Dawn Of A New Power

Conference of Prague (POD)
At the beginning of the Conference of Prague (March 1867), Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I announces his firm intention of abdicate the Crown in favor of his only son Prince Rudolf (future Rudolf III), who is eight years old at that moment, regardless the outcome of the conference.

The delegation of the Kingdom of Prussia, as the main winner side, only demands, besides the usual reparations, the concession of the Lands of Bohemia (Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia), which were in fact occupied by Prussian troops at that time. The intention of the Prussians is setting a puppet state, ruled by a German prince, which would be integrated in the planned North German Confederation, set to succeed the defunct German Confederation.

However, the Russians oppose such move unless the whole territory of Galicia is conceded to them, Cracow included. Neither Prussia nor Austria want to approve such concession, so they finally agree with Russia a more Solomonic decision: the new Principality of Bohemia and Moravia will be an Austrian subject under the authority of the King of Austria, but also a member state of the North German Confederation, granting that the state will be ‘co-ruled’ de facto by Prussia and Austria; in the other hand, Galicia will be divided in four parts: the duchy of Cracow, as a separate Austrian subject; the northern districts, including Lemberg, will be conceded to Russia; the southern districts will be ceded to Hungary and Bukovina and the surrounding districts will be ceded to (still Turkish) Moldavia.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian magnates push hard for the recognition of the Kingdom of Hungary as a fully independent state. They have even agreed on the candidate for the throne, count Laszló Teleki de Szék; after a harsh process of negotiations, the Kingdom of Hungary is recognized by the European powers, but under several conditions:

· Hungary has to cede the Western Strip (an area populated by ethnic Germans, including cities like Pressburg, Ödenburg and Stein am Anger) to Austria. As compensation, Hungary receives the southern Galician districts.

· Hungary has to grant self-government for the Transylvanian Saxons in its written Constitution.

· Hungary has to recognize the independence of the Kingdom of Croatia.

· Hungary should follow a neutral foreign policy, which will be observed by all the powers present at the Conference. The conference ends on a note that this new German Federation is to unite into a nation at some point in the near future.

Background
By 1870 the idea of a united Germany had gained a huge amount of traction, and the only way to unite Germany in the eyes of most was to acquire Alsace-Lorraine, a historic province of the HRE, and add it to the new proposed nation.

France had recently reformed into a monarchy, with Napoleon III being the current Monarch. The French wanted to add some areas of the Rhineland to their nation. Tensions over the area would build for half a year before France decided to declare war.

War
On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia and hostilities began three days later. The German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had better training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads and artillery.

By the time August had come the French realized the blunder they had put themselves into and tried to play a defensive role, but with increasing German numbers due to Austrian reinforcements things were looking down for France.

A series of swift Prussian and German (including large numbers of Austrians) victories in eastern France, culminating in the Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan, saw Napoleon III captured and the army of the Second Empire decisively defeated. A Government of National Defence declared the Third Republic in Paris on 4 November and surrendered to the Prussian-German forces, although news traveled slowly and some forces fought until December, before treaties could be signed; the German forces fought and defeated new French armies in northern France before the news reached them, further lowering French morale. Following the Siege of Paris which occured before news of a formal French surrender arrived to German forces, a revolutionary uprising called the Paris Commune seized power in the capital and held it for two months, until it was bloodily suppressed by the regular French army at the end of May 1871.

Unification of Germany
The Unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France. Princes of the German states, including Austria, gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor of the Northern Germans (all of Germany excluding Austria and shared ownership of Bohemia-Moravia) and Rudolf III as German Emperor of the Southern Germans (Austria and shared ownership of Bohemia-Moravia) after the French capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War. Unofficially, the de facto transition of most of the German-speaking populations into a federated organization of states had been developing for some time through alliances formal and informal between princely rulers—but in fits and starts; self-interests of the various parties hampered the process over nearly a century of autocratic experimentation, beginning in the era of the Napoleonic Wars, which saw the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (1806), and the subsequent rise of German nationalism.

