150th anniversary of German unification: Bismarck, Realpolitik, and Birth of a Nation

[@susancaldwell]

Excellent! absolutely brilliant and totally a novel analysis for me.

[@mjxw]

Very good. I hadn't before made the connection between the Austrian belligerence in the Crimean War and their ensuing isolation and vulnerability.

[@edwardchen0824]

Brilliant elucidation of German modern history. It really provides an insight into understanding how contemporary Germany came about as a nation

[@Roketerif]

I enjoyed this very mutch. Thank you

[@black__bread]

Goddamn, that was exhilarating

[@Amieto759]

Brilliant ! I’m French, should know all of this beforehand, and yet discovered I knew nothing… Republic(s) in Europe had a such a troubled birth… We should pay hommage to our forefathers and treasure dearly what they left us with.

[@lukalisjak2106]

Min 33:30: in reality, Austria already antagonized Russia by deciding to stay neutral (joining Russia would have been even more unwise, as it would have opened a front in northern Italy, as Piedmont-Sardinia eagerly sided with France & Britain). In the course of the war, it was then offered to occupy the Romanian principalities, as a sorts of a buffer zone. It was vital for her that neither Russia nor France take hold of that zone; but it withdrew as soon as the war was over. Austria was put in a lose-lose position: maintaining the alliance with Russia was too costly, joining the western powers would have been preposterous.

[@NathanWatsonzero]

Agreed, but you could easily have given other support, diplomatic, material, volentary regiments etc. More than one way to skin a cat. Austria just reacted in a horribly way. An Austro-Russian force could have held the danube area together, while still maintaining a form of neutrality.

[@TheGreatAmphibian]

There is a huge difference between staying neutral and grabbing territory… people barely remember that Eire was neutral in ww2. But if it had tried grabbing Northern Ireland, it would have been destroyed in 1945.

[@fritzkralle4689]

1871 was NOT the birth of the German nation. This is just an anglo saxon few. For us it was the start of the second Reich with Austria excluded.

[@johnmacleod2482]

what a funny last reflection

[@2070cube]

Honestly one of the best talks on modern German history by a British person. One who doesn't analyse everything like a subversive moralizing Freemason like how the British are at their core.

[@seanmatthews1]

Super lecture - but startlingly generous spin on current Germany policy vis. China at the moment.

[@seanmatthews1]

Right at the end.

[@nicholasevangelos5443]

Fully rational analysis. It is true that some do find anything other than American exceptionalism to be 'startling'.

[@TheGreatAmphibian]

It’s hard to comprehend the lunacy behind your remarks, Sean.

[@MrTompahallam]

Absolutely outstanding analysis by Adam who’s work I’ve followed for a while. He’s also brilliant when talking about economics too. The last thoughts summed up the entire story for me, I paraphrase: “Germany is not allowed to use an army to pursue its own interests”. Germanys right to exist has always been a challenge to the older established powers of Europe - France, Britain & Russia and thus German unification was a threat to the existing power structures… from 1871 onwards, the great powers worked to bring Germany into a two front war to crush her….then Versailles & we know the outcome of that… Hitler understood this and sought to unify the German peoples & restore what he rightly or wrongly believed belonged to Germany. Germany is the true great power of Europe and the power structures of Europe have always been all too aware… I think more young children will wake up to this fact the more begin to study this themselves when they ignore the nonsense taught in schools.