Matthias von Hellfeld "History of Europe"

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4906039,00.html 

Author: Matthias von Hellfeld (dc)   Editor: Andreas Illmer

 

THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS - 480 BC

 

The Greeks defeated the Persians at sea. In October of 480 BC, a Greek fleet conquered Persian invaders in the Battle of Salamis, creating the conditions under which Greece and Europe could flourish.

The ruling political figure in those years was military strategist Themistocles (ca. 525 - 459 BC). In 490 BC, he began building a wall to protect Athens and the port of Piraeus. At the same time, he also expanded a fleet of warships to fight off attacks by the Persians. For years, the king of Persia had been trying to gain a foothold on the European continent. The first attempt in 490 BC in Marathon had failed. The Persians were outnumbered by the Athenians, and were forced to withdraw.

But the Persians didn't give up that easily; instead they created the biggest army in antiquity. In order to transport his troops more quickly, King Xerxes I (519 - 465 BC) dug a canal across the Athos peninsula, and built bridges across both the Hellespont and Strymon rivers. The Greeks were aware of the Persians' massive war preparations, and it was clear that Xerxes intended nothing less than the conquest of Greece and Southeastern Europe.

Themistocles had visited the Oracle of Delphi, who prophesied that only "wooden walls" would protect Athens. He interpreted this to mean that the Greeks should enter battle on the open sea, seeking refuge behind the wooden walls of their ships. After considerable resistance in the citizens' assembly, he received permission to expand the fleet of warships. Themistocles guessed that it would be impossible to defeat the Persians on land, and it wasn't long before he was proven right. In August of 480 BC, Greek soldiers only managed to defend the narrow pass of Thermopylae against the Persians for two days before they were forced to flee. Xerxes marched on Athens and sacked the city. Athens was vulnerable, as all the men who could defend it had taken to their warships.

Looking at the destroyed city, the Greeks realized that this was their last chance: if they lost this battle, it would mean the end of Greece as they knew it. The Greeks faced off against the Persians in a narrow strait west of the island of Salamis. The battle lasted for 12 hours, but at the end, the Greeks were victorious. It was likely the Greek army's smaller, more manoeuvrable boats that gave them the advantage in the narrow waters around Salamis. With their victory, the Greeks escaped a fate of becoming slaves to Persia, and stopped the Persians' invasion of Europe.

The Greek victory over the Persians was a milestone in European history. Had they suffered a defeat, there would have been no stopping the Persian army: they would have extended Persia's influence over all of continental Europe. In that case, ancient Greek and Roman culture would never have developed. Modern Europe has its roots in Greek and Roman antiquity. But if Persia had won the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, Europe would likely be known today as "West Asia," and its population would be mostly Muslim.

Herodotus (490 - 425 BC), one of the most significant Greek historians, gave the war against the Persians an ideological bent. For him, it was a "war of the systems." On one side, there was Europe, which stood for "freedom and democracy" - after all, it was during this time that "Attic democracy" was founded, which until this day is considered to be the cradle of democratic Europe. On the other side - the Persian/Asian side - there was what Herodotus termed "despotism" - the system of violent rule. So it was that he divided the ancient world into opposites: Europe versus Asia, and "freedom versus slavery."

 

THE MOTHER OF ALL CONSTITUTIONS - 287 BC

 

When the Plebeians left Rome in 287 BC, a piece of European constitutional history was written: the introduction of the "plebiscitum" was the first step toward the referendum of today.

The conflict over political equality between Rome's noble Patricians and the commoners, or Plebeians, lasted more than two centuries. Around 450 BC, all the laws of Rome were inscribed on 12 bronze plaques and displayed in the Roman Forum. In this way, people were protected from the whims of those in positions of authority.

Beginning in 421 BC, Plebeians were allowed to take on the lowest office, that of quaestor, in Rome, and soon after, the lower military ranks. In 366 BC, the Plebeians formed their first council and sent representatives to the senate. Ten years later, a Plebeian was even appointed to the office of dictator – the highest office in Rome (although it was limited to a term of six months.) It looked as if the two orders had finally begun to settle their differences.

But appearances can be deceiving. This became clear in the summer of 287 BC, when the Patricians tried to undo much of what the Plebeians had achieved with a new military constitution. The reason for this is not clear. Perhaps it was a move to, in the wake of a hard-won war against the Samnites in the southern Apennines, take back the rights of the Plebeians and cement those of the Patricians. In any case, the Plebeians erupted in protest as a result.

Immediately following the news of this new draft constitution, the Plebeians decided to secede from Rome, effectively boycotting the city. The “secessio plebis” went down in the annals of Roman history, and is comparable to a general strike. The city was empty, and there was no one to perform the tasks that kept it running from day to day. The Plebeians took possession of the Janiculus hill, which today is part of the district of Trastevere, on the right bank of the Tiber, reaching as far as the Vatican. There, they appointed Quintus Hortensius (ca. 320 BC) as dictator, and agreed on their own draft constitution as a response to the one drawn up by the Patricians.

The "Lex Hortensia" decreed that laws enacted by the Plebeians should also be binding not just for them but for the entire Roman population, and were not to be subject to vetoes by the senate. A messenger brought the constitution to the Patricians, with the warning that the Plebeians would only return to Rome when their document was validated. The decision had practically already been made; in order to stop the economic damage the secession was doing to Rome, the Patricians agreed.

The new legal principles that became part of Roman law thanks to the Plebeians became known as "Plebiscitum." This "decision by the people" is the model of all plebiscites, or referenda, which in modern European democracies are considered the most important means of direct citizen participation in political matters. The passing of the "plebiscitum" in 287 BC ended the Conflict of the Orders; at the same time, Rome began to flourish and prosper.

 

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES THE RELIGION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE - FEBRUARY 27, 380

 

The decree of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I had far-reaching consequences: It bound the Judeo-Christian roots of the European continent to Greco-Roman culture.

Until the Council of Nicaea in 325, Christians were persecuted, churches set ablaze and their wealth confiscated. The persecution of Christians peaked under the rule of Emperor Diocletian (ca. 245 - 316). He wanted to revive old pagan cults and make them into a kind of state religion. But his anti-Christian policies failed and were revoked under one of his successors, Emperor Constantine I (ca. 285 - 337).

In the Roman Empire, the military and administrative arms were functioning well. A common economic area had ensured prosperity. The civil rights granted to all the people living in Roman territory had laid the foundation for a growing sense of togetherness - except when it came to religious practices.

On June 19, 325, Constantine intervened in a religious conflict. In order to smooth things over, he invited all Christian bishops to attend a council in Nicaea, near present-day Istanbul. The goal of the council, which was attended by more than 300 representatives of the church, was not to enforce Christianity as the state religion, but rather to establish a religious peace that would stabilize the Roman Empire. After lengthy debates, Constantine agreed to a creed which stated that God and Jesus are one entity. The signing of this creed effectively ended the persecution of Christians.

But conditions were about to get even better for the followers of Christianity. On February 27, 380, in Thessaloniki, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I (347 - 395) signed a decree in the presence of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian II (371 - 392) that made Christianity the religion of the state and punished the practice of pagan rituals.

But the exact text of this decree, gathered in the Codex Theodosianus XVI.1.2, didn't just outline Christianity's special status, it also permitted the persecution of non-believers:

"It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter… and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria."

"According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity."

"We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since, in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches."

They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which in accordance with the will of Heaven we shall decide to inflict."

Thus, non-believers began to be persecuted with the same fervor that was once reserved for Christians and Jews. Pagan rituals were acts of high treason, temples and sanctuaries were destroyed as was the Oracle of Delphi, ancient Greece's legendary source of wisdom.

At the same time, February 27, 380 marks a milestone in European history, because on that day, Jewish-Christian roots were bound to those of Greek and Roman antiquity - a symbiosis that can still be felt today.

The early history of the Greeks and Romans and the Judeo-Christian tradition have made a decisive impact on Europe, for good and bad. Because during the coming centuries, it wasn't just the poor that were fed in the name of Christ; critics and dissidents were murdered in the name of the Lord as well.

 

A CODEX MAKES HISTORY: THE CORPUS IURIS CIVILIS OF 529

 

In 529, all the laws of Rome were recorded and reviewed by the most prominent jurist of the day. With the Codex Justinianus, Emperor Justinian I laid the foundations of European legal history.

