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Firstly Bismarck had repeatedly called for the Vatican and Bishops to withdraw their support for the Centre party, however when this failed he intensified his campaign against the Church with new tactics. The first place of attack was the link between the Church and the schools, here the Church had promoted Polish speaking and writing, promoting Polish was seen by the state as encouraging foreign nationalism and anti-German forces. Therefore new laws decreed that schools were no longer placed under the control of the state and no longer the clergy. The German language was forced upon the people, restrictions were placed on the use of Polish, and Germans were encouraged to settle in Polish areas, Bismarck wanted to actively Germanise his country. The aim became to make the Church subordinate to the state, Bismarck wanted an Anti-Church campaign, and this is what happened.
The second phase of the Kulturkampf came in 1873 and was known as the May laws. These made it law that all candidates for the priesthood had to attend university for three years before entering a seminary, and all church appointments were subject to a veto by all Church authorities. In 1874 Prussia introduced civil marriage and required all births, deaths, and marriages to be reported to the registrar and not the traditional Church authorities, the next year this had extended to all the German states. 1874 also saw the introduction of state powers that allowed it to restrict the freedom of movement in the clergy, and expel offending priests from Germany. It was in 1875 that the Kulturkampf laws reached their climax when Prussia suspended subsidies to the Church in diocese or parishes where clergy resisted the legislation. These laws became known as the Falk laws after the name of the politician who vigorously enforced them. However Bismarck’s policies were not overly popular and he had to rely heavily on the National Liberals and Progressives for support. This by now had become a natural alliance; with Bismarck making the Liberals concessions in economic policy he received support on other maters in the Reich, and especially the abolition of the Centres.
By 1876 ten of Prussia’s twelve bishops were in exile or under arrest, and nearly a third of all parishes were vacant. However the Church thrived under this persecution, a once increasingly unpopular institution grew popular once again. The parishes rallied around the clergy, and the clergy around the Pope. As Catholics wanted to protect their religion, the Centre party had greatness thrust upon it. The Kulturkampf had a severe impact on the Catholics in Germany, Craig tells us, “In short, the state cannot conduct a war against a large part of it own population without causing, on all sides, profound injury to the moral consciousness.” In 1871 the Centre parties vote doubled, and by 1881 it held 100 seats in the Reichstag, and in later years would become a pillar of German politics. By 1876 it was growing increasingly obvious that Bismarck’s policies were failing, and the emperor was beginning to have reservations about Kulturkampf. Rather than diminish the Centre Parties’ power the opposite was happening. Thus time came for the Chancellor to cut his losses before the empire became seriously weakened. Infact by 1877 the Centre party had become so powerful that Bismarck could no longer operate effectively without its support and if he wanted to make economic reforms he had to reverse this trend.
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In 1878 the opportunity presented itself when Pope Piux died and Pope Leo XIII was instated, he made it known he wanted Kulturkampf to come to an end, Bismarck was relieved at the prospect. With a reversal of the anti-Church feeling Bismarck was able to form a coalition with the Centres and the Conservatives, and the Chancellor did not loose to much face. The May laws had to be dismantled, and exiled clergy were allowed to return, payments to the Church could then resume again. By making the Centre Party an ally Bismarck found himself with a new strong base of support, and this allowed him to make new economic reforms that with the support of the Liberals he would have been unable to do. In 1879 this alliance allowed for the passing of the controversial tariff bill that signalled the end of Free trade. This had a profound affect on the political and social structure of Germany, and showed that Bismarck’s liberal era had definitely come to an end. Between 1879 and 1890 an ‘Alliance of Steel and Rye’ was formed and protective tariffs were implemented that helped heal the wounds between the chancellor and the Conservative groups that had been created with liberal economic policies and the Kulturkampf. A new impetus was given to national pride, and overnight patriotic forces rallied behind the Empire, the political instability seemed to have been quelled for the short term.
However with Bismarck’s new political backing from the Conservative groups in the Reichstag a new enemy had presented itself that the Chancellor now turned his attention to. In 1869 the Social Democrat party had been formed, the party had some early successes, but during the 1870s with the growth of the economy an increasingly large proletariat had formed and that by 1895 reached 6million. Between 1848 and 1914 the size of Berlin increased ten fold. With universal manhood suffrage the natural party of these people was the SPD and so its powers grew in coalition with the economy. This growing Socialism brought back fears of the 1848 revolutions that struck Europe that were again brought back in to the limelight by the Paris Commune in 1871. Bismarck had tried to curtail the growth of this party in the 1870s with anti-Socialist laws but had been defeated, however soon the opportunity presented itself to address the problem again.
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In May of 1878 a half crazed anarchist shot two bullets at the emperor. Although he had no association with Socialists, Bismarck viewed Anarchism and Socialism as similar thought, both having allegiances outside of the state. Thus Bismarck drafted a bill against Socialism, but the Liberals and Centres in the Reich defeated it because they saw it as an infringement of political freedoms. One week after this failure there was another attempt on the emperor’s life and he was wounded, Germany was deeply shocked. Bismarck saw that he could use this fear claiming the ‘Fatherland was in trouble’ and stampeded the nation in to voting against unpatriotic Liberals. The approach worked and the two Conservative parties gained 600,000 votes, and gained 37 seats between them, whilst the Centre party stood firm the National Liberals lost 130,000 votes and 29 seats. The National Liberals had only managed to stop complete failure by supporting anti-Socialist laws during the elections. Bismarck got his way in the new Reichstag, and when he now attempted to have his anti-Socialist bill passed it won with 221 votes to 149.
