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|From the Renaissance to the First World War|
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The Renaissance was the right start. The wheel of time couldn't turned back and had means more damage than healing. The universal genius (uomo universale) arose here as the ideal image of the humans and is based on models of Greek and Roman antiquities. An image of the capable ruler, that Machiavelli designs in his work Il Principe.
Self-determination, the critical attitude and the turning to ancient languages and scripts at the time of the Renaissance mustn't be understood as a rejection of the institution of the Church, but as a bridge, which the Church can be free from the terrible aberrations of the Middle Ages and should connect again with the ancient. This Ideal careered in the shadow of a rapid scientific and technological development as a reverberation of the Enlightenment, which the specialization of individual areas got a new importance and was due the fact that the enormous wealth of modern knowledge couldn't be longer learned by one person. The Florentine Leonardo da Vinci lived and embodied the ideal of the universal genius, some praised him as the perfect man.
The Industrial Revolution led to a substantially accelerated development of technology, productivity and sciences, which - accompanied by a strong population growth - converge with new peaks social ills. Also the industrial revolution in world-historical perspective is a similar importance, such as the transition from nomadic life to settled in the Neolithic Revolution.
Since the 15. Century the European powers are pulled over the oceans and seas to other, foreign continents. First there are only Portuguese and Spanish, but soon after is attract other states and becomes for a race of the best seats. Now, more and more states wants a piece of the cake, whether it's gold, silk or spices, whether adventure, discovery or conquest. Once the leading European powers had divided in months of negotiations the last white spots of the African continent up among themselves on the so-called Congo Conference in Berlin at November 1884 - without regard to the will of the indigenous population - ended a long era of discoveries and conquests. Perhaps an important compensation fell away, which previously could have degraded on challenge and adventure the social, political or cultural tensions.
At the new turn of the century (into the 20.) in Europe increases the prosperity. Also the global trade in goods reaches its culmination (like so much in this century), as well the intercontinental migration. The United States will benefit the most from these two developments, the biggest economy rise as a result. Imperialism, racism and Sense of Mission (at the beginning of the century are nothing out of the ordinary) consciousness for the extension of colonialism, where now also joined the new superpower Japan very cheerfully. On the international level occur more and more aggressive nationalism that provoked state egoism and leads to deep mutual mistrust. Germany it drives in the external isolation.
That with Germany in the year 1871 in the heart of Europe a militarily and economically extremely strong, a its continental neighbors superior large unitary state arose, meant at same time a geopolitical revolution. The center of Europe was in its history always been a fragmented state. The foundation of the German Empire was militarily enforced against Austria and France and had been tolerated of the other two powers (Russia and the United Kingdom). At this time was no longer to think about an European integration. External policy was after the end of the Wiener System (at the beginning of the 1850s) more a power struggle between sovereign states, which keep a watchful eye on each other and where something like friendship played no role despite the many family links between the prominent dynasties.
An economically funded world politics was possible, because the German Reich was integrated into the global economy in a variety of ways. The most intense trade and financial contracts passed with the other European countries, as well as the USA, therefore had no imperialist interpretation. World politics were also ad hoc demonstrations of military strength, for example by the dispatch of gunboats or by the participation in the suppression of the Boxer Uprising in China (1900-1901) by an international expeditionary corps. Germany wasn't only beneficiaries, but also an active contributor of the great economic wave before the First World War. The globalisation at the turn of the century and the institution of the nation-state there were at no period in a state of competition.
It's not easy to share the entire period of the German Empire (1871-1918) as unique caesura. In the political history the fall of Bismarck in the year 1890 meant a turning point, then the German external policy changed its nature. Bismarck wasn't a second "Napoleon", who wanted to build a continental empire. More territorial claims on the expense of the neighbors were no longer sought. Centrally located for Bismarck's external policy system was the different treatment of the defeated opponents of war. Austria-Hungary grew as a result to the most important allies of the German Reich. France, on the other hand, after the defeat in three Unification Wars created between 1864 and 1871 and due the forced transfer of "Alsace-Lorraine" (1871) deeply affected, vindictive and continue thirsting for revenge, remained as main opponent and had to be isolated diplomatically for any price.
