What Happened to all the German Kings when Germany Unified? (Short Animated Documentary)

Before there was a Germany there were lots of them and many of them were run by kings. But when Germany was unified under the leadership of the Prussian Monarchy, what happened to the rest of them? Did they stay or go? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.
/ histmattersyt
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[@SnapplyPie]

Truly the moment when all cartographers let out a sigh of relief.

[@LOLERXP]

Only to get eye cancer from the Weimar Republic borders.

[@genovayork2468]

@@LOLERXP that were actually pleasing both to the east (smooth, plane border with Poland, and nothing wrong strategically anyways about East Prussia) and west (border again on the Rhine.) Also, the Empire had extended a bit too much to the north: Denmark didn't even look vertical, like Denmark, but round, so little did they have from Jutland.

[@scorpixel1866]

@@genovayork2468 Rivers and mountains do make for fine looking maps, it's the large flat areas like between Germany and Poland that make it hard to know where one begins and the other end unless you put a cultural map over it which will also be closer to a gradient.

[@aamateen75]

@@LOLERXP And became blind when they saw the internal borders of the Holy Roman Empire.

[@nqh4393]

@@genovayork2468 I believe he meant the internal Weimar Germany's border, which is practically the same mess as the Empire's.

[@johntr5964]

Fun fact: In the day of his dethronement, King Ludwig III of Bavaria was taking a walk in a park in Munich, were he was stopped by a passer-by who informed him that the Kingdom of Bavaria had been abolished. Ludwig then returned to his palace only to find it dark and empty, as all the servants had left.

[@Ralle-kv8rm]

Bruh Moment

[@TheMCCraftingTable]

At the very least he gets yo keep his head

[@mathyeuxsommet3119]

Imagine walking in the streets and then someone basically tells you that you're unemployed.

[@R-H-B]

Imagine how fucking grim that would be to come back and everything is just gone

[@bigblue6917]

And they tell yo walking is good for you.

[@lemonde3415]

Funfact: King Wilhelm II of Württemberg (the Last one)was so popular that the leader of the communist/socialist front that pressed for his abdication told him openly that "it is because of the system" and that he was always a great king basicly. He was also crying during the time his soldiers where leaving for the first World War (at this time many where happy to go to fight). My favorite story is that he was often going for walks around Stuttgart (the Capital of Württemberg) with his two dogs and without bodyguards people said to him when they saw him "Greetings Mr.King" to which he raised his hat and greeted back. Often he gave Children sweets. So much so that Children just ran up to him when they saw him and asked him "Do you have anything for me"?( meaning sweets) Because of his popularity he was allowed to live in the state and got a nice pension.

[@lemonde3415]

@Naikomi Really? Where? I just know the Statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I (btw recently violated for no reason)

[@FlushGorgon]

Meanwhile, he was secretly a blood-thirsty ogre who wandered at night with his giant cleaver, eating little orphans and street urchins whole.

[@lemonde3415]

@@FlushGorgon Actually he was a vampire..... ignorant fool....tztztz That was the reason why he never ate garlic!

[@josephfox9221]

make him king again!

[@StYxXx]

@Naikomi Verrückt, was man alles übersieht, wenn man nicht darauf achtet. Muss echt mal nachschauen gehen :D

[@nehukybis]

During world war 1, the German kingdoms *still* maintained independent armed forces, though they were integrated into the German army and used more or less the same uniforms and equipment. The armies of of Bavaria and Saxony were pretty big, and even included their own air forces. If you look at the front of the German soldier's cap there are two cockades (buttons)- one is black, white and red (for Germany) and the other is various colors, depending on which German state the soldier's regiment was raised in.

[@attempt5074]

English soldiers also categorized German soldiers based on their kingdoms and not "German" as a whole. Like how they see bavarians as just an german speaking englishmen, prussians as barbaric etc

[@nehukybis]

@@attempt5074 Seem to remember an anecdote where some Wurttemburgers were rotating out of the front lines to be replaced by Prussians, but before they went they called over to the French to tell them to give the Prussians hell.

[@batmanv.hendustan7506]

@@nehukybis You might have heard from the movie/documentary “they shall not grow old” where it also says german troops of different regions despised the prussians, and whenever they surrendered the first thing they said was that they weren’t prussian.

[@thysonsacclaim]

The is how the United States went to war in WWI, too, except each state sent its own militia.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@thysonsacclaim …. By that time each state had an organized National Guard. The States NG’s were mobilized under federal command. BTW, the NG is paid for by federal money

[@aixtom979]

I live in Württemberg, and I always liked the fact that the casualties of our "Revolution" of 1918 was one guard that was knocked out and woke up a few hours later, and the King moving from his main castle to the suburbs.

[@helwrecht1637]

The more civilized way of doing things. Everyone does it better than the French, except the russians

[@adidoki]

Did you see the posters about an exhebition for Wilhelm the 2nd of Württemberg by any chance? I live in Ludwigsburg, and it´s everywhere

[@sz5336]

@@adidoki Yes

[@davidias9020]

Why "Revolution" under quotation marks? I mean, sure, the communists didnt came to power but it wasnt a revolution anyway?

[@deiansalazar140]

Best revolution ever.

[@nicolajrath1570]

"No one gets their feelings hurt despite the very obvious political reality" the humor on this channel is amazing

[@caslaBBalsac]

There need to be more smiling torture artists detailing the torture they're about to inflict though. :(

[@ZetaFuzzMachine]

Thanks for allowing me to not have to look back and pause the video for this information

[@Canada1994]

I like the joke on the Dutch border since Wilhelm was in Belgium when he abdicated and fled into exile.

