Bismarck's social reforms briefly. Bismarck's domestic policy

Otto Eduard Leopold von Schönhausen Bismarck

Bismarck Otto Eduard Leopold von Schonhausen Prussian-German statesman, the first Chancellor of the German Empire.

Carier start

A native of the Pomeranian Junkers. Studied law in Göttingen and Berlin. In 1847-48 he was a deputy to the 1st and 2nd Prussian Landtags, during the revolution of 1848 he advocated armed suppression of unrest. One of the organizers of the Prussian Conservative Party. In 1851-59 Prussian representative in the Bundestag in Frankfurt am Main. In 1859-1862 Prussian ambassador to Russia, in 1862 Prussian ambassador to France. In September 1862, during a constitutional conflict between the Prussian royal government and the liberal majority of the Prussian Landtag, Bismarck was called by King Wilhelm I to the post of Prussian minister-president; stubbornly defended the rights of the crown and achieved a resolution of the conflict in her favor.

German unification

Under the leadership of Bismarck, the unification of Germany was carried out by means of a "revolution from above" as a result of three victorious wars of Prussia: in 1864 together with Austria against Denmark, in 1866 against Austria, in 1870-71 against France. Remaining loyal to the Junkers and loyal to the Prussian monarchy, Bismarck was forced during this period to link his actions with the German national liberal movement. He managed to embody the hopes of the rising bourgeoisie and the national aspirations of the German people, to ensure Germany's breakthrough on the path to an industrial society.

Domestic politics

After the formation of the North German Confederation in 1867, Bismarck became the Bundeschancellor. In the German Empire proclaimed on January 18, 1871, he received the highest state post of imperial chancellor, and, in accordance with the constitution of 1871, practically unlimited power. In the first years after the formation of the empire, Bismarck had to reckon with the liberals who constituted the parliamentary majority. But the desire to ensure Prussia's dominant position in the empire, to strengthen the traditional social and political hierarchy and its own power caused constant friction in relations between the chancellor and parliament. The system created and carefully guarded by Bismarck - a strong executive power, personified by himself, and a weak parliament, a repressive policy towards the workers' and socialist movement did not correspond to the tasks of a rapidly developing industrial society. This was the underlying cause of the weakening of Bismarck's position by the end of the 80s.

In 1872-1875, on the initiative and under pressure from Bismarck, laws were passed against the Catholic Church depriving the clergy of the right to supervise schools, prohibiting the Jesuit order in Germany, making civil marriage compulsory, repealing articles of the constitution that provided for the autonomy of the church, etc. These measures so-called. "Kulturkampf", dictated by purely political considerations of the struggle against the particularist-clerical opposition, seriously limited the rights of the Catholic clergy; attempts of disobedience provoked reprisals. This led to the alienation from the state of the Catholic part of the population. In 1878, Bismarck passed through the Reichstag an "exceptional law" against the socialists, which prohibited the activities of social democratic organizations. In 1879, Bismarck secured the adoption by the Reichstag of a protectionist customs tariff. Liberals were forced out of big politics. The new course of 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. In 1881-89, Bismarck passed "social laws" (on insurance of workers in case of illness and injury, on pensions for old age and disability), which laid the foundations for the social insurance of workers. At the same time, he demanded a tougher anti-worker policy and during the 80s. successfully sought the extension of the "exceptional law". The dual policy towards workers and socialists prevented their integration into the social and state structure of the empire.

Foreign policy

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 of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1873 and 1881; the Austro-German alliance in 1879; the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Hungary and Italy in 1882; the Mediterranean agreement of 1887 between Austria-Hungary, Italy and England and the "reinsurance agreement" with Russia in 1887) Bismarck managed to maintain peace in Europe; The German Empire became one of the leaders in international politics.

Career decline

However, in the late 1980s, this system began to crack. A rapprochement between Russia and France was planned. The colonial expansion of Germany, begun in the 80s, aggravated Anglo-German relations. Russia's refusal to renew the "reinsurance pact" at the beginning of 1890 was a serious setback for the Chancellor. Bismarck's failure in domestic politics was the failure of his plan to turn the "exceptional law" against the socialists into a permanent one. In January 1890 the Reichstag refused to renew it. As a result of contradictions with the new emperor Wilhelm II and with the military command on foreign and colonial policy and on the labor issue, Bismarck was dismissed in March 1890 and spent the last 8 years of his life on his Friedrichsruh estate.

S. V. Obolenskaya

Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius

Otto Bismarck is one of the most famous politicians of the 19th century. He had a significant impact on political life in Europe, developed a security system. He played a key role in the unification of the German peoples into a single national state. He was awarded many prizes and titles. Subsequently, historians and politicians will evaluate differently who created

The biography of the chancellor is still between representatives of various political movements. In this article, we will get to know her better.

Otto von Bismarck: a short biography. Childhood

Otto was born on April 1, 1815 in Pomerania. His family members were cadets. These are the descendants of medieval knights who received land for serving the king. The Bismarcks had a small estate and held various military and civil positions in the Prussian nomenklatura. By the standards of the German nobility of the 19th century, the family had rather modest resources.

Young Otto was sent to the Plaman school, where the students were tempered with hard physical exercises. The mother was an ardent Catholic and wanted her son to be brought up in strict norms of conservatism. By adolescence, Otto transferred to the gymnasium. There he did not prove himself to be a diligent student. He could not boast of success in his studies. But at the same time he read a lot and was interested in politics and history. He studied the features of the political structure of Russia and France. I even learned French. At the age of 15, Bismarck decides to commit himself to politics. But the mother, who was the head of the family, insists on studying in Göttingen. Law and jurisprudence were chosen as the direction. Young Otto was to become a Prussian diplomat.

Bismarck's behavior in Hannover, where he was trained, is legendary. He did not want to study law, so he preferred a wild life to learning. Like all the elite youth, he frequented entertainment venues and made many friends among the nobles. It was at this time that the hot-tempered nature of the future chancellor manifested itself. He often gets into skirmishes and disputes, which he prefers to resolve by a duel. According to the memoirs of university friends, in just a few years of his stay in Göttingen, Otto participated in 27 duels. As a lifelong memory of a turbulent youth, he had a scar on his cheek after one of these competitions.

