Why was Bismarck such an important figure?

Bismarck was important for two reasons: 1. Through him Germany was 'united' and became a nation. 2. He left a very strong mark on German politics and the German constitution that would have effects right up to WW2.//Before 1871, Germany was a fairly loose collection of small, strong independent states. Traditionally, the German 'confederation' was culturally led by Austria and was influenced by a legacy of autocracy and monarchy. Bismarck changed all this. The nineteenth century is when we start to see modern society emerging, and with it brought nationalism. As the wider public's wealth and political awareness grew with increasing industrialisation, the people began to organise themselves - OR as Bismarck realised - they could be organised and influenced by someone else! In Europe countries like France and Britain were becoming very powerful, and Germany wanted to be able to compete as a single, unified nation. What is special about Bismarck is that he knew how to make the German people, which were very diverse, divided strongly by region and religion, come together. He was able to export nationalism to the masses by packaging it in militarism - it was though 'blood and iron' that Germany would unite, not constitutions and politics.//What is significant about this is that Bismarck created mass politics in Germany. In order to bring the country together he had to make the people feel empowered. On one hand he did this by orchestrating successful wars against Austrian and France (1866 and 1871), but also he did this by involving the wider people. He widened the voting franchise drastically and implemented pretty radical pension and employment support for working men. Bismarck was changing how society worked in order for it to fit the modern age with a new working class. BUT we must be careful not to depict Bismarck as a progressive reformer. He did all of this for power. He created a mass, militaristic nationalism in order to place Prussia at the helm of German affairs. The constitution he created evidences this, giving great privililege to the Prussian Juncker elite of which he was a part. The effects of this were long-reaching, contributing to the rise of the Weimar Republic after WW1, and the militaristic streak Bismarck cultivated in the late 19th century can be seen in Hitler's rise to power.