[@darter9000]

1:54

[@iamsearchingforthefiletmignon]

Nice witcher thing

[@natarus93]

Saxon here, living in Dresden former capital of the kingdom of Saxony. King Friedrich Augustus III wasn't that unpopular among the people, just among those with political power. He made no secret of the fact that he wanted to regain his power (mostly for his children) and tried suing the new government over taking away his castles. But during and after his reign the king was quite popular among the common folk, easily seen by the fact that around half a million people (nearly the whole population of Dresden) mourned his death in 1932, filling the streets to the brim. The source of this popularity was the fact, that FA III didn't like all the noble stuff like dressing fancy and speaking High German. Even in meetings with other nobles the king proceeded to talk in a heavy saxon dialect. Even today many anectodes about him are told to tourists in Dresden. He tried to sneak out of the castle diguised in civilian clothes to play cards (most of the time the German "Skat") with the unknowing people. Or one time he visited a field hospital in WWI and some soldiers carrying a cauldron, filled with murky water came across the king. Seeing it as a duty to taste the "soup" he stopped the soldiers and demanted a spoon. He didn't want to listen to the explanation and demanted a spoon a second time. Upon tasting the "soup" he spat out the water. "What kind of soup are you giving out to the wounded?!" - "That is dishwater, your majesty".

[@douglasbell6433]

He was well-known for his plain speaking. He once asked Kaiser Wilhelm II whether was planning to wear uniform or plain clothes in the evening during a visit to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Kaiser said he preferred uniform. 'Quite right' said the King, 'you look hideous in plain clothes!'. Once, when opening a new bridge he made a speech that consisted solely of the words, 'let's walk over it!'

[@emrecck]

Aahahahhah cool stories 😄

[@flamingrubys11]

"that is dishwater your majesty" god i hope he toom that well

[@CheapCharlieChronicles]

Germany has a fascinating history, would love to visit and explore the small historic cities and provinces some day.

[@kwiteloverboy]

Visit Osterburken and Heidelberg, also visit Bad Mergentheim, a ton of old Bavarian and Swabian culture, also a great place to see the Black Forest.

[@josiptito9412]

it's so worth it. and it's exactly like you just made it out to be

[@thebandit0256]

Just don't bring up 1939 to 1945 that's when they were on Vacation

[@Psychol-Snooper]

@@kwiteloverboy Bad Meningitis?

[@kwiteloverboy]

@@Psychol-Snooper mergentheim, countries are forced to be called “bad” if they do damage to the economy, military, or other important parts of Deutschland’s growth

[@pagansbasin6657]

Otto von Bismarck after collecting the infinity kingdoms: now this does put a smile on my face

[@pagansbasin6657]

@@julianopfroner9164 my whole channel sus 😔

[@davids9614]

Have a timestamp for what you’re referencing? I don’t see any reference to this in the artwork or the audio.

[@e-wall199]

He missed Bohemia

[@muhammadHassan-kj1jy]

@@davids9614 Its a reference to Thanos(an alien and series baddie) collecting the infinity stones in the titular superhero blockbuster film "Avengers, War of Infinite Proportions"

[@mr.wilson9941]

The austrian painter after taking over the infinity kingdoms: reality can be whatever i want

[@GummiRiegelBipfi]

fun fact: Frederick August III was actually a very popular king because he appeared very down-to-earth and bourgeois. he was also known for his strong Saxon dialect and his rather unroyal way of speaking. it is said that 500 000 people came to his funeral to see him one last time. (He also had beef with the pope)

[@scanida5070]

As a German, I don’t even wanna know how his dialect must’ve sounded like xD Saxon is the German equivalent of a hard Scottish accent.

[@hansoskar1911]

"Macht euern Dreck doch alleene" - when he found out he was abdicated in 1918.

[@Zeruel3]

Supposedly during the Weimar era a crowd saw he was on a train as it pulled into the station and cheered him. He leaned out the window and yelled "a fine lot of republicans you are" He was basically Saxonys Prince Phillip

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

He was also apparently a narcoleptic, so he’d randomly fall sleep. Somewhat funny but it is a hard condition to live with

[@IndianaJonesTDH]

@@Edmonton-of2ec omg sleepy Joe was alive back then

[@Osterochse]

a few fun facts about how federal the German empire was can be illustrated on a lot of points. The German empire didn't have a common German citizenship. Every single citizen retained their Prussian, Saxon, Bavarian etc. citizenship. This can be nicely illustrated by the example of Albert Einstein who was born in Ulm and had therefore the Württembergian citizenship. He attended school in Munich without taking on the Bavarian citizenship. Later he gave up the Württembergian citizenship and was stateless for many years until he took on the Swiss one. After becoming a world renowned physicist he was basically given the Prussian citizenship in order to bind him to his new professorship in Berlin. People didnt seem to be bothered by the fact he unilaterally gave up his Württembergian citizenship earlier since it wasn't the Prussian one. It can be debated if that would have been the case if a German citizenship had existed. Furthermore there was no such thing as a German postal service. That was founded in 1920. Up until that moment every state had its own postal service and sending a letter to another German state would be the same thing as sending a letter in modern days from Sweden to Italy. They were organized within their state but had to hand the post to the other states which distributed it within their area since the other services were basically "abroad". Not all trade barriers disappeared after the unification of Germany. Hamburg and Bremen retained some special trading rights, in particular regarding tariffs until 1888. So basically the German empire wasn't even a unified economic zone. The German empire didn't have a common army. Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria and Württemberg all retained their own armies with their own equipment. There were two seperate war academies, one in Berlin and one in Munich. Even though only the Bavarians went to the one Munich, while the General staff of Saxony and Württemberg went to Berlin. Germany did have a joint navy though since it was basically newly founded with the unification of Germany and didn't have the same tradition and aristocratic privilege that the army had. I consider this to be the most fascinating point since I can not think of any other modern nation state that didn't even have a unified army but 4 instead. (edit: as max mustemann pointed out, I should have added that the German Armies had a joint command. So coordination wasn't really a problem. Difference in structure and equipment still lead to some problems in the first world war though. Interestingly the army and the navy never had a joint command and were basically fighting their own wars.) All of this disappeared after the end of the first world war which is why I consider the end of the first world war to be the bigger change in German statehood than the end of the second world war. After the second world war Germany pretty much just reactivated the structures of the first republic (commonly known as Weimar) with some modifications. While after the first world war Germany really went through a lot of big changes that transformed it completely. edit: PS: Another thing that I would like to add the name of the state. From 1871 to 1943 the official name was always "deutsches Reich" (German empire). It never changed in all of that time. It didn't matter if it was a constitutional monarchy, a republic or a nationalsocialist dictatorship. At all points the name always remained "deutsches Reich". Here you can see the difference in semantics since a Reich doens't require a Kaiser, a president or a Führer or anything for that matter. It is simply a term for a state. In English and other languages the term "Reich" obtained the connotation of a militaristic dictatorship, which is why the named was dropped after the second world war. Interestingly just because of that one of the fathers of the German constitution wanted to change it. Not because he himself had the opinion that the term Reich is actually a bad name for a state.