Leaving the University

A luxurious life side by side with the children of aristocrats and politicians was beyond the means of the relatively modest Bismarck family. And the constant participation in troubles caused problems with the law and the leadership of the university. So, without receiving a diploma, Otto left for Berlin, where he entered another university. which he graduated in a year. After that, he decided to follow his mother's advice and become a diplomat. Each figure at that time was personally approved by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. After studying the Bismarck case and learning about his problems with the law in Hanover, he denied the young graduate a job.

After the collapse of hopes to become a diplomat, Otto works in Anchen, where he deals with small organizational issues. According to the memoirs of Bismarck himself, the work did not require significant efforts from him, and he could devote himself to self-development and recreation. But even in a new place, the future chancellor has problems with the law, so a few years later he enlists in the army. The military career did not last long. A year later, Bismarck's mother dies, and he is forced to return to Pomerania, where their family estate is located.

In Pomerania, Otto faces a number of difficulties. This is a real test for him. Managing a large estate requires a lot of effort. So Bismarck has to give up his student habits. Thanks to successful work, he significantly raises the status of the estate and increases his income. From a serene young man, he turns into a respected cadet. Nevertheless, the quick-tempered character continues to remind of itself. Neighbors nicknamed Otto "mad".

A few years later, Bismarck's sister Malvina arrives from Berlin. He is very close to her because of their common interests and outlook on life. Around the same time, he becomes an ardent Lutheran and reads the Bible every day. The future Chancellor is engaged to Johanna Puttkamer.

The beginning of the political path

In the 40s of the 19th century, a tough struggle for power between liberals and conservatives began in Prussia. To relieve tension, Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm convenes the Landtag. Elections are held in local administrations. Otto decides to go into politics and without much effort becomes a deputy. From the first days in the Landtag, Bismarck gained fame. Newspapers write about him as "a rabid junker from Pomerania". He's pretty harsh on liberals. Composes whole articles of devastating criticism of Georg Fincke.

His speeches are quite expressive and inspiring, so that Bismarck quickly becomes a significant figure in the camp of conservatives.

Opposition to liberals

At this time, a serious crisis is brewing in the country. A series of revolutions is taking place in neighboring states. The liberals inspired by it are actively engaged in propaganda among the working and poor German population. There are frequent strikes and strikes. Against this background, food prices are constantly rising, unemployment is growing. As a result, a social crisis leads to a revolution. It was organized by the patriots together with the liberals, demanding from the king the adoption of a new Constitution and the unification of all German lands into one national state. Bismarck was very frightened of this revolution, he sends a letter to the king asking him to entrust him with an army campaign against Berlin. But Friedrich makes concessions and partially agrees with the demand of the rebels. As a result, bloodshed was avoided, and the reforms were not as radical as in France or Austria.

In response to the victory of the liberals, a camarilla is created - an organization of conservative reactionaries. Bismarck immediately enters into it and conducts active propaganda through. By agreement with the king, a military coup takes place in 1848, and the rightists regain their lost positions. But Frederick is in no hurry to empower his new allies, and Bismarck is effectively removed from power.

Conflict with Austria

At this time, the German lands were greatly fragmented into large and small principalities, which in one way or another depended on Austria and Prussia. These two states waged a constant struggle for the right to be considered the unifying center of the German nation. By the end of the 40s, there was a serious conflict over the Principality of Erfurt. Relations deteriorated sharply, rumors spread about a possible mobilization. Bismarck takes an active part in resolving the conflict, and he manages to insist on the signing of agreements with Austria in Olmück, since, in his opinion, Prussia was unable to resolve the conflict by military means.

Bismarck believes that it is necessary to begin a long preparation for the destruction of Austrian dominance in the so-called German space.

For this, according to Otto, it is necessary to conclude an alliance with France and Russia. Therefore, with the beginning of the Crimean War, he actively campaigns not to enter into a conflict on the side of Austria. His efforts are bearing fruit: mobilization is not carried out, and the German states remain neutral. The king sees a future in the plans of the "mad junker" and sends him as an ambassador to France. After negotiations with Napoleon III, Bismarck is suddenly recalled from Paris and sent to Russia.

Otto in Russia

Contemporaries claim that the formation of the personality of the Iron Chancellor was greatly influenced by his stay in Russia, Otto Bismarck himself wrote about this. The biography of any diplomat includes a period of mastery. That is what Otto devoted himself to in St. Petersburg. In the capital, he spends a lot of time with Gorchakov, who was considered one of the most prominent diplomats of his time. Bismarck was impressed by the Russian state and traditions. He liked the policy pursued by the emperor, so he carefully studied Russian history. I even started learning Russian. A few years later he could already speak it fluently. "Language gives me the opportunity to understand the very way of thinking and logic of Russians," wrote Otto von Bismarck. The biography of the "mad" student and cadet brought notoriety to the diplomat and interfered with successful activities in many countries, but not in Russia. This is another reason why Otto liked our country.

In it, he saw an example for the development of the German state, since the Russians managed to unite the lands with an ethnically identical population, which was an old dream of the Germans. In addition to diplomatic contacts, Bismarck makes many personal connections.

But Bismarck's quotes about Russia cannot be called flattering: "Never trust Russians, for Russians don't even trust themselves"; "Russia is dangerous because of the meagerness of its needs."

Prime Minister

Gorchakov taught Otto the basics of an aggressive foreign policy, which was very necessary for Prussia. After the death of the king, the "mad junker" is sent to Paris as a diplomat. Before him is a serious task to prevent the restoration of the long-standing alliance of France and England. The new government in Paris, created after another revolution, was negative about the ardent conservative from Prussia.

But Bismarck managed to convince the French of the need for mutual cooperation with the Russian Empire and the German lands. The ambassador selected only trusted people for his team. Assistants selected candidates, then they were considered by Otto Bismarck himself. A short biography of the applicants was compiled by the secret police of the king.

Successful work in establishing international relations allowed Bismarck to become Prime Minister of Prussia. In this position, he won the true love of the people. Otto von Bismarck graced the front pages of German newspapers weekly. Politician quotes became popular far abroad. Such fame in the press is due to the Prime Minister's love for populist statements. For example, the words: "The great questions of the time are not decided by speeches and resolutions of the majority, but by iron and blood!" are still used on a par with similar statements of the rulers of ancient Rome. One of the most famous sayings of Otto von Bismarck: "Stupidity is a gift of God, but it should not be abused."