Beginning in 527, the ambitious Justinian I (482 - 565) ruled the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). His goal was to reinstate the single, vast Imperium Romanum. In the past centuries, the empire had suffered greatly under the Germanic people in central Europe, and the Huns from the east.

But it wasn't his efforts to reunify the empire that brought Justinian I lasting fame, rather the complete codification of Roman law. All across the land, legal scholars and scribes were at work, recording all the valid legal principles of their society. The Codex Justinianus, which later became known as the Corpus Iuris Civilis, was completed after five years and is the first systematic written record of Roman law.

But Justinian didn't leave it at that. He commissioned the most important jurist of his day, Flavius Tribonianus (ca. 485 - 542) to review and comment on the laws. As a quaestor (Roman magistrate), Tribonianus was responsible for the judicial apparatus of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was largely due to him that the codex was finished in such a short time. Not long after, a judicial textbook and a collection of decrees were published, so that by 533, the first complete reference guide to Roman law was available.

Justinian I ruled for roughly four decades, during which he was energetically supported in all manners political and private by his wife, Theodora I (ca. 500 - 548).  When Justinian was crowned emperor in the summer of 527, he gave Theodora the title "Augusta" ("the great"), thereby elevating her from the ranks of emperors' wives past. He is known to have described Theodora as his "God-given partner," and her influence on his politics is likely to have been considerable.

The desire to reconstitute the Roman Empire (restauratio imperii) was not just in respect to land, but also to the political legacy of the height of the Empire, the age of the great Caesars. A quote from the Bible prophesying the end of the world should the "fourth empire" fall played an important role in this. The Babylonian, Persian and Greek empires had already fallen. If the fourth empire - the Roman Empire - were also to fall, it would herald the end of the world. That's why Justinian I did everything he could to prevent this scenario from becoming a reality. He managed to banish the Vandals from the coast of northern Africa, and win the southern tip of Spain from the Visigoths. After a lengthy battle, he pushed the Ostrogoths out of Italy. Thus, he managed to return the area around the Mediterranean to Roman rule, although the recreation of the entire Imperium Romanum eluded him.

His successors limited themselves to the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, which remained intact until Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) fell to the troops of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II on May 29, 1453.

The true influence of the Corpus Iuris Civilis first revealed itself during the 14th and 15th centuries, when the texts were rediscovered by members of the university in Bologna and incorporated into contemporary legal discourse. Over many centuries, the codex proved to be a major resource, augmented by local legal principles. Similar texts followed suit: the "Allgemeine Landrecht" of Prussia in 1794, the French "Code civil" in 1807, or the "Buergerliche Gesetzbuch" of Austria in 1812. In Germany, the basic tenets of Roman law were valid until 1900, when the Civil Code was introduced. The Corpus Iuris Civilis is an example of the close connection between the Roman Empire of antiquity and the modern Europe of today.

 

CHARLEMAGNE IS CROWNED EMPEROR - DECEMBER 25, 800

 

Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king, Charlemagne, Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, 800 in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, making him the most powerful ruler of his time.

In November 799, Charlemagne (ca. 747 - 814) set out for Rome. The pope had summoned him, because he could no longer fend off his enemies in the city. After Charlemagne calmed representatives from both sides and had Leo take an oath of purgation concerning charges of adultery and perjury brought against him, the two rulers attended a Christmas mass in St. Peter's. Those in attendance that Christmas Eve found themselves witness to a show of historical dimensions.

According to the court chronicler Einhart (ca. 780 - 840), Charlemagne was kneeling before the altar in prayer when Pope Leo III approached him from behind and placed the imperial crown on his head. Charlemagne's biographer was keen to convey the impression that the king was surprised by the coronation. It's probable that Charlemagne had speculated on the likelihood of receiving the crown; the pope was, after all, in need of the kind of assistance only the King of the Franks could offer. As soon as the crown was in position, the pope was on his knees, anointing the feet of the new emperor. At the same time, so the account goes, hefty applause broke out among the Romans in attendance, while the clergy began the coronation litany.

With this ceremony, the King of the Franks became a Roman Emperor, with a vast swath of Europe under his rule. The core of his new realm was formed by those countries which, around 1,150 years later, would make up the European Economic Community: France, Germany, the Benelux states and Italy.

Immediately after the coronation, Charlemagne introduced a common currency, written language and measurements in Francia. In Aachen, he commissioned buildings, the remnants of which still provide an indication of how the city was meant to become a "second Rome." Charlemagne was not just a great commander, Christian and modernizer of Europe, he was also a great supporter of education. He gathered the most significant scholars of his day, and commissioned them to create a standardized curriculum. With that, he laid the foundation for Frankish culture to flourish. The "Carolingian renaissance" was closely linked with the British scholar, Alcuin of York (735 - 804), whom Charlemagne had met in Parma in 781. At Charlemagne's Palace School at Aachen, Alcuin established a library filled with important works by antique authors. Their writings were recorded in the script known as Carolingian minuscule, and archived. The architecture of the Carolingian era also harked back to antiquity. Aachen's Palatine Chapel, for example, was meant to call to mind the "little Hagia Sophia," the Sergios-Bakhos Church in Constantinople. Other government buildings in Aachen were copies of Roman buildings.

This "Carolingian renaissance" is of enormous significance, because it turned Francia into a link between ancient and medieval Europe. From that point on, the "medieval modern" was heavily influenced by the thoughts of the ancient scholars, by pre-Christian Roman architecture, or by religious ideas from Rome and Constantinople.

And because Charlemagne sought to bind antiquity with the Middle Ages in this way, he also put himself on a level with those heroes of antiquity. The salvation of antiquity's cultural heritage was a conscious process, because the scholars started with the idea of a linear connection in both culture and politics. Since our own culture is built atop that which went before us, they mused, it only made sense to discover as much as possible about antiquity.

Charlemagne was also a believer in the theory of the "four empires" after which the end of the world was prophesied. When the pope bestowed the title of emperor on him, the Roman empire lived on in Charlemagne. This "translatio imperii" had (once again) prevented the world from coming to an end.

Given this political belief, it made sense to partly adopt Roman culture, architecture, law, literature and knowledge, thus keeping it alive. In this way, the wisdom of antiquity came to Europe. Everything that the modern world of today knows about antiquity, it knows because of how the Carolingian renaissance preserved this knowledge and kept it from being destroyed.

 

THE BIRTH OF TWO STATES: THE OATHS OF STRASBOURG - 842

 

The documents of the Oaths of Strasbourg

It was a freezing cold day when the armies of Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald approached Strasbourg. The kings of East and West Francia swore the Oaths of Strasbourg.

With the death of Charlemagne on January 28, 814, the Frankish kingdoms were plunged into uncertainty. His grandsons were competing for the right of succession. Part of the problem was the role which Louis the Pious (778 - 840) - Charlemagne's son - had planned for his son, Lothar I (795 - 855). In 817, Lothar had been crowned coemperor, while Louis the German (806 - 876) and Charles the Bald (823 - 877) were intended to rule East and West Francia. The arrangement turned into something of a permanent feud between changing coalitions.

In order to end the brotherly dispute and simultaneously form a coalition against Lothar, Louis and Charles brought their armies to Strasbourg on February 14, 842 for a meeting. The oaths which they swore on the town's marketplace didn't just mark a turnaround in the dispute over the Carolingian succession; they also became a milestone in European history. They were the first documents that showed that the people of East and West Francia no longer shared a common language.

Both kings made the same preamble speech, which was a detailed complaint about why their brother Lothar was unsuited to the office of emperor. His alleged thirst for conflict was driving a wedge among the people of the Frankish kingdoms - a situation that was untenable. The kings went on to say that they had come to pledge an allegiance to each other that would bind them together in opposition to Lothar. Louis the German swore his oath in the "romana lingua," the precursor to the French language. Charles the Bald spoke his oath in the "teudisca lingua," which would later develop into the German language. Thus, each king swore the oath in the dialect of the other, so that the other's soldiers would understand what was being said.

This linguistic development was recorded in the historical documents of February 14, 842. In the years that followed, further treaties would be agreed which would seal the division of central Europe, giving the continent a shape which is still recognizable today. In the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Louis the German was made ruler of East Francia, with a western border that more or less followed the flow of the Rhine river, a southern border that formed a line from Geneva to Chur in Switzerland, and an eastern border that ended at Regensburg, Magdeburg and Hamburg. Central Europe was left in the hands of Emperor Lothar I, encompassing the Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence and the Kingdom of Italy. Charles the Bald was given the western portion of the realm, with borders that more or less are the same as France's borders today.

