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German Election, 1912
Federal elections were held in Germany on 12 January 1912.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 Although the Social Democratic Party (SPD) had received the most votes in every election since 1890, it had never won the most seats, and in the 1907 elections, it had won fewer than half the seats won by the Centre Party despite receiving over a million more votes. However, the 1912 elections saw the SPD retain its position as the most voted-for party and become the largest party in the Reichstag, winning 110 of the 397 seats. Parties hostile or ambivalent to the ruling elites of the German Empire – the Social Democrats, the Centre Party, and the left-liberal Progressives – together won a majority of the seats. This allowed a successful censure vote against the government of Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg over the Saverne Affair in 1913 and the passage of the Reichstag Peace Resolution of 1917. However, the Centre and the Progressi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag (, " Diet of the Realm"), of the German Empire was Germany's lower House of Parliament from 1871 to 1918. Within the governmental structure of the Reich, it represented the national and democratic element alongside the federalism of the Bundesrat and the monarchic and bureaucratic element of the executive, embodied in the Reich chancellor. Together with the Bundesrat, the Reichstag had legislative power and shared in decision-making on the budget. It also had certain rights of control over the executive branch and could engage the public through its debates. The emperor had little political power, and over time the position of the Reichstag strengthened with respect to both the imperial government and the Bundesrat. Reichstag members were elected for three-year terms from 1871 to 1888 and following that for five years. It had one of the most progressive electoral laws of its time: with only a few restrictions, all men 25 and older were allowed to vote, secretly and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperial Germany, the Second Reich or simply Germany, was the period of the German Reich; . from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the German revolution of 1918–1919, November Revolution in 1918, when the German Reich changed its form of government from a monarchy to a Weimar Republic, republic. The German Empire consisted of States of the German Empire, 25 states, each with its own nobility: four constituent Monarchy, kingdoms, six Grand duchy, grand duchies, five Duchy, duchies (six before 1876), seven Principality, principalities, three Free imperial city, free Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City-state, cities, and Alsace–Lorraine, one imperial territory. While Prussia was one of four kingdoms in the realm, it contained about two-thirds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughly one-sixth of the world's landmass, making it the list of largest empires, third-largest empire in history, behind only the British Empire, British and Mongol Empire, Mongol empires. It also Russian colonization of North America, colonized Alaska between 1799 and 1867. The empire's 1897 census, the only one it conducted, found a population of 125.6 million with considerable ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity. From the 10th to 17th centuries, the Russians had been ruled by a noble class known as the boyars, above whom was the tsar, an absolute monarch. The groundwork of the Russian Empire was laid by Ivan III (), who greatly expanded his domain, established a centralized Russian national state, and secured inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germany's Aims In The First World War
''Germany's Aims in the First World War'' (, ) is a book by German historian Fritz Fischer. It is one of the leading contributions to historical analysis of the causes of World War I, and along with this work '' War of Illusions'' ''(Krieg der Illusionen)'' gave rise to the " Fischer Thesis" on the causes of the war. The title translates as "Grab for World Power". or "Bid for World Power". Essentially Fischer attempts to link together a continuum of German belligerence in its "grab for power" weaving it all together into a cohesive theme of German ''Weltpolitik''. Publication ''Griff nach der Weltmacht'' was published in October 1961. It was published in Britain under the title ''Germany's Aims in the First World War'' in 1967, translated by C.A. Macartney with an introduction by James Joll. The book included a memorandum by the then German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg dated 9 September 1914 which set out a plan for Germany to dominate Europe. Controversy Fischer argued that Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prussian Junkers
The Junkers ( ; ) were members of the landed nobility in Prussia. They owned great estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. These estates often lay in the countryside outside of major cities or towns. They were an important factor in Prussian and, after 1871, German military, political and diplomatic leadership. The most famous Junker was Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck held power in Germany from 1871 to 1890 as Chancellor of the German Empire. He was removed from power by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Many Junkers lived in the eastern provinces that were annexed by either Poland or the Soviet Union after World War II. Junkers fled or were expelled alongside other German-speaking populations by the incoming Polish and Soviet administrations, and their lands were confiscated. In western and southern Germany, the land was often owned by small independent farmers or a mixture of small farmers and estate owners, and this system was often contrasted with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fritz Fischer (historian)
