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After his dismissal in 1890, Bismarck became the central symbolic figure of the German Reich. Not only numerous monuments, among them the 34 m high Bismarck monument in Hamburg, but also 240 "Bismarck towers" memorialised the "Iron Chancellor" and founder of the Reich. Bismarck's conservative-monarchical policy was controversial even during his lifetime, but not even prominent liberal critics, such as historian Theodor Mommsen or sociologist Max Weber, could detract from his popularity. Bismarck also created one of the foundations of the modern welfare state with by introducing social insurance. The Bismarck myth survived the fall of the monarchy in 1918, so that it later became easy for the National Socialists to portray Hitler in Bismarck's continuity as the culmination of his work. <br /> | After his dismissal in 1890, Bismarck became the central symbolic figure of the German Reich. Not only numerous monuments, among them the 34 m high Bismarck monument in Hamburg, but also 240 "Bismarck towers" memorialised the "Iron Chancellor" and founder of the Reich. Bismarck's conservative-monarchical policy was controversial even during his lifetime, but not even prominent liberal critics, such as historian Theodor Mommsen or sociologist Max Weber, could detract from his popularity. Bismarck also created one of the foundations of the modern welfare state with by introducing social insurance. The Bismarck myth survived the fall of the monarchy in 1918, so that it later became easy for the National Socialists to portray Hitler in Bismarck's continuity as the culmination of his work. <br /> | ||
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:- cited from Reinhard Wittram. “Das Reich und seine älteste Kolonie.” In: Reinhard Wittram. ''Rückkehr ins Reich. Vorträge und Aufsätze aus den Jahren 1939/1940''. Posen, 1942. P. 44. | :- cited from Reinhard Wittram. “Das Reich und seine älteste Kolonie.” In: Reinhard Wittram. ''Rückkehr ins Reich. Vorträge und Aufsätze aus den Jahren 1939/1940''. Posen, 1942. P. 44. | ||
<loop_figure title="The German battleship 'Bismarck', launched in 1939" description="It was the largest ship of the National Socialist navy" show_copyright="true" copyright="Source: Das Bunderarchiv. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_193-04-1-26,_Schlachtschiff_Bismarck.jpg"> | <loop_figure title="The German battleship 'Bismarck', launched in 1939" description="It was the largest ship of the National Socialist navy" show_copyright="true" copyright="Source: Das Bunderarchiv. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_193-04-1-26,_Schlachtschiff_Bismarck.jpg" id="5f5a331391acd"> | ||
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<loop_figure title="Fürst Bismarck spring in Reinbek (near Hamburg), 1981" description="" show_copyright="true" copyright="Photo: Olga Bandelowa. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:F%C3%BCrst-Bismarck-Quelle_August_1981.jpg"> | <loop_figure title="Fürst Bismarck spring in Reinbek (near Hamburg), 1981" description="" show_copyright="true" copyright="Photo: Olga Bandelowa. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:F%C3%BCrst-Bismarck-Quelle_August_1981.jpg" id="5f5a331391ada"> | ||
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Juhan Kreem and Christian Pletzing
The Prussian Prime Minister and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) was a personality who was viewed controversially far beyond the borders of Germany.
After his dismissal in 1890, Bismarck became the central symbolic figure of the German Reich. Not only numerous monuments, among them the 34 m high Bismarck monument in Hamburg, but also 240 "Bismarck towers" memorialised the "Iron Chancellor" and founder of the Reich. Bismarck's conservative-monarchical policy was controversial even during his lifetime, but not even prominent liberal critics, such as historian Theodor Mommsen or sociologist Max Weber, could detract from his popularity. Bismarck also created one of the foundations of the modern welfare state with by introducing social insurance. The Bismarck myth survived the fall of the monarchy in 1918, so that it later became easy for the National Socialists to portray Hitler in Bismarck's continuity as the culmination of his work.
After 1945, Bismarck was regarded in the GDR as Hitler's forerunner. The house where he was born was demolished and even the "Bismarck Herring" had to be referred to as "Delikatesshering" (“delicacy herring”). In the Federal Republic of Germany of the 1950s, people distanced themselves rather cautiously from Bismarck, but also tried to deconstruct the thesis of Bismarck's continuity with Hitler. In the face of the loss of the nation-state and Franco-German understanding, however, his myth became less and less important.
In Poland, Bismarck was regarded as the embodiment of all the negative characteristics of the Germans because of his negative policy on Poland. Criticism was levelled at the expulsion of some 30,000 Poles in 1885, the establishment of the Prussian Settlement Commission in 1886, which was to buy up large Polish estates and sell them to German settlers, and the Kulturkampf against the Catholic Church and its alliance with Russia. An anti-Polish continuity from Frederick II via Bismarck to Hitler enjoyed widespread acceptance in Poland. Until 1989, Bismarck was still regarded by the general public as a symbol of the evil German, despite a number of weighing-up judgments by Polish historians. But already in the 1980s did the negative Bismarck myth lose its significance in Poland. In particular, memorial sites associated with Bismarck in Polish Pomerania were used to provide a more positive image as a carrier for regional marketing. In addition, the history of the Bismarck family was regarded more nuanced in the surroundings of Szczecin, where two members of the family were engaged in establishing an international educational centre in a manor house once belonging to Bismarck’s brother in Kulice.
The relationship to Bismarck in the Baltic states is complex. For the Baltic Germans, he was on the one hand a hero of the establishment of German national state, but on the other hand, Bismarck strictly refused to support Baltic Germans against the Russian Czars, who were applying reforms to the Baltic provinces which undermined the privileges of the Baltic Germans. Although Bismarck knew the Baltic provinces well and had many personal friends among the Germans there, he could not allow confrontation with Russia to endanger his Reichsgründung. As for Estonians, although the historic Bismarck figure is not relevant at all, there is, curiously enough, a card game named Bismarck, still occasionally played. The regeneration of a cult of Bismarck in Estonia is an aspect of the fancying of the Baltic German manorial culture.
In 1898, the Warsaw weekly Tygodnik Ilustrowany reported on the recently deceased Chancellor under the title "The Great Crusader":
Memoirs of Baroness Lucie Stael-Holstein.
The German historian Volker Ullrich judged Bismarck's importance after 1990 in 2006:
Celebrations of the 200th birthday of Bismarck in Raikküla, the conference, the planting of an oak tree and opening of the Bismarck bench: