her qualities. However, this event resolved for some time an urgent problem - what should he do after the end of his military service. Otto helped his brother Bernhard manage the Pomeranian estates, and their father returned to Schönhausen. His father's financial loss, together with an innate distaste for the lifestyle of a Prussian official, forced Bismarck to resign in September 1839 and take over the management of the family estates in Pomerania. In private conversations, Otto explained this by the fact that, due to his temperament, he was not suitable for the position of a subordinate. He did not tolerate any superiors over himself: "My pride requires me to command, and not to carry out other people's orders". Otto von Bismarck, like his father, decided "to live and die in the village" .
Otto von Bismarck himself studied accounting, chemistry, and agriculture. His brother, Bernhard, took almost no part in the management of the estates. Bismarck proved to be a quick-witted and practical landowner, winning the respect of his neighbors both with his theoretical knowledge of agriculture and with his practical successes. The value of the estates rose by more than a third in the nine years Otto ruled them, with three of the nine years experiencing a widespread agricultural crisis. And yet Otto could not be just a landowner.

He shocked his junker neighbors by driving around their meadows and forests on his huge stallion Caleb, not caring who these lands belonged to. In the same way, he acted in relation to the daughters of neighboring peasants. Later, in a fit of remorse, Bismarck admitted that in those years he "did not shy away from any sin, making friends with bad company of any kind". Sometimes during the evening Otto lost at cards everything that he managed to save after months of painstaking management. Much of what he did was pointless. So, Bismarck used to notify his friends of his arrival by shooting at the ceiling, and one day he appeared in a neighbor's living room and brought a frightened fox on a leash, like a dog, and then released her to loud hunting cries. For a violent temper, the neighbors nicknamed him "mad Bismarck".
On the estate, Bismarck continued his education, taking up the works of Hegel, Kant, Spinoza, David Friedrich Strauss and Feuerbach. Otto was an excellent student of English literature, for Bismarck was more interested in England and her affairs than in any other country. Intellectually, the "mad Bismarck" was far superior to his neighbors - the junkers.
In mid-1841, Otto von Bismarck wanted to marry Ottoline von Puttkamer, the daughter of a wealthy Junker. However, her mother refused him, and in order to unwind Otto went traveling, visiting England and France. This vacation helped Bismarck to dispel the boredom of rural life in Pomerania. Bismarck became more sociable and made many friends.

Bismarck's entry into politics.

After his father's death in 1845, the family property was divided and Bismarck received the Schönhausen and Kniephof estates in Pomerania. In 1847 he married Johanna von Puttkamer, a distant relative of the girl he courted in 1841. Among his new friends in Pomerania were Ernst Leopold von Gerlach and his brother, who not only were at the head of the Pomeranian pietists, but were also part of a group of court advisers.

Bismarck, a student of Gerlach, became known for his conservative stance during the constitutional struggle in Prussia in 1848-1850. From a "mad junker" Bismarck turned into a "mad deputy" of the Berlin Landtag. Opposing liberals, Bismarck contributed to the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the "New Prussian newspaper" ("Neue Preussische Zeitung"). He was a member of the lower house of the Prussian parliament in 1849 and of the Erfurt parliament in 1850, when he opposed a federation of German states (with or without Austria), because he believed that this union would strengthen the revolutionary movement that was gaining strength. In his Olmutz speech, Bismarck spoke in defense of King Frederick William IV, who capitulated to Austria and Russia. The contented monarch wrote of Bismarck: "Ardent reactionary. Use later" .
In May 1851, the King appointed Bismarck as Prussian representative to the Allied Diet in Frankfurt am Main. There, Bismarck almost immediately concluded that Prussia's goal could not be a German confederation under Austrian dominance, and that war with Austria was inevitable if Prussia were to dominate a united Germany. As Bismarck improved in the study of diplomacy and the art of government, he increasingly moved away from the views of the king and his camarilla. For his part, the king began to lose confidence in Bismarck. In 1859, the king's brother Wilhelm, who was then regent, relieved Bismarck of his duties and sent him as an envoy to St. Petersburg. There, Bismarck became close to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince A.M. Gorchakov, who assisted Bismarck in his efforts to diplomatically isolate first Austria and then France.