Bismarck encouraged a very refined game of the - partially secret - agreements and contracts, which in each case had a different liability. With Russia there was a relatively loose connection, with the UK despite its dynastic near (Wilhelm II. was grandson of Queen Victoria) no alliance relationships. Bismarck's very artful maintaining homeostatic system enlivened not long his creator. The clumsiness of the Wilhelminian successors and their very loudly nationalistic occur destabilised the situation, as well as displacements in a dynamic international system. Until 1907 an entirely new constellation was come into being. A French-Russian alliance had France - at the same time massive furthered the Russian economy - freed from its isolation. So that was a true nightmare Bismarck's, because the United Kingdom and France had already approximated in 1904 (Entente Cordiale) and Russia and the United Kingdom in 1907 settled a century smoldering imperial conflicts in Asia by delimitation of spheres of influence. Now, the German Reich remained as allies alone the most vulnerable among the remaining two military European powers: the Habsburg Monarchy and Italy. Based on the old opposition between Austria and Italy this was a complicated, little viable partnership. The main problem is the fact, that the German governance at the turn of the century merging to an ostentatious world politics, but didn't saw a real disadvantage in such an isolation.
Emperor Wilhelm II. was less discreet in the background as its two predecessors. And although not generally distinguished personality like his grandfather Wilhelm I., he was present in the public and put one's oar in again and again - often with bizarre go-it-alone policies - in the politics. This political system of the Wilhelminian era (1890-1914) can be characterized as a frequent conflicts interaction of several powers, none of them, not even Emperor or Chancellor of the Reich, won the unique upper hand. Political rights represented in a harsher tone more and more a tougher nationalism, after the national unity (1871) and the institutional structure of the empire was largely completed at the end of the 1870s. Now, came the increasingly aggressive demarcation to the outside in the foreground. Germany, it said, had a "place in the sun" and the remaining question is: fight for it. Of this Spirit was account the campaign for the creation of a German battle fleet, which began in 1898. The actual potential was given the enormous importance of the German military values in society far greater than assumed and warriors associations and nationalist agitations associations were around at the turn of the century not only a German special feature. But in Germany there was a radical nationalism, where the abutment of more liberal, democratic forces working against it was missing from the beginning and cohered with the Prussian militarism.
The german naval armament (german-english competition) was an immediate-lecture for the Emperor at 5. January 1896 and reasons are as follows: Wouldn't Germany add in particular and relinquish on the role of a world power, so there must be respected. And also the friendliest word makes no impression in the international negotiations, if it's not supported by an adequate power. For this a fleet is necessary compared to the naval powers. In the explanatory statement of the 2. Fleet Act (1900) it was said then, that under the circumstances it can give only one appliance, in order to protect German trade and colonies: It must have a fleet of such strength, that even for the largest fleet (meant was England) a war with him should such a risk in that their own superiority would be endangered.
The culmination point of the German naval policy went advance a part of the English newspaper Saturday Review from the 11. September 1897 about the contrast between England and Germany, there was written: In England the people begin to see that in Europe are two large unfeeling, opposite powers, two great nations, who makes the whole world to theirs domain and want to raise traiding-tribut. A million minor disputes close together into the largest war, that the world has ever seen. If Germany tomorrow has been wiped out, the day after tomorrow, there would no English man in the world, who wouldn't become so much richer, and concluded with the words: "Germaniam esse delendam". Only twelve years later two major english newspapers declared, that the position of Germany was a bigger and stronger, as it since the resignation of the Prince of Bismarck had ever been. And in Germany it would mean now, with the construction of the fleet to have taken place the full transition to the global politics. The German ascent for the world politics has been achieved.
