Napoleon's Role In The Unification Of Germany

One of the largest impacts that Napoleon had upon Germany was that he laid the stonework for the unification of Germany. This influence was mainly in society rather than the political or even economic structures of the German states. Napoleon reshaped Europe with his empire, notably in the case of Germany he created a loose unification with the Confederation of the Rhine all 16 Germanic states that were a part of it are still a part of modern day Germany. It could be argued that Napoleon’s role in the unification of Germany was not a lasting impact given that the Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved by the allies after the defeat of Napoleon. However it was not the ‘protecting’ influence of Napoleon that had such a large role in the formation of German nationalism but rather the oppressing hold he had over the Germanic states. Hagen Schulze

states that Napoleon was “the real father of the German nation” , however he does not attribute this to alliances that Napoleon created through the Confederation of the Rhine, rather the “first modern dictatorship in European history” is what sparked German nationalism. Napoleon gave German speakers a common “enemy who thus threatened German autonomy” and it was this that united them. Ziolkwski points out that prior to Napoleon embarking upon the German Campaign in 1813 many in Germany saw Napoleon as “a dam to restrain the frightening tide of the Revolution” , only for “these vague feelings were suddenly concentrated into a chorus of hatred and invective” from the population. The term ‘German speaker’ is important here as it is this that has been a popular phrase throughout the history of German nationalism, even up until the Nazi regime and Anschluss of Austria .

For many historians the ‘catalyst’ for German nationalism was the Prussian defeat at Jena and Auserstedt in 1806. This was not the glorious battle that you would expect to unify people, rather it was an unmitigated disaster; most of the Prussia strongholds surrendered immediately. This so called “catastrophe” marked the first steps towards a unified Germany as it began a unification of ideals about Germany as a nation. Thus Napoleon’s role in the incitement of German nationalism as by becoming a common enemy, citizens of the German states had something to unite psychologically. Since Berdahl states that “nationalism, at base, is rooted in the psychology of a people” we can infer that Napoleon’s role in the unification of Germany stretched further than that of temporarily unifying some German states and rather it created a common German thought that developed into the Confederation of Germany that swiftly followed Napoleon’s

defeat.