WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the 1860s, Otto von Bismarck, then Minister President of Prussia, provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France. In 1871 he unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1862, he returned to Prussia and was appointed prime minister by the new king, Wilhelm I. Bismarck was now determined to unite the German states into a single empire, with Prussia at its core. With Austrian support, he used the expanded Prussian army to capture the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark.

Detailed explanation-3: -Otto von Bismarck: Kulturkampf, Welfare State, Empire In the 1880s Bismarck set aside his conservative impulses to counter the socialists by creating Europe’s first modern welfare state, establishing national healthcare (1883), accident insurance (1884) and old age pensions (1889).

Detailed explanation-4: -Bismarck was pragmatic, commercial in his thinking and had a tremendous understanding of people to take a difficult situation and turn it into a positive outcome. He was able to assess an opportunity quickly and act on it. Bismarck was an outstanding diplomat and strong-willed leader.

Detailed explanation-5: -Bismarck unified Germany under Prussian auspices through successful wars: against Denmark in 1864; against Austria in 1866, which excluded the Habsburgs, the traditional dynastic family of Germany; and then finally in 1870–71, with the defeat of France.