In the electrical and chemical industries, Germany decided from the start in the leading group of the world. Many of the most important scientific and technological innovations came from Germany. Historians are speaking here of a Second Industrial Revolution, which at the same time also elsewhere, and especially in the USA, was going on. The "well-mannered humanity" was suddenly surprise by their new inventions and improvement. From one day to the other, without preparation, with deadly suddenness they had the comfortable pace of the previous existence replace with the stampede of modern life. Something like that their heart and lungs didn't held, Max Nordau wrote (Doctor, passionate Zionist and critic of civilisation) in his bestseller "Degeneration" (1892). There are (in Europe as in the USA) evidence for previously unknown nervous stresses and strains. The causes of this nervousness, George Miller Beard, the US-american pioneer of modern neurology, sees especially in the inevitable adaptation of technical innovations, in the compulsion of specialization, in the pocket watch and her embodied dictatorship of the punctuality, in the acceleration of business by the telegraph, also in the nerve-damaging impact of noise and, last but not least, the electricity. Edison's electric light is the best illustration of the effects of modern civilization on the nervous system. It has today been demonstrated that the prolongation of the day by the electric light influences the human biorhythm and reason is given for the theory, that the conversion from gasolier (gas light) on incandescent bulb at the end of the 19. Century was accompanied by symptoms.
On one hand the electrical modern developed a radical rejection of technical innovations up to pathological technology-phobia, on the other hand forced the enthusiasm for technology in the onslaught of innovation to an eccentricity and hypersensitivity. Perhaps it wasn't the electricity itself, but rather by the economic form of the introduction in highly developed industrial societies had surprise the humanity. Their working power, their attention and even their nervous system and psycho-physical existence needs to adapt on the conditions of a new electrified world. They streamed in doctors' offices and sanitarium and the medical records can now be used as research material for an archeology of the second industrial revolution.
Back to the European situation. Now, to get the situation enrich to a flammable, explosive mix, was missing an ingredient: the spice or the rabble-rouser. The new mass media in Europe (press and radio) reached now almost every household. They carried in their inexperience, licentiousness and often propagandistic intention in an emotional aspect of the reporting. As well as the German and French culture and politics in their dealings with each other cultivated their franco-german hereditary enmity over multiple generations and lived up their mutual love-hate relationship, equally have helped to keep both nations in a war fever and depending on demand to agitate in a bone mill. 'Le Deutschtum' (Germanity) is a former expression, which is to be found in French newspapers again and again as a mocking terminology, if the image of the abominable popanze (bogeyman) is to be summoned, in which the German nature after WW1 in the mass consciousness of the French and pretty most of the peoples on the earth lives. This fetish had held for years both peoples in war fever, and it was one of the mightiest powers under which that Germany have thrown to the ground. Traitors of the "Germanity", I call those of the German people, who have delivered out shreds, from which this fetish is assembled, because it's not only untruths, which depends on him, but much more true. True in the sense that it all comes from German hands, those which have presents as carrier of the true institution of the Germanity (German intellectual gift of German intellectual life). Worst opponents of the German spirit are just those, who have converted the word Germanity to a brutal swearword.
Personal Interjection:
Apart from the terrible Nazi dictatorship under Hitler and the Nazis (1933-1945) German have never identified via blood or race, but had only one common feature: the language. Everything else is nonsense. German are a motley crowd of different tribes of Europe and have given up in the Neolithic Revolution their nomadic life, harmonized and wanted to move together in the center of Europe. It was, and is and will be always the unifying feature the language of the spirit, no more needed. Whether genius or Messiah, whether idiot or moron, blood and race are in this case irrelevant.
Europe sitting in 1914 on a giant powder keg, the only missing thing was still an emotional spark (Sarajevo) for a large catastrophe. The beginning of the war was the discrepancy between initial war enthusiasm and the horrify of the true dread of a "industrial World War". And war enthusiasm is definitely a real factor, which interacted across sections of the population and political bearing and the outlook of a war in the summer of 1914 could be a real projection screen of political, existential and even philosophical desires. The politics played on the brink of the abyss - a brinkmanship. The interests of the great powers let escalate a local war in a few days to a continental war under participation of Russia and France. The policy thus lost the war to the military headquarters.