Otto von Bismarck - Minister-President of Prussia. His diplomacy.

In 1862, Bismarck was sent as an envoy to France at the court of Napoleon III. He was soon recalled by King William I to resolve the contradictions on the issue of military appropriations, which was vigorously discussed in the lower house of parliament.

In September of the same year, he became the head of the government, and a little later - the minister-president and minister of foreign affairs of Prussia.
A militant conservative, Bismarck announced to the liberal middle-class majority in parliament that the government would continue to collect taxes in accordance with the old budget, because parliament, due to internal contradictions, would not be able to pass the new budget. (This policy continued in 1863-1866, which enabled Bismarck to carry out military reform.) At a meeting of the parliamentary committee on September 29, Bismarck emphasized: "The great questions of the time will not be decided by speeches and majority resolutions - this was a blunder of 1848 and 1949 - but iron and blood." Since the upper and lower houses of parliament were unable to develop a unified strategy on the issue of national defense, the government, according to Bismarck, should have taken the initiative and forced parliament to agree to its decisions. By limiting the activities of the press, Bismarck took serious measures to suppress the opposition.
For their part, the liberals sharply criticized Bismarck for offering to support the Russian Emperor Alexander II in suppressing the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 (the Alvensleben convention of 1863). Over the next decade, Bismarck's policies led to three wars: the war with Denmark in 1864, after which Schleswig, Holstein (Holstein) and Lauenburg were annexed to Prussia; Austria in 1866; and France (the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871).
On April 9, 1866, the day after Bismarck signed a secret agreement on a military alliance with Italy in the event of an attack on Austria, he submitted to the Bundestag his draft of a German parliament and universal secret suffrage for the country's male population. After the decisive Battle of Kötiggrätz (Sadova), in which the German troops defeated the Austrian ones, Bismarck managed to get the annexationist claims of Wilhelm I and the Prussian generals, who wanted to enter Vienna and demanded large territorial acquisitions, to be abandoned, and offered an honorable peace to Austria (Prague Peace of 1866) . Bismarck did not allow Wilhelm I to "bring Austria to its knees" by occupying Vienna. The future chancellor insisted on relatively easy peace terms for Austria in order to ensure her neutrality in the future conflict between Prussia and France, which year by year became inevitable. Austria was expelled from the German Confederation, Venice joined Italy, Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Kasel, Frankfurt, Schleswig and Holstein went to Prussia.
One of the most important consequences of the Austro-Prussian war was the formation of the North German Confederation, which, along with Prussia, included about 30 more states. All of them, according to the constitution adopted in 1867, formed a single territory with laws and institutions common to all. The foreign and military policy of the union was actually transferred into the hands of the Prussian king, who was declared its president. A customs and military treaty was soon concluded with the South German states. These steps clearly showed that Germany was rapidly moving towards its unification under the leadership of Prussia.
The southern German lands of Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden remained outside the North German Confederation. France did everything possible to prevent Bismarck from including these lands in the North German Confederation. Napoleon III did not want to see a united Germany on his eastern borders. Bismarck understood that this problem could not be solved without a war. In the next three years, Bismarck's secret diplomacy was directed against France. In Berlin, Bismarck introduced a bill to Parliament exempting him from liability for unconstitutional acts, which was approved by the Liberals. French and Prussian interests kept clashing on various issues. In France at that time militant anti-German sentiments were strong. Bismarck played on them.
Appearance "ems dispatch" was caused by the scandalous events around the nomination of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern (nephew of Wilhelm I) to the Spanish throne, vacated after the revolution in Spain in 1868. Bismarck correctly calculated that France would never agree to such an option, and in the event of Leopold's accession in Spain, he would begin to rattle weapons and make belligerent statements against the North German Confederation, which would sooner or later end in war. Therefore, he vigorously promoted the candidacy of Leopold, assuring, however, Europe that the German government was completely uninvolved in the claims of the Hohenzollerns to the Spanish throne. In his circulars, and later in his memoirs, Bismarck denied his participation in this intrigue in every possible way, arguing that the nomination of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne was a "family" affair of the Hohenzollerns. In fact, Bismarck and Minister of War Roon and Chief of Staff Moltke, who came to his aid, spent a lot of effort to convince the reluctant Wilhelm I to support Leopold's candidacy.