The Treaty of Meerssen in 870 replaced the Treaty of Verdun and divided the northern part of Middle Francia (today's Benelux states and the territory stretching to what was then Burgundy) between East and West Francia. After his death, Lothar's kingdom was divided among his three sons: the eldest, Louis II, received Italy and the title of Emperor, the second, Lothar II, received Lotharingia, and the youngest, Charles, received Provence. The final borders between modern-day France and Germany were decided in 880 in the Treaty of Ribemont.

The Franco-German partnership, which today is so often described as the motor driving European development, has its roots in the early 9th century, when an empire was divided into two realms that each developed into independent countries over the centuries that followed.

 

GOD WILLS IT: THE FIRST CRUSADE 1097 - 1099

 

The Middle East is increasingly coming under Muslim influence. Even in Jerusalem, Islam is spreading. Pope Urban II reacts with fury. In 1071, a Christian army was defeated by Muslim troops in Manzikert, eastern Anatolia. But it was the news from the Holy City that awakened the wrath of the pope. After all, there were reports of honorable Christians being subjected to unbearable harassment during their pilgrimages. For Pope Urban II (ca. 1035 - 1099), the Council of Clermont in November 1095 was the perfect moment to call for an "armed pilgrimage" to Jerusalem. The Holy Father's choice of words left no doubt as to his intentions:

"They circumcise the Christians, and the blood of the circumcision they either spread upon the altars or pour into the vases of the baptismal font. When they wish to torture people by a base death, they perforate their navels, and dragging forth the extremity of the intestines, bind it to a stake; then with flogging they lead the victim around until the viscera, having gushed forth, the victim falls prostrate upon the ground (…) Let the holy sepulchre of the Lord our Savior, which is possessed by unclean nations, especially incite you, and the holy places which are now treated with ignominy and irreverently polluted with their filthiness."

It was an exaggeration, to say the least. Reports that Muslim rulers were charging a kind of entrance fee for Jerusalem were, however, correct. For the Christian pilgrims, this was an intolerable situation that was exacerbated by the destruction of holy sites, statues and monuments. The first crusade aimed to put things right.

In 1096, around 300,000 European knights set out, also with a view to capturing valuable booty. Pope Urban II offered the Christian warriors further incentive by promising absolution for all earthly sins. But that did not protect the knights with the cross on their shields from suffering high casualties, even before they'd reached Jerusalem. Time and again, they were attacked by partisans or local gangs. By the beginning of July 1098, the crusaders had taken Nicaea and Antioch. They continued via Beirut to Jaffa and Haifa. In Edessa, Godfrey of Bouillon (1060 - 1100) established the first "crusader state." Three years after they set off, the crusaders reached Jerusalem.

In July 1099, some 21,000 exhausted knights began the siege of the Holy City. The used battering rams and catapults to destroy the city walls. Then, with the cry "God wills it" on their lips, they stormed Jerusalem and embarked on a massacre that only a few residents survived. The crusaders portrayed the massacre as a way of "cleansing" the city of non-believers, and held a procession of thanks once it was over. Some 70,000 people lost their lives that day.

In the summer of 1099, Godfrey of Bouillon was named "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre." In addition to Edessa, further crusader states were established: Armenia Minor, Antioch, Tripoli, and of course, Jerusalem.

But this new order in the Middle East didn't last very long, as the region was surrounded by powerful Arab states which looked upon the crusaders with anger and disgust: the Emirate of Damascus, the Caliphate of Cairo, and the Seljuk Sultanate. Over the two centuries that followed, they were determined to win back the territory that had been taken, prompting six further crusades which lasted until the mid-13th century and cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

In Europe, however, the crusades were an expression of the Christian community which had gathered around the cross, under the leadership of the pope. A kind of Christian "European community" emerged, and the "Universitas Christiana" unified Europe over a long period of time. But the Europeans' feeling of togetherness was based on the rejection of those of different faiths. It wasn't about identifying "with" something, rather "against" something.

 

THE GREAT CHARTER OF FREEDOMS: MAGNA CARTA - JUNE 15, 1215

 

The signing of the Magna Carta granted England's nobility, and later its common citizens, wide-ranging rights. On June 15, 1215, King John was forced to give in to pressure from the barons.

King John of England (1167 - 1216) found that he had little choice but to sign a document of enormous significance. The reign of the king, who was seen as flighty and obstinate, seemed to be under an unlucky star. He was often mocked because, unlike his elder brothers, he wasn't given any land by his father, Henry II (1133 - 1189). He was thus often referred to as John Lackland.

From the very beginning, he suffered due to the fact that he was the successor to his popular brother, Richard the Lionheart (1157 – 1199). Additionally, he was constantly in conflict with the Church. The clergy kept a close eye on him, to be sure that he wasn't gaining too much influence over the inner workings of the Church. But the biggest factor in the rapid loss of respect for the king was the ongoing tension with France over the continental parcel of land in northern France that belonged to the English crown.

Since 1202, France's King Philip II had been perpetuating the conflict. The British land holdings in France were confiscated, then they were given back under the rules of a treaty. The French nobles in northern France revolted against the British crown; then the pope got into the mix. In 1209, King John was even excommunicated. At the beginning of 1214, the French king threatened an attack on England, but King John acted first, invading France. The invasion failed miserably. The ignominy of defeat was the last straw for England's nobility. The barons drew up a list of 63 articles in which they detailed the rights they wanted the king to guarantee them and their descendants.

The most important demand was the right not to be subjected to any more taxes without their agreement. Furthermore, no free citizen was to be held by an officer of the court without the reason for his detainment being subject to scrutiny. In addition, the nobles demanded inalienable privileges for themselves which could not be taken away by either the king or the pope.

For the king, the consequences of this “charter of freedom” were clear. From then on, and for the first time, an English king would not rule solely by the “grace of God” or with the blessing of the pope. Rather, he would have to concern himself with the interests of first the nobility, and later, the common people. But for King John, there was no other course of action but to sign the Magna Carta on that historic June 15, 1215, in Runnymede, Surrey. The barons had prepared several copies – one for each county – so that within a matter of days, the content of the Magna Carta was known throughout the entire country.

Though it's been transformed somewhat, the Magna Carta that was signed in 1215 still forms the legal foundation of Great Britain today. Together with the Bill of Rights in the year 1791, it also became the basis for all the laws of the United States. The US Constitution draws to a large extent on the Magna Carta. And it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Magna Carta provided the basis for every declaration that created the conditions for increased civil liberties and rights – at first, on the British isle, and later, on the European continent.

The article in the Magna Carta which states that the king is not able to impose any tax "unless by common counsel of our kingdom" calls to mind a similar political demand made during the American War of Independence at the end of the 18th century: "No taxation without representation."

 

MARTIN LUTHER'S 95 THESES - OCTOBER 31, 1517

 

With his 95 Theses, Martin Luther attempted to provoke reform within the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, he became the founder of a second Christian confession.

Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) had been a preacher at the church in Wittenberg since 1514. His rhetorical talents made him popular among his congregation. He could often be found in his study, deeply absorbed in reading the Bible. Luther wanted to change the way people related to God by making the scriptures more accessible.

But the church in Rome had already defined this relationship: God spoke to the people via the pope in Rome, and through the pope's representatives, in other words, priests and bishops. In this way, the church had a monopoly when it came to interpreting the Bible, and deciding what sanctions should be imposed for transgressions of biblical rules.

Luther interpreted the gospels of the New Testament anew, and so came up with a different Christian paradigm. For him, there was no apostolic mediation necessary for people to have a relationship with God. All that was needed was the Bible (primacy of the scriptures), Jesus Christ (primacy of Christ) and God's mercy (primacy of grace).

But it was the sale of indulgences - the profits of which were going toward the building of the new St. Peter's cathedral in Rome - which sparked the Reformation. Additionally, this trafficking in the pardon of sins was also financing the lavish lifestyle of Pope Leo X (1475 - 1521), who was notorious for always being on the verge of debt.

When Martin Luther sat down at his desk in his priests' accommodation in Wittenberg to write the famed 95 Theses, he was only trying to right what he saw as wrongs perpetrated by the church in Rome (secularization, circumvention of celibacy). He wasn't seeking an argument with the pope, nor was he trying to establish a new church. That's why, on that fateful October 31, 1517, he didn't "nail" his theses on the door of the church of All Saints, rather, he sent them to friends for a "disputation." (It was, however, customary to advertise a disputation by posting theses on the church door). He wasn't a revolutionary on this day - he was an impassioned monk who was worried about the salvation of the people in his congregation. The reaction to his theses, which were quickly translated, printed and widely copied, turned him from a monk to a revolutionary who shook the medieval world to its core.