So easy, so quickly is the war began - but so hard, so slow to break up. Causes for the failure of the policy have been searched in the European system of alliances, the block formation, in the arms race and imperialism, but had a serious peace policy at an early stage could be counteracted this digression. In the context of the book "The Sleepwalkers" of the Australian historian Christopher Clark is the extraordinary complexity of the "July Crisis" in 1914 highlighted, which made on complex and non-transparent decision-making processes of the involved partially powers. So it's rather the beginning of the World War "the result" in a chain of decisions of various actors and isn't be inevitable. Historian Clark refuses, in this story - where the weapon isn't be valid as irrefutable evidence, because it was in the hands of each major actor - to designate a guilty party. Ergo the First World War was a tragedy, but not a crime.
With the First world War also ended an era optimistic belief in improvement. Now disillusionment was crept in confronting of this murderous battles and trench warfare. The order of the 19. Century came out of joint and the republican government superseded in many parts of Europe the 'monarchic'. The rise of large fascist and communist mass movements now directly threatened, who are organised in dictatorial and totalitarian regime. The bourgeois class society walked in parts to a mass society. The World War was also the end of the dominance of the European, as well as the gradual emancipation of the peoples of Africa and Asia from colonialism. With this war also came the end of a long era - the long 19. Century - that promising start began with the French Revolution in 1789 and today apostrophised as the bourgeois age. This World War was also the breeding ground for fascism in Italy, as well as for national socialism in Germany - and also a precursor of the Second World War.
And the second will blow up all the dimensions of the first, he is the first mechanized war of movement, .the first full tactical and strategic use of the third dimension of the war (liberated by the plane in WW1) and against civilian targets in the hinterland, it's the lowest point of the Mark civilizing humanity and initiate at the end with the atomic bomb the atomic age and with it the ended big conventional wars. It seems as if people lived in the face of unbridled power of the atom and the possibility from now on are be able to destroy the earth and redeem the mankind from their history, to be on probation on this planet.
In view of the "vast dislocation" which triggered the WW1 by war economy, war orphans and war widows, he is regarded today as a primal catastrophe of the 20. Century. WW1 and WW2 are internally under some historian are regarded as only one war (1914-1945), the second Thirty Years' War. In the period between 1918-1939 was only cease-fire. A wise observer of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 came after the signing of the Peace Treaty of Versailles to following conclusion and is historically authentic: "This peace treaty is not more than a cease-fire for 20 years". The seed of a new war was set by the question of sole blame for the First World War. The new German democracy of the Weimar Republic was doomed to failure with this treaty and radical forces had an easy game to destroy this still tender plant democracy from the inside. But I'll humiliated France's tough stance in a light, that in Germany wasn't one shot in the whole war and France, on the other hand suffered great devastation of land.
The Italian 'Duce-Fascism' takes a special role in the tradition older Roman statesmanship. It's an antique oriented traditionalism, which expresses itself in the cult of the Roman past, and at the same time by its revolutionary-dynamic self-portrayal in design to the futurism, produces an expansionary policies. This cult was born from an Italian avant-garde art movement and claimed to be to justify a new culture because of the broad spectrum. The Italian fascism reinvents itself in futuristic policies, where the will to power adjusts the prevailing economic constraints and a radical transformation of the society is seeking as a provision of national. A dictatorial form of rulers masked as the will of the People. The German national socialism is only a fascism as a movement in the narrower definition and is characterized by anti-semitism and racism, but that the Italian fascism in his influence is strange. Mussolini rejected repeatedly in public statements the racism and anti-semitism of the German NS and saw in it the return of the Germanismus. Mid of the 1930s the political coalition with the German Reich called for tribute and led to anti-Semitic agitation and anti-Jewish decrees laws, but not aimed of the destruction of the Jews.
(WW2, different topics or extensions follows later here)
end part two
Nutjob gun owner kills nine people
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