Editing Unification of Germany (section)

{{Short description|1866–1871 unification of most German states into the German Reich}}
{{For|the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany|German reunification}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox event
|image            = Deutsches Reich (1871-1918)-en.png
|caption          = [[States of the German Empire]] when the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg was merged into the Kingdom of Prussia on 1 July 1876
|native_name      = ''Deutsche Einigung''
|native_name_lang = de
| date            = {{nowrap|[[North German Confederation Treaty|18 August 1866]] – [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|10 May 1871]]}}
| location        = {{nowrap|{{flagicon|North German Confederation}} [[North German Confederation]]}}
|participants     = 
*'''First phase:'''
**{{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]] (leading member)
**{{flagicon|Kingdom of Saxony}} [[Kingdom of Saxony]]
**{{flagicon|Mecklenburg-Schwerin}} [[Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
**{{flagicon|Mecklenburg-Strelitz}} [[Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
**{{flagicon|Oldenburg}} [[Grand Duchy of Oldenburg]]
**{{flagicon|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}} [[Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]]
**{{flagicon image|flag of Lauenburg.svg}} [[Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg]]
**{{flagicon|Anhalt}} [[Duchy of Anhalt]]
**{{flagicon|Duchy of Brunswick}} [[Duchy of Brunswick]]
**{{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} [[Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg]]
**{{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} [[Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
**{{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} [[Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen]]
**{{flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentum Lippe.svg}} [[Principality of Lippe]]
**{{flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentum Reuß jüngere Linie.svg}} [[Principality of Reuss-Gera]]
**{{flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentum Reuß ältere Linie.svg}} [[Principality of Reuss-Greiz]]
**{{flagicon|Schaumburg-Lippe}} [[Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe]]
**{{flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentümer Schwarzburg.svg}} [[Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt]]
**{{flagicon image|Flagge Fürstentümer Schwarzburg.svg}} [[Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen]]
**{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg}} [[Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont]]
*'''Second phase:'''
**{{flagicon|Kingdom of Bavaria}} [[Kingdom of Bavaria]]
**{{flagicon|Kingdom of Württemberg}} [[Kingdom of Württemberg]]
**{{flagicon|Baden|1871}} [[Grand Duchy of Baden]]
**{{flagicon|Grand Duchy of Hesse}} [[Grand Duchy of Hesse]]
**{{flagicon|Bremen}} [[Free Hanseatic City of Bremen]]
**{{flagicon|Hamburg}} [[Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg]]
**{{flagicon|Free City of Lübeck}} [[Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck]]
|outcome =
* [[Lesser Germany]]
* [[Peace of Prague (1866)]]
* 4 German states having [[German language|German]] being popular or led by [[Habsburgs|German monarchy]] ([[Austria-Hungary|Austria]], [[Switzerland]], [[Luxembourg]], and [[Liechtenstein]]) did not join new Germany
* [[German Confederation]] dissolved 
* [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]]
* [[Duchy of Limburg (1839–1867)|Duchy of Limburg]] integrated into [[Kingdom of Netherlands]] 
* [[King of Prussia]] holder of the ''[[Bundespräsidium]]''
* [[Minister President of Prussia]] simultaneously also the [[Chancellor of Germany|Federal Chancellor]]
* [[East Prussia]]n cradle of Prussian statehood made part of Germany under intensified [[Germanization]] of Poles ([[Warmians (ethnic group)|Warmians]], [[Masurians]], and Powiślans), [[Prussian Lithuanians]], and [[Kursenieki]]
* [[Lauenburg and Bütow Land]] and former [[Starostwo of Draheim]] under intensified [[Germanization]] of [[Polish people|Poles]] and [[Kashubians]]
* Remainder of the [[Prussian Partition]] of [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]] ([[Province of Posen]] and [[West Prussia]]) annexed into the German Empire under intensified [[Germanization]] of [[Polish people|Poles]] and [[Kashubians]]
* [[Silesia]] and [[County of Kladsko|County of Glatz]] under intensified [[Germanization]] of [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Silesians]], [[Czechs]], and [[Moravians]]
* [[Lusatia]] under intensified [[Germanization]] of [[Sorbs]]
* [[Eupen-Malmedy]] under intensified [[Germanization]] of [[Walloons]]
* [[Schleswig]], [[Holstein]] and [[Saxe-Lauenburg]] annexed into [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] of the [[German Empire]] under intensified [[Germanization]] of [[Danes]]
* [[Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)]] and second phase of unification 
* [[Proclamation of the German Empire]] with [[William I, German Emperor|William I Hohenzollern]] as [[German Emperor]]  
* [[Constitution of the German Empire]]
* [[Franco-Prussian War]] and the [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]]
** The territories (later called "[[Alsace–Lorraine]]") eventually annexed into the German Empire from [[French Third Republic|France]] under intensified [[Germanization]] of the [[French people|French]]
* ''[[Kulturkampf]]''
}} {{Events leading to World War I}}