The Structure of Germany after unification
The structure of Germany after unification somewhat mimicked the old Dual Monarchy system of Austria-Hungary; Wilhelm I would be the Monarch of most of the nation, but excluding Austria, and Rudolf III would become monarch of Austria. Prague, Bohemia-Moravia (Bohemia-Moravia being the only area where there is a true Dual Monarchy) becomes the meeting zone for the two monarchs to discuss the nation's functioning. A system is also adopted where there is a chancellor who handles communication between the 2 German regions and their respective monarchs. The first chancellor of Germany is Otto von Bismark. Die tapferen Bayern is made the official anthem of the German Empire (although renamed Die tapferen Deutschland for obvious reasons).

Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a meeting of the representatives of five Great powers of the time (Russia, Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany), the Ottoman Empire and four Balkan states (Greece, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro), aiming at determining the territories of the states in the Balkan peninsula following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. The Congress came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Berlin, which replaced the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano signed three months earlier between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, who were backed by Hungary.

Treaty of Berlin
The treaty formally recognized the independence of the de facto sovereign principalities of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, together with the autonomy of Bulgaria – though the latter de facto functioned independently and was divided into three parts: the Principality of Bulgaria, the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia, and Macedonia, which was given back to the Ottomans, thus undoing Russian plans for an independent—and Russophile—"Greater Bulgaria". The Treaty of San Stefano had created a Bulgarian state, which was just what Great Britain and Germany feared most.

The Treaty of Berlin confirmed most of the Russian gains from the Ottoman Empire specified in the Treaty of San Stefano, although the valley of Alashkerd and the town of Bayazidwere returned to the Ottomans.

Despite the pleas of the Romanian delegates, Romania was forced to cede southern Bessarabia to the Russian Empire. As a compensation, Romania received Dobruja, including the Danube Delta. The treaty also limited the Russian occupation of Bulgaria to 9 months, which limited the time during which Russian troops and supplies could be moved through Romanian territory.

The three newly independent states subsequently proclaimed themselves kingdoms: Romania in 1881, Serbia in 1882 and Montenegro in 1910, while Bulgaria proclaimed full independence in 1908 after uniting with Eastern Rumelia in 1885. Germany annexed Croatia and Bosnia from the Hungarians and Ottomans after the brief Southern War of 1908, sparking a major European crisis.

The Treaty of Berlin accorded special legal status to some religious groups; it also served as a model for the Minorities System that was subsequently established within the framework of the League of Nations. It stipulated that Romania recognize non-Christians (Jews and Muslims) as full citizens. It also vaguely called for a border rectification between Greece and the Ottoman Empire, which occurred after protracted negotiations in 1881 with the transfer of Thessaly to Greece.

In the "Salisbury Circular" of 1 April 1878, British Foreign Secretary, the Marquess of Salisbury, made clear his own and his government's objections to the Treaty of San Stefano and the favourable position in which it left Russia. Historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote: "If the treaty of San Stefano had been maintained, the Ottoman Empire might have survived to the present day. The British, except for Beaconsfield in his wilder moments, had expected less and were, therefore, less disappointed. Salisbury wrote at the end of 1878: "We shall set up a rickety sort of Turkish rule again south of the Balkans. But it is a mere respite. There is no vitality left in them."

The Kosovo Vilayet remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Germany was allowed to station military garrisons in the Ottoman Vilayet of Bosnia and Sanjak of Novi Pazar. The Vilayet of Bosnia was placed under German occupation, though formally remaining a part of the Ottoman Empire until being annexed by Germany in 1908. The German garrisons in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar were withdrawn in 1908, following the annexation of the Vilayet of Bosnia and the resulting Bosnian crisis, in order to reach a compromise with the Ottoman Empire (the Ottoman government was struggling with internal strife due to the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, which also paved the way for the loss of Bosnia and loss of Bulgaria in the same year.)

Buildup to World War 1
German industrial and economic power had grown greatly after unification and the foundation of the Empire in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War. From the mid-1890s on, the government of Wilhelm II used this base to devote significant economic resources for building up the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy), established by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, in rivalry with the British Royal Navy for world naval supremacy. As a result, each nation strove to out-build the other in capital ships. With the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906, the British Empire expanded on its significant advantage over its German rival. The arms race between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe, with all the major powers devoting their industrial base to producing the equipment and weapons necessary for a pan-European conflict. Between 1908 and 1913, the military spending of the European powers increased by 50%.