Territorial expansion of Prussia

Prussia has long set itself the goal of uniting all German lands into one state. For this, training was carried out not only in the foreign policy aspect, but also in the field of propaganda. The main rival in leadership and patronage over the German world was Austria. In 1866, relations with Denmark sharply escalated. Part of the kingdom was occupied by ethnic Germans. Under pressure from the nationalist part of the public, they began to demand the right to self-determination. At this time, Chancellor Otto Bismarck secured the full support of the king and received extended rights. The war with Denmark began. The Prussian troops occupied the territory of Holstein without any problems and divided it with Austria.

Because of these lands, a new conflict arose with a neighbor. The Habsburgs, who sat in Austria, were losing their positions in Europe after a series of revolutions and upheavals that overthrew the representatives of the dynasty in other countries. For 2 years after the Danish war, hostility between Austria and Prussia grew in the first trade blockades and political pressure began. But it soon became clear that a direct military clash could not be avoided. Both countries began to mobilize the population. Otto von Bismarck played a key role in the conflict. Briefly setting out his goals to the king, he immediately went to Italy to enlist her support. The Italians themselves also had claims to Austria, seeking to take possession of Venice. In 1866 the war began. The Prussian troops managed to quickly seize part of the territories and force the Habsburgs to sign a peace treaty on favorable terms.

Consolidation of lands

Now all the ways for the unification of the German lands were open. Prussia headed for the creation of a constitution for which Otto von Bismarck himself wrote. The chancellor's quotes about the unity of the German people gained popularity in the north of France. The growing influence of Prussia greatly worried the French. The Russian Empire also began to fearfully wait for what Otto von Bismarck would do, whose brief biography is described in the article. The history of Russian-Prussian relations during the reign of the Iron Chancellor is very revealing. The politician managed to assure Alexander II of his intention to cooperate with the Empire in the future.

But the French were not convinced of the same. As a result, another war began. A few years earlier, an army reform had been carried out in Prussia, as a result of which a regular army was created.

Military spending also increased. Thanks to this and the successful actions of the German generals, France suffered a number of major defeats. Napoleon III was captured. Paris was forced to make an agreement, losing a number of territories.

On the wave of triumph, the Second Reich is proclaimed, Wilhelm becomes emperor, and Otto Bismarck is his confidant. Quotes from Roman generals at the coronation gave the chancellor another nickname - "triumphant", since then he was often depicted on a Roman chariot and with a wreath on his head.

Heritage

Constant wars and internal political squabbles seriously crippled the health of the politician. He went on vacation several times, but was forced to return due to a new crisis. Even after 65 years, he continued to take an active part in all the political processes of the country. Not a single meeting of the Landtag took place if Otto von Bismarck was not present. Interesting facts about the life of the chancellor are described below.

For 40 years in politics, he achieved tremendous success. Prussia expanded its territories and was able to seize superiority in the German space. Contacts were established with the Russian Empire and France. All these achievements would not have been possible without such a figure as Otto Bismarck. The photo of the chancellor in profile and in a combat helmet has become a kind of symbol of his uncompromisingly tough foreign and domestic policy.

Disputes around this person are still ongoing. But in Germany, everyone knows who Otto von Bismarck was - the iron chancellor. Why he was so nicknamed, there is no consensus. Either because of his quick temper, or because of his ruthlessness towards enemies. One way or another, he had a huge impact on world politics.

• Bismarck began his morning with exercise and prayer.
• During his stay in Russia, Otto learned to speak Russian.
• In St. Petersburg, Bismarck was invited to participate in royal fun. This is bear hunting in the woods. The German even managed to kill several animals. But during the next sortie, the detachment got lost, and the diplomat received severe frostbite on his legs. Doctors predicted amputation, but nothing happened.
• As a young man, Bismarck was an avid duelist. He took part in 27 duels and received a scar on his face in one of them.
• Otto von Bismarck was once asked how he chose his profession. He replied: "I was destined by nature to become a diplomat: I was born on the first of April."

In 1838 he entered the military service.

In 1839, after the death of his mother, he retired from the service and managed the family estates in Pomerania.

After his father's death in 1845, the family property was divided and Bismarck received the estates of Schönhausen and Kniephof in Pomerania.

In 1847-1848, he was a deputy of the first and second United Landtags (parliament) of Prussia, during the revolution of 1848 he advocated armed suppression of unrest.

Bismarck became known for his conservative stance during the constitutional struggle in Prussia from 1848-1850.

Opposing liberals, he contributed to the creation of various political organizations and newspapers, including the "New Prussian newspaper" (Neue Preussische Zeitung, 1848). One of the organizers of the Prussian Conservative Party.

He was a member of the lower house of the Prussian Parliament in 1849 and of the Erfurt Parliament in 1850.

In 1851-1859 he was the representative of Prussia in the Allied Sejm in Frankfurt am Main.

From 1859 to 1862 Bismarck was the Prussian envoy to Russia.

In March - September 1962 - the Prussian envoy to France.

In September 1862, during a constitutional conflict between the Prussian royalty and the liberal majority of the Prussian Landtag, Bismarck was called by King Wilhelm I to the post of head of the Prussian government, and in October of the same year he became Minister-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Prussia. He stubbornly defended the rights of the crown and achieved a resolution of the conflict in her favor. In the 1860s, he carried out a military reform in the country and significantly strengthened the army.

Under the leadership of Bismarck, the unification of Germany was carried out by means of a "revolution from above" as a result of three victorious wars of Prussia: in 1864 together with Austria against Denmark, in 1866 against Austria, in 1870-1871 against France.

After the formation of the North German Confederation in 1867, Bismarck became Chancellor. In the German Empire proclaimed on January 18, 1871, he received the highest state post of imperial chancellor, becoming the first Reich Chancellor. Under the 1871 constitution, Bismarck was given virtually unlimited power. At the same time, he retained the post of Prussian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Bismarck reformed German law, administration and finance. In the years 1872-1875, on the initiative and under pressure from Bismarck, laws were passed against the Catholic Church depriving the clergy of the right to supervise schools, prohibiting the Jesuit order in Germany, making civil marriage compulsory, repealing articles of the constitution providing for the autonomy of the church, etc. These events seriously limited the rights of the Catholic clergy. Attempts to disobey caused repression.

In 1878, Bismarck passed through the Reichstag an "exceptional law" against the socialists, which prohibited the activities of social democratic organizations. He ruthlessly persecuted any manifestation of political opposition, for which he was nicknamed the "Iron Chancellor".