[@Strutter1980]

That is a lot of interesting info. Thank you. History is really fun sometimes.

[@maxmustermann369]

two things i want to add here. first of, there were four seperate armies, but its important to add taht in a war they would be lead by the kaiser (or more accurate he would appoint the high command, which was predominatly prussian). there are some significant changes to the constition and the way the government functioned, was elected etc. in westgermany. besides that the whole policy changed dramatically, joining the eu, cold war aso. not to mention that east germany had its own ordeal, so i would argue the wind of change was bigger after wwii...

[@dabbasw31]

The German citizenship was in fact introduced by the Nazis. Even in the Weimar Republic the Germans were technically citizens of Prussia, Bavaria... In fact Adolf Hitler, who was Austrian citizen, made several attempts to obtain a German citizenship, before finally in 1932 (!) Braunschweig/Brunswick allowed him one (yes, *they* did it). Nowaday Germany still is a federal state. The only non-federal German states were Nazi Germany and the GDR. Both the Federal Republic of Germany and the HRE lasted longer than those pitiful tries of centralism. Because Federalism is gut. :)

[@dabbasw31]

@Sam Wallace As Helmut Kohl said: "What matters is what comes out at the end" :)

[@Osterochse]

Another thing that I would like to add the name of the state. From 1871 to 1943 the official name was always "deutsches Reich" (German empire). It never changed in all of that time. It didn't matter if it was a constitutional monarchy, a republic or a nationalsocialist dictatorship. At all points the name always remained "deutsches Reich". Here you can see the difference in semantics since a Reich doens't require a Kaiser, a president or a Führer or anything for that matter. It is simply a term for a state. In English and other languages the term "Reich" obtained the connotation of a militaristic dictatorship, which is why the named was dropped after the second world war. Interestingly just because of that one of the fathers of the German constitution wanted to change it. Not because he himself had the opinion that the term Reich is actually a bad name for a state.

[@nqh4393]

Interesting Facts: - Prince Georg Friedrich, the current head of house Hohenzollern, is still the 170th in the line of succession to the British throne. If somehow the 169 people before were to die, the Brits would surely rejoice to have a German king again. - If the current British law of succession had been applied 120 years ago, Kaiser Wilhelm II would've become the monarch of both German and British empire, and WW1 would've ended much differently.

[@kristi4113]

Prince George is only what, about to be 9, I think? And if he becomes King, he’ll be the most British-blooded monarch they’ve had since Elizabeth I.

[@Elendrian]

@@kristi4113 Since Anne* Georgian Germans came after the Stuarts.

[@kristi4113]

@@Elendrian You’re totally right. George, Charlotte and Louis will have very little German, 10-15% I suspect, with Diana’s Spencer blood and the Duchess of Cambridge’s family backgrounds.

[@HerrKendys_Kulturkanal]

No need for the Prussians. The Hanoverians are higher up in the succession and therefore they could have a German King, before 169 people died.

[@KoldingDenmark]

Germans still have wet dreams about this, when they look at Elisabeth II. The desaster would have happened, had her father's brother not been taken off the throne.

[@klamur7433]

Our local Graf (Earl) still lives in his castle nearby my village near Münster (Minster). They are very nice and allowed my wife and me to marry in his castle. Gentle people.

[@DomqE]

Graf ist nicht Duke, sondern Earl oder Count. Duke ist die Bezeichnung für einen Herzog...

[@rennor3498]

Pretty sure Herzog means Duke and Graf is something like a count.

[@klamur7433]

@@DomqE Ah alles klar. Hast du recht. Dankeschön! I made A mistace and wrote Duke but the english word for "Graf" is Earl.

[@mikeynth7919]

@@klamur7433 Right. Graf = Count = Earl. The English do not use Count as a title, they use Earl, though an Earl's wife is a Countess, IIRC, and not an Earless, or Earlette.

[@kiwibob223]

"his" castle, constructed with your ancestors wealth and or blood. How nice of him.

[@thismuricanboi7869]

*Slaps Germany* “This bad boy can hold so many Kingdoms.”

[@heycunt7186]

I just love this 40k reference

[@dresden_slowjog]

Fun fact: upon abdicating, the highly popular Saxon King Frederick August III was supposed to have said "Nu da machd doch eiern Drägg alleene!" (Saxon for "Well then take care of this crap yourselves!"), but there is no documentation of this. // When standing in uniform on a station platform, he was asked by a lady to move her trunk. He is reported to have replied, "Madam, I am not a porter; I only look like one." He was so popular that 500,000 people attended his funeral procession, with even 2 being crushed to death.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Isn't there also a story that he once walked up upon a village football (soccer) game whilst he was hunting, and said (Self-deprecatingly, of course) "Haven't you villagers anything better to do on a Saturday?"

