Pan-Germanism

Pan-Germanism

Pan-Germanism is a political idea that wanted to bring all ethnic Germans, German-speaking people, or people of Germanic descent together into one nation called Greater Germany. This idea was very important in the 19th century when Germany was becoming a unified country. However, when the German Empire was officially created in 1871, some places like Switzerland, Austria-Hungary, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein were not included.

By the late 1800s, many Pan-German thinkers began to support unfair treatments of other groups. These ideas later influenced the policies of Nazi Germany. After World War II, people turned against these ideas, and today Pan-Germanism is mostly supported by a few nationalist groups on the political right in Germany and Austria.

Etymology

The word pan comes from Greek, meaning "all" or "every". The word "German" comes from the Latin word "Germani", which Julius Caesar used for tribes in Gaul. Over time, it came to mean people who spoke Germanic languages, including early forms of modern German.

In German, words like "alldeutsch" or "gesamtdeutsch" mean wanting all German-speaking people to be in one country. The word "Pangermanismus" can also mean bringing together all people who speak Germanic languages. The term "Pan-German" was first used in English in 1892.

Origins (before 1860)

Further information: 18th-century history of Germany, German Confederation, and Vormärz

The idea of Pan-Germanism began during the Napoleonic Wars. At this time, many Germans were not united and had been separate for a long time, since the days of the Holy Roman Empire.

Some people wanted to unite all German-speaking groups into one country. Famous thinkers and writers talked about how Germany could grow to include more lands where German people lived. They thought this would make Germany stronger and more important in Europe.

The German Question

Main articles: German Question and Unification of Germany

In the 1860s, two strong states, Prussia and Austria, wanted to grow more powerful. Prussia, led by Otto von Bismarck, worked to bring many German-speaking lands together. After some wars, including the German war of 1866, Prussia helped create the German Empire in 1871. This new empire included many German-speaking people but left out others, like those in Austria.

Later, during Adolf Hitler's rise to power, ideas about uniting all German-speaking people became stronger. Groups like the Pan-German League supported these ideas, hoping to bring people from many places into one big nation. These ideas played a part in events during World War I.

Austria

Main article: German nationalism in Austria

In the early 1900s, a man named Georg Ritter von Schönerer spoke up for people in Austria who wanted all German-speaking areas to become one country. After big changes and wars, many Germans in Austria felt strongly about being part of a larger German nation.

Later, during World War II, Austria joined with Germany. But after the war ended in 1945, people in Austria began to see themselves as their own nation again.

Scandinavia

Some people in the past thought that groups who spoke similar languages, like those in Germany and Scandinavia, should join together into one big country. This idea was called Pan-Germanism.

One famous writer, Jacob Grimm, believed that parts of Denmark, called Jutland, should belong to Germany because Germans lived there long ago. But others disagreed, saying we can't really know what language ancient people spoke.

Later, in the 1900s, a group in Germany wanted to create a large empire including many Germanic-speaking peoples, such as those in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Flanders. This idea did not sit well with people in Scandinavia, especially during the time of Nazi Germany.

1918 to 1945

Further information: Areas annexed by Nazi Germany, Völkisch movement, Heim ins Reich, and Generalplan Ost

World War I was the first time the idea of Pan-Germanism tried to become real. The Pan-German movement wanted to grow the empire bigger.

After losing World War I, Germany had less power over Central and Eastern Europe. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany smaller. Alsace-Lorraine went back to France. Austria-Hungary broke up. A small part named "German Austria" wanted to join Germany, but the Treaty of St. Germain said no.

During the Weimar Republic, Adolf Hitler, who was born in Austria, started to support strong German ideas. He met Heinrich Class in 1918, who helped him in 1923 during the Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler and his followers shared many goals with the Pan-German League, but they had different plans to reach them. The German Workers Party of Bohemia left the pan-German movement and joined the German Workers' Party led by Anton Drexler, which later became the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler.

The Nazis used the phrase Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer to encourage people in Austria to join Germany, called an "Anschluss".

The Nazis wanted to build a large new empire called the Greater Germanic Reich. They wanted to include places like the Netherlands, Belgium, parts of France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, parts of Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. They also looked east for more land, believing they needed space to live.

History since 1945

See also: Expulsion of Germans after World War II, Former eastern territories of Germany, and Reunification of Germany

After World War II, the idea of uniting all German-speaking people faded away. Germany was damaged and split into zones controlled by the Soviet Union, France, America, and Britain. Later, it became two countries: West Germany and East Germany. Austria was also separated from Germany. After the war, Germany lost land, with parts taken by the Soviet Union and Poland. Because these ideas were linked to harmful beliefs by the Nazi party, people stopped talking about uniting all German-speaking people. When East and West Germany joined in 1990, discussions about these old ideas started again.