In 1881-1889, Bismarck passed "social laws" (on insurance of workers in case of illness and injury, on pensions for old age and disability), which laid the foundations for the social insurance of workers. At the same time, he demanded a tougher anti-worker policy and during the 1880s successfully sought the extension of the "exclusive law".

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 seizure of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, contributed to the diplomatic isolation of the French Republic and sought to prevent the formation of any coalition that threatened the hegemony of Germany. Fearing a conflict with Russia and wanting to avoid a war on two fronts, Bismarck supported the creation of the Russian-Austrian-German agreement (1873) "Union of the Three Emperors", and also concluded a "reinsurance agreement" with Russia in 1887. At the same time, in 1879, on his initiative, an alliance agreement was concluded with Austria-Hungary, and in 1882, the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy), directed against France and Russia and marked the beginning of the split of Europe into two hostile coalitions. The German Empire became one of the leaders in international politics. Russia's refusal to renew the "reinsurance pact" at the beginning of 1890 was a serious setback for the chancellor, as was the failure of his plan to turn the "exceptional law" against the socialists into a permanent one. In January 1890, the Reichstag refused to renew it.

In March 1890, Bismarck was dismissed from his post as Reich Chancellor and Prussian Prime Minister as a result of contradictions with the new Emperor Wilhelm II and with the military command on foreign and colonial policy and on the labor issue. He received the title of Duke of Lauenburg, but refused it.

Bismarck spent the last eight years of his life at his Friedrichsruhe estate. In 1891 he was elected to the Reichstag for Hanover, but never took his seat there, and two years later refused to run for re-election.

From 1847 Bismarck was married to Johanna von Puttkamer (died 1894). The couple had three children - daughter Marie (1848-1926) and two sons - Herbert (1849-1904) and Wilhelm (1852-1901).

(Additional

ANOTHER SUFFIX

Suffix(from lat.suffixus"attached") in linguistics- a morpheme, a modified part of a word, usually located after the root. In Russian, the transfer of a word from one part of speech to another is usually carried out with the help of a suffix.

I also remember from the school grammar course that a word consists of a prefix, a root, a suffix and an ending. My Russian language teacher Olga Gavrilovna always emphasized the lexical meaning of the root in a word. It was hard for a 6th grade student to disagree with this. Compared to the root, the suffix made a pale impression, but sometimes I was simply amazed at how this unpretentious particle can change everything.

For example, if we compare the words "social" and "socialist", we can immediately come to the conclusion that they have a common root "social", but different suffixes and endings. Social comes from the Latin socialis, which means public; associated with the life and relationships of people in society or to society. It would seem that if the root is common, then we are talking about, if not identical, then very close concepts. In our case, with lexical proximity, these words have a completely different meaning. Obviously? But, it turns out, not for everyone. Especially for my fellow citizens. In contemporary American political discourse, what can often be called “substitution of thesis” often occurs, when concepts are voluntarily or involuntarily replaced. In our case, inferences are built based on lexical proximity, and not on semantic content.

Let's try to figure it out.

Subjunctive mood

For us, immigrants from the USSR, the concept of "socialism" and the definition of "socialist" derived from it is associated with very specific phenomena, memory betrays them instantly. Official. Meetings. Lines, shortages. Slogans white on red. Leader portraits. Elections without a choice. History lessons, political economy, scientific communism. Dictatorship of the proletariat. Abolition of private property. Collectivization, industrialization. Holodomor. Dneproges. The enemy does not sleep. Gulag. Catch up and overtake. Five years in three years. Cast iron per capita. Stilyagi. Cult of personality. From each - according to his abilities ... Virgin lands. American - she is Israeli - militarism. "Bury America" ​​- Khrushchev on the podium. An indestructible bloc of communists and non-party people ... Supplement yourself.

With the concept of "social" it will be more difficult, but over the years of life in the United States, something has also become clear. For example, who are “social workers” and what do they do… Well, if you take one small step, move from a “social worker” to a “welfare state”, then… there is a hitch. Why? It is quite possible because the term "welfare state" appeared on German, not American soil.

It is customary to say that history does not know the subjunctive mood. In history, there was only what was. If something had been different, it would have happened. But there are exceptions to every rule. For example, an amazing experiment set by history in Germany, when an answer was given to the insidious "if".

In science, it is customary to determine the correctness of theoretical conclusions by comparing them with the results of an experiment. For example, when in the process of research the test substance is divided into two parts and subjected to different effects. Comparison of the results allows you to confirm or refute the theoretical premises, to obtain objective, that is, experimentally confirmed conclusions.

This is approximately what History did (the Almighty, the Powers of heaven - substitute at your discretion), when it divided one nation, in our case, German, into two parts. A socialist state, the GDR, was built in the east of the country. In the West - social, Germany. One state was the embodiment of the theoretical positions of the famous Germans Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Others are less famous, but also famous: Otto von Bismarck and Ludwig Erhard. In any case, both models of government were the fruits of the "gloomy German genius."

social question

In the first decades of the 19th century, the industrial revolution swept through Europe, causing tectonic shifts in the social organization of society. Under the pressure of more profitable machine production, the artisans were ruined and left without a piece of bread. Their way was only to the factory, to work 14 hours a day and for pennies. The ranks of the hired labor force were also replenished by peasants freed from serfdom, but deprived of their property. They were all called proletarians because they had nothing but their children. How to overcome endless working hours, inhuman working conditions and miserable wages? How to achieve conditions of existence worthy of man? It was the main social issue of the 19th century.

A little earlier, at the end of the 18th century, thanks to the French Revolution, the idea of ​​a liberal-legal state was established in Europe. It protected the individual rights and freedoms of man from the arbitrariness of absolutism. At the same time, classical liberalism was not ready to answer the main social question of the time. He simply did not notice it, defining any form of social protest as a violation of public order, a riot. The response of the authorities was appropriate ... Under these conditions, the protest began to develop from the initially spontaneous (Luddites, for example) to a more meaningful and organized one. Over time, this movement took the form of a political current of socialism.

In the German states, however, the first steps in the social sphere were taken at the official level already from the twenties of the XIX century. Sometimes they were stimulated by far from social considerations. For example, in Westphalia, child labor in factories was restricted under the influence of an 1828 military report. It noted the negative impact of work on the health of children, which subsequently made them unfit for military service. Of course, nothing could be stronger than such an argument!