[@funnyyellowdog8833]

Interessanter Typ, danke!

[@Ramsornator]

Fun Fact: The last Saxon King was regarded as "Volksnah" (people friendly) as he spoke with a thick saxon accent (imagine the queen speaking scouse) and being known to have his foot in his mouth (for example his last words before abdicating were "well then, just do your shit on your own"). For these reasons after his abdication he became hugely popular with the people of saxony where after his death hundreds of thousands of people attended his funeral.

[@MrAlsachti]

*the queen of the UK

[@rulerofeternity7910]

I have always thought about how Germany as an empire was run and this question always lingered in my head, thanks for the info!

[@Craitash]

The idea of a federal monarchy intrigues me, and would make a good model for a fantasy story, I think.

[@genovayork2468]

@@Craitash The HRE was close to that. I do not know why you would be intrigued by a federal monarchy; if you think about it, a federal republic is a much weirder form of government, but we do not see it because we are used to them.

[@dirckthedork-knight1201]

@@Craitash Me too we really need more federal monarchies in fiction

[@scorpixel1866]

@@dirckthedork-knight1201 A federal monarchy is just your usual feudalism with an added layer of power in the emperor relying on approval from his peers. The opposite of an absolute monarchy where the top dog reduced everyone else's power to insignificance. HRE and France if you will.

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

@@scorpixel1866 Federalism is completely different from fuedalism.

[@crazeelazee7524]

Fun fact: The "German emperor instead of emperor of Germany" is not the first time they pulled this sort of shenanigans. Between 1701 and 1772 the ruler of Prussia was called "King in Prussia" instead of "King of Prussia". Ironically it was for a similar reason. There were only two "king" titles allowed in the HRE and the king in Prussia/prince elector of Brandenburg didn't want to appear as wanting to undermine the Emperor's authority (btw the two "king" titles were "king of the Germans" aka elected part of the emperor's title and "king of Bohemia", who just so happened to also be the emperor because fuck you, the Hapsburgs get all the titles)

[@Artur_M.]

On top of that there was another Prussia at the time - the "Royal Prussia" which belonged to the Polish Crown. The title "King of Prussia" could also imply a claim to that territory.

[@arx3516]

The main two titles were king of Germany and king of Italy, but while unifyng Italy the king of Sardinia took for himself the title of king of Italy, and the HRE had to change name. Addition: the king of Sardinia even took the iron crown of Lombardy itself, a relic used by Holy Roman Emperors to symbolize their status as kings of Italy.

[@tastyfalcon1788]

@@arx3516 The HRE didn't exist when Italy unified, and Italy had not been apart of the HRE for some time when Prussia was formed as kingdom

[@yochaiwyss3843]

Also he didn't rule the whole territory of prussia at the time

[@Daniel-eh1lr]

​@@tastyfalcon1788 Northern Italy de jure never left the Holy Roman Empire until it was disbanded.

[@micahtron8512]

"They got to keep doing 'fun king stuff' ". Things like this are exactly why I love this channel.

[@MatthewSchellenberg]

A reference to Ludwig II who built Neuschwanstein

[@emrecck]

@@MatthewSchellenberg thanks, still fun king stuff tho 😹😹

[@ThePerfectRed]

Here in Bavaria we still have our "duke" Herzog Franz von Bayern who does not carry an official title but is still very respected. I own a protectorate badge with his insignia which he awards to members of the shooting society. To the people in my environment, this means a lot more than an official merit.

[@sithersproductions]

The King of England Scotland and Ireland

[@arnaldoenriquez6191]

​@@sithersproductionswhat ?

[@arnaldoenriquez6191]

I imagine it's the equivalent of being emitted into an Order

[@hanshelga]

​@@arnaldoenriquez6191I'm a bit late to the party, but I think what they mean is that the Duke of Bavaria would be the king of England throuh a direct male catholic line (House Stuart). But the English dont care about catholics or direct male lines since at least 1689... so doesnt really matter

[@arnaldoenriquez6191]

@@hanshelga ah I see But wasn't there that other thing about how there's an Aussie who's suppose to be the true king as well Someone needs to get King Arthur out the wood work already

[@pomeranianproductions647]

Funfact: Many of the Houses that existed at the time in Germany still exist to this day, including the House of Hohenzollern.

[@derlasercrafterwally4342]

And they just chill in their old castles

[@renebaebae0600]

Including the majority of the smaller kingdoms and principality?

[@generalfeldmarschall3781]

@@renebaebae0600 yes

[@generalfeldmarschall3781]

@@renebaebae0600 the Duke who would be King of Bavaria today is also the jacobite successor to the Scottish throne

[@derlasercrafterwally4342]

@@renebaebae0600 yes, in germany, we have many so called "Landadel" (country royals) who lead small principalities and counties. Although many are "poor" and had to sell most of their castles, maybe retaining one or two, they still own masses of land like forests.

[@khairiisa7275]

One of the best history related KZbin channels out there. The puns, flowers on the field joke 😂, and not to forget the legendary James Bissonette. Keep up with the good work admin 😊.

[@cheydinal5401]

"And so, war"

[@bestGaming132]

@@cheydinal5401 ________ | soon... | |___|___| |

[@winnienguyen4420]

Kelly Moneymaker

[@17ethann]

no, Kelly money maker is the most legendary fs

[@slyasleep]

Are we sure James Bisonette is actually still alive?

[@teutonic_crusader1175]

Fun facts about the last King of Saxony, Frederick III: He wasnt realy interested in the whole king stuff,so when he was asked via telephone in 1918 if he would abdiacte, he said "Oh, well, I suppose I'd better." And upon abdicating, he is supposed to have said "Well then take care of this crap yourselves!"

[@dumigamez397]

Lol.