Under the new laws Socialist meetings, societies and publications were forbidden, Police were empowered to expel socialist agitators, and the states could declare a state of siege in disaffected areas for up to one year. Immediately after the implementation of the laws 45 out the 47 leading newspapers were suppressed. However Socialist electoral activity was allowed to continue, the Reichstag refused to interfere with freedoms of election, and so the Socialists could still stand for election and speak in the Reichstag. However the laws did not have the desired effect Bismarck had intended, much like the Kulturkampf, anti-Socialist laws forced the repressed to grow more defiant, and stronger. Like with the Kulturkampf the laws “Rallied the faithful and fortified them in their beliefs, socialism almost became a secular religion to those outside the church.” The Socialists managed to overcome the problems the laws caused. By changing their party slogan “the Social Democrat Party endeavours to obtain the free state and the socialist society”, and adding “by all legal means to it” the SPD became a legitimate party.
Bismarck realised that anti-Socialist laws was not the best way to deal with the problem, and so he used ‘State Socialism’ in conjunction with his original policy in an attempt to slowly wean the working classes away from the enemy. State Socialism would offer the workers a modest stake in the empire by introducing a welfare state. There were also military considerations to take in to account though, in Conservative circles the news that many workers were unfit for military service worried them. Thus the welfare state became as important to the fatherland as tariff protection. In 1881 the Chancellor informed the Reichstag that the repression of socialism was not enough, and the well being of the worker had to be actively promoted. Over the next decade the most comprehensive welfare system in Europe was created. It started in 1883 when medical treatment became available to 3million workers and families, in 1884 accident insurance was made available and burial grants, this was extended to 7million agricultural workers two years later. In 1889 workers were given a graduated pension from the age of seventy onwards, and younger for those disabled, and a code of family legislation rounded off the system.
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This system of introducing a welfare state had the full support of the Conservatives and Centres; surprisingly opposition came from the Radicals, Liberals and Socialists. The Liberals were decidedly split on the issues, the Radicals saw this as taking from the individuals freedoms and the Socialists saw the policy as crumbs from the rich mans plate. The Socialists found themselves in a dilemma, if they rejected the plans then they would have been seen as rejecting the needs of their followers, but if they supported the legislation they would have been rejecting their socialist values for material gains. They chose the later, but they saved face by claiming they would vote if the employer incurred the costs and pushed for further working hours restrictions, and codes of practice for child and female labour were implemented.
By 1880 the SPD had grown more radical due to this alienation and the party committed itself to all means necessary to achieve its aims. Anti-Socialist laws had been ruthlessly imposed, and many socialist leaders were either exiled or imprisoned. At first the socialist vote had fallen from 493,000 in 1877, to 312,000 by 1879. However the trend slowly changed and by 1884 it had risen to 550,000, giving them 24 seats in the Reichstag, and this continued to rise until in 1890 they had over 1million votes. By the 1900s the Socialist party had become a well discipline and highly organised mass party, and was a model to other socialist parties across the world. Carr describes that in short, Bismarck had completely failed to bring the Socialist to a heal. This had fundamentally affected the integration of the working class in to the Reichstag. The party had been forced to go underground, hold congresses and publish journals abroad however it survived, and thrived. In 1889 Bismarck wanted to have his anti-Socialist laws made permanent, the Kaiser remained reluctant, and the Socialist had grown so powerful that the bill was crushed. However Bismarck’s State Socialism had been a success as by 1914 the workers had more to loose from a social revolution that an imperial war. This mentality forced the Socialists to reorganise and rally behind the war, which caused huge internal splits.
In conclusion during his reign in the Reichstag Bismarck used political alliances in order to implement the policies he wanted. Between 1871 and 1878 this alliance saw the chancellor team up with the Liberals in order to construct an economic system that promoted fast economic growth, but also led Bismarck in to the Kulturkampf. The minorities in Germany made an easy scapegoat and so this enabled Germanisation to be actively promoted, but the Centre party was not defeated, and in fact became a prominent part of German politics. Bismarck had to accept that he had to take a step back from this unpopular move but escaped by cleverly manipulating the opinion of the Reichstag so that by 1878 the Centres and Conservatives backed him and he could make new economic reforms. This second era of Bismarck’s rule in Germany allowed him to tackle the rise of Socialism. However again he did not successfully defeat the political opposition, but his state socialism was a success in that the proletariat were appeased. Therefore what we can see is that although Bismarck did not defeat these political parties he stopped them from becoming to powerful, he knew when to cut his losses, and manipulate the policies of the Reichstag. Importantly they did not become radical or militant, and the system of the Reichstag was not overly stifled by laws that curtailed democracy. Thus Bismarck’s struggles in the Reichstag were a credit to the German political system, it was not a sign of his own personal failings but the success of democracy.
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Taylor, A.J.P - The course of German History: A Survey of Germany since 1815 (published 1945)
Carr, William - A History of Germany 1815-1990 (Published 1991) – P.125
Carr, William - A History of Germany 1815-1990 (Published 1991) – P.126
Craig, Gordon A. - Germany 1866-1945 (Published 1992) - P.75
Carr, William - A History of Germany 1815-1990 (Published 1991) – P.128
Mann, Golo - The History of Germany Since 1789 (Published 1968) - P.203
Mann, Golo - The History of Germany Since 1789 (Published 1968) - P.200
Carr, William - A History of Germany 1815-1990 (Published 1991) – P. 133
Carr, William - A History of Germany 1815-1990 (Published 1991) – P.133
Carr, William - A History of Germany 1815-1990 (Published 1991) – P.133
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