How did Germany Become a Country? | Animated History

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Sources:
Burbank, Jane., Cooper, Frederick. Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).
Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 2006).
Fulbrook, Mary. A Concise History of Germany, 3rd ed. (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019).
Hirschi, Caspar. The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Merriman, John M. A History of Modern Europe: from the Renaissance to the Present (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996).
von Bismark, Otto. Speech to Prussian Parliament, September 30, 1862. Translated by Hermann von Petersdorff.
Westad, Odd Arne. The Cold War: A World History (New York: Basic Books, 2019).
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[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Go to sponsr.is/cs_armchair and use code ARMCHAIR to save 25% off today. Thanks to Curiosity Stream for sponsoring today’s video. Armchair Historian Video Game: store.steampowered.com/app/1679290/Fire__Maneuver/ Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/armchairhistorian Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Promo code: ARMCHAIRHISTORY for 50% OFF Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/

[@L17_8]

Jesus loves you ❤️ please turn to him and repent before it's too late. The end times described in the Bible are already happening in the world.

[@prezmrmthegreatiinnovative3235]

do the evolution of Estonian military from 1918 to 2023

[@Alsacerian]

do more china vids

[@abderahmanelaib7363]

Do a video about the arab world changes in history

[@ultama4140]

@@L17_8 already your here, its a history video no one is really going to care nor is the Armchair historian him self

[@lucianoosorio5942]

“This enraged the allies, who punished Germany severely.”

[@gigachad3457]

This enraged his fathet who punished him severely

[@Sour_dough_bread_historian]

Oversimplified. 🗿 🍷

[@AlreadyTakenTag]

Remember, never say "third time is the charm" to any Austrians or Germans.

[@EvilEgg331]

@@Sour_dough_bread_historianThat guy is for babies. Go watch someone with details. He only uploads once a year.

[@janavnaik5433]

Tbh allies took away the original germany starting states from germany after ww2

[@oliversherman2414]

It's a shame that everyone focuses on Germany in the world wars and mostly ignores the rest of German history. The history of the German states is very interesting

[@Googledeservestodie]

I agree, I kind of wish this channel did more Roman history because Germany- or rather the tribes and clans that would become Germany- really stand out among Roman adversaries.

[@oliversherman2414]

@@GoogledeservestodieMaybe Griffin could do a couple of videos about the Punic Wars a bit like Oversimplified did

[@beepboop204]

i mean those Germans were the "Germans" as opposed to other Germanic peoples who lived in those Germanic states. its messy, but Reich 2 was the Unification and that runs right into the world wars... so it makes sense. the pre-unification stuff is very interesting though

[@MarijaKazMarija17]

Well the Austrian wanted make space for his people, but in the end, his Fatherland was partitioned. I am from Kazakhstan, and my ancestor was a German prisoner from Saxony 1945. Made to do manual labor

[@oliversherman2414]

@@beepboop204 Yeah. Pre-unified Germany deserves more attention

[@patrickhaeusler]

Might be nitpicking, but since this video is specifically about borders, Pomerania was not entirely under Swedish control before the Great Northern War. It had been split up between Sweden in the West and Brandenburg-Prussia in the East all the way back in 1648, and while Prussia took over parts of Swedish Pomerania, most importantly the major city of Stettin, it wasn't fully transfered until 1815. And "Lesser" Germany wasn't originally meant to include Alsace-Lorraine since it was a accepted as a part of France and only came under German control after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. However, the original Lesser Germany would include Luxembourg which was a part of the German Confederation and pulled out later due to it's personal union with the Netherlands.

[@eleum1400]

Definitely not nitpicking, as these all are vital aspects. He also didn't really mention the 30-years war, just that "Brandenburg became Gustav's vessel" when the trauma of the mid 1630s and especially Wittstock 1636 highly contributed to Frederick William's efforts to finally have a standing army, thus enabling him to win at Fehrbellin and so forth. Not to mention the Brandenburg army made the elector more interesting as an alliance partner. It's the main reason why Brandenburg was able to assert itself as a great power in the 18th century. I usually like armchair historian's videos, but for this one he overgeneralized way too much. But that's what happens when someone whose main interest lies in 19/20th century history attempts to cover the entire history of a country's borders.

[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Good corrections, thank you!

[@beepboop204]

stuff is very mess. i live in a country that was invented from scratch so the borders here are a lot less exciting, even though there are some minor tensions with the US, its nothing on that level of complexity

[@MildPsychedelic]

@@eleum1400 I mean the topic is about the evolution of borders, not the complete intricate history of all germany, of course it will be over-generalizing.

[@eleum1400]

@@MildPsychedelic but when you're making a video on the evolution of borders you should include the events that shaped the evolution of borders. which the things mentioned did, among others. nobody's calling for a "complete intricate history of all Germany"

[@compatriot852]

The region of Prussia and the Northern crusades in general are really deserving of its own video. It's often a part of history frequently overlooked

[@Vitalis94]

Yeah, I’m still waiting for the Anglosphere KZbin to explain the Baltics in broader terms than “the Teutons came and fought some wild Balts a lot, oops, we skip to the 1700s and the Kingdom of Prussia now…”

[@P.H.226]

@@Vitalis94 But you know, it was mostly it. I mean Teutons basically became irrelevant after 1463 and even beofore. So we have the time of 1215 to 1413 of conquest, wars with Poland and Lithuania (pre union and after) then vassalisation and then that skip. Ofc. Teutons were als important architectural power, building many castles, strongholds etc. but it isn't all that large.

[@Vitalis94]

@@P.H.226 I mean, we can shorten the American history to one sentence, getting from the Revolution, through the Civil War, WW2 and the modern period, too. It's a question on how much time you're willing on a subject. And yes, some subjects are more obscure, some historical periods lack any sources, there is also the lack of English language sources in case of this very region, but in reality, you can create a long video on Teutonic conquest alone, let alone Teutonic history or pre-Teutonic Prussia. And yeah, there are some minor channels with some hundreds of views that do exactly that, my only issue is that certain subjects are unknown to the wider public specifically because the big channels ommit them.