As Bismarck had hoped, Leopold's bid for the Spanish throne caused an uproar in Paris. On July 6, 1870, the French Foreign Minister, the Duke de Gramont, exclaimed: "This will not happen, we are sure of it ... Otherwise, we would be able to fulfill our duty without showing any weakness or hesitation." After this statement, Prince Leopold, without any consultation with the king and Bismarck, announced that he was renouncing his claims to the Spanish throne.
This step was not included in Bismarck's plans. Leopold's refusal destroyed his hopes that France herself would unleash a war against the North German Confederation. This was of fundamental importance for Bismarck, who sought to secure the neutrality of the leading European states in a future war, which he later succeeded largely due to the fact that it was France that was the attacking side. It is difficult to judge how sincere Bismarck was in his memoirs when he wrote that upon receiving the news of Leopold's refusal to take the Spanish throne "My first thought was to retire"(Bismarck repeatedly submitted his resignations to Wilhelm I, using them as one of the means of pressure on the king, who, without his chancellor, did not mean anything in politics), however, another of his memoirs dating back to the same time looks quite authentic: "I already at that time considered the war a necessity, from which we could not honorably evade" .
While Bismarck was thinking about other ways to provoke France into declaring war, the French themselves gave an excellent reason for this. On July 13, 1870, the French ambassador Benedetti came to William I, who was resting on the Ems waters, in the morning and conveyed to him a rather impudent request from his minister Gramont - to assure France that he (the king) would never give his consent if Prince Leopold again put forward his candidacy for Spanish throne. The king, outraged by such a trick that was really daring for the diplomatic etiquette of those times, answered with a sharp refusal and interrupted Benedetti's audience. A few minutes later, he received a letter from his ambassador in Paris, which stated that Gramont insisted that Wilhelm, in his own handwritten letter, assured Napoleon III that he had no intention of harming the interests and dignity of France. This news completely pissed off William I. When Benedetti asked for a new audience for a conversation on this topic, he refused to receive him and conveyed through his adjutant that he had said his last word.
Bismarck learned about these events from a dispatch sent that afternoon from Ems by adviser Abeken. The dispatch to Bismarck was delivered at lunchtime. Roon and Moltke dined with him. Bismarck read the dispatch to them. The dispatch made the most difficult impression on the two old soldiers. Bismarck recalled that Roon and Moltke were so upset that they "neglected food and drink." Having finished reading, after some time Bismarck asked Moltke about the state of the army and about its readiness for war. Moltke replied in the spirit that "an immediate outbreak of war is more advantageous than a delay." After that, Bismarck edited the telegram right there at the dinner table and read it to the generals. Here is its text: "After the news of the abdication of the Crown Prince of Hohenzollern was officially communicated to the French imperial government by the Spanish royal government, the French ambassador presented an additional demand to His Royal Majesty in Ems: to authorize him to telegraph to Paris that His Majesty the King undertakes for all future times never give his consent if the Hohenzollerns return to their candidacy. His Majesty the king refused to receive the French ambassador again and ordered the adjutant on duty to tell him that his majesty had nothing more to tell the ambassador. "
Even Bismarck's contemporaries suspected him of falsification "ems dispatch". The German Social Democrats Liebknecht and Bebel were the first to speak about this. Liebknecht in 1891 even published the pamphlet "The Ems Despatch, or How Wars Are Made". Bismarck, in his memoirs, wrote that he only crossed out "something" from the dispatch, but did not add "not a word" to it. What did Bismarck strike out of the Ems dispatch? First of all, something that could point to the true inspirer of the appearance in print of the king's telegram. Bismarck crossed out the wish of Wilhelm I to submit "to the discretion of your Excellency, i.e. Bismarck, the question of whether we should not inform both our representatives and the press about the new demand of Benedetti and the refusal of the king." To reinforce the impression of the French envoy's disrespect for William I, Bismarck did not include in the new text the mention that the king had responded to the ambassador "rather harshly." The rest of the reductions were not significant. The new edition of the Ems dispatch brought Roon and Moltke, who dined with Bismarck, out of depression. The latter exclaimed: "That sounds different; before it sounded like a signal to retreat, now it's a fanfare." Bismarck began to develop his future plans for them: “We must fight if we do not want to take on the role of the defeated without a fight. But success depends largely on the impressions that the origin of the war will cause in us and others; it is important that we are those who who was attacked, and Gallic arrogance and resentment will help us in this ... "
