Otto von bismarck biography book
A new account of the life and policies of the first German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, this concise historical-biography reflects, for the first time in English, the historical shift in emphasis from the traditional political-economic approach to the more complex social-economic one of post—World War II scholarship.
Since the middle of the s, much new material on Bismarck and nineteenth-century Germany and new interpretations of existing material have been published in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Professor George O. Kent’s brilliant synthesis, drawing on this mass of material, examines changes in emphasis in post—World War II scholarship. The book, particularly in the historiographical notes and bibliographical essay, provides the serious student with an invaluable guide to the intricacies of recent Bismarckian scholarship. For the general reader, the main text presents a picture of the man, the issues, and the age in the light of modern scholarship.
The major shift in historical emphasis described in this new account is the importance scholars give to the period –79, the years of change from free trade to protectionism, rather than to –71 the founding of the Reich. Bismarck’s political machinations, particularly his willingness to explore the possibilities of a coup d’état, are more fully discussed here than in any other book.
Biography of Otto von Bismarck
Bismarck: A Life
Nineteenth century Europe was a game of two halves or, better, a game of two men: the Emperor Napoleon, who dominated the first, and Otto von Bismarck, who dominated the second. If anything Bismarck was the more important of the two, creating not just a new Germany but a new Europe, with a legacy that extended well into the twentieth century. He was the greater because he was the more cunning; the lesser because his vision was considerably more limited. In some ways Bismarck was the best statesman Germany ever had; in other ways the worst.
The paradox of the Iron Chancellor is superbly explored by Jonathan Steinberg in Bismarck: A Life, published earlier this year. Given his importance it’s remarkable how little attention he has achieved in the English-speaking world, obsessed, as it is, with Hitler. The only other study that I have read is Alan Palmer’s Bismarck, a dated and not terribly satisfactory biography. Steinberg makes up for so many deficiencies in our understanding, not just of Bismarck but of modern Germany, his legacy to the world.
There is one thing that’s important to understand about Bismarck – he was a juggler of consummate skill. Leo von Caprivi, who succeeded him as Chancellor in , an unenviable task, said that while his predecessor was able to keep five balls in the air at any one time he could barely manage two. As the balls fell so did the Bismarck system, which maintained a precarious, personally-based, balance of power on the Continent, in succession to the old Concert of Europe, which followed from the defeat of Napoleon in
It’s almost impossible not to admire and dislike Bismarck at one and the same time. There is so much to admire. Here was a man with no military background and little in the way of experience in office before he became Minister President of Prussia in Here was a man who, bit by bit, removed every obstacle to German unification, unification, on his own terms, I might add
Bismarck
Excerpt
Introduction
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Those who possess great political power for a long time and then suddenly lose it generally feel the urge to compose their memoirs – not only in order to transmit to posterity as favourable a view as possible of their own achievement, but also so as to settle accounts with former political opponents. It was no different in the case of Otto von Bismarck after his fall. On 16 March , one day after his definitive break with the young Kaiser Wilhelm II, he confided to a visitor: ‘Now I am going to write my memoirs’. Meanwhile, the Reich Chancellery was already piled high with boxes full of secret files that Bismarck, during the next few weeks, would have taken to Friedrichsruh, his place of retirement in the Saxon Forest, outside Hamburg.
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As his assistant, Bismarck chose Lothar Bucher, a former liberal whom he had appointed a councillor in the Foreign Ministry, where he served Bismarck faithfully. Without Bucher’s insistence, Bismarck’s memoirs would probably never have been written. The ex-chancellor was often lacking in enthusiasm. He was capable of spending hours stretched out on the chaise longue immersed in reading the papers while his amanuensis sat at the table, pencil ready, waiting to record his words. When the grumpy old man finally began dictating, his account of events would be selective and disordered, constantly mixing history with reflections on the political events of the day; as a result, Bucher became quite desperate. He complained in January
It is not just that his memory is defective and his interest in what we have already done is slight. He actually tries to distort things deliberately, even when it comes to well-established facts and events. He will not admit to having been involved in anything that failed, and he will not allow that anyone other than himself made a contribution.
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It was Bucher’s task to bring order to this chaotic material, correcting the