[@Ok-jh5el]

Lietuvis? visur tave matau ant istoriniu videos

[@sebe2255]

@@Vitalis94Most anglos probably hardly care about it

[@D00MMAST3R]

I'd love to see a Polish Border video next! Poland kinda went all over the place.

[@amckittrick7951]

That's a good idea!

[@Johnny3Batony]

Not really. Poland stayed pretty much in the same core spot of Greater Poland and Danzig Corridor.

[@TM-cm3wg]

​@@Johnny3Batonywell, not really

[@Vitalis94]

@@TM-cm3wgHe’s not wrong, the western border remained mostly* the same from the 1400s, even until 1945. The eastern border on the other hand changed a lot, yeah.

[@KedAR_48]

​@@Johnny3Batony Bro absolutely not. It started similiarly to today's borders, then fragmented into pieces losing Silesia and Pomerania in the process. Then reunited and focused on the eastern expansion. From there, it formed Commonwealth, owned Livonia, occupied Moscow for 2 years and then slowly started to decline. During Napoleonic Wars, Duchy of Warsaw was created as a much smaller Polish state. After 1813, it was back in partitioners hands, fragmenting into Austrian Galicia Lodomeria, German Duchy of Poznan and Russian Kingdom of Poland (also Cracow became independent). After ww1, it once again changed it borders, gaining more industrialized parts of Silesia, Pomesalia and Masuria while losing Zaolzie and most of eastern border to Czechs and Soviets. Only after ww2 did the Polish state reach its current form, with minor territorial transfers. You have no idea about Polish history so please don't even respond

[@Oberschutzee]

10:50 You missed Klaipeda"s region annexation from Lithuania.

[@fabovondestory]

Dang thats true

[@bradpeaseley4626]

Memelland

[@leodastopsign1653]

You and the Armchair team should definitely do this overview for other countries as well. Considering the large displacement and migrations resulting from large conquests over the centuries there are bound to be more interesting and radical border changes of nations to explore, especially in Eastern Europe, with the Huns, Avars and Mongol expansions.

[@keannoxyrenceesquivel2349]

Agreed

[@lukaswilhelm9290]

Earliest Germany i could think of is German Kingdom/Regnum Teutonicum which very rarely talk about in any videos. This eastern half of old Frankish Empire shall be used by Otto the Great to conquered other part of former Frankish realms in Italy and Burgundy to created the Holy Roman Empire.

[@Vitalis94]

I wonder how the history would turn out if we didn't have the Ottonians rule Italy and Burgundy. Bonus points for not conquering the Wendish marches, or loosing them to some Slavic state. With kingdom of Germany centered on the Rhine and modern western Germany, without having any major non-German speakers, could they have possibly turned into a proto-nation state kingdom, like Hungary or Poland?

[@lukaswilhelm9290]

​​​@@Vitalis94in my opinion, not really. Burgundy and Italy may just become an easy target for West Francia/France instead. The title of 'Roman Emperor in the west' was just too good to be a missed opportunity, if Ottonians wouldn't did it the Capetians might just take the idea instead.

[@Siegbert85]

I find it weird how it's so rarely talked about. People see the HRE and determin that it's more akin to the Western Roman Empire than any form of Germany without looking into how it was made up. In historic documents people very rarely refer to the HRE in any geographic sense. It was always more of an idea so having it shown on modern maps is kinda misleading. They did speak of Germany in geographic terms though.

[@lukaswilhelm9290]

@@Siegbert85 i personally refuse to see HRE as a 'Roman empire' because it's feels the same with Russian and Turkish claim to Rome, but i also don't want to see it as a 'German state' neither eventhough the emperors were mostly German. For me HRE was a unique entity while East Francia/German Kingdom was indeed an earliest united German state regardless it's status as a 'rump state' of Carolingian empire.

[@FishCalledRen]

I hope The Evolution of X Borders gets turned into a series! The video was really well made and unique, bravo to the Armchair Historian team!

[@FastTquick]

I would love to see a video on the evolution of Italy’s borders. Including stories about the individual Italian city states that existed until unification in the late 1800’s.

[@nameman7936]

Tbh the the history of Italy before the 1900s interests me a lot

[@Drogwin]

I appreciate that you include the Saargebiet (after ww1) and the saarland (after ww2). Well done

[@MrRjh63]

The french really tried to make it becoming part of france happen but the ppl there wanted to stay german

[@Kai_Peters]

2:37 Your sidenote is incorrect. The reason the title "König in Preußen" (King IN Prussia) was chosen, is because the region of Prussia was not entirely in the hand of Friedrich I (aka Friedrich III of Brandenburg). King OF Prussia would mean that he ruled the entirety of the region, which he did not as the western part of Prussia was still in Polish hand. King IN Prussia is just nonspecific enough, as not to anger Poland. However it is true that Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. had stipulated Friedrich may only be crowned king outside of Imperial borders, and only lands outside of the Empire could become designated as part of the new kingdom. On a sidenote to this sidenote of your sidenote: This is almost the same reason why in 1871, on Bismarck's stern advice, Wilhelm adopted the title "Deutscher Kaiser" (German Emperor) and not as Wilhelm had preferred "Kaiser von Deutschland" (Emperor of Germany). "Kaiser von Deutschland" would have claimed total dominion over all of Germany, which the semi-independent kings of Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony would not have accepted. "German Emperor" just meant that he is German and an emperor.

[@Vitalis94]

Well, as for Western Prussia, it wasn't called like that from the Polish perspective. Prior to the invitation of the Teutons, "West Prussia" as it would be later called by the Germans, was called Pomerellia, or Eastern Pommerania. There was of course Royal Prussia, but the Polish naming convention never called it "Western".

[@Ghreinos]

​@@Vitalis94 Nah, there was Royal Prussia, but yes indeed, it wasn't called western Prussia or Eastern Prussia, not even by the germans (only later). I guess it is just for our todays understanding.