In 1845, Prussia adopted the "Regulations on Crafting", which obligated each assistant master to join the local social insurance office and pay contributions. In 1849, a law was passed that also obliged employers to pay part of the contributions (up to half) for workers employed in their enterprises. These laws introduced for the first time the principle of joint participation of both workers and employers in the financing of social insurance. By the way, this principle is still valid today.

But, by and large, these were half measures and the social tension caused in the German states by rapid industrialization was growing. Revolutionary moods gradually matured; especially among the urban lower classes and workers, dissatisfied with rising food prices ... In Europe, the years 1848-49 went down in history as the Spring of Nations, the time of revolutions that swept almost the entire continent. It is no coincidence that it was at this time that the concept of a fundamentally new, socialist state arose. On February 21, 1848, the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels was published in London. In chapter II. Proletarians and Communists” gave a brief program of transition from the capitalist social formation to the communist one, carried out by force, through the dictatorship of the proletariat. “The proletariat uses its political dominance to wrest all capital step by step from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all the instruments of production in the hands of the state, i.e., the proletariat organized as the ruling class, and to increase the sum of the productive forces as quickly as possible. This can, of course, only happen at first with the help of despotic intervention in the right of property and in bourgeois production relations...”

The violent path, the dictatorship of the proletariat, despotic intervention - the founders of socialism were consistent in their choice of means and methods of building a bright proletarian future.

Bismarck's response

Having received their theoretical basis, the socialist movements began to grow and expand throughout Europe. These processes developed most actively in the united Germany. From the point of view of the German elite, the internal danger, namely, the socialist movement, became stronger than the external danger. On the initiative of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the Social Democratic Party was banned in 1878, as were its meetings. The socialists were deprived of the license for their publications... Perhaps in another country other leaders would have limited themselves to this, but not in Germany, and only not Bismarck. Being a conservative and a staunch opponent of socialism, he understood one simple thing - social problems cannot be solved by force alone. If reforms from above are not carried out in time, they will follow from below. But already in the form of a revolution. This was one of the most important lessons of recent history, which the wise Chancellor learned by heart. He could not allow such a development of events ... Bismarck conceived his reforms as a means to transform the working class into a community of loyal to the state and conservative-minded German citizens.

On November 17, 1881, the Kaiser's message was published proclaiming the workers' right to social security. The monarch's declaration was put into practice with the help of three social security laws passed by Bismarck through the Reichstag: in case of sickness (1883); from accidents (1884); on disability and in old age (1889). For example, the law on health insurance, among other things, provided for the payment of sickness benefits from its third day for a maximum of 13 weeks. If the illness was longer, then accident insurance came into force. Compensation was 2/3 of the average salary and began from the 14th week of illness. Responsibility for the payment of this compensation was assigned to associations of entrepreneurs based on cooperative principles ( Berufgenossenschaften).

The measures of labor insurance developed by Bismarck far exceeded those adopted in other industrialized countries. These reforms, known as Bismarck's social laws, are still in operation today. They became fundamental to the creation of the German welfare state, and over time they were copied throughout Europe. Paradox, it would seem that a Prussian Junker, a nationalist, a man of very right-wing views, proposed and implemented social reforms that really changed the life of a working person for the better. But if you think about it, the sense of responsibility for the fate of the people and the country, which distinguishes a true nationalist, could not but lead Bismarck along this path.

Test time

... The Second World War, unleashed by the Nazis, brought unheard of grief and suffering to millions of Europeans. Among those who were victims of the war were the German people. He had to pay the bills of the Nazis - nothing new, peoples always pay for the adventures of their rulers ... The situation in the defeated country was very difficult. The Allies divided the country into various zones of occupation. In the East there was a Soviet zone where the communists were brought to power. They were led by Comintern veterans Wilhelm Pieck, Otto Grottewohl and Walter Ulbricht, who arrived from Moscow. Under the leadership of the Kremlin, they immediately took up the construction of socialist Germany ... In the west, the American military administration was guided by the directive of the Joint Chiefs of Staff JCS 1067, which determined the goals of the occupation. In particular, it said: « It should be made clear to the Germans that the ruthless conduct of the war by Germany and the fanatical Nazi resistance destroyed the German economy and made chaos and suffering inevitable, and that the Germans cannot escape responsibility for what they themselves have brought upon themselves... »

Germany lay in ruins, hundreds of thousands of refugees roamed all over the country - from cities to villages and back. Plants and factories stood or were dismantled by the victors, apathy and depression reigned everywhere, the management apparatus did not work. The economy was represented by the black market. Of the 15 million in the American zone, 12 were denazified - one tenth of a percent of the population was recognized as Nazis. It was necessary to clear the ruins of cities, feed the population, give them work and a roof over their heads. The nation was in need of new leaders who could lead the rebuilding of Germany on a democratic basis. The Western Allies compiled a "White List for Germany" of Germans who did not stain themselves with Nazi crimes. In politics, the choice fell on the Mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, who was repressed by the Nazis, and in economics, on Professor Ludwig Erhard.

Konrad Adenauer was a born leader; in the midst of post-war devastation, he created a new type of party - the Christian Democratic Union. In February 1947, at the founding congress in Ahlen, the CDU adopted a political program in which the well-being of the people, the rights and dignity of the citizen were declared the main goal of the party. Thus, having determined a fundamentally new position for the German conservative movement ... As for Ludwig Erhard, by the end of the war he was a recognized economist who had been working since 1943 on the project of economic reform that the country needed after the fall of the Nazi regime. Indeed, something, but he never doubted it ... In September 1945, the American military administration appointed Erhard the Minister of Economics of Bavaria, in March 1948 - the manager of the Bizonia economy - the combined American and British occupation zones.

In the very difficult conditions of the first post-war years, Adenauer and Erhard put forward the slogan: "Material well-being is for everyone." The slogan is beautiful, but how to fulfill it? How many wonderful slogans were proclaimed in the Soviet years, but all of them, in the end, turned out to be a bluff. Well, at least: "Everything in the name of man, everything for the good of man." The Soviet people, standing in line for a conditionally edible sausage, joked that, finally, the name of this person became known - Leonid Ilyich ... Being an economist, Erhard understood the difficulty of fulfilling such a slogan. There is an inevitable objective contradiction between the market economy and social policy. The main law of the market is the desire for maximum profit, while the financing of social tasks involves deductions from income, that is, their reduction. The merit of Adenauer and Erhard was that, well understanding the nature of capitalism, they included a social component in the country's development program. Otherwise, they did not conceive of a new Germany ...

