Teacher | Student
Originally produced in: Deutschland
Also available in: en

Curricular level

Grade 8 Gymnasium/ Realschule: the Concept of Nation and Wars of Liberation, the Congress of Vienna: the Realignment of Europe and the German Confederation, Restoration, the Liberal and National Movement, the Revolution of 1848/49 in the Context the Occurrences in Bavaria. Deutschland

Grade 8 Hauptschule: The National Unity. Deutschland

  • 1848: “Bottom-Up” Attempt at Unity.
  • 1871: “Top-Down” Attempt at Unity – The German Empire.

Abstract

Among the European states of the 19th century, Italy and Germany were among those who had not yet found to national unity in a modern sense. Even after the defeat of Napoleon and the joint military struggle against the French emperor, Germany was a territory composed of many smaller and bigger dominions, which was neither politically nor administratively or linguistically unified. Yet, after the Wars of Liberation of 1813, the creation of a unified Germany was the aim of the liberal bourgeoisie and of the students, who, however, failed in 1848 and 1849. This aim was finally fulfilled “bottom-up” in 1871 by the Prussian Ministerpräsident (Prime Minister), Otto von Bismarck.

After the Congress of Vienna, Italy remained sport of foreign powers, although Reichsitalien (Imperial Italy) had ultimately become history due to the fall of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806. The more foreign rulers and powers strove to control the fate of the Italian states, the more people were seized by the wish to free Italy from foreign rule, fragmentation and absolutism. The major role in this field was played by the publicist Giuseppe Mazzini and the movement Giovine Italia (Young Italy) he founded.

Conceptual Objectives

The students should know the meaning of the 19th century for the national unification of Italy and Germany and be able to to classify the events chronologically and geographically and according to their historical context.

The students should realize that demands for national unification were important motives of the European revolutions of 1848.

The students should understand various ways in which the unification of Italy and Germany progressed.

Methodological Objectives and Skills

Analyzing, interpreting and comparing pictures

Analyzing, interpreting and comparing historical textual sources

Analyzing, interpreting and comparing historical maps

Suggestion of Activities

Introduction with Sourrieu’s litograph and the question: Which flags are depicted there? Why are some flags depicted more than once?

Picture analysis: The students should analyze and interpret the litograph. Since the work offers many possible interpretations, the students should work in pairs. Each person in every pair should respectively take notes on what they recognize in the litograph as important and useful. In the end, the results are summarized together with the teacher, noted down on the board by him/her and, if necessary, extended. This should lead to a conclusion that the ideal image of free, unified and democratic nations was a crucial motive of many upheavals around 1848.

Textual comparison: The students can notice, on the basis of remarks of Fichte and Mazzini, that the will to unify the German and respectively the Italian peoples was supported by wide sections of the bourgeoisie, that is, the population itself, while the authorities pursued a reverse policy.

Maps: Analysing Maps 1 and 2, it can be noticed how territorially divided Italy and the German states were in the 19th century and what differentiated them from countries like France an England (map 3).

Suggestion of Evaluation

Are the students aware of the political and geographical situation of Italy and Germany in the 19th century?

Do they understand the processes of unification and know the context of the events of 1848?

Do they understand the differences between the occurrences in Germany (“bottom-up” unification) and Italy?