Pope Leo X deployed a series of theologians and envoys against Luther, and threatened him with excommunication should he refuse to recant - all without success. In April 1521, Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms, where he again refused to recant. He was declared an outlaw, and it was a made a crime in Germany for anyone to give him food or shelter.

However, Luther found support among the population, and in particular, from Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (1463 - 1525). Frederick hid Luther at Wartburg Castle, where he pretended to be a knight called Junker Joerg. There, he translated the New Testament into German and wrote numerous essays. His teachings quickly spread across the European continent.

The conflict with the Catholic Church, as the Roman Church was by then known, grew increasingly violent. Both sides took up arms. The religious conflict eventually evolved into the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648), which ended with a treaty declaring religious freedom in Germany and Europe.

 

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA ENDS THE 30 YEARS' WAR

 

On October 24, 1648, the second part of the Peace of Westphalia was signed in Osnabrueck. Soldiers from almost all the European powers had been fighting each other since 1618, with millions of casualties.

A conflict over religious freedom sparked the war, but it soon became very clear that two large European powers, France and Sweden, also had political reasons for getting involved. They wanted to extend their influence in the central part of the continent, and limit the power of the German emperor. The emperor, meanwhile, didn't just have a war with Europe's major armies to contend with, but also the attempts by several German princes to gain more autonomy for themselves.

The Thirty Years' War played out mainly in the northern and eastern parts of Germany, where it wrought significant destruction. When it ended, it brought religious freedom to Catholics, Protestants and Calvinists. As was the case with the Religious Peace of Augsburg in 1555, people were guaranteed the freedom to choose their confession. Additionally, peasants were granted the right to leave their land if the religion imposed by the prince or ruler didn't suit them.

This freedom became part of basic civil rights in Europe, and weakened the power of the Catholic Church. Rome remained a powerful institution, but Protestants and Calvinists began amassing more influence. Over the centuries that followed, a Roman Catholic continent transformed into a Christian continent. 

European history was written first in Muenster, where the first signatures were placed on the Peace of Westphalia in May 1648, and then again in Osnabrueck. For the first time, the states of Europe looked at the continent as a whole; they wanted to take on responsibility for the continent together. It was as if a "Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe" was being held in Muenster and Osnabrueck.

The newly-created order was guaranteed by the large powers and brought independence to both Switzerland and the Netherlands. Sweden was granted rule over the bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, and Brandenburg-Prussia was given land that would soon see it emerge as simply Prussia. France also realized its wartime goals, and was granted territories that allowed it to escape the stranglehold of the powerful Habsburgers.

Many of the terms of the Peace of Westphalia were to the detriment of the German Emperor. At the same time, the rights of the German princes were strengthened. They were now permitted to have a voice in matters that affected the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" - things such as war and peace, taxes and laws. They could form alliances with foreign powers, as long as this was not against the interests of the emperor and the empire.

Because of this, the German regional states developed into independent subjects of civil law. If the opportunity presented itself, they could involve themselves in European power politics. This increase in the princes' power is one of the factors that contributed to the federal structure in Germany, where state premiers watch over the rights that are due the states.

Sweden and France acted as guarantors for the Peace of Westphalia. None of the terms could be changed without their consent. For the Germans, who lived in more than 300 independent small states, this had one consequence: if they wanted to unify to become a single state, they would need the permission of France and Sweden.

The maintenance of the status quo in central Europe was important for the security of the European states, who wanted to avoid having an overly powerful German emperor in the heart of the continent. The Germans therefore no longer decided their fate themselves - they were dependent on the interests of their neighbors. It was a condition that again played a role during the reunification of the two German states in 1990. It wasn't for nothing that German unity was a part of European integration.

 

THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION - JANUARY 22, 1689

 

William of Orange's landing in England in 1688

The decades-long conflict between the absolutists and the parliamentarians was over. With the Bill of Rights, William of Orange ascended the English throne, while parliament was given greater powers.

The revolution was preceded by bloody conflicts which threatened to plunge Britain into civil war. The first serious conflict happened in 1628, when Britain's King Charles I (1600 - 1649) was forced to admit that officers of the court continually abused the royal right to arrest people. At the order of the king, officers would threaten wealthy citizens with arrest in order to extort money from them. The Petition of Rights from June 7, 1628, attempted to put a stop to such abuse by decreeing that no one could arbitrarily be arrested, and that anyone who was detained had the right to a fair and speedy trial. The Petition of Rights became a cornerstone of all democratic legal systems.

In medieval England, however, the Petition of Rights still needed to withstand some tough tests. When rumors spread across the mainly Protestant island that Pope Innocent XI (1611 - 1689) was planning to re-Catholicize England, unrest erupted which resulted in the deposition of a parliament that was largely loyal to the king. King Charles II (1630 - 1685) attempted a heavy-handed response. Random arrests and incarcerations became daily occurrences. In particular, the transfer of difficult prisoners to jails in the overseas colonies ruffled plenty of feathers.

Charles II was accused of completely disregarding the Petition of Rights. In order to end this state of affairs for once and for all, Charles was forced to sign the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679, during a weak phase of his reign. The act was named for the Latin beginning of the medieval arrest warrant, and stipulated that prisoners could be released on bail, and would be granted a hearing before a judge within three days of arrest.

But the signature of the king did not end the power struggle on the British isle. During these troubled times at home, where rumors of the pope's plans to re-Catholicize Britain refused to go away, several liberal "Whig" parliamentarians began talking with strict Protestant, William III of Orange (1650 - 1702). He was married to one of Charles II's daughters, who was likewise raised as a Protestant. The parliamentarians offered him the throne, on the condition that he sign the Bill of Rights, which contained several clauses for the protection of parliament.

William of Orange didn't need to be asked twice. When he landed in England on November 5, 1688, Charles II fled to France, clearing the path for both William and the Bill of Rights. The king was obliged to call regular parliamentary sessions; he had to obtain parliamentary approval for any new taxes; and he was not permitted to fund an army in times of peace. Parliamentarians were also granted immunity, meaning they could do their jobs without fear of being arrested or sued by the king.

The Habeas Corpus Act was confirmed within the Bill of Rights, and its rules still form the basis of the modern European system regarding arrests. The civil rights declaration of the French Revolution of 1789, the US Constitution of 1791, the Belgian Constitution of 1831, the German Constitutions of 1849 and 1919 as well as the German Basic Law of 1949 are all based on the Habeas Corpus Act. This common tradition in the formation of constitutional rights shows how the people of Europe didn't just influence each other through cultural exchanges or trade relationships. Rather, they influenced each other through ideas, through hard-won political rights and the legal principles that evolved as a result.

The rights granted through the Glorious Revolution in 1689 still apply in European democracies today: free parliamentary elections, parliament's right to free debate, immunity for parliamentarians, taxation only with parliamentary approval, and no standing army without the consent of parliament. In January 1689, the legal framework was laid for a parliamentary democracy, with the sole demand on all members of society being that they abide by the existing laws.

 

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF KNOWLEDGE - 1751-1780

 

Scientific discoveries boosted the Enlightenment

The 35-volume "Encyclopédie" was meant to be a work of enlightenment. All "responsible citizens" should be able to share in social processes; neither religion nor ignorance should be a hindrance.

Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists had made discoveries that had usurped the previous body of knowledge. Mankind had discovered the planetary system, learned how to harness hydro power, explored far-away continents, and proved that the Earth was round. Increasingly, it was science - and not religion - that was providing answers to questions about the meaning of life.

The explanations offered by the Catholic Church were becoming outdated. The Church's definition of life was based on the notion that you lived to please God while on Earth, in order to receive your reward in heaven. The gospels and the apostolic interpretation of the Bible had, for centuries, offered people an explanation of the meaning of life that was other-worldly. This was supposed to help them make sense of the injustices of life on Earth.

But it wasn't just life's obvious injustices that contributed to the spread of the Enlightenment. The trials of heretics, the Inquisition, and the deep hatred between the followers of different faiths had altogether combined to give religion a bad name. A religion that fostered hate instead of love, and a church that tortured and persecuted people, had little credibility.