The key to resolving this contradiction was to be the rapid economic development of the country. But how, on what basis? In Potsdam, the victorious powers decided that the industrial level of Germany should be no more than half of the level of 1938, for which they began to dismantle and remove the remaining factories. In the western zones, this amounted to 8% of the capacity, and in the Soviet 45%. Statisticians have calculated that the production capacity of the western occupation zones of Germany is enough to provide every German with one plate for five years, a pair of shoes for 10 years and one suit for 50 years. The situation was further complicated by the fact that out of the 47 million people who then made up the population of the country, 10 million were German refugees from the western regions of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Later they were joined by another 3 million people who arrived from the Soviet zone of occupation. The famous publicist Gustav Stolper recalled: "... a morally destroyed nation without food and raw materials, without a functioning transport system and anything worthwhile currency, a nation whose social structure was exodus and exile, a country where hunger and fear killed hope."

Erhard's reforms

Under these conditions, more and more Germans were inclined to think that only socialism could be the only salvation from chaos... The United States could no longer remain inactive, especially since in Italy and France the Communists were part of the government and enjoyed the trust and support of the masses... On June 5, 1947, speaking to Harvard students, US Secretary of State George Marshall proposed an economic program for the revival of Europe, which went down in history as the Marshall Plan. Very significant resources (1.3 billion dollars) were ready to be placed at the disposal of West Germany. And how to manage them? The question at that time was far from being idle... In the western sector, the rules and laws of the mobilization economy, necessary for the Nazis to wage war, were still in force. The Allies tried to stop the post-war chaos with more and more decrees added to the planning system of the Third Reich. And although this was of little use - rather, on the contrary - but almost everyone agreed that only the state management of the "economy of scarcity" could save society from catastrophe.

It is paradoxical, but true: in 1947-48 the introduction of a market economy in West Germany was opposed not only by the Social Democrats and trade unions close to them, but also by the CDU, headed by the future Chancellor Adenauer (“Planning and management of the economy will be on a large scale and for a long time") ... The country needed a comprehensive economic reform so that the money of the American taxpayer could earn maximum return. It was this reform that Erhard proposed. It consisted of:

• first, monetary reform,
• secondly, price reforms.

According to Erhard, a strong impetus was needed in the beginning to get things off the ground. They were supposed to be a monetary reform. It was developed by American specialists in close cooperation with a group of German experts led by Erhard. The objective of this reform was to get rid of the "overhang" of depreciated money (Gelduberhang) and create a hard currency. On the basis of a decree of the military authorities, on the night of June 21, 1948, the old Reichsmarks were declared invalid, and new money was introduced - German marks (DM). Each resident of the country received 40 new marks in his hands (then 20 more were added to them). A new issuing bank, the Bank of Deutsche Länder, was created, and rules were developed to regulate its relations with private banks, such as the amount of required cash reserves.

And the task of the price reform, which came into force three days after the currency reform, was to abolish the Nazi-created "compulsory economy" - (Zwangswirtschaft), the abolition of the administrative allocation of resources and price controls. Deregulation of prices and wages was carried out consistently and steadily. If the occupying authorities were largely responsible for the monetary reform, then the abolition of mandatory prices was entirely the brainchild of Ludwig Erhard and his economic management.

The effect of the reforms exceeded all expectations. Eyewitnesses of the events of those years, French economists Jacques Zuff and André Pierre wrote: “The black market suddenly disappeared. Storefronts filled to overflowing with goods, factory chimneys began to smoke, and trucks bogged down the streets. Everywhere the dead silence of the ruins gave way to the noise of construction sites. And no matter how amazing the scope of this rise, its suddenness was even more surprising. It started in all areas. Economic life on the day of the currency reform arose, as if by the sound of a bell ... Even in the evening, the Germans wandered aimlessly around the cities in order to get scarce food with difficulty. The next day, everyone thought about what and how to produce. In the evening, their faces expressed hopelessness, and in the morning the whole nation looked to the future with hope. There is no doubt that the decisive rise in the German economy began with the currency reform.

Erhard's reforms rapidly changed Germany and marked the birth of the hitherto unknown Soziale Marktwirtschaft, that is, the social market economy.

Social market economy

In carrying out his reforms, Erhard was far from the early capitalist, liberal understanding of the state as a "night watchman" that only guards the market. As he later wrote, for him the market was not an end in itself, but a means to achieve social goals, in particular, to overcome class differences in society and maximize the development of the country's creative forces. In Erhard's view, free private initiative and competition must be combined with the active role of the state in economic life. In an ideological sense, Erhard's activity proceeded not in the mainstream of liberalism, and certainly not socialism, but in the mainstream of solidarism. But that's another story...

Erhard's "social market economy", while encouraging private competition and creating an abundance of goods, at the same time took care of those who, due to objective reasons, could not join the process of economic recovery on an equal footing, who remained on the sidelines of development ... And this is a very important feature: because such an economy is called not only "market", but also "social". "Material well-being - for all" turned out to be not so much a slogan as a principle for the development of the new Germany.

... On May 23, 1949, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany was announced. Konrad Adenauer became the first Federal Chancellor and Ludwig Erhard became the Economics Minister. Clause 1 of Article 20 of the German constitution stated that Germany is a democratic and social federal state. Thus, the concept of "welfare state" was fixed in the basic law of the country. And according to the definition given in the German encyclopedia Brockhaus , social (Sozialstaat) is a state that uses its administrative and legal power to smooth out social contradictions and promote the social welfare of its citizens. The most important element of the social policy of the state is the protection of the economically weak sections of the population in order to ensure a decent existence for each person.

With interest and amazement, the world watched the rise of the German economy. Even such a term appeared: Wirtschaftswunder, that is bish “German economic miracle”. During the period 1950-89, the gross national product of the FRG grew from 98 billion to 2.237 billion German marks. The average monthly income of workers and employees increased from DM 243 to DM 3,192. For more than 10 consecutive years, Germany's economic growth has been the highest in Europe, at around 8% per annum. And Ludwig Erhard, the architect of this miracle, never tired of repeating: "The best social policy is a good economic policy."