Further events unfolded in the most desirable direction for Bismarck. The publication of the "Ems dispatch" in many German newspapers caused an uproar in France. Foreign Minister Gramont shouted indignantly in parliament that Prussia had slapped France in the face. On July 15, 1870, the head of the French cabinet, Emile Olivier, demanded a loan of 50 million francs from Parliament and announced the government's decision to call up reservists into the army "in response to the call to war." The future President of France, Adolphe Thiers, who in 1871 would make peace with Prussia and drown the Paris Commune in blood, was still a member of Parliament in July 1870, and was perhaps the only sane politician in France in those days. He tried to convince the deputies to refuse credit to Olivier and to call up reservists, arguing that since Prince Leopold had renounced the Spanish crown, French diplomacy had achieved its goal and one should not quarrel with Prussia over words and bring matters to a rupture on a purely formal occasion. Olivier replied to this that he was "with a light heart" ready to bear the responsibility that henceforth fell on him. In the end, the deputies approved all the proposals of the government, and on July 19, France declared war on the North German Confederation.
Bismarck meanwhile communicated with the deputies of the Reichstag. It was important for him to carefully hide from the public his painstaking behind-the-scenes work to provoke France into declaring war. With his usual hypocrisy and resourcefulness, Bismarck convinced the deputies that in the whole story with Prince Leopold, the government and he personally did not participate. He shamelessly lied when he told the deputies that he learned about Prince Leopold's desire to take the Spanish throne not from the king, but from some "private person", that the North German ambassador from Paris left Paris himself "for personal reasons", but was not recalled by the government (in fact, Bismarck ordered the ambassador to leave France, being annoyed by his "softness" towards the French). Bismarck diluted this lie with a dose of truth. He did not lie when he said that the decision to publish the dispatch about the negotiations in Ems between William I and Benedetti was made by the government at the request of the king himself.
William I himself did not expect that the publication of the Ems Dispatch would lead to such a quick war with France. After reading Bismarck's edited text in the papers, he exclaimed: "This is war!" The king was afraid of this war. Bismarck later wrote in his memoirs that William I should not have negotiated with Benedetti at all, but he "left his person as a monarch to the shameless processing of this foreign agent" in large part because he succumbed to the pressure of his wife Queen Augusta with "her justified in a feminine way by timidity and the national feeling that she lacked. Thus, Bismarck used Wilhelm I as a front for his behind-the-scenes intrigues against France.
When the Prussian generals began to win victory after victory over the French, not a single major European power stood up for France. This was the result of the preliminary diplomatic activity of Bismarck, who managed to achieve the neutrality of Russia and England. He promised Russia neutrality in the event of its withdrawal from the humiliating Treaty of Paris, which forbade it to have its own fleet in the Black Sea, the British were outraged by the draft treaty published at the direction of Bismarck on the annexation of Belgium by France. But the most important thing was that it was France that attacked the North German Confederation, despite the repeated peace-loving intentions and small concessions that Bismarck made towards her (withdrawal of Prussian troops from Luxembourg in 1867, statements of readiness to abandon Bavaria and create from it a neutral country, etc.). In editing the Ems dispatch, Bismarck did not impulsively improvise, but was guided by the real achievements of his diplomacy and therefore emerged victorious. And the winners, as you know, are not judged. The authority of Bismarck, even in retirement, was so high in Germany that it never occurred to anyone (except the Social Democrats) to pour tubs of dirt on him when, in 1892, the original text of the Ems dispatch was made public from the Reichstag rostrum.