[@Siegbert85]

""Kaiser von Deutschland" would have claimed total dominion over all of Germany, which the semi-independent kings of Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony would not have accepted. "German Emperor" just meant that he is German and an emperor." idk about that since he de jure was the head of state. You make it sound like the title was meaningless or on par with those kingdoms. "Kaiser von Deutschland" would have laid a claim on the German speaking regions of Austria-Hungary though as they were traditionally thought to be part of Germany. This would have caused problems with the Austrian emperor who Bismarck wanted to have as an ally.

[@Reichsritter]

Kaiser von Deutschland would have claimed dominion over Austria, the Netherlands etc.

[@jancyraniak4739]

I get what you are saying. Just remember: the western part of Slavic lands is still in Germany.

[@generalaigullletes5830]

Great video, but in my opinion this should be renamed "Evolution of Prussian & German borders" as this gives a focus on Prussian borders & their development towards becoming German emperors.

[@bastisonnenkind]

Yeah seeing the title I would have tought they would include The Holy Roman Empire. BUT this was NOT Germany. "Germany" as an idea of a nation state came really late in the process. Before that it was Kaisers and Kings and Nobles without that trait.

[@sebe2255]

@@bastisonnenkindThey did refer to themselves as German very early on. And the idea of a German realm/kingdom is at least from the 11th century. That being said the HRE and modern Germany obviously aren’t the same. And when you say Germany in a title it seems more likely and reasonable to refer to the later rather than the HRE

[@bastisonnenkind]

@@sebe2255 I think the term "Gerrmans" was invented by the Romans (Caesar me thinks). The people called themselves still "Cherusker" and "Franks" when Christianity came. But that "Germany" as an idea came that early would be news to me. The Holy Roman Empire was a multicultural, multilanguage, multiethnic construct. There was not one identity but multitudes.

[@Echoak95]

the early titles were not german or king from Germany, but germani or germania. The modern use of Germany surfaced only in the 19th century as successor of Prussia, not he HRE. Also they were not German Emperors, but Emperors of Germany as the were not the rulers of all germans.

[@vinz4066]

​@@bastisonnenkind But the Germans were still refered to as such. They were of course different from another and saw themselves primarily as Badeners , Brandenburgers , Westfalen etc. But the Term "Germans" was used.

[@aperezvoyages]

Incredible video, well explained, and comprehensible map animations. Learned a lot about Germany as maps of its many states and fiefdoms really were confusing to understand!

[@natevanness2286]

2 million subs is a crime. This channel should have 10 million. Keep up the great work. I love your content!

[@ultama4140]

iv never been so early to one of your videos, honestly been watching for a while always loved your content, and has fueled my love for History

[@Lucas.Blevins]

Great video! I really liked the visuals

[@dannyslevin5105]

Massive thank you to this channel love history and you make it really entertaining to learn more about it. Thank you sir

[@Kai_Peters]

10:32 You could have mentioned that the Anschluss of Austria was conducted without violence and welcomed by the population. 1/3rd of Chechoslovakia was ethnically German, with the majority concentrated in the Sudetenland. This area had one of the highest percentage of NSDAP members as well. The people of the Free City of Danzig voted a branch of the NSDAP into power in 1933, where it stayed until the annexation. The rest of the Danzig Corridor was not majority German, however. I'm not trying to say that Adolf Hitler's foreign policies weren't agressive. But when looking at a period map of the ethnic German population in Europe, the annexations of the places mentioned above, were not nearly as extreme as they might seem

[@Vitalis94]

NSDAP also got the majority of votes in Eastern Prussia.

[@Kai_Peters]

​@@Vitalis94 Absolutely, East Prussia had been closest to the red terror, and a stronghold of Freikorps veterans. But East Prussia was a part of the German state already, not an annexed territory

[@serebii666]

Hitler literally organized disinformation campaigns, sedition terrorism and sabotage to occupy and annex Austria and Czechia. I hope I do not need to remind that the German minority in Czechoslovakia was before 1935 well integrated, had wide reaching minority protections and was fundamental in formulating governing coalitions. Hitler took advantage of the Great Depressions effect on that industrial region to stoke populism, promising if the people seceded and joined Germany they would immediately become rich. This when in reality Germany's entire economy was operating on war preparation debt, debt that could and would only be repaid by occupying other countries and plundering their treasuries. This is why, after dismembering Czechoslovakia at Munich under the promise of having all his territorial ambitions fulfilled, he marched into the now defenseless Czechia less than 6 months occupying it under threat that he would erase Prague off the map with the Luftwaffe as he would eventually do to Rotterdam. All land that at that point had no Germans, but had large gold and industrial reserves. Hitler was simply an imperialist who used the Allies' reticence to his advantage. Nothing fair or ethical about it. He was the definition of an extremist. You are regurgitating Neo-Nazi and Hitler admirist talking points. They are simply patently and categorically incorrect.

[@vercot7000]

@@Kai_Peters Sudentenland was maybe less aggressive, but hitler's dealing with the czech president was very atrocious and terribly handled (annexation of czechoslovakia)

[@zero.Identity]

austrias anschluss was without violence, yes, but DEFINITELY NOT welcomed. lol

[@RedLogicYT]

Great video! Love the new style

[@flakreate]

This should be a new series!

[@Sour_dough_bread_historian]

I hope we can see all sorts of countries like Poland next! 🥰

[@birgereng3019]

Not sure it's the right niche but if anyone's is very (very) keen on German history, especially the Middle Ages, the HRE and also modern German warfare I hotly recommend Schwerpunkt's videos series. That guy is just another thing

[@sayyer10]

Is it available on KZbin?

[@Vitalis94]

Thanks for the recommendation, will look it up!

[@beepboop204]

ya he is good

[@_resource-guy1878]

Can you make a video about the Italian Unification, due to the fact that it is a subject that is not talked about by other channels. I enjoy understanding the work of Garibaldi and his rise to freedom. Love the content.