[@rawwvibes1115]

Absolutely everyone “everything sucks rn:(“ History matters “Wtf happened to the German kings” That’s why I love this guy

[@jacktaylor148]

Loving your work, your sense of humour is excellent 👌🏻

[@lionsandeaglespodcast360]

There is this German poem about the king of Würtemberg being the wealthiest of the German monarchs, because he 'could without fear/ rest his head the arms of any of his subjects'. Goes to show how much people liked them

[@billoddy5637]

1:11 Sneak attack! 😂 From inside the wall!

[@manioqqqq]

I am your walls

[@ww1metaldetecting756]

I like how he called Belgium “Southern Netherlands” on the sign in Dutch when Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands

[@clipit4503]

FINALLY SOMEONE NOTICED😂😂

[@no.6660]

Congratulations on making it on Dutch national television!

[@AsthmaBreather]

can you give me a link?

[@uyuman1]

link?

[@monkeydetonation]

bro?

[@randomperson1029]

'eenvandaag uitzending 24 februari ' i believe around 16:45

[@twitled2186]

@@randomperson1029 link pleasee

[@flemishnationalist-prayfor9809]

They were going to lose their titles but thankfully James Bisonette bribed the Prussians to keep them.

[@igorsmihailovs52]

Ahh, James Bisonette jokes. Never getting old.

[@MCTogs]

James Basedonette

[@cobeer1768]

Spencer Lightfoot helped behind the scene

[@louvendran7273]

Wow what a flag! Aangename kennis

[@ANSELAbitsxb]

Didn't they die in concentration camps or something?

[@johnbrown9542]

Fun fact, as an Austrian citizen Hitler legally wasn’t allowed to join the German Army but he was granted an exemption by Ludwig III King of Bavaria at the start of WWI Ludwig also declared that during the war Bavarian soldiers would only serve on the Western Front as any gains in the East would only benefit Prussia

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

Actually that’s just a myth. Ludwig III seeing the deputation of 1 soldier in one of the most hectic times in Bavarian history would’ve likely been a result of bureaucratic error, if it even happened at all. No, the more interesting tidbit is that one of Ludwig III’s cousins, Prince Heinrich of Bavaria was Heinrich Himmler’s godfather and namesake, Himmler’s father being Heinrich’s tutor and an ardent monarchist

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

@John Williamson Oh yeah. Ludwig III’s son Rupprecht managed to escape, I think he hid in a basement in Italy IIRC, but his wife, children and grandchildren definitely did. When the Yanks found his wife Antonia seven months later, she had been starved so much she was barely alive and unrecognizable, but everyone in question did survive. Also see my comment about the Hitler-Ludwig enrolment myth, in this comments

[@Folgeantrag]

Hitler went to bavaria to avoid conscription in the austrian army

[@Bribridude130]

2:02 Ludwig II of Bavaria. The "mad king" or "swan king" who famously constructed the Neuschwanstein Castle. He was an eccentric 19th century king who desperately wanted to live like a fairy-tale king.

[@BartlomiejDmowski]

And he actually opposed joining Germany

[@krichenboi]

And Prussia funded that

[@chakraborty1989]

0:49 WTF man...I am still rolling 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rossplendent]

I think we tend to overestimate the desire of powerful people to be "in charge" de jure, as opposed to having de facto power. Many conquests, revolutions, unifications, and other rearrangements of state power didn't actually change the standing of wealthy and powerful people. State power is just one of many forms of power, and for a lot of human history, was often subordinate to property power.

[@diranbodossian6061]

Totally, I think most sane people being told "you still get to have very nice things as long as you don't do stuff" would also go "Ja, das ist gut"

[@lilacswithtea]

sounds right, shiny people juss wanna flex

[@grein545]

Because having real power and authority means you have responsibilities and have to do stuff LOL

[@deiansalazar140]

@@lilacswithtea Monarchs are basically those kids that buy Nikes to look cool.

[@apalahartisebuahnama7684]

It's when de jure and de facto power split into two, when it actually fuse into one things can get quite troublesome no matter through democracy or autocracy. Also sometimes state power and property power didn't subordinate to each other such as case with Stalin and USSR.

[@britishtsar3727]

2:20, I remember hearing that Fredrick Augustus of Saxony was quite beloved for strengthening the Saxon economy and expanding suffrage. I also heard that he abdicated without too much resistance. Not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying sources seem to be conflicted.

[@SamWinchester000]

I read the same and support your view.

[@Maus_Indahaus]

As for the Kingdom of Bohemia, it's ruler was Austrian Habsburg monarch, and it was gradually reduced to a mere province of the empire

[@mineminecraftlp4593]

No it wasn't. It's existence lasted from its founding in 1198 all the way to 1918.

[@danytwos]

Bohemia was nearly completely autonomous in the empire being the 3rd most important member after austria and hungary

[@Lexo_The_Moravian]

Kingdom of Bohemia was fairly autonomous and one of the more important parts of the monarchy since the 16th century. When the Bavarian King got declared the King of Bohemia in the struggle for the inheritance of the royal title (Maria Theresia), Maria got quite angry at that. She remained forever cold towards Bohemia and because of that, The lands of the Bohemian crown (Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravian Margraviate ) became more of provinces in the future.

[@adamkerman475]

Always incredibly happy to see you upload History matters!

[@ahistoric_gamer9716]

Just been watching these videos and was running out, perfect timing

[@Admiral45-10]

I like how you included that WW1 veteran. Sad thing is, very few people actually know what they had to go through even after the war...

[@captainkirkmc6748]

A very small correction: The Bavarian king Ludwig III was actually the first monarch to abdicate during the 1918 revolution, on the 7th of November, one day before the Emperor. He was already unpopular in Bavaria because there had been another king, Otto, who was "mentally unstable," and Ludwig was supposed to serve as his regent as his own father Luitpold had done. But Ludwig didn't want to wait for Otto to die, so he just crowned himself king while Otto still lived, and for a few years until Otto's death, Bavaria actually had two kings. This act made Ludwig unpopular and led (in line with other factors) to his quick abdication.