Germany precipitated the Bosnian crisis of 1908–1909 by officially annexing the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878. This angered the Kingdom of Serbia and its patron, the Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russian Empire. Russian political manoeuvring in the region destabilised peace accords that were already fracturing in the Balkans, which came to be known as the "powder keg of Europe." In 1912 and 1913, the First Balkan War was fought between the Balkan League and the fracturing Ottoman Empire. The resulting Treaty of London further shrank the Ottoman Empire, creating an independent Albanian state while enlarging the territorial holdings of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. When Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913, it lost most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania in the 33-day Second Balkan War, further destabilising the region. The Great Powers were able to keep these Balkan conflicts contained, but the next one would spread throughout Europe and beyond.

Democracy begins in Germany (1890)
On 9 March 1888 Kaiser Wilhelm I died, leaving his son Wilhelm II as his successor, naturally. Wilhelm II was crowned Kaiser 15 June 1888. Wilhelm II saw a need for a British style Constitutional Monarchy in Germany to keep the people happy, one where he would be more or less a figurehead and not have to worry so much, although with certain powers still exclusive to him, such as emergency war declarations and emergency military control. In a period from June 1888 to January 1890 Germany made it's transition from what was effectively an Absolute Monarchy into a Democratic nation with a mostly symbolic Kaiser, with the first elections beginning in June 1890, featuring newly founded parties:

Leftist Parties:

 * Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SAPD) (Anti-German Republic)
 * Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) (Anti-German Republic)

Centrist Parties (Most Common Party Type):

 * Deutsche Demokratische Partei (DDP) — German Democratic Party. A social-liberal party. One of the two main liberal parties. Their party newspapers were the Vossische Zeitung and the Volkswacht. (Pro-German Republic)
 * The German State Party (DStP) — Formed in 1930 by the DDP, the People's National Reich Association and remains of the Christian Trade Unionists. In 1930, it published a "Manifesto of the German State Party". (Pro-German Republic)
 * Wirtschaftspartei. (Economic Party.)
 * Zentrumspartei — The Centre Party was the continuation of the pre-Republic Catholic party of the same name. Their party newspaper was Germania. (Pro-Weimar Republic)
 * Volksnationale Reichsvereinigung (People's National Reich Association.) (Pro-German Republic)

Rightist Parties:

 * Konservative Volkspartei (KVP) — Conservative People's Party (Pro-German Republic)
 * Deutsche Volkspartei (DVP) — German People's Party. Originating from the pre-Republic National Liberals, it was a centre-right national liberal party. Gustav Stresemann was its chairman. (moderate against the government)
 * Christliche Volkspartei (CVP) (Pro-German Republic)
 * Deutschnationale Volkspartei (DNVP) — German National People's Party. It presented itself as a Volksgemeinschaft or non-class party. It established two labor unions; one for the blue-collar worker (the DNAB) and one for the white-collar worker (DNAGB), which had been politically unimportant. The DNVP was the main authoritarian right party of Germany. The DNVP actively supported a return to pre-republic government directly from the Kaiser. (Against the government)

Sarajevo assassination
On 28 June 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. A group of six assassins (Cvjetko Popović, Gavrilo Princip, Muhamed Mehmedbašić, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Trifko Grabež, Vaso Čubrilović) from the Yugoslavist group Mlada Bosna, supplied by the Serbian Black Hand, had gathered on the street where the Archduke's motorcade would pass, with the intention of assassinating him. Čabrinović threw a grenade at the car, but missed. Some nearby were injured by the blast, but Ferdinand's convoy carried on. The other assassins failed to act as the cars drove past them.

About an hour later, when Ferdinand was returning from a visit at the Sarajevo Hospital with those wounded in the assassination attempt, the convoy took a wrong turn into a street where, by coincidence, Princip stood. With a pistol, Princip shot and killed Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The reaction among the people in Austria, and by extension Germany as a whole, was mild, almost indifferent. As historian Zbyněk Zeman later wrote, "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On Sunday and Monday (28 and 29 June), the crowds in Vienna listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the political impact of the murder of the heir to the throne of Southern Germany was significant and has been described as a "9/11 effect", a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna. And although they were not personally close, the Emperor Rudolf III was profoundly shocked and upset.

Central Victory
After the Great war, the Berlin Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the remaining Allies. The 1919 treaties of Berlin also brought into being Mitteleuropa on June 28, 1919.