Otto von Bismarck - Chancellor of the German Empire.

Exactly one month after the start of hostilities, a significant part of the French army was surrounded by German troops near Sedan and capitulated. Napoleon III himself surrendered to William I.
In November 1870, the South German states joined the Unified German Confederation, which had been transformed from the North. In December 1870, the Bavarian king offered to restore the German Empire and the German imperial dignity, destroyed in his time by Napoleon. This proposal was accepted, and the Reichstag turned to Wilhelm I with a request to accept the imperial crown. In 1871, at Versailles, William I wrote the address on an envelope - "Chancellor of the German Empire", thus confirming Bismarck's right to rule the empire that he created, and which was proclaimed on January 18 in the mirror hall of Versailles. On March 2, 1871, the Treaty of Paris was concluded - difficult and humiliating for France. The border regions of Alsace and Lorraine were ceded to Germany. France had to pay 5 billion indemnities. Wilhelm I returned to Berlin as a triumph, although all the merit belonged to the Chancellor.
The "Iron Chancellor", representing the interests of the minority and absolute power, ruled this empire in 1871-1890, relying on the consent of the Reichstag, where from 1866 to 1878 he was supported by the National Liberal Party. Bismarck reformed German law, administration and finance. The educational reforms he carried out in 1873 led to a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, but the main reason for the conflict was the growing distrust of German Catholics (who accounted for about a third of the country's population) in Protestant Prussia. When these contradictions surfaced in the activities of the Catholic "Centre" party in the Reichstag in the early 1870s, Bismarck was forced to take action. The struggle against the dominance of the Catholic Church was called "Kulturkampf"(Kulturkampf, struggle for culture). During it, many bishops and priests were arrested, hundreds of dioceses were left without leaders. Now church appointments had to be coordinated with the state; church employees could not be in the service of the state apparatus. Schools were separated from the church, civil marriage was introduced, the Jesuits were expelled from Germany.
Bismarck built his foreign policy on the basis of the situation that developed in 1871 after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war and the capture of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, which became a source of constant tension. With the help of a complex system of alliances that ensured the isolation of France, the rapprochement of Germany with Austria-Hungary and the maintenance of good relations with Russia (the alliance of the three emperors - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1873 and 1881; the Austro-German alliance in 1879; "Triple Alliance" between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882; "Mediterranean agreement" in 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and "reinsurance agreement" with Russia in 1887), Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe. The German Empire under Chancellor Bismarck became one of the leaders in international politics.
In the field of foreign policy, Bismarck made every effort to consolidate the gains of the Peace of Frankfurt in 1871, contributed to the diplomatic isolation of the French Republic, and sought to prevent the formation of any coalition that threatened German hegemony. He chose not to participate in the discussion of claims to the weakened Ottoman Empire. When at the Berlin Congress of 1878, under the chairmanship of Bismarck, the next phase of the discussion of the "Eastern Question" ended, he played the role of an "honest broker" in the dispute between the rival parties. Although the "Triple Alliance" was directed against Russia and France, Otto von Bismarck believed that a war with Russia would be extremely dangerous for Germany. The secret treaty with Russia in 1887 - the "treaty of reinsurance" - showed Bismarck's ability to work behind the backs of his allies, Austria and Italy, to maintain the status quo in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Until 1884, Bismarck did not give clear definitions of the course of colonial policy, mainly because of friendly relations with England. Other reasons were the desire to preserve Germany's capital and keep government spending to a minimum. Bismarck's first expansionist plans provoked vigorous protests from all parties - Catholics, statesmen, socialists and even representatives of his own class - the Junkers. Despite this, under Bismarck, Germany began to turn into a colonial empire.
In 1879, Bismarck broke with the liberals and relied on a coalition of large landowners, industrialists, senior military and government officials.

