Kulturkampf
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The Kulturkampf was the seven-year political conflict between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia, led by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, as well as other Germa
Pope Pius IX, c. 1878
Anti-Catholic caricature in the Munich Leuchtkugeln, 1848. A warning not to rejoice yet. The Catholic cleric as a fox and blind passenger on the wagon of progress, in order to later reverse the course of history.
Prussian Minister of Education Adalbert Falk, 1872
Otto von Bismarck, c. 1875
German Empire
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The German Empire, also referred to as Imperial Germany or the Second Reich, was the period of the German Reich from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the November Revolution in 1918, when Germ
Kulturkampf
…National-Liberals as its worst enemy, accusing them of spearheading the war against Christianity and the Catholic Church. At unification in 1871, the new German Empire included 25.5 million Protestants (62% of the population) and 15 million Catholics (36.5% of the population). Although a minority in the empire, Catholics…
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (pictured in 1873)
Emperor Wilhelm I (pictured c. 1870)
Die Proklamation des Deutschen Kaiserreiches by Anton von Werner (1877), depicting the proclamation of Emperor William I (18 January 1871, Palace of Versailles). From left, on the podium (in black): Crown Prince Frederick (later Frederick III), his father the emperor, and Frederick I of Baden, proposing a toast to the new emperor. At center (in white): Otto von Bismarck, first Chancellor of Germany, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian Chief of Staff.
Berlin Palace, the main residence of the House of Hohenzollern