The '''unification of Germany''' ({{Langx|de|Deutsche Einigung}}, {{IPA|de|ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪnɪɡʊŋ|pron|De-Deutsche Einigung.ogg}}) was a process of building the first [[nation-state]] for [[Germans]] with [[federalism|federal features]] based on the concept of [[Lesser Germany]] (one without [[Habsburgs]]' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). It commenced on 18 August 1866 with the adoption of the [[North German Confederation Treaty]] establishing the [[North German Confederation]], initially a [[military alliance]] ''de facto'' dominated by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] which was subsequently deepened through adoption of the [[North German Constitution]].

The process symbolically concluded when most of the south German states joined the North German Confederation with the ceremonial [[proclamation of the German Empire]] ([[German Reich]]) having [[States of the German Empire|25 member states]] and led by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] of [[Hohenzollerns]] on 18 January 1871; the event was typically celebrated as the date of the [[German Empire]]'s foundation, although the legally meaningful events relevant to the completion of unification occurred on 1 January 1871 ([[Constitution of the German Confederation (1871)|accession of South German states and constitutional adoption of the name "German Empire"]]), 4 May 1871 (entry into force of the permanent [[Constitution of the German Empire]]) and 10 May 1871 ([[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Treaty of Frankfurt]] and recognition of the Empire by the [[French Third Republic]]).

Despite the legal, administrative, and political disruption caused by the [[dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire]] in 1806, the German-speaking people of the old Empire had a common linguistic, cultural, and legal tradition. [[European liberalism]] offered an intellectual basis for unification by challenging [[dynastic]] and [[Absolutism (European history)|absolutist]] models of social and political organization; its German manifestation emphasized the importance of tradition, education, and linguistic unity. Economically, the creation of the Prussian {{lang|de|[[Zollverein]]}} (customs union) in 1818, and its subsequent expansion to include other states of the Austrian (under [[Austrian Empire]])-led [[German Confederation]], reduced competition between and within states. Emerging modes of transportation facilitated business and recreational travel, leading to contact and sometimes conflict between and among German-speakers from throughout [[Central Europe]]. The model of diplomatic [[spheres of influence]] resulting from the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1814–1815 after the Napoleonic Wars endorsed Austrian dominance in Central Europe through [[Habsburg]] leadership of the German Confederation, designed to replace the Holy Roman Empire. The negotiators at [[Vienna]] underestimated Prussia's growing internal strength and declined to create a second coalition of the German states under Prussia's influence, and so failed to foresee that Prussia (Kingdom of Prussia) would rise to challenge Austria for leadership of the German peoples. This [[German dualism]] presented [[German question|two solutions to the problem of unification]]: {{lang|de|[[Lesser Germany|Kleindeutsche Lösung]]}}, the small Germany solution (Germany without Austria), or {{lang|de|[[Pan Germanism|Großdeutsche Lösung]]}}, the greater Germany solution (Germany with Austria or its German-speaking part), ultimately settled in favor of the former solution in the [[Peace of Prague (1866)|Peace of Prague]].

Historians debate whether [[Otto von Bismarck]]—[[Minister President of Prussia]]—had a master plan to expand the [[North German Confederation]] of 1866 to include the remaining independent German states into a single entity or simply that he planned to expand the [[power in international relations|power]] of the Kingdom of Prussia. They conclude that factors other than the strength of Bismarck's {{lang|de|[[Realpolitik]]}} led a collection of early modern [[polities]] to reorganize their political, economic, military, and diplomatic relationships in the 19th century. Reaction to Danish and [[French nationalism]] prompted expressions of German unity. Military successes—especially those of Prussia—in three regional wars generated enthusiasm and pride that politicians could harness to promote unification. This experience echoed the memory of mutual accomplishment in the Napoleonic Wars, particularly in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition|War of Liberation]] of 1813–1814. By establishing a Germany without [[multinational state|multi-ethnic]] Austria (under [[Austria-Hungary]]) or its [[German language|German-speaking part]], the political and administrative unification of 1871 avoided, at least temporarily,  the problem of dualism.

Despite undergoing in later years several further changes of its name and borders, overhauls of its constitutional system, periods of limited sovereignty and interrupted unity of its territory or government, and despite [[abolition of Prussia|dissolution of its dominant founding federated state]], the polity resulting from the unification process continues today, surviving as the [[Federal Republic of Germany]].