In signing the treaty, Italy agreed to pay war reparations to the Central Powers, and allow the independence of it's northern region as North Italy, a Central Powers member and under a Royal Union with Germany, thus recreating a "Holy Roman Empire" style situation. The Treaty of Lichtenberg caused enormous bitterness in Italy, which various movements, especially the Fascists, exploited with conspiracy theories. Unable to pay them with exports, Italy like many other Allied nations, did so by borrowing from the United States. The payment of reparations was suspended in 1931 following the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the beginnings of the Great Depression worldwide.

The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917 after the October Revolution, lost much of its western frontier as the newly German puppets of Finland, Baltia, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland were carved from it. Bessarabia was re-attached to Romania, as it had been a Romanian territory for more than a thousand years.

The Ottoman Empire disintegrated, and much of its non-Anatolian territory was seized by various Allied powers that still occupied the area and set up protectorates. The Turkish core was reorganised as the Republic of Turkey. The Ottoman Empire was to gain nearly all of the British possessions on the Arabian peninsula. These agreements were never ratified by the Sultan and was rejected by the Turkish republican movement, leading to the Turkish Civil War and, ultimately, to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

Interwar Period (1920-1942)
The Interwar Period was a time of great tension in Europe, and a period of instability, especially with the onset of the Great Depression. Communist groups took over Russia in the closing months of the Great War, Fascist groups took power in France and the Benelux countries and fought bloody revolutions in England, but ultimately lost there. A new war seems all but inevitable, as new powers dawn and old powers fall.

Beer Hall Putsch (1923)
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch, and, in German, as the Hitlerputsch or Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, was a failed coup attempt by the Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler — along with Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorffand other Kampfbund leaders — to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, during 8–9 November 1923. About two thousand Nazis marched to the centre of Munich, where they confronted the police, which resulted in the death of 16 Nazis and four police officers. Hitler himself was not wounded during the clash, although he locked his left arm with the right arm of Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter who, when he was shot and killed, pulled Hitler to the pavement with him. Hitler escaped immediate arrest and was spirited off to safety in the countryside. After two days, Hitler was arrested and charged with treason.

From Hitler's perspective, there were three positive benefits from this attempt to seize power unlawfully. First, the putsch brought Hitler to the attention of the German nation and generated front page headlines in newspapers around the world. His arrest was followed by a 24-day trial, which was widely publicized and gave Hitler a platform to publicize his nationalist sentiment to the nation. Hitler was found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in Landsberg Prison. The second benefit to Hitler was that he used his time in prison to produce Mein Kampf, which was dictated to his fellow prisoners Emil Maurice and Rudolf Hess. On 20 December 1924, having served only nine months, Hitler was released. The final benefit to Hitler was the insight that the path to power was through legitimate means rather than revolution or force. Accordingly, the most significant outcome of the putsch was a decision by Hitler to change NSDAP tactics, which would demand an increasing reliance on the development and furthering of Nazi propaganda.

Even though Hitler made several more peaceful attempts to gain traction, the Nazi movement only peaked in the German federal election of 1928; the recently-reformed Nazi Party contested the elections after the ban on the party was lifted in 1925. However, the party, even though it was at it's height, still received less than 3% of the vote and won just 12 seats in the Reichstag. Adolf Hitler, who had been incarcerated in Landsberg prison for his involvement in the Beer Hall Putsch until Christmas 1924, had concentrated on re-establishing himself as the chancellor, alongside the leader Petain, of the Nazi Party in France, which was gaining much more popularity there then in Germany.

The Great Depression (1929-1942)
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, originating in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until 1942. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the world's economy can decline. The depression started in the United States after a major fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II.

The Great Depression had devastating effects in countries both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%.

Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few alternative sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most.

In Germany the Great Depression wasn't easy, but it was liveable for most. Germany's Eastern puppets, especially Ukraine, produced many goods and foods. Germany's industry actually expanded during the Great Depression and by 1937 Germany had effectively pulled out of the Great Depression, and with the help of war reparations, started to pass it's pre-ww1 economy. Germany used Northern Italy for much of it's cheese and dairy production in the Great Depression, and in exchange allowed the people a guarantee of basic amenities.

World War II (1942-1946)
To Be Continued