[@OrthoKarter]

These videos are getting better and better! God Bless!

[@sagauron]

Very well produced, well done

[@tkg__]

A giant mistake in 11:38: Poland didn't refuse to give up Danzig. It refused to give up Danzig AND a land corridor to Danzig, which would effectively cut her from the sea. That's a very important detail. We don't know what the Polish decision would be if it were only about mostly German-speaking Danzig. PS: And forgot Klaipeda from Lithuania too.

[@Vitalis94]

Was it only about Danzig, strategically, there wouldn't be a reason for Poles not to give it up. Sure, they had their postal office and a small base on the coast, but Danzig government refused to cooperate with Poland for decades at this point, and Poland had built their own port city that surpassed Danzig by 1939. So while the German request wasn't just about Danzig alone, even if it was, it was also an issue of historical claim to the city, along with Polish rights given to them by the LoN.

[@tkg__]

@@Vitalis94 yep, I can't say what the Poles would do, obviously. But Danzig itself, while an important port, was not the only thing. And Poles knew their control of Danzig is uncertain, precisely the reason of the big harbour build-up in neighbouring Gdynia.

[@Vitalis94]

@@tkg__ Yeah, that’s what I mean. I’m Polish, so I know that their worries weren’t only strategic in nature, there is this famous speech made just before the war, claiming that Danzig is ours, and we won’t give it up. So very emotional sentiment, not just political in nature.

[@gth_Jeff1229]

I happened to be in Berlin today and the timing of this video is perfect!

[@myahein2095]

Great work my man 👍❤

[@54032Zepol]

Keep up the great work 💪👍

[@purplama_3276]

i think the title is a bit misleading: the video shows the history of prussia onwards and focusses really just on the eastern border to poland. The whole history of the borders of the HRE is left out: the netherlands, switzerland and the northern part of italy. Also one thing: the greater german solution for an german empire with austrian-hungarian territory did only include the german speaking parts, not the whole of Austria-Hungary (you said it but the graphic is wrong). This is the reason why austria couldnt agree to this. basically the video is just a short summary of the german unification.

[@serebii666]

Well not quite, Austrian Prime minister Felix of Schwarzenberg formulated at the time that German unification could ONLY happen under a fully intact Austria - including the non-German lands. It was a natural position for Austria as the ruler of the HRE for the past 400 years and the head of the the German confederation. In a reaction to that, not before, the Kleindeutsche Lösung idea began to be formulated and presented to the King of Prussia. At the same time prominent representatives from within the German Confederation, specifically František Palacký of Bohemia vehemently denied any unification of Slavic lands like Bohemia into the German unification project. Austria however fought for primacy, including non-German and non-Confederation possessions, but lost out when they lost the Brotherhood war. So the Greater German solution ALWAYS counted with ALL of Austria being incorporated. The graphic was not wrong. This debate however was later used and distorted to justify Austria and Czechia's forcible annexation into Nazi Germany on the basis of incomplete German unification from the 1860s. As for the lands of Switzerland, Netherlands etc.: these were already out of the HRE from at latest 1648 if not earlier, predating the rise of nationalism and nationalist questions. This video is only 12 mins long. It is obvious only a surface level quick over view. It cannot be more for such a historically politically and culturally complex region.

[@purplama_3276]

​@@serebii666 Yes, as i wanted to say for austria it was an absolute condition that the unification could only happen with the whole territory. But the members of the national assembly from 1848 who voted for the großdeutsche Lösung ever envisioned only the integration of the german-speaking parts of the austrian empire. And i think this is the important perspective to take if you wanna judge how the greater german solution did look like. So the graphic is not completely wrong, but at least misleading. Yes these countries were early out from the HRE but nevertheless it would be interesting for the "evolution of german borders". If you say it is irrelevant because nationalism came later, then the acquisition of the prussian lands is equally irrelevant to be included in the video. In general i wanted to state with my comment that the video just summarises the story of unification (which there are plenty of videos on youtube already, even from the armchair historian). The - at least for me - interesting part of german history before the rise of prussia is left out.

[@serebii666]

@@purplama_3276 It is simply not true that that is what the National Assembly envisioned, since they explicitly invited Bohemia and Moravia and the Tyrolean crownlands to join as well. The Großdeutschland proposals promised so called "cultural autonomy" to these lands, but were as I wrote rebuffed as insufficient and beside the point. The Polish question in Poznan (where Poles outnumbered Germans) also betrays this, since while the assembly as late as April 1848 advocated for Poland to be restored to 1772 borders, that was later dropped in July, as the assembly cared more about German rights over Polish nationalism under the "Might makes right" principle (i.e. the Poles deserved to be dominated by the Germans because they were too weak to be independent). That debate was further defacto ended by the publication of Austria's Pillersdorf and then March constitutions. The Austrian position then became unmistakably clear, proclaiming the state to be a unitary constitutional monarchy (despite the reality of it's validity in Hungary) and it was only after that that the countering exclusionary vision began being advocated for. A greater dimension to the debate was the religion of the leading partner, and since the Parliament was organized under the auspices of the Rhineland polities, they naturally favored the Protestant Prussia over the Catholic Austria, to the chagrin of the South German states. It was in October IIRC that the parliament passed the proviso declaring that all German territory would be joined in the new nation, but Non-German land would need to be abandoned OR only held in a personal Union in the crown. This proposal was pushed through (and even so very narrowly) by the Protestants and Prussians over all objections from any Catholics, southern Germans, and radicals. But at this point Austria was still pushing the inclusion of the entire empire into the consideration, and effectively destroyed it's own support when Schwarzenberg proposed a scheme that would extend Austrian hegemony over the German confederation, leading the liberals to fear the scheme becoming simply a greater Austria than a Greater Germany since the prince advocated the amalgamation of the whole empire with the German confederation. All in all the parliament was more focused on political structure of Germany than specific geographic boundaries. For the purposes of a quick intro video on German unification, that graphic is fine. We see from the above that there were many differing opinions on the vision of "Germany". It makes sense to start the discussion in a post 1648 timeline, since that is the generally accepted date for the innovation and recognition of national/state boundaries. You could just as easily argue otherwise that the video should have started with the Germanic migrations of 1000 BC or the Frankish kingdom in the 5th century. But that is a lot more time that is far more tenuously related to the topic of modern German unification. And the Video obviously dwells on the territorial history of Brandenburg-Prussia post 1648 as it was in retrospect the primary protagonist in German Unification.