Indeed, thanks to the intensive development of the economy, a surplus product appeared that could be divided. First, assistance was provided to the population affected by the war. Already in March 1950, food rationing, which had existed since 1939, was canceled. In the same year, the Federal Social Security Act was passed, and in 1952, the War Damage Compensation Act. All-German laws were also adopted on the expellees, on maintaining maintenance in case of illness, a pension reform was carried out (1957) and "children's money" began to be paid. Finally, in 1961, social assistance was introduced, known in immigrant circles as "social".

But despite all the social significance of the social, this year, nevertheless, went down in history in a completely different way. Does the phrase "Berlin crisis of 1961" mean anything? What about the Berlin Wall?

Berlin Wall

On August 13, 1961, a wall erected overnight divided Berlin into two cities. Divided "weightily, rudely, visibly." Of course, by that time East Berlin was already the capital of the GDR, and West Berlin had a special independent status, but the former occupation sectors still connected the streets, the metro (U-Bahn), the city railway (S-Bahn). In many ways, the city remained a single organism. On that memorable night, the communists slaughtered alive. On the living body of the city. Before the construction of the wall, the border between the Soviet and western sectors of Berlin was, in fact, open. The 44.75 km dividing line ran straight through the streets and houses, canals and waterways. Officially there were 81 street checkpoints, 13 crossings in the U-Bahn and S-Bahn systems. In addition, there were many illegal routes. Every day, from 300 to 500 thousand people crossed the border between both parts of the city for various reasons. Of these, a significant part were residents of the eastern part of the country, who decided to leave the socialist paradise forever. This caused constant dissatisfaction with the authorities of the GDR, but the status of the city was fixed by the Potsdam agreements of the allied powers. I had to endure, although my hands itched for a long time to block the intracity border.

For many reasons, the situation worsened in the summer of 1961. In July alone, more than 30,000 East Germans fled the country. And in just that year, more than 207 thousand people left the GDR. Mostly they were young qualified specialists who were confident in their abilities, but did not find a worthy application for them at home. The indignant East German authorities accused West Berlin and the FRG of "trafficking in human beings", "poaching" personnel and attempts to frustrate their economic plans. They assured that the economy of East Berlin was annually losing 2.5 billion marks because of this. Maybe those numbers were right...

From August 3 to 5, 1961, a meeting of the first secretaries of the communist parties of the socialist camp was held in Moscow, at which Ulbricht insisted on the immediate closure of the border in Berlin. He had long sought this, but Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev hesitated. I did not want to violate the spirit and letter of Potsdam. But the frank simplicity of Ulbricht's arguments outweighed everything: if you keep the border open in Berlin, then pretty soon the population of the GDR will migrate to the West. What kind of state of workers and peasants is this, out of which all workers and peasants are ready to make their feet? And this is a showcase of socialism? This time, Ulbricht received Khrushchev's approval.

... By 1975, the Berlin Wall was no longer just a wall, but a complex engineering complex, consisting of:

• concrete fence with a total length of 106 km and an average height of 3.6 meters;
• metal mesh fences with a length of 66.5 km;
• signal fence under electric voltage, 127.5 km long;
• earthen ditches, 105.5 km long;
• anti-tank fortifications in separate areas;
• 302 watchtowers and other border structures;
• strips of sharp spikes 14 cm long and even a control-track strip with constantly leveled sand.

And so all THIS was built for many years only to keep the GDR Germans within the limits of their unpretentious small-sized happiness.

And they, stupid, could not realize the greatness of their historical mission of the builders of socialism and in any way strove for the West. For example, 28 people went through a 145-meter long tunnel dug by them. Hang-gliding flights were made, in a balloon made of nylon fragments, they left by a rope thrown between the windows of neighboring houses, and even - I think in a fit of cold rage - with the help of ramming a wall with a bulldozer.
According to statistics, between August 13, 1961 and November 9, 1989, there were 5,075 successful escapes to West Berlin or the FRG, including 574 desertions from the National People's Army ...

Unfortunately, not everyone was lucky ... On August 12, 2007, the BBC reported that a written order dated October 1, 1973 was found in the archives of the Ministry of State Security of the GDR ("Stasi"), ordering to shoot to kill all fugitives without exception, including children. The British Radio Corporation, without disclosing the sources, claimed that it could have been more than a thousand dead ...

three freedoms

... The wall was demolished when it no longer made sense to maintain it, and there was no one ... But its historical role in world history is undeniable. The fate of socialism was sealed the moment this wall was erected. A paradox, it would seem? After all, the Wall was built to protect socialism... But if extra efforts were needed to detain workers in the so-called workers' state, then this meant the conceptual death of the very idea of ​​​​socialism. The Germans voted with their feet for a welfare state, against a socialist one. They made their free choice. They were even ready to die for him - under the bullets of the East German border guards ...

Why, after all, the GDR, indeed, was an exemplary socialist country from the point of view of a simple Soviet person? Everyone who once visited East Germany was delighted: it was just as good as in the USSR, only a little better. Everywhere order, clean, tidy. Excellent houses, excellent roads, beautiful furniture, fashionable clothes… Beer was generally plentiful. What else does a working person need? Seriously, huh? Socialism in the German version provided quite a decent standard of living, for example, the apartment of a German worker in the East was no worse than in the West. Once visiting my friends in Munich, I noticed that the quality and layout of their two-room apartment in a nine-story panel building was no different from those in Moscow, Kyiv or Leipzig. My friends didn’t even have a car - they had enough public transport. Everything was rather modest from this point of view.

The wall proved that the working man still needed ... freedom. From excessively frequent use, the concept of "freedom" has lost any meaning and turned into a hackneyed cliché. Whoever and for what reason did not repeat this word ... But it was precisely for the sake of freedom that educated young Germans were ready to risk their lives, overcoming the Wall. The German welfare state was attracted not only by a higher standard of living, although this is important. The main thing was different. The Sozialstaat provided freedom in the economy (market capitalism), freedom in politics (liberal democracy), and freedom from poverty and misery (state social insurance). This unique trinity of freedoms, which distinguishes the social state, allowed the personality to be most fully realized. For the sake of this, it was worth taking a risk ... and taking a big risk, because on the scale of human values, there is nothing higher than self-realization.