Fritz Fischer (5 March 1908 – 1 December 1999) was a German historian best known for his analysis of the causes of World War I. In the early 1960s Fischer advanced the thesis, controversial at the time, that responsibility for the outbreak of the war rested solely on Imperial Germany. Fischer's anti-revisionist claims shocked the West German government and historical establishment, as it made Germany guilty for both world wars, challenging the national belief in Germany's innocence and converting its recent history into one of conquest and aggression. Fischer was named in ''The Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing'' as the most important German historian of the 20th century. In 1984, he was elected an honorary member of the American Historical Association. Biography Fischer was born in Ludwigsstadt in Bavaria. His father was a railway inspector. Educated at grammar schools in Ansbach and Eichstätt, Fischer attended the University of Berlin and the University of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichstag Peace Resolution
The Reichstag Peace Resolution () was a resolution passed by the Reichstag of the German Empire on 19 July 1917 seeking a negotiated peace treaty to end World War I. It called for no annexations, no indemnities, freedom of the seas, and international arbitration. The resolution was rejected by the Reichstag's conservative parties, the German High Command, and the Allied powers. It had no effect on the progress of the war but brought the moderate parties that supported the resolution into a group that would shape much of the post-war Weimar Republic. Background On 1 February 1917, the German Empire resumed its controversial strategy of unrestricted submarine warfare during World War I, which the military predicted that would force the United Kingdom to make peace within six months. Unrestricted submarine warfare was also one of the principal reasons for the United States entry into World War I on the side of the Allies in April, further complicating the German war effort. By ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saverne Affair
The Zabern or Saverne Affair was a crisis of domestic policy which occurred in the German Empire at the end of 1913. It was caused by political unrest in Zabern (now Saverne) in Alsace-Lorraine, where two battalions of the Prussian were garrisoned, after a second-lieutenant insulted the Alsatian population. The military reacted to the protests with arbitrary illegal acts. These infringements led to a debate in the German Reichstag about the militaristic structures of German society, as well as the position of the leadership of the Empire in relationship to Kaiser Wilhelm II. The affair not only put a severe strain on the relationship between the imperial state of Alsace-Lorraine and the remainder of the German Empire, but also led to a considerable loss of prestige of the Kaiser. Causes Forstner insults the Alsatians The twenty-year-old Second Lieutenant Günter Freiherr von Forstner (b.15. April 1893; d. 29. August 1915 killed in Kobryn) spoke disparagingly about the in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theobald Von Bethmann Hollweg
Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I and played a key role during its first three years. He was replaced as chancellor in July 1917 due in large part to opposition to his policies by leaders in the military. Between 1884 and 1899 Bethmann Hollweg rose rapidly through positions in the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian government and served briefly as a member of the Reichstag (German Empire), Reichstag in 1890. The experience left him unsympathetic to the party system and an independent for the remainder of his political life. Emperor Wilhelm II appointed him chancellor in 1909, in part because he approved of his conciliatory political style. His eight years as chancellor showed him to be cautiously supportive of some liberalization but also a firm believer that a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressive People's Party (Germany)
The Progressive People's Party (, FVP) was a Social liberalism, social liberal party in the German Empire. It was formed on 6 March 1910 from the merger of the Free-minded People's Party (Germany), Free-minded People's Party, the Free-minded Union and the German People's Party (1868), German People's Party. The FVP advocated the parliamentarisation of the Empire and socio-political changes such as universal suffrage and the right to form and join trade unions. Its membership was largely middle class, including merchants, mid-level civil servants, salaried employees and academics. It occasionally cooperated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party before World War I. Although initially in favour of a wartime policy of annexations, it later supported the 1917 Reichstag Peace Resolution and the German constitutional reforms of October 1918, constitutional reforms of October 1918. After the war, the FVP joined with the left wing of the National Liberal Party ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centre Party (Germany)
The Centre Party (, Z), officially the German Centre Party (, DZP) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party, is a Christian democratic political party in Germany. It was most influential in the German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ... and Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it successfully battled the waged by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck against the Catholic Church. It soon won a quarter of the seats in the Reichstag (German Empire), Reichstag, and its middle position on most issues allowed it to play a decisive role in the formation of majorities. The party name (Centre) originally came from the fact that Catholic representatives would take up the middle section of seats in parliament between the social democrats and the conservatives. For m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