[@purplama_3276]

@@serebii666 You're right! Both options were discussed and only in october the from you mentionend resolution was passed. But my point stands that because of this resolution a map depicting this solution would be better and not a map showing "Großösterreich" which was then only further pushed by Schwarzenberg. TY for your explanation, didnt know that in detail! Yes you are exactly stating my point that the title is a bit misleading :) It would be more fitting for the video to be named "evolution of the borders of the nation state germany" or something like that. I dont say it is in any form dumb it focusses on brandenburg-prussia. I just say the german borders are a lot more than that. And that those aspects would be (for me) far more interesting than the hundredth video on german unification. I think my main critique is this as another user better expressed: holgerlinke98 vor 2 Stunden In a video about borders, largely justified by who lives in what area, i don't really saw any ethnicity/language maps. Which takes away a lot of flavor and context. Like why territories changed hands and why. i find it actually pretty weird to say germany lost a quarter of it's territory but not to mention the ethnic cleansing of germans in that process. Just summarising the unification was disappointing for me.

[@tkg__]

Yep, it's a fairly weak video for one titled "Germany's Borders", it mostly talks about German unification and reunification while leaving out the... well... borders. And anything pre 1410 is ignored.

[@geoffreymelissisgamergeoff10]

Who know when u think about Germany is like that one kid in school who every year or two changes his personality lol. Great video though!

[@Migue23227]

His personality and his seat too lol

[@Uncle228]

Another banger video from the evolution series

[@ScP-049-01]

You will not believe how long I waited! Thank you 😊

[@pocketmarcy6990]

Crazy that Germany no longer owns the territory that they started from

[@Siegbert85]

That's very misleading though. Germany didn't start from East Prussia. The kingdom of Germany within the HRE is pretty similar to what is Germany now (plus Austria and Switzerland)

[@abdurru]

Loved this video, you should do more of these with different countries 😊

[@gaurangjadhav5411]

Hey you make great content you are my 2nd most favorite histoy channel❤

[@paleoph6168]

9:30 I hope that you will make a video on the Boxer Rebellion in the future.

[@giovannimartin9576]

Should have started with East Francia, IMO. Its King held the title King of Germany.

[@Siegbert85]

Yeah... well not quite. The title of king of Germany came into use some centuries later but it was a reference to East Francia.

[@galatheumbreon6862]

Can we all agree, the borders of Imperial Germany look so appealing

[@thelvadam2884]

ohh yes !

[@christcosmique6619]

Nice looking border… nice form…

[@calimerohnir3311]

not really no. You might be playing too many paradox games if you find blobbing appealing

[@micahistory]

yes

[@Vitalis94]

As if Weimar borders are somehow lesser? These ones at least didn’t have any major ethnic minorities in them.

[@mountainman679]

You should more of these types of videos.

[@brokenbridge6316]

We don't see enough histories about single countries enough. This was a nice short video.

[@micahistory]

really interesting video, it's cool to see how a small duchy became a powerhouse on a global scale

[@Romaath]

Considering this in named "Evolution of German Borders" I had hoped you would also take a closer look at the Western Borders, specifically all the lands France got from "Germany" (or rather the HRE) over the centuries. Noone ever seems to do that on KZbin. Otherwise good video.

[@P.H.226]

But it's really hard to call HRE as the Germany, especially that half of Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Neadtherlands, Belgium, parts of France, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Bohemia were in it. Germany is kinda successor state to HRE but honestly one is not the other. I mean imagine a video "Ottoman empire borders" that would went back to goturk Khanate. Or imagine Great Britain borders that would go back to migration of Angles and Saxons. Or of Italy that would go back to Rome. It would be all to incoherent

[@sebe2255]

@@P.H.226 Germany is not really a successor state to the HRE either. England is a different case. The Kingdom of England as it existed until the acts of the union was founded by the Anglo-Saxons and is a direct continuation. There wasn’t even the need for a successor state as there was no successor. It doesn’t exist anymore now as it was followed by the union of Scotland and England, and later the creation of the United Kingdom. But England isn’t like the HRE in that regard. There is a clear and direct continuation of the Kingdom

[@Echoak95]

@@P.H.226 Germany is the successor of Prussia, while Austria is the successor of the HRE. Austria had the same Emperor and the imperial capital with all the former HRE ministeries and imperial titles.

[@P.H.226]

@@Echoak95 okay but in that case you are solidifying my point that putting HRE im this video would have been bad

[@Echoak95]

@@P.H.226 Oh yeah for sure, sorry misread it a bit

[@ChancellorOfHistory]

MORE STUFF LIKE THIS PLEASE.

[@crawdaddy7667]

New upload just in time for breakfast? Nice!!

[@AGamerthatregretsalot]

Funny Austrian painter wanted to connect Prussia, only to make its existence dissapear.

[@Vitalis94]

Gamer move doesn't always pay off.

[@MPGTvgo]

Very nice and interesting video and also series .. I would like to see evolution of greek borders 😮

[@SkynetVortex]

great episode

[@user-tj1xi5op1m]

love your videos

[@Latziks]

What a great topic and an amazing video! I was always a bit confused of Prussia's beginnings, but you managed it to make it easy to understand! Hope all is well.

[@Vitalis94]

Well, I have yet to see a video really delving into pre-German Prussia, or a video explaining the history of the Teutonic order in broader terms than “they were invited, fought Poland a bit and then secularized, now onto Ducal Prussia and the 1700s, goo”.