What has not been said about the collapse of the USSR and the departure of socialism from the historical arena. Ronald Reagan's Star Wars program, and the CIA conspiracy, and Polish Solidarity, coupled with the intrigues of the Pope, and the lost war in Afghanistan, and the sharp decline in oil prices, and the restructuring of Mikhail Gorbachev, and the Chernobyl disaster were to blame for everything ... yes, a lot of things they say . Probably, all these factors have played their role, greater or lesser ... on the pharmacy scales, anyway, do not weigh. But as post-war history has shown, the socialist experiment died not because of external enemies, but was sentenced by its own citizens who wanted a decent life. And not in the late 1980s, but much earlier, at the very beginning of the 1960s. Germany served as a platform for this experiment ... maybe it somehow paid for the pain and suffering that it brought to humanity in the 20th century? It turned out that the welfare state was able to guarantee an even greater level of social security than the socialist one, without taking away individual rights and liberal freedoms in return. Socialism, with its only correct doctrine, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the Cheka and the Stasi, lost all meaning and was no longer needed by anyone.

Marxists were convinced that only violence could be the midwife of history. They were wrong. Luckily. In the peaceful competition between the two systems, the welfare state defeated the socialist one, pushing it out of geopolitical reality onto the pages of history textbooks. By the way, from a grammatical point of view, the difference between social and socialist is vanishingly small - just a different suffix. And it does sound pretty much the same.

17. Characteristics of Bismarck's domestic policy (1871-1890)

Bismarck Otto Von - the first chancellor German Empire who carried out the plan unification of Germany on little German way and nicknamed the "Iron Chancellor". When he retired, he received the title of duke. Lauenburgsky and the rank of Prussian Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal. The period of his reign is characterized by the term "Bonapartist rule" - a term used to characterize Bismarck's policy as Chancellor of Germany. Means the constant balancing of Bismarck between individual states in the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and parties in the Reichstag, the contradictions between which allowed him to exercise his sole rule. In 1878, an exceptional law was passed, prohibiting the activities of all socialist unions and organizations and their publication. Socialist agitation was punishable by imprisonment or deportation. The law was in effect until 1890, but it was not possible to suppress the socialist movement. "Carrot and stick" - Bismarck's policy towards the labor movement. As a stick - the "exceptional law" of 1878, as a carrot - social reforms. At the direction of Bismarck, a series of laws on social insurance was developed: the law on insurance in case of sickness (May 1883), against industrial accidents (June 1884), and on insurance in connection with disability and old age (May 1889). The workers were given the right to create legal trade unions, mutual benefit funds, and publish workers' newspapers on the condition that they did not propagate socialist ideas. Kulturkampf - Bismarck's struggle against the Catholic Church and Catholic clericalism. The reason for this policy was that Bismarck was afraid of political Catholicism, which supported anti-Prussian and anti-imperial tendencies with the authority of religion. Also Kulturkampf was supposed to serve as a means of Germanization of the Polish provinces. In the course of the Kulturkampf, an independent Catholic department in the Ministry of Cults was abolished, and priests were forbidden to conduct political agitation (1871). A law was passed on state inspections of Catholic schools, a law on the prohibition of the Jesuit order in Germany (1872). The May Laws of 1873 required future priests to have German citizenship, study for three years at a German university, and pass a special exam. The expulsion from the country of priests who did not obey the May laws was allowed. Compulsory civil marriage was introduced (1874-1876). The Kulturkampf policy failed. It was dismantled in 1878 and only civil marriage and state supervision of school education remained from it. Beginning in the late 1870s, Bismarck separated from the liberals. During this phase, he resorts to a policy of protectionism and state intervention in the economy. In the 1880s, an anti-socialist law was introduced. Disagreements with the then Kaiser Wilhelm II led to Bismarck's resignation.

18. Characteristics of the domestic policy of the chancellors of Germany in 1890-1914.

Leo von Caprivi - successor Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of the German Empire (Second Reich) (with 20th of March 1890 on October 28, 1894). in February 1890 was summoned by Kaiser Wilhelm II to Berlin. He was informed that the Kaiser wanted him to replace Otto von Bismarck as Reich Chancellor if he did not agree to the changes in government proposed by the Kaiser. After Bismarck's resignation on March 18, 1890, Caprivi was appointed Chancellor of the German Empire and Minister-President (Prime Minister) of Prussia. His policies are called the "New Deal": in domestic policy included liberal social reform (the repeal of the law against socialists on September 30, 1890, the establishment of compulsory Sunday rest, the introduction of an 11-hour working day for women and the prohibition of labor for children under 13 years old) and customs policy (concluded trade agreements with a number of countries, for which import duties were reduced by an average of 25%, the grain duty by 30%, and Germany achieved easier exports for products of German industry). In 1892, after the failure of his draft law on education in the Prussian Parliament, Caprivi resigned as Prussian minister-president and was succeeded by Count Botto von Eulenburg. This entailed an uncomfortable division of power between the chancellor and the Prussian premier; the dual power ended with the resignation of both on October 28, 1894 and their replacement with the prince Clovis zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. Clovis von Hugenlohe was 75 years old when he assumed the post of Chancellor. Before becoming chancellor, he was a manager, diplomat, member of the Reichstag. He was invited under the patronage of the emperor. I tried to pass 2 bills: 1 - on criticism of the state, family, etc. 2 - send to hard labor workers who interfere with strikebreakers. None of the projects were pleasant. Bernhard von Bülow - Reich Chancellor German Empire With 17 October 1900 on the 14 th of July 1909. Bülow's first act as Chancellor was to defend Reichstag German intervention policy China, and in the future he repeatedly defended the interests of German foreign policy before Parliament. June 6 1905 he was given the title of Prince (Fürst). Until 1906, foreign policy was actually determined by the baron Holstein, who served as an adviser to the German Foreign Ministry. Back in 1900, Bülow offered him the portfolio of Minister of Foreign Affairs, but he refused. 1909, after the refusal of the Reichstag to accept the budget developed by the government, Bülow resigned. July 14, 1909 his resignation was accepted. BETMAN-GOLVEG in 1909-17 - Reich Chancellor (head of production). B.-G. sought to rely in his policy on the conservatives and the Catholic party. Center ("Black-and-blue block"). Chancellery B.-G. was marked by a sharp aggravation of the class. struggle in Germany, the imperial government brutally suppressed the protests of the workers, not stopping before mass arrests and arming. the suppression of the labor movement (for example, during the demonstration of the proletariat of Berlin on March 6, 1910). Produced by B.-G. carried out active preparations for the war for the redivision of the world.