German question

German unity as fiasco with each state viewing itself separate. Cartoon from Münchner Leuchtkugeln, 1848.
Caption reads: "German Unity. A Tragedy in one Act."

The "German question" was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve a unification of all or most lands inhabited by Germans.[1] From 1815 to 1866, about 37 independent German-speaking states existed within the German Confederation. The Großdeutsche Lösung ("Greater German solution") favored unifying all German-speaking peoples under one state, and was promoted by the Austrian Empire and its supporters. The Kleindeutsche Lösung ("Lesser German solution") sought to unify only the northern German states and did not include any part of Austria (either its German-inhabited areas or its areas dominated by other ethnic groups); this proposal was favored by the Kingdom of Prussia.

The solutions are also referred to by the names of the states they proposed to create, Kleindeutschland and Großdeutschland ("Lesser Germany" and "Greater Germany"). Both movements were part of a growing German nationalism. They also drew upon similar contemporary efforts to create a unified nation state of people who shared a common ethnicity and language, such as the Unification of Italy and the Serbian Revolution.

During the Cold War, the term was repurposed to refer to the matters pertaining to the division, and re-unification, of Germany.[2]

  1. ^ Robert D. Billinger (1991). Metternich and the German Question: States' Rights and Federal Duties, 1820–1834. University of Delaware Press.
  2. ^ Blumenau, Bernhard (2018). "German foreign policy and the "German Problem" during and after the Cold War". In B Blumenau; J Hanhimäki; B Zanchetta (eds.). New Perspectives on the End of the Cold War. London: Routledge. pp. 92–116. doi:10.4324/9781315189031-6. ISBN 9781315189031.