[@alec5982]

I must agree, building castles is fun king stuff. The humor in these videos is amazing

[@sicily378]

Amazing as always, I’ve got a topic you could perhaps make a video on - the 1985 Sigonella incident. When Italy challenged the USA and when war within NATO might have nearly broke out extremely interesting but unknown 😢

[@MadeInHistory]

This channel gives the greatest info in the shortest amount of time. I appreciate that. No need for 20 minutes on this

[@wetwillyis_1881]

The idea that Italians hide in Pickelhaubes, to sneak attach the Austrians is singlehandedly the funniest historical joke I have ever seen.

[@connorgolden4]

This is a question I didn’t think about but want answered!

[@tuplat5107]

Actually their titles were not taken away. They got keep their titles as part of their names but all their privileges and powers were taken.

[@leoe.5046]

The titles themselves were abolished - they got taken away...But you're right, the rulers' titles became their last names

[@karnickel-s33d16]

For this reason, there is a man living today in Germany whose last name includes Prince of Great Britain and Ireland. He is Prince Ernst August of Hanover.

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

That hasn’t stopped them from using their titles outside of their name though

[@tuplat5107]

@@karnickel-s33d16 He calls himself that but he is not officially a prince of the UK. Titles Deprivation Act of 1917 removed all British titles from Germans who fought for Germany in ww1 and letters patent of 1917 limited the title of prince/princess to children and male line grandchildren of the monarch.

[@Runenschuppe]

@@tuplat5107 No German noble has any titles left. The titles were abolished and became simply a last name. That's what @MissouriLou was referring to.

[@marzipan7755]

lost it at "sneak attack", fitting as I never know when to expect a new quick visual gag love your stuff Mr. History Matters, hope you're doing well :)

[@blueindigo1000]

Thank you! I always wondered about this!

[@JeremyC574]

Von Bismarck is basically the creator of the german empire since he had a very good plan for unification

[@brandonlyon730]

To bad he couldn’t get all of the Austria on board.

[@MasonGreenWeed]

Bismarck always had a plan

[@emrecck]

@@brandonlyon730 That was tried by some other guy (with a moustache) and didn’t really end up well 😅😅

[@MyVanir]

@@emrecck The taking of Austria worked fine, it was the schemes he had after that screwed him over.

[@maclain728]

Can you make a video about the 1917 Ukrainian war of independence? Honestly with everything that’s going on it’s more relevant than ever!

[@phoule76]

we'd better bone up on our Cyrillic for the ensuing comments section fireworks

[@delano4526]

He might get in trouble for hot topics, maybe the independence wars in general. I know nothing about Belarus’s revolution

[@stanislausklim7794]

Honestly, Eastern Europe's states and borders between 1918-1922 have kind of confused me. Multiple countries which were independent de facto, but technically not independent, and new nations would pop up.

[@maclain728]

@@delano4526 He made a video about why the UK joined the EU during Brexit so I figured he might look at this conflict which occurred a century ago but like joining the EU affected the UK this very much affects modern day Ukraine. Hell it’s even where they got their saying “Slava Ukraini. Heroyam Slava”.

[@darthzayexeet3653]

The absolutely hilarious signs, the dry/deadpan humor and the mild look of annoyance whenever someone gets assassinated (and of course James Bizonette) is what made this my favorite History Channel… Aside from Oversimplified

[@mikefm4]

0:59 Best animation

[@Dominik-K]

As someone with an inent interest in this region, I always wondered about this. Thank you for answering a question I had for a long time

[@delano4526]

If the CSA won would the states become their mini state-countries if that makes sense?

[@chrisfrommrbeast]

I love the running across the field of flowers scene.

[@jamesleary1332]

1:13 I love the little detail of the soldier being shot from a sliding panel in the wall behind the words sneak attack. Very creative and funny too. I love this channel for this stuff

[@grantorino2325]

Great video! I'd just like to add, though, that following the Franco-Prussian War, Latin finally died as a language. Namely, after Prussian victory, Bismarck mandated that all children start being taught *Standard German* (based on a southern "High" dialect). Throughout her history, poor German children grew up speaking a local dialect, whereas rich youths first learned to speak Latin. Even though the language had long been replaced, in the Mediterranean, with the Romance languages, it somehow managed to hang on in Northern Europe until the 1870s.

[@vonKraehe]

Ah yes the „Kulturenkampf“ against the Catholic Church… A often overlooked Chapter in Bismarck‘s political Life.

[@corvus1374]

When I was stationed in Germany with the US Air Force, we were having a bit of a party with a group of German Air Force people. One of them was from Bavaria, and they all claimed they couldn't understand him. We were also stationed in Ramstein, close to the French border, and a lot of the pronunciations had French influences. Guten morgen, for example, was pronounced "Mo'zhe".

[@petermelang6695]

Sauce?

[@leoe.5046]

@@corvus1374 that guten morgen you stated isn't influenced by french - it's a pretty common pronunciation in many german dialects

[@0ntimetaiment921]

@@corvus1374 They might not have been lying. More than half my family is from Bavaria, and as a kid I could barely understand them if they spoke among each other. It's probably the hardest to understand dialect in modern Germany unless you count "Platt" which basically died out.

[@darthzayexeet3653]

This Channel is the definition of answering a question you never knew you wanted to have answered

[@moebiusx7245]

As a history graduate I love this channel. It's funny and well done (the academic part of me wishes that he would list his sources at the end of the video though, for further reading). On a side note, the narrator sounds a bit like Richard Ayoade, so I have the bonus image in my head of Moss giving me a history lesson.

[@zddxddyddw]

I've been wondering this exact thing for a long time, thank you!

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nicely explained.

[@kgd9725]

This was a question I had thought of long time back because although I knew what happened to the Emperor ,what happened to the rest was not well known . Thanks for making a great video.

[@eurodoc6343]

Technically, by the mid 19th century, ony Bohemia and Prussia had been "kingdoms for centuries", and in Prussia's case, only for about a century and a half. The other four were all "promoted" to kingdoms after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire barely 50 years prior.

[@MyVanir]

Saxony at least had decades of "experience" at being ruled by a king due to Poland.

[@ignacioballesterbon9727]

Great episode as usual, thank you!

[@Kite403]

Something I never thought about until it was brought up. Thanks History Matters! :D

[@NicolaW72]

The German Empire was a Federation of four Kingdoms, six Grand Duchies, five Duchies, seven Principalities, three Republics and Alsace-Lorraine, which had a special constitutional position as a so-called "Reichsland". The Emperor was only the "President of the Federation of German Princes and Free Cities" by the Constitution of 1871. His real power was based in the fact that the Emperor was also the King of Prussia and that Prussia was in control of 3/4 of the territory of Germany and in control of 2/3 of its population.

[@dgaul123]

Love this channel. Could you do a video on why the German kingdoms were so interspersed amongst themselves and not continuous areas of land?

[@ricomuru9486]

Many small princedoms and statelets

[@foty8679]

Because borders in Europe were defined by war, not some guy with a pencil.

[@zz449944]

@@foty8679 As the result of wars and the territorial gains and losses that occurred, some German kingdoms were granted new lands in new places. This happened to German kingdoms that lost lands in Alsace, Lorraine, Belgium, etc. over time with new lands granted to them in places such as Prussia. So this helps to explain why so many non-contiguous areas were claimed by so many kingdoms and principalities. Marriages of princes and princess and the hereditary extinction of families also helps to understand the transfer of royal houses and territories into and out of non-contiguous lands. History fails to record how the peasants reacted or were treated after suddenly finding themselves under the rule of new foreign princes.

[@bennorwood8433]

Keep up the great work producing videos

[@tweisbek2]

Now this IS a question I've personally had before. Great vid as always!

[@rocky_m27]

Can we appreciate this man for one second? He somehow fits complex information into a three minute video while still giving all the facts.

[@fadhilahzaidan4946]

We already did that way before you do.

[@scanida5070]

Funfact: The Prussian domination in Germany was hugely unpopular in the southern German states, especially in Bavaria. To this day the Bavarians are very sour about the Prussians and they have a specific insult: “Saupreiß!” (which essentially means: “Dirty Prussian” or “Prussian Pig”).

[@Admiral45-10]

This reminds me a Polish insult: _Gorsi od Bolszewików!_ (,,Worse than Bolsheviks!") Another one, for a snitch, is _ubek_ (UB-man (let's say)). UB (Security Office, later renamed to SB) was a secret police in Communist Poland, and people snitching to those public officers were called as being ones themselves. No one died, but UB was secretly known for torturing suspects and those who were actually proven to do one of those ,,horrendous crimes against the people": - having relatives in AK - going to church every Sunday - singing Patriotic songs (especially _Boże, coś Polskę)_ - speaking something against the Party - listening to Western Radio (mostly Radio Free Europe) - declearing themselves as Roman Catholic instead of Athiest - being Kashubian Could end in some unpleasant things, like getting worse job, not getting permittion to leave country, having a child drafted to an Army, and so on. Something similar to Chinese Social Credit System today.

[@kekeke8988]

Well lucky for them, Prussia no longer exists.

[@emrecck]

Yeah but Prussia and Prussian culture made today’s Germany unified and so powerful. Prussian army was the best as they defeated France. I don’t know, I mean, you don’t have to like but without Prussia there wouldn’t be Germany as of today. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@scanida5070]

@@emrecck The Prussians were the first ones to oppose a unified Germany in the first place. If they hadn’t been so cocky, then we could’ve already had a much more liberal and united Germany in 1848!

[@richierich7229]

@@scanida5070 They didn't want Germany united under Austria.

[@thegeneralissimo470]

The Italian sneak attack was one of the funniest things I’ve seen you do, well done.

[@Minorheadlines]

Thanks for the video!

[@ShouldOfStudiedForTheTest]

01:56 S-tier meme template

[@Vinemaple]

You really need a video on why a tiny sliver of the Schwabenland/Black Forest area, Hohenzollern, had such a close connection to Prussia, and why its royal family, or at least its name, keeps turning up across and even beyond Germany!

[@altang884884]

THAT WAS AWESOME! I often wondered this question but didn't know where to start. Super productive 4 minutes.

[@BrammBass]

A very interesting topic. I have been thinking about this quite often. Nice to finally find a proper answer 😃👍

[@Totgehoert]

Fun Fact: when Friedrich August III. Of Saxony were forced to abdicate in 1918, he said "Macht doch euren Dreck alleine!" ("Then deal with your shit on your own!")

[@Admiral45-10]

This reminds me some of quotes of Marshall Joseph Piłsudski to his polliticians: - _Wam kury szczać prowadzić, a nie politykę prowadzić_ - ,,You should lead chickens to shit, not make pollitics" - _Kto nie był socjalistą za młodu, ten na starość będzie skurwysynem_ - ,,Who wasn't a Socialist when young, will be a son of a bitch when old" - _Rzeczpospolita to wielki burdel, konstytucja to prostytutka, a posłowie to kurwy!_ - ,,Republic is a giant brothel, Constitution is a prostitude, and envoys are whores!" - _Ja tego, proszę pana, nie nazywam Konstytucją, ja to nazywam konstytutą. I wymyśliłem to słowo, bo ono najbliższe jest do prostituty. Pierdel, serdel, burdel._ - ,,I didn't call it Constitution, Sir, I call it Constitude. And I made up this word, because it's closer to prostitude. Jail, sausage, brothel" - _Panie Marszałku, jaki program tej partii?_ _Najprostszy z możliwych. Bić kurwy i złodziei, mości hrabio_ - ,,Sir Marshall, what's the program of this party?" ,,The simpliest of them all. Beat up whores and thieves, My Lord" - _Racja jest jak dupa, każdy ma swoją_ - ,,rightousness is like ass, everyone has his own"