If knowledge, and not religion, was the new maxim, then knowledge, and the theories it produced, needed to be gathered and made accessible to all. Beginning in 1751, French philosophers Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784) and Jean Lerond d'Alembert (1717 - 1783) dedicated themselves to the task. In 30 years of work, they produced their "Encyclopédie" containing all the scientific and philosophical findings of their time.

Through the accumulation of knowledge and practical education, people were to be enabled with the power of independent thought, thus becoming "mature." Superstition and religious fervour were just as out of place in this ideology as was popular repression under an absolutist regime. The Encyclopedia was a work of enlightenment that would help people out of their "self-imposed immaturity," as German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) put it.

Citizens made "mature" through knowledge and education - "enlightened" citizens - are entitled to participate in the political decisions of their society. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778) reasoned that such an enlightened citizen would be able to submit to the "social contract" of his society without sacrificing his personal freedom. This "ideal will of the community" ("volonté générale") influenced many 18th century philosophers and the theories of the Enlightenment spread quickly.

In Germany, the works of the French philosophers were devoured by the likes of Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762 - 1814), and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770 - 1831). An atmosphere of upheaval began to spread among German intellectuals, who saw themselves as serving the liberation of the individual, as well as the repressed "German nation."

 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION - MAY 5, 1789

 

Versailles was the luxurious home of Louis XVI

"Liberty, equality, fraternity." This slogan summed up the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century - a revolution that left traces which are impossible to overlook, and that changed the face of the continent.

The king of France, Louis XVI (1754 - 1793), had been having enormous money problems for years. On the one hand, he was financing his luxurious lifestyle at the Palace of Versailles, and on the other hand, France's military involvement in the American War of Independence (1775 - 1783) had created large debts. On May 5, 1789, he invited the three "estates" (the clergy, the nobility, and the famers and commoners) to Paris to ask them to approve a tax increase. But the king had misjudged the sentiment among the delegates: they wanted to turn the assembly into a "National Constituent Assembly" in order to address the economic crisis that was affecting large parts of the country.

The king tried to bring the delegates back on his side, but did not succeed. It quickly became clear that the citizens of Paris supported the beginning revolution. They were hoping to improve their quality of life, which had been declining for decades until it stood in stark contrast to the sumptuous lifestyle at the royal court in Versailles.

In a matter of days, it emerged that the revolt was much more than the resistance of a few delegates - it was a protest of the people. In quick succession, the delegates of the National Assembly" abolished the privileges of the nobility, cut the tithes due to the church, and confiscated church property. On August 26, 1789, they published a "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen." With this document, the National Assembly created a level playing field for all the people of France. This new equality was sealed on September 3, 1791 in the new French Constitution.

Other royal courts in Europe watched the revolution in France with horror. Monarchs feared that it would spread to their lands and cause civil unrest. When the new Duke of Brunswick, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand (1735 - 1806) threatened to invade France and bury Paris in soot and ashes, he provoked the people of Paris to storm the Tuileries palace on August 10, 1792. A group of workers from Marseilles were involved in the siege. On their way to Paris, they'd had a bloodthirsty song on their lips. The people of Paris dubbed the song the "Marseillaise" and made it their revolutionary song. Today, the "Marseillaise" - in a considerably less bloody version - is the French national anthem.

After the first revolutionary phase ran out of steam, the French Revolution was left to fight its inner demons. In the name of freedom and practicality, executioners set up guillotines in order to behead thousands of so-called counter-revolutionaries. Soon, the revolution was even directing itself against those who'd created it. The start of 1793 marked the beginning of the "reign of terror." In the National Assembly, delegate Jean Paul Marat (1743 - 1793) gave the following "reason" for restrictions on civil liberty:

"It is by violence that one must establish liberty and the moment has come where we must temporarily organize a despotism of liberty to crush the despotism of kings."

When Marat died three months later at the hand of loyal monarchist Charlotte Corday (1768 - 1793), the revolution had its first martyr, as well as a reason to put the device invented by Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738 - 1794) to its bloody use. Heading the terror was Maximilian Robespierre (1758 - 1794). When the reign of terror was declared in mid-1794, the worst phase began. Each day, between 50 and 100 people were killed in the name of the revolution. At the same time though, resentment at the terror campaign was growing. On July 27, 1794, the tyrants got a taste of their own medicine. Robespierre and several of his cronies were arrested following a decree by the National Assembly, and were sent to the guillotine in front of a large crowd the next day. The national celebration that followed signaled the end of the reign of terror.

The insurgents in Paris made sure that the French Revolution didn't falter in the face of resistance from other European powers, nor in the face of the shortcomings of those within their own ranks. In doing so, they left their stamp on Europe.

 

THE CONVENTION OF TAUROGGEN - JANUARY 3, 1813

 

Depiction of the Convention of Tauroggen

An unassuming letter from Prussian army officer Ludwig York von Wartenburg (1759 - 1830) to King Frederick William III (1779 - 1840) marked the start of a campaign to free Europe from the influence of the French.

In the letter, Ludwig York beseeched the king to seize the moment and build a coalition against the French Emperor Napoleon I (1769 - 1821). Napoleon had just suffered the first military defeat of his career in Russia.

Prior to the letter's arrival, however, the general became embroiled in accusations of refusing to obey orders, after his 10th infantry had been forcibly recruited by Napoleon to become part of a massive army meant to bring Russia to its knees. Together with the Russian czars, Napoleon had imposed a "continental ban" on England, with the aim of economically bleeding the island dry. But since Russia was dependent on English imports, Nicholas I circumvented the ban, prompting Napoleon to declare war on the last independent state on the European continent.

The undertaking went terribly wrong. Napoleon's army of 600,000 soldiers were prepared for neither the bitter cold and massive distances, nor the military tactics of the Russians. At the crossing of the Berezina river, the French suffered a catastrophic defeat. Napoleon fled to Paris, and his grand army fell to pieces: only 90,000 soldiers made it back to Paris. The Prussian army general York spotted his chance. On December 30, 1812, he signed a truce with the Russian army in the Lithuanian city of Tauroggen. With that move, he was also guilty of refusing orders, because he was in violation of the Prussian king's commandment to obey the king of France.

After signing the Convention of Tauroggen, Ludwig York and Russian General Hans - Carl von Diebitsch - Sabalkanski (1785 - 1831) were isolated. Ludwig York was sure that the Prussian king would respond with drastic sanctions; he was, after all, known for his politics of fear with regard to Napoleon. He worried that his unauthorized decision could lead to a dishonorable discharge. Despite his concerns, he sat down at his desk to compose the now historic letter, which proposed forming a European alliance against Napoleon. There had never been a better opportunity for Prussia and other European countries to emerge from under the rule of France, he wrote to Frederick William III. He respectfully requested the king to try to win other European powers on the side of a coalition against the French emperor. General York posted his letter on January 3, 1813. After some hesitation and against his will, Frederick William III acquiesced to York, and on March 17, 1813, he made his position public.

On this day, the king issued a proclamation in the newspaper Schlesischen Privilegierten Zeitung which began with the words: "To my people!" He called for popular support for the war against France he'd declared a day earlier. At the same time, he let it be known that he'd succeeded in forming an alliance with other European powers. Euphoria erupted across Prussia. Collections were held to gather money and valuables for the war effort. Particularly patriotic couples exchanged their gold wedding rings for rings made of iron, on which the words "I gave gold for iron - 1813" were engraved.

The decisive battle between the European allies and Napoleon was fought in Leipzig. From October 16 - 19, 1813, the French army faced off against a force made up of soldiers from Austria, Prussia, Russia and Sweden. In the end, the allies prevailed, ending France's dominance over Europe. The "freedom wars" ended at the start of 1815 when Napoleon, who'd ended his exile and returned to Paris, summoned the last of his power to challenge the European allies a final time. During the Battle of Waterloo, though, he once again suffered defeat, and went back into exile.

By this time a bitter - and, in his own words, misunderstood - man, Napoleon died on the British island of Saint Helena in the south Atlantic on May 5, 1821.

General Ludwig York was given various military awards and was named earl of Wartenburg. He died on April 19, 1830. He has lived on in the annals of history as a man who wrestled with his conscience, and in the end, made a courageous decision. It was a decision that could have cost him his career, but instead, led to the downfall of French hegemony on the European continent.

 

THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA - SEPTEMBER 18, 1814

 

After the Napoleonic wars ended French hegemony, the Congress of Vienna turned back the clock in Europe to the time before the French Revolution.