[@SiPakRubah]

​@@Vitalis94I'm more curious how the Holy Roman Empire even existed, and lasted for almost a thousand years

[@sebe2255]

@@SiPakRubahThat is pretty simple Charlemagne gets declared emperor of the Romans (not the HRE). This Empire dies and is defunct for a few decades Otto the Great manages to unite a lot of it under East Frankia and gets declared Emperor of the Romans again (so not yet the HRE nominally) In the 12th century they do a rename and the Emperors become Holy. In essence it is just a continuous elective Empire that was founded by Otto the Great

[@Sawdust_]

amazing video, though i have a slight nitpick about some borders someone already talked about swedish pomerania, but im talking about austria after WW2 austria was also divided into seperate occupied zones, with vienna also being split apart like berlin, which doesn't show up on the map i know that the video is about the german nation, but it would be good to mention that they were also split up(and to show it on the map)

[@Reichsritter]

Austria is part of the German Nation

[@ChadTwiz-xl8cc]

Amazing video! Would love to the evolution of polish borders next!

[@starksvensk]

This looks like a bussin video. Thanks!

[@shawnhapes707]

Otto Von Bismarck has to be my favorite historical player he was just such a mastermind

[@P.H.226]

It always amazes me. I mean anyone in politcs isn't praiseworthy if you think about it but Otto was just too cruel, especially to Poles and Silesians. I mean, although it's not that level, for me it's like admiring the hitler. mastermind but of evil. Mind can be respected for strategy which were effective but as a human person - really terrible

[@Carpediem357]

He was a really good general and minor politician. He foresaw many things that could lead Germany down a wrong path and unfortunately for him those events happened

[@suchendnachwahrheit9143]

​@@P.H.226wth! Who would ever compare Bismarck to Hitler. Are you insane?

[@P.H.226]

@@suchendnachwahrheit9143 no I'm not. I simply didn't forget all the evils he's done that are overshadowed by his great accomplishment. Hinestly, if Hitler were to won ww2, you'd really think that mainstream image of him were that bad? These 2 are obviously not alike, Bismarck was different, but both were terrible persons. 1 simply lived later and had greater power

[@vinz4066]

​@@Carpediem357 He wasnt a General. He was an outstanding statesman though. If Wilhelm II would have listened to him WW1 would Not have happened the way it did.

[@semiramisubw4864]

Bismarck was a great person. Sadly in the last years there were talks to cancel his statues. Kannste dir nicht vorstellen was hier abgeht. Also you forgot that we brought some good beer to china, which is still everywhere in that region, Tsingtao. Also Königsberg was offered to us back but we refused it if im not mistaken. Not entirely sure but i heard that quite sometimes.

[@prathamlotia9986]

Love such content

[@beckerdo]

Great video. Love the narrative. Love the animations. Now how about some earlier Germanic history videos? Say one from the Roman Republic to Charlemagne? And maybe the second from Charlemagne to this video.

[@c.lynnmiller5677]

“It was during this period that Prussia would come to blows with the pint-sized potentate.” Napoleon: “Hey! I’m average height for the time!’

[@marcoenguero6544]

Great Video 👍

[@Evan-ww5vu]

Good work❤

[@thegenzpodcast2022]

Maybe do France next? It's so cool how old they are from Charlemagne's empire, to today

[@ommsterlitz1805]

Could start from the Gallic Empire since it's only about borders or even the Gaulish conquest and sack of Rome by Brennos in 380 BC

[@Siegbert85]

Charlemagne's empire isn't what developed into France. It was equally split apart under his grandsons. Only West Francia developed into what's now France.

[@ommsterlitz1805]

Charlemagne himself is the grandson of a famous French hero, Charles Martel who repelled the Muslims at the battle of Tours and his father Pépin le Bref was already pushing the boundaries of the Empire further than the Rhine trying to convert the barbaric eastern germans to Catholicism, Charlemagne sons are also the oldest recorded writers of old French text so it just an historical anomaly to have East and west Francia not reunite to form a bigger France@@Siegbert85

[@sebe2255]

@@ommsterlitz1805Charles Martel was many things. But he was absolutely not French If anything he and his predecessors are the reason for the power balance within the Frankish Kingdom shifting away from northern france back to the original Frankish homeland Also, the Imperial title didn’t go to either East or West Francia but to middle Francia and then Italy. Middle Francia included the Imperial territory of Italy and the Frankish heartland in the Low Countries and West Germany. So if anything it the anomaly is that both if then didn’t join under Middle Francia.

[@ommsterlitz1805]

@@sebe2255 Even is name is a classic old French name with Martel meaning hammer and Charles being a common name in France even to this day stop being such a buffoon he was even born in what is French speaking Belgium.

[@titanlord9267]

I love how this can go in so many ways, some I would love to see would be Turkey, China, the US, France, Spain, Italy, and Russia

[@elo8076]

i love this so much

[@ShangZilla]

10:45 Czech is an adjective not a name for a country or region. It's either Czechia or Czech lands which include regions of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.

[@tactizak323]

are you going to do napoleonic or colonial? We would love to see them on topic from armchair historian himself

[@pravind76]

The US turned a blind eye as Soviet Union stole German territories post WW2. Heck, even Poland got into the act, taking Stettin which wasn't part of the great Potsdam carve up of Germany. Churchill's words once the carve up was completed are very telling.

[@nimdaqa]

Good. Nazi Germany deserved to lose territory as it was a genocidal slave state.

[@KixverzEditz]

​@@nimdaqanuh uh

[@nimdaqa]

@@KixverzEditz Your words: nuh uh My response: How many people died in Nazi Germany? Courtois: 25,000,000 Rummel: 20,946,000 Heidenrich: 17,000,000 Brzezinski: 17,000,000 How many people died in East Germany? LA Times: 100,000 Independent: 100,000 UPI: 90,000 Chicago Tribune: 40,000 1940 Soviet GDP: $417 Billion Economic Growth: 14% German GDP: $387 Billion Economic Growth: 0.75% Source: Harrison.M. (2000). The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison East Germany: 525% Economic Growth, paid 95% of war reparations West Germany: 334% Economic Growth, paid 5% of war reparations Source: Heske.G. (2009). Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnung DDR 1950-1989 (Germany saw greater economic growth and killed less people under occupation which they deserved after murdering millions)

[@thatguy1132]

​@@nimdaqaMURICA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🧨🧨🧨💥💥💥

[@nimdaqa]

@@thatguy1132Allies ☭🇷🇺🦅🇺🇸☕️🇬🇧🥢🇹🇼🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳🇺🇳

[@darealsherlock8026]

Great video m8.