In 1879, Chancellor Bismarck secured the adoption by the Reichstag of a protectionist customs tariff. Liberals were forced out of big politics. The new course of German economic and financial policy corresponded to the interests of large industrialists and large farmers. Their union occupied a dominant position in political life and in public administration. Otto von Bismarck gradually moved from the Kulturkampf policy to the persecution of socialists. In 1878, after an attempt on the life of the emperor, Bismarck led through the Reichstag "exceptional law" against the socialists, forbidding the activities of social democratic organizations. On the basis of this law, many newspapers and societies, often far from socialism, were closed. The constructive side of his negative prohibitive stance was the introduction of a system of state insurance for sickness in 1883, in case of injury in 1884 and an old-age pension in 1889. However, these measures failed to isolate the German workers from the Social Democratic Party, although they diverted them from the revolutionary methods of solving social problems. At the same time, Bismarck opposed any legislation regulating the working conditions of workers.

Conflict with Wilhelm II and the resignation of Bismarck.

With the accession of Wilhelm II in 1888, Bismarck lost control of the government.

Under Wilhelm I and Frederick III, who ruled for less than six months, Bismarck's position could not be shaken by any of the opposition groups. The self-confident and ambitious Kaiser refused to play a secondary role, declaring at one of the banquets in 1891: "There is only one master in the country - this is me, and I will not tolerate another"; and his strained relationship with the Reich Chancellor became increasingly strained. Differences manifested themselves most seriously in the question of amending the "Exceptional Law Against Socialists" (in force in 1878-1890) and in the question of the right of ministers subordinate to the chancellor to a personal audience with the emperor. Wilhelm II hinted to Bismarck that his resignation was desirable and received a letter of resignation from Bismarck on March 18, 1890. The resignation was accepted two days later, Bismarck received the title of Duke of Lauenburg, he was also awarded the rank of Colonel General of the cavalry.
Bismarck's removal to Friedrichsruhe was not the end of his interest in political life. He was especially eloquent in his criticism of the newly appointed Reich Chancellor and Minister-President, Count Leo von Caprivi. In 1891, Bismarck was elected to the Reichstag from Hanover, but never took his seat there, and two years later refused to run for re-election. In 1894, the emperor and the already aging Bismarck met again in Berlin - at the suggestion of Clovis Hohenlohe, Prince Schillingfürst, Caprivi's successor. In 1895, all of Germany celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Iron Chancellor. In June 1896, Prince Otto von Bismarck participated in the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Bismarck died in Friedrichsruhe on July 30, 1898. The "Iron Chancellor" was buried at his own request in his Friedrichsruhe estate, the inscription was engraved on the tombstone of his tomb: "Devoted servant of the German Kaiser Wilhelm I". In April 1945, the house in Schönhausen, where Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815, was burned down by Soviet troops.
Bismarck's literary monument is his "Thoughts and Memories"(Gedanken und Erinnerungen), and "Big Politics of European Cabinets"(Die grosse Politik der europaischen Kabinette, 1871-1914, 1924-1928) in 47 volumes serves as a monument to his diplomatic art.

References.

1. Emil Ludwig. Bismarck. - M.: Zakharov-AST, 1999.
2. Alan Palmer. Bismarck. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1998.
3. Encyclopedia "The World Around Us" (cd)