More than 200 authorized officials from European states converged in the Austrian city of Vienna to discuss a new order for the continent in a congress held from September 1814 until June 1815. For the most part, the "new order" consisted of a re-establishment of the old European monarchies. During the time of French rule over the continent, they had not only lost territory, but also influence. The restoration of this old Europe was simultaneously a rejection of the revolutionary goals of the French Revolution, as well as the nationalist movements gaining pace in many European countries.

As the host city, Vienna put its best face forward, organizing an array of balls and social events that changed on a daily basis. The brisk progression of evening dances inspired Belgian diplomat Charles Joseph, de Ligne to say in a letter to French Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand that: "The congress of Vienna does not run, it dances." He added that "nothing is getting through, except for the sweat of these dancing men."

But the men were not just there to dance. Rather, decisions were made which would prove to be an instrumental part of European history.

In Europe, equality between the five largest powers, France, England, Prussia, Russia and Austria (the "Pentarchy") was restored. Although France had to give back the territories claimed during the Napoleonic wars, it emerged as a victor of the Congress of Vienna. France, with its hegemonic pursuits under the leadership of Napoleon, may have been the source of Europe's undoing, but now, a French delegation was sitting at the negotiating table in Vienna!

While France had to surrender territory, the other large powers were granted land, as were several smaller states (Sweden, the Netherlands). Poland, which had existed merely as the small duchy of Warsaw since the "Polish partitions" in 1772, 1793 and 1795, was re-established on the European map as "Congress Poland." Additionally, Switzerland's neutrality was internationally recognized.

In the middle of the continent, the "Confederation of the Rhine" established by Napoleon was dissolved, replaced by the "German Federation." It consisted of 35 states or principalities, and four city states. Austria and Prussia were also made members, even though parts of their territory lay outside the area of the German Federation. Both had been part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation until its dissolution, and so laid claim to rights in Germany. The highest council was the Bundestag (parliament), which met in Frankfurt under the chairmanship of Austria.

The creation of the German Federation was one of the most important decisions to come out of the congress. But the birth defects are impossible to ignore. On the one hand, the European powers wanted to ensure that Germany's individual states remained independent; on the other, they wanted to link them to each other in a federation and, through the participation of Austria and Prussia, link them to their geostrategic interests. Representatives of the German states were not present at the negotiations, meaning that their interests were barely taken into consideration.

With the Congress of Vienna, the "German question" was once again subjected to a European proviso, because every change to the status quo in Europe was dependent on the agreement of the so-called "Holy Alliance": the Prussians, the Austrians and the Russians. These three monarchies made sure that the European prescription for peace developed in Vienna was respected. It was the second attempt by the European states after 1648 (Peace of Westphalia) to view the continent as a whole, and to create a common framework for peace. This "Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe" failed equally, however, because the nationalist and, later, the democratic movements were determined not to be subjected to any absolutist or Christian-patriarchal form of government.

 

THE GERMAN REVOLUTIONS 1848/9

 

The National Assembly that met in Frankfurt's St. Paul's Church failed in its attempt to establish a German nation state in the heart of Europe. The Frankfurt National Assembly met for the first time on May 18, 1848. The delegates were meant to work on a constitution and prepare for elections. They appointed Heinrich von Gagern (1799 – 1880) as president of the assembly. Archduke Johann of Austria (1782 - 1859) was called upon to serve as regent of the empire. He was the head of state in the German federation until the free elections. His appointment was the first in a series of poor decisions. For the radicals in the assembly, he stood for an old system that needed to be overthrown. For them, it was unimaginable that they should cooperate with such a man. The next problem arose in the summer of 1848 after the truce of Malmö, which ended a conflict in Schleswig-Holstein. There, despite Prussian intervention, the revolution against the Danish ruler, King Frederick VII (1808 – 1863) was defeated. The National Assembly was forced to recognize that, without an army of its own, it couldn't protect the interests of its members. The delegates also quickly noticed that they weren't just missing their own army, but also all the other ingredients needed for the founding of a state: a capital city, national institutions, common laws or other common ideas about who should be part of the new German empire. Most of the delegates were academics who tended toward wide-ranging discussions. Valuable time was being lost on debates about civil rights or freedom of speech, for example, during which the opponents of the revolution were able to mobilize their forces. Even when National Assembly delegate Robert Blum (1807 – 1848) was executed following an outburst of revolutionary fighting in Austria, the delegates in Frankfurt continued to talk. By the end of December 1848, they'd debated a whole catalog of basic and human rights, but failed to see the real power structures for what they were. One of the core points of the debates was the question of which states should belong to the German empire. For some, it should be the members of the German Federation, Prussia and Austria – the "big German" solution. For others, Austria should be excluded – this was the "small German" solution. But both propositions were factually impossible. Proponents of the "big German" solution dreamed of a Germany under the Habsburg crown; they were fans of the old empire of the Middle Ages, simply dressing up their ideas with a bit of liberal Zeitgeist. In reality, what they wanted was a revival of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation that had disappeared in 1806 under Napoleon's rule. But they were ignoring the several million non-Germans who would then be living in a German Empire. And as this plan would have led to the division of Austria, it was hardly surprising when Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830 – 1916) vehemently voiced his opposition. But the "small German" solution of the German Federation and Prussia without Austria was also rejected by the Austrian emperor, as he then would have lost his influence in Germany. This solution also missed the mark in terms of the vision to unite "all those of the German tongue" in the new empire. Months went by with the two sides unable to find a compromise, and soon they were arguing over another question: should the new Empire be a republic or a constitutional monarchy?

On March 27, 1849, a vote was held, with a slim majority opting for a constitutional monarchy with the Prussian king at the helm as German emperor. A delegation was dispatched to Berlin to crown Frederick William IV (1795 – 1861) – but he refused to accept it. For him, it was as if he was being offered an "iron dog collar" by the National Assembly. Since he wouldn't allow the "scoundrels" to give him the crown, he squandered the Germans' last chance to become a nation state within a movement supported by the people.

A little later, when the last troops capitulated in Rastatt, the German Revolutions were over. The delegates failed not just because of the missing power base, but also because they were unable to resolve the question of national boundaries. Excluding Prussia and Austria would have been too bland an option, as if forming a state out of the remnants – one which, like the German Federation, would not have been capable of surviving on its own. Instead, it would have been dependent on the good will of the other "German states." Including Prussia and Austria would have meant an eventual split for both states, since both were home to large groups of non-Germans.And so, the status quo remained in central Europe for the time being. But the events of the German Revolutions had made it clear that the danger of destabilization had become greater. Around 22 years later, a German empire would be founded – although without the involvement of the people. The ceremony marking its creation was held in January 1871 in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. This time, Prussian King William I (1797 – 1888) approved. Peace in Europe was maintained for several years, until the increasingly aggressive policies of new German Emperor William II (1859 – 1941) led to an eruption of unforeseen scope.

 

THE SARAJEVO ATTACK

 

The attack by Serbian extremists on the heirs to the Austrian throne on June 28, 1914 sparked what was called the "July Crisis" in Europe. A month later, World War I began.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863 – 1914) and his wife, Sophie (1868 – 1914) had just arrived in Sarajevo after a visit with German Emperor William II (1859 – 1941). They were invited to watch the maneuvers of the Austrian troops in Bosnia. On the way into the city, their procession of cars had to drive relatively slowly, which played into the hands of the attackers that lay in wait.

The first assassination attempt failed due to the quick reaction of the Austrian heir-apparent. Out of the corner of his eye, Franz Ferdinand saw something black flying towards him and raised his hand in a protective gesture, thus knocking the hand grenade out of the car. It landed on the car behind him, injuring two of that car's passengers. The perpetrator tried to commit suicide by swallowing a cyanide pill, but as the pill was old, the poison failed to work and only made him sick. He was stopped by people on the street and arrested. The archduke's procession sped quickly to City Hall. There, it was decided that they would take a different route to the grounds of the military parade.