[@executionergabriel924]

The saddest part for at least is the complete loss of Königsberg essentially the birth place of of Germany

[@Siegbert85]

Nobody thinks of Königsberg as the birthplace of Germany. The video is very misleading imho

[@nimdaqa]

Why is it sad for a genocidal slave state (Nazi Germany) to lose territory?

[@idk-zi3gw]

​@nimdaqa then not take the territory

[@AfF3lix]

Some major Disagreement here West (BRD) and East (DDR) Germany didn't unify into Modern Germany. The DDR was absorbed willingly/joined the BRD Nothing in the BRD system changed. Nothing of the DDR system remains.

[@Ghreinos]

One thing stayed, the DDR Sandmann 😉

[@AfF3lix]

@@Ghreinos Stimmt der ist aber auch Toll :D

[@captainspacebones3795]

Im playing a Prussia campaign atm in VIC 3. The borders of Germany extend well into the Balkans and the Low Countries. This is canon Germany now.

[@danielandronic9749]

So interesting!

[@BMC2]

Awesome series, do one about Morocco

[@michelvondenhoff9673]

There was also territory that went to Belgium after ww1 (Land of Eupen and Belgian Eifel) and The Netherlands post ww2 (Selfkant). The Belgian territories are to this day Belgian. After a referendum the German speaking people wanted to remain Belgian. The Dutch territory went back to Germany in 1963. Yet a road remained Dutch untill early 2000's. FYI in this part of Germany is the most western location of the country (Tüddern).

[@agastyatuljapurkar4711]

"Poor little Germany, too big for Europe, too small for the rest of the world" -Henry Kissinger

[@pep-qew1977]

If someone is too big for europe then it's not poor.

[@sebe2255]

It wasn’t even too big for Europe, just too big for France

[@noidea5984]

​@@sebe2255They were able to defeat any nations in 1v1 but of course you had to mention France

[@sebe2255]

@@noidea5984 Except they weren’t able to defeat Britain. In ww1 the British navy directly starved them into defeat and in ww2 they also failed to defeat Britain after the fall of France.

[@noidea5984]

@@sebe2255 They starved them to defeat also because other nearby countries did blocade and ruined their resources in years of fighting. And in WW2 Germany had bigger fish to fry, the Soviet Union, if it wasn't for the important aircraft casualties of the battle of France and the need of more for an invasion of USSR this could have been different. UK could have been able to do a stalemate maybe, but never to win

[@DylanMarshal-ed4es]

Can you do a video on the second Boer war next

[@prosandcons-fl2cc]

Love this

[@nisarshaikh5664]

An interesting story, well done!

[@AlreadyTakenTag]

I wonder what country's borders have gone through the most changes in history. There are so many possible candidates for that title. We may never know, but it's something to occupy your mind with whenever you are bored.

[@SupaSillyThyme]

china.

[@Vitalis94]

Depends on how you count it, and if you count some kingdom's borders as if modern country existing there now has some continuity with it. All and all, pre nation state world borders just worked in a very different way, in some ways you couldn't call them borders, depending on how far back you got. In the end, it's just impossible. Maybe if we counted from say, 1800s-1900s onwards or something.

[@cyancat8633]

I'd imagine Russia or the central Asians and also hungry and Bulgaria and tripes in Europe that came ya know

[@fireironthesecond2909]

Austria is my bet My specifically the Habsburg’s control

[@SupaSillyThyme]

@@fireironthesecond2909 CHINA.

[@elianderson6355]

Great video

[@Fitzgerald934]

Some nitpicks too. The elector of Brandenburg only became a Vassall of Sweden in Prussia not in the empire. Hence to make him switch sides after swedish losses the poles offered a full independence of the prussian parts. Friedrich I of Prussia was the son of Friedrich Willhelm not the Grandson. The title wasnt legally ficticious but actually acknowledged by the emperor but as the kingdom was outside the empire he became king in prussia as only one kingdom exists in the empire. Bohemia. Jülich-Cleve-Berg were just a return of the pre war borders of prussia. The Rhineland was given to Prussia in exchange for their losses in poland and to not have Prussia annex Saxony which would have deletigimized the Role of the Austrian Emperor as Protector of the smaller german states. Your smaller germany encompasses elsass-lorraine a issue that only arose much later after the german victory in the Franco-German war. The Issue of Luxemburg was also not resolved yet. The greater german solution however did not aim to incorporate the hungarian parts like croatia or slovakia. The later parts after the northern german federation however are pretty accurately depicted.

[@youngmasterzhi]

Next time, I want to know the evolution of the USA-Mexico border

[@Compucles]

1821: Mexico gains independence from Spain, which gives it a large northern and northeastern border with the United States via their Louisiana Purchase. 1836: The Republic of Texas breaks away from Mexico, declaring and winning their independence. 1845: Texas allows themselves to be annexed by the United States and granted statehood. 1846-1848: Still upset over losing Texas by a treaty signed under duress, among other issues, Mexico and the U.S. fight the aptly named Mexican-American War. Upon Mexico's defeat, they give up much of their northern territory to the United States. 1854: In the Gadsden Purchase, Mexico sells a relatively small piece of land along its new northern border to the United States in order to solve a border dispute and to allow the U.S. a better route to build a southern railroad line.

[@thatguy9066]

Can we appreciate how much effort goes into this videos?