[@koenlefever]

1:47 Another example of this kind of semantic distinction between the "Emperor of Germany" and the "German Emperor" was when Belgium was created in 1830-1831: he was/is not the "King of Belgium" nor the "Belgian King" but the "King of the Belgians", thus not linking the title to the territory nor to the state but to the people. This creation of a "Belgian people" was important, since Belgium is on the Border of the Germanic (Dutch/Flemish and German speaking) North and Roman (French/Walloon speaking) South of Europe. It also avoided the Latin translation "Rex Belgii" (King of Belgium), which was historically the title of the King of the Netherlands, by using "Rex Belgarum" (King of the Belgians) instead. Not that the Belgian people had much say in the matter: the Belgian National Congress nominated Duke Louis of Nemours to become their first king, but after international (mostly British) pressure ended up with Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

[@faithlesshound5621]

France has both: there is would-be King of France and a would-be King of the French. There's also a would-be Emperor of France to complicate things further.

[@paulahebwa2846]

Thank you so much for the funny bite size history rundowns they are awesome

[@nasis18]

Love your videos. Learn a lot of about interesting stuff I had no idea about.

[@Obstgeist7]

Fun fact: In my great grand-parents documents there is still the writing "kingdom of Saxony", then crossed out and replaced by "free-state of Saxony". I think they were handed out somewhere around 1900(?) talk about recycling!

[@zoolanderXXL]

A little inaccuracy or maybe mental leap: When you remark the 6 kingdoms on HRE Territories, it is absolutley correct to mention Bohemia. But it stayed within Austria after 1866 and so finally, the German Empire had just 4 Kings after incorporating Hannover (Bavaria, Württemberg, Prussia and Saxony). Despite this, another brilliant video about German history! Every Patreon Cent is it worth to get this brilliant videos😎

[@Celso8205]

Wow! What an excelent video. I always wondered about this topic

[@thatninjadeadcushewastryna2573]

This Channel is a amazing I can watch this all day wish they were longer vids

[@AndrewPonti]

SNEAK ATTACK! BAM! God, I love this channel. Also, you'd think they'd do some land swaps to make their kingdoms contiguous at some point. The puzzle patchwork of the HRE and then the subsequent German successor entities always seemed silly to me (I know there are reasons, it's still hurting my OCD!)

[@awc6007]

“What was Vietnam like after The Vietnam War” for a future video. Come on dogg.

[@Strutter1980]

Really nice video. Well done!

[@flawyerlawyertv7454]

Amazing! Thank you! :D

[@baum4482]

Fun Fact: When the Empire was proclaimed in Versails the queston of German Emperor or Emperor of Germany was not solved yet so they proclaimed the Kaiser just as Kaiser Willhelm

[@deepblueskyK]

'Kaiser' is simply the German word for 'emperor' (the ruler above the other German kings), so that's only semantics. 😉

[@baum4482]

@@deepblueskyK I know the translation for Kaiser because I am german. It still works if you replace kaiser with emporor in the last sentence. I just wanted to tell ya´ll about bismarcks pro gamer move not agrevating anyone.

[@thediamondtree4027]

A really small nitpick, but on the map of 1865 the German Confederation still contained the Duchy of Limburg.

[@tbiddywag6245]

This was great thank you

[@grondhero]

That first *_Sneak Attack_* almost made me spit my drink out! I had to rewind the second one because I didn't see it. Well played, History Matters. Well played.

[@toveychurchill6468]

First criteria of German royalty: beard note: not silly moustaches like that example at 2:34 who is definitely not suspicious

[@Trelanganack]

this clearly proves why history matters

[@Formosa1]

I always get a kick out of the flower field transition whenever someone is happy or have become friends.

[@Xerxes17]

The sneak attack visual gags were fantastic and just that little pinch of absurdity that makes these videos [Chef kiss]

[@ccmarcum]

This is all so interesting. My grandmother's family emigrated around the turn of that century and as an adult, she would angrily say, ''I'm not German, I'm Prussian!'' But what about the royal titles still used today among those families? I was friends with two brothers who were princes, as was their father, who was known as the ''Pencil Prince (Prinz),'' because he worked in a stationery shop. At the end of the war, the Russians gave them few hours to leave their schloss near Dresden, and turned it into an orphanage. The family was able to buy it back from the German government. I suspect the royals today know who one another is but keep it to themselves.

[@MyVanir]

Pretty sure the old nobility still exists as formalized entities, even if not in figurehead status like the various reigning monarchs.

[@cshairydude]

You say that there had been several kings in Germany for centuries, but in fact for most of its existence there were none, except the emperor himself who was technically king of Germany (plus Burgundy and Italy). There were three in the later Holy Roman Empire (that I can remember anyway), but none of those kingdoms were German titles: Bohemia (the only exception to the "no kings allowed under the emperor" rule) was Czech; Prussia was a Baltic kingdom outside the empire ruled by the Margrave of Brandenburg within it, who wasn't allowed to call himself king within the empire; and the elector of Hanover was king of Great Britain between 1708 and 1837, only becoming a king _of Hanover_ in 1814 after the empire was dissolved.

[@MyVanir]

Before the founding of the holy roman empire, there were a number of kingdoms in the german-speaking sphere, ruled by the various offshoots of old Charlie's loins. Technically kingdoms in Germany.

[@Sloppygator9309]

Those “sneak attack” scenes had me ROLLING lmfao

[@SilencedP2P]

I would like to thank you so much, I passed my history test a few days ago because of your video on the Spanish American war, thank you!