Not long after starting off for the grounds, the driver of one of the cars leading the procession noticed that they were going the wrong way. The cars had to slowly turn back. Meanwhile, a second conspirator had taken up position. He seized his opportunity, and fired his pistol twice into the car. Franz Ferdinand was shot in the neck; Sophie in the abdomen. Their attacker also swallowed a cyanide pill, which also failed to work. While the second attacker was held by passersby, Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie died in their car from their injuries. At the trial of the two attackers, they admitted to being followers of the "Pan-Slavist" movement. With the support of Russia, this organization aimed for national unity for all Slavic people. As many Slavs lived in the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, the heir to the Austrian throne had long been identified as a potential assassination victim. The attack wasn't handled as what it really was, namely an incident which weighed on diplomatic relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and which could potentially lead to domestic conflicts with several minority groups. The Austrian military instead acted as if it had been waiting for just such an opportunity to push Emperor Francis Joseph I (1830 – 1916) into an immediate military reprisal against Serbia. In this, he had the support of the German military command. German Imperial Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (1856 – 1921) sent a missive to Vienna that was the equivalent of an open letter making the case for war against Serbia: his majesty, the German Emperor, stood "in accord with his federal duties and his old friendship" loyal and brave on  the side of Austria, the letter read. William II's whisperings aside, there was still enough time to prevent Europe from being burnt in a large-scale fire. But the governments decided otherwise.

On July 23, 1914, Austria delivered a 48-hour ultimatum to Belgrade, demanding that Austrian investigators be appointed to pursue those behind the assassination. Even though the Serbian government fulfilled this request as well as various others, the response was not enough for the government in Vienna. Francis Joseph I also backed a declaration of war against Serbia. The chain of diplomatic and military reactions could no longer be halted.Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. The next day, Russia reacted, mobilizing its army. On July 31, 1914, the German Empire gave France an ultimatum: in the case of a war between Germany and Russia, France was to remain neutral. At the same time, Czar Nicholas II was requested – also per ultimatum – to halt the Russian mobilization. When this ultimatum was ignored and the Russian government did not recall its army, the German military issued a declaration of war against Russia. On August 1, 1914, Emperor William II signed the war declaration.

This day marked the beginning of what the American historian George F. Kennan (1904 – 2005) described as the 20th century's "seminal catastrophe" – World War I. As if gripped by madness, Europe's political leaders gave up the continent's relative wealth, stable political relations and cultural hegemony over large parts of the world in the summer of 1914. In what seemed to be some sort of secret pact, the crowned rulers of Europe transformed the continent into a battlefield of unimagined proportions, all because of an incident which was insignificant in comparison to its consequences. They were entranced by the prospect of what they stood to gain at the end of the war, and didn't hear the foreboding voices warning them of their own demise.

 

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION – OCTOBER 25, 1917

 

With the siege of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the Russian Revolution was victorious. The Bolsheviks took power, ruling for more than seven decades over Russia and large parts of Eastern Europe.

The thundering of a cannon from the armored tank "Aurora," gave the starting signal for the glorious October revolution. The vibrations were still ringing in the air as the soldiers of the Red Army boldly pushed their way into the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg – the seat of the government – sweeping aside defenders of the old system. That was the picture of the event painted later by Soviet propaganda. In reality, government members were sitting, scared and defenseless, inside the palace. They didn't put up much of a defense – they'd stood too long in the critique of both right-wing extremists and the Bolsheviks, or Communists.

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) and Leo Bronstein, known as Trotsky (1879–1940) were the figureheads of the insurgency. In October 1917, they led their followers into a revolution. Under Trotsky's command, the most important buildings in St. Petersburg (later, Leningrad) were occupied, and the members of the government arrested. A hastily gathered "All-Russian Congress of Soviets" approved the overthrow on the eve of the revolution, as well as the next steps of the new government: disappropriation of land owners and a truce with Germany.

The war of attrition on Russia's western front was to be ended immediately, so that Trotsky could begin negotiations with German military leaders immediately after the successful revolution.

The Germans had approved of and supported the overthrow of the government in Russia. Now, they wanted to reach a convenient peace with Russia so that they could assemble their full military power on the western front against the French and British armies. But the negotiations proved difficult, and on November 17, 1917, all that had been agreed was a ceasefire. The actual peace negotiations began on December 9, 1917 near Warsaw – in Brest-Litovsk.

The fruitless negotiations were broken off at the end of January 1918. Trotsky would not accept the Germans' demand that they be permitted to annex large parts of territory occupied by the German army. As a consequence, fighting resumed. The German army progressed further, occupying ever more territory, with the result that a peace treaty was finally signed on March 3, 1918.

Ukraine and Finland received sovereignty, and Russia gave up its territorial claims to Poland and the Baltics. Armenia was promised to Turkey. This truce weakened Russia: 60 million citizens left the country, which was now some 1.4 million square kilometers smaller. The loss of bread basket Ukraine as well as that country's coal and iron industries were catastrophic to the Russian economy. The economic situation quickly proved to be a heavy price to pay for the Soviet government.

While Lenin and Trotsky, fueled with revolutionary fervor, pushed ahead with the overthrow, Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili – otherwise known as Stalin – was hesitant. As the Commissar of Nationalities, he had several objections to the revolution and took pains to distance himself from events related to the coup. After Lenin's death on Jan. 21, 1924, he was able to assume power within the party and the state. For almost 30 years, he was the leader of the Soviet Union. On the one hand, he successfully led his country throughout World War II, transforming Russia from an agricultural country into a world power. On the other hand, he was only able to achieve this via a regime of terror and suppression, and was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. According to the latest estimates, around 10 million farmers who were accused of being "capitalist peasants" (kulaks) exploiting the land were killed at Stalin's command during a campaign against them that lasted from 1928 to 1937.

The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) lasted until 1991. Michael Gorbachev's (1931) politics of reform – which became familiar to the world as "perestroika" and "glasnost" – were originally meant to only reform the Soviet state. However, Gorbachev's policies led to domestic difficulties and tough economic conditions which eventually consumed the whole of the USSR. In August 1991, the Baltic states declared their independence, and further members of the union followed their example. On December 8, 1991, the USSR was officially dissolved, and the remaining 12 member states joined together to form the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS.

 

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC – NOVEMBER 9, 1918

 

The first German Republic was called into being twice within a matter of hours on this day: first by Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann (1865 – 1939), and again by communist Karl Liebknecht (1871 – 1919).

It was an exciting day. In Berlin and in other cities, people started to gather, as they had heard about the abdication of Emperor William II (1859 – 1941). Imperial Chancellor Prince Max of Baden (1867 – 1929) announced the abdication against William's will – he had never even been asked. But a short time later, William agreed, thus ending the imperial age in Germany. As a reaction to this development, it was said that the Communists would proclaim a Republic.

But Social Democrat Reichstag delegate Philipp Scheidemann beat the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) to the punch. At midday on November 9, 1918, he proclaimed Germany a republic from the balcony of the Reichstag in Berlin, even though he'd not been authorized to do so, and not all SPD officials were on his side. "The people have triumphed," he said to the throng of cheering people below. But from its first day on, the newly proclaimed republic had a heavy burden to bear. At 4 pm, an equally large crowd had gathered at the Imperial Palace in Berlin. There, Karl Liebknecht also proclaimed a republic. His speech culminated in the proclamation of a "free socialist Republic of Germany" which would bring an end to the Hohenzollern dynasty. Instead of the hated Imperial standard, the "red flag of the free Republic of Germany" should fly from now on.

The young republic was trapped in a dilemma, as the people were divided. For some, the Russian Revolution in November 1917 was an enlightening model of a socialist society based on equality. For others, it was a portentous omen of a coming downfall. Between these two positions there was no common ground. Both left- and right-wing parties supported armed gangs which fought openly in the streets. The attempt to introduce a new era after the ravages of World War I was a total failure. Soldiers returning from the front were confronted with sheer chaos in which it was impossible for them to find their bearings. Many of them joined the right-wing Freikorps movement.

By the year's end, the unrest had reached such heights that the imperial chancellor had to act. Friedrich Ebert (1871 – 1925) decreed that the "Bloody Christmas" as it came to be known, should be suppressed with military means. On December 29, 1918, the transitional government collapsed, and the situation escalated. Ebert appointed Gustav Noske (1868 – 1946) to oversee the security of the government. As defense minister, he was responsible for the military. However, his tough approach to the unrest failed to bring peace; rather, the opposite was the case. At the beginning of 1919, the fighting had spread even further.

The Spartacist uprising resulted in conditions akin to a civil war. The uprising began after the discharge of the Berlin Chief of Police Emil Eichhorn (1863 – 1925). Eichhorn was a member of the communist KPD, which had merged with Liebknecht's Spartacus League at the end of 1918. Eichhorn's refusal to resign from his post sparked the uprising, causing riots in Berlin from January 8 – 10, 1919.