[@user-zm7fe7ls3g]

This is top quality stuff.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

You missed a key historical event called the "German Mediatisation", which saw the small German holdings annexed by or reorganised into larger states post-Vienna Congress.

[@F40PH-2CAT]

Gotta nitpick one comment: "Poland's refusal to cede Danzig to Germany sparked the 2nd World War". Danzig was merely the stated excuse Germany used to ratchet up tensions in the summer of 1939. Poland's yielding of Danzig being reintegrated into Germany would not have stopped the war.

[@Vitalis94]

Yeah, it sounds like Poland caused the war.

[@BasementEngineer]

You are probably right, but not for the reason you think. France, Britain, USA defacto, were going to war against Germany come hell or high water.

[@VictoireOuMort]

It actually would have because it was the last territorial ambition of Germany in Europe. Hitler would have preferred for a Polish state to have existed to be a buffer with the soviet union. And Germany even offered for joint control over Danzig with Poland if both sides agreed to have no military presence and allowed Germany to build a railway through the corridor.

[@Oberschutzee]

@@Vitalis94 It did

[@danielkaniowski5694]

Would absolutely love it if you could do this video but looking at Poland. There’s definitely a lot to unpack there

[@Emanon...]

Yes, interesting. I'd stay away from the comment section, though.

[@user-ei7bk1tq1w]

Germany: Do you want to know how I got these scars?

[@kobekkop]

Please do a documentary on the 2nd Congo War So underrated in my opinion and basically the WW2 in Africa edit: I saw that you've already made a video about the 2nd Congo War but i think you can make more extensive research and update it.

[@gogurtcz5842]

I love you man but you gotta make some videos about Czech history like Sudetenland crisis or something older like 30 years war from Czech perspective, I just wanna say that Czechia has a great and rich history and we were very important for German war machine in WW2 and we held 40% of all heavy industry in Austria-Hungary during WW1.

[@Vitalis94]

Seconded!

[@kentrosaurusboi3909]

What do you, as a Czech, think about the whole Sudetenland issue and subsequent expulsion

[@Vitalis94]

@@kentrosaurusboi3909 What one can even think about it? As a Pole from former East Germany, the history of the expelled wasn't really discussed at school some 20 years ago. Maybe it changed nowadays, I don't know. It's not something constantly on your mind. Obviously it was a tragedy, and it becomes more widely known with the passing years, but no one is really paying attention to it, not really. People living there (and I can imagine the Czech situation is quite similar) are more focused on getting by from day to day, seeing how the regions (both Masuria and former Sudetenlands) are quite poor nowadays.

[@holgerlinke98]

In a video about borders, largely justified by who lives in what area, i don't really saw any ethnicity/language maps. Which takes away a lot of flavor and context. Like why territories changed hands and why. i find it actually pretty weird to say germany lost a quarter of it's territory but not to mention the ethnic cleansing of germans in that process.

[@vercot7000]

Because the germans ethnically cleansed their polish lands

[@holgerlinke98]

@@vercot7000 hateful nonsense, nice

[@spiffygonzales5160]

​@@vercot7000 :/ Okay. So when the Soviets went on and did their own little purging that therefore means it's okay to slaughter the slavs?

[@Jay_Johandsome]

@@vercot7000Baltic peoples are not polish, and you tried and failed before the teutons to cleanse these lands

[@hopper648]

lovely video

[@WeirdofromSaturn]

Thanks for putting in my favorite fantasy country (Czechoslovakia) in the video. 0:26

[@ichhabdeinemajkujebemt1824]

Grüße aus Deutschland, vielen dank!

[@MiguelLopez-yc2rh]

Spain only sold the Caroline Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany in 1899. New Guinea was never under spanish control

[@TylerTitcomb]

You should do a video on the Spanish american war with naval battles and the technology of each nation if that's all right with you and if you think it's a good idea

[@speer1778]

I enjoyed this

[@LarsPW]

Poland got its western territories from the Soviet Union under Stalin, but it lost its eastern parts to the Soviet Union. In result Stalin moved Poland ca. 200 km into the western direction. Interesting what the western allied countries allowed Stalin to do taking the massive support into consideration which the Soviet Union needed and got from the USA during the war. Your closing citation of Bismarck does not match really because it was his major objection against his inner adversaries who wanted to make Germany more democratic.

[@LarsPW]

@@AlinaKZbinVlogsWhatfor did "the west" need the Soviet Union? The world did not need states like this at all.

[@nimdaqa]

@@LarsPW The United States relied on Soviet imports during the Second World War. Soviet Chromium Exports to the United States 429,138 tons Soviet Manganese Exports to the United States 204,386 tons Source: Russian State Archives of Economics American Domestic Production of Chromium 353,900 tons American Domestic Production of Manganese 990,400 tons Source: The Big 'L' American Logistics in World War 2

[@nimdaqa]

​@@LarsPW The United States would have also struggled to defeat Nazi Germany without the Germans suffering from millions of casualties fighting the Soviet Union. Losses on the Eastern Front KIA/DOW/MIA Axis: 4,437,400 Soviet: 6,880,600 POW Axis: 4,264,497-4,530,818 Soviet: 4,139,000-5,780,000

[@nimdaqa]

@@LarsPW You are also overestimating Lend-Lease. Tank Production Soviet Union: 1942: 20,727 plus 4,582 lend-lease 1943: 28,608 plus 3,798 lend-lease 1944: 28,963 plus 3,223 lend-lease Aircraft Production Soviet Union: 1942: 18,251 plus 4,042 lend-lease 1943: 34,637 plus 9,206 lend-lease 1944: 33,210 plus 6,459 lend-lease

[@TexGaming]

Wish we could just stop the video in 1914 😭😭😭

[@Vitalis94]

No thanks, I don't want to be German. :P

[@Oberschutzee]

@@Vitalis94 lives in germanic country🤣

[@Vitalis94]

@@Oberschutzee If I lived in France, how would it deny my sentiment of not being Italian? :p

[@Ghreinos]

​@@Vitalis94 We all wouldn't have been born, probably