The imperial army was strengthened by the addition of the right-wing paramilitary Freikorps, which carried out a campaign against members of the Communist Party. After the defeat of the Spartacist uprising, the Freikorps went on a spree to "cleanse" the city of communists. As a result of this illegal mission, two of the KPD's icons, Rosa Luxemburg (1871 – 1919) and Karl Liebknect were murdered on January 15 and thrown into Berlin's Landwehr Canal.

Because of the unrest, the government decided to move its seat to neighboring Weimar. In addition, the choice of this city has also meant to send a signal for the new democratic republic. Friedrich Schiller (1759 – 1805), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) and Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744 – 1803) had all lived and worked in Weimar. The new republic should have nothing more in common with the old imperial state.

On January 19, 1919, the Weimar National Assembly met. Its task was to work out the details of a new democratic constitution. After six months of intense debate, the new constitution was ratified on July 31, and went into effect shortly thereafter. Germany was now a parliamentary democracy. But the constitution had several weak points. In particular, the powers given to the president, who could pass emergency decrees and govern without the consent of parliament, would prove to be the greatest danger.

 

THE START OF WORLD WAR II – SEPTEMBER 1, 1939

 

In the morning hours of this day, the first shots were fired. After Germany's initial success, the page turned in 1941: the Allies gained the upper hand and defeated Germany in 1945.

Since the fire in the Reichstag at the end of February 1933, the parliamentarians had been meeting at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin. Six years after the NSDAP and its leader, Adolf Hitler, seized power in an intrigue known as the "Machergreifung," all they really did was nod their assent to the laws the government wanted. They weren't really a part of the decision-making process anymore. All MPs were members of NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party); other parties were forbidden and their leaders either killed, arrested, exiled or silenced in some other way. On September 1, 1939, there was a tense calm before the session began. Hitler took to the podium at around 10 am, and said that the Polish army had sent "regular soldiers" into German territory and opened fire. "Since 5:45 am" Germany had been returning fire and "meeting bombs with bombs." He'd barely uttered the words when the parliamentarians began jumping from their chairs and shouting "Heil Hitler!"

Later, a supposed attack in which Polish saboteurs seized the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz near the Polish border was cited as the cause for war. During the incident, anti-German messages were broadcast and a technician killed. But the "attack" was staged, and likely unfolded at the command of the head of the Security Office, Reinhard Heydrich (1904 – 1942).

While the enthusiasm among the parliamentarians was great, the population was comparatively quiet. For many, the memories of World War I were still too fresh for them to react with excitement to the news that Germany had invaded Poland. In the early stages of the war, their worries were unfounded, as the German armed forces took Poland in just a little over six weeks. In 1940, the occupation of Denmark and Norway followed. On May 10, 1940, German troops invaded first the neutral states of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and eventually France. On June 21, 1940, French negotiators signed a ceasefire agreement. After exactly six weeks and three days, the Blitzkrieg in the West was over, and Hitler, the "greatest commander of all time" was at the height of his popularity. While the attempt to conquer England from the air failed in 1941, in the same year, German troops took the whole of the Balkans and, with their Italian allies, gained a foothold in northern Africa.

The Germans and their allies seemed impossible to beat. The same held true in the initial phases of the war against the Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941, "Operation Barbarossa" began. The German troops steadily advanced until the summer of 1942. But the air raid carried out by German ally Japan on the American military base in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 changed the military situation completely. As a consequence of Pearl Harbor, the US joined the war against Germany. Within a few months, the entire American economy was focused on the production of goods for the war effort.

In addition to this added boost to the Allied campaign against Germany, the Germans began suffering their first military defeats. At the end of January 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended in total defeat for the German army under General Friedrich Paulus (1890 – 1957). This defeat marked a turnaround in the second World War, with Soviet troops from the east and the Allied troops closing in on Germany. By mid-April 1945, they had advanced from all sides to the city limits of Berlin, and began burying the German capital in soot and ashes. The Germans capitulated on May 9, 1945.

Some 100 million people suffered as a result of World War II. Some 50 million died on the battlefields stretching from Africa to the northern tip of Norway, or in the Nazi death camps as victims of racial persecution. A further 50 million survived the war only to become orphans, homeless, disabled or expellees. The people of Europe were traumatized by six years of fighting, and their cities and villages lay in ruin. Nobody knew how they were going to survive tomorrow.

Shortly after the fighting ended, the European continent was divided. In the East, the Soviet Union ruled, while the West was ruled by the US. The "demarcation line" ran through Germany and Berlin. The "Cold War" that quickly developed between the socialist countries in the eastern bloc and the “"ree democratic states" in the West had its front along the border separating the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). At the end of August 1961, this separation seemed to be cemented forever by the erection of the Berlin Wall and a barbed wire fence through the whole of Germany.

 

THE TREATIES OF ROME - MARCH 25, 1957

 

The treaties paved the way for the European Union. With the Treaties of Rome, which established the European Economic Community (EEC), the centuries-old animosity between France and German ended, paving the way for European unification.

The events that took place in Rome's Capitoline Museum on March 25, 1957 would have been unconceivable only years before. German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1876 - 1967) and his counterparts from France, Italy and the Benelux countries signed the Roman Treaties, officially establishing the European Economic Community. But more than that, the treaties signaled a new friendship between Germany and its former war enemies - only 12 years since the end of World War II.

In particular, the Franco-German alliance proved to be the motor driving the European unification movement forward. From this point on, German and French politicians were the main forces behind first the EEC and, starting in 1965, other "European communities," for example, the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC or "Montanunion"), and finally, the European Union, founded in 1992. Through politics, they showed that a friendly relationship between Germany and France could stabilize the once turbulent center of the European continent.

Economic cooperation

The idea of establishing a common European market reaches back to 1951. That's when the "Montanunion" was created to give member states duty-free access to coal and steel during the reconstruction period after World War II. The Montanunion proved to be a cornerstone of Germany's post-war recovery, but it also fulfilled another important function. French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (1886 - 1963) was convinced that inner-European peace could only be sustained if goods essential to war - such as coal and steel - were subject to communal controls. At the same time, the basic conditions for recovery in Western Europe were guaranteed through this equal access to the most important means of production. The young Federal Republic of Germany profited greatly from the Montanunion. Its introduction ended the British occupation authority in the Ruhr region, which at that time was rich in coal. It also brought about the end of sanctions imposed by the Allied powers after World War II.

Political cooperation

The Montanunion contributed greatly to reconstruction on the European continent. Now, after this example of economic cooperation, the Treaties of Rome followed up with political cooperation. The negotiations were tough; they were almost abandoned with no outcome several times. But at the beginning of June 1955, a breakthrough was achieved at a conference held in Messina, Sicily. The delegates from the six states (Germany, France, Italy, and the Benelux countries) agreed to create a European domestic market, and establish the European Atomic Energy Community, or Euratom. After two years, the contracts were finally ready. The Treaties of Rome ensured free trade, the harmonization of social standards, and the unfettered movement of labor, services and capital. In future, trade and economic relations with third parties would be organized communally. Common "supranational" institutions would oversee the activities of the European Economic Community, as well as the common, peaceful use of atomic energy, which was seen by many at the end of the 1950s as the energy source of the future.

Foes become friends

In addition to the economic benefits that unification offered to all those involved, the decision by five European countries to extend the olive branch to Germany was a decisive factor. Unlike the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, cooperation - not conflict - would be used to deal with the fallout of war. Within the framework of common European development, the country responsible for the war was given the chance to rehabilitate itself. The Germans grasped this chance with a surprising amount of initiative, creating the widely admired Economic Miracle - something that would not have been possible without the European network. On March 25, 1957, the Treaties of Rome became the birth certificate of a unified Europe, which over 50 years later, continues to build on political unification. 

 

THE HELSINKI ACCORDS - AUGUST 1, 1975

 

Thirty-five countries signed the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe - also known as the Helsinki Accords, promising respect for human rights, and political and economic cooperation.

On the initiative of the Warsaw Pact, the first Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was held in Helsinki on July 3, 1973.  All European nations, with the exception of Albania, were in attendance. The goal was to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West (NATO and the EEC).

While Western Europe was organized in capitalist, democratic forms of government, Eastern Europe was made up of Communist or socialist states. The series of conferences was meant to contribute to peace and de-escalation in Europe, but without negating the different political mindsets of the two blocs, or making propagandistic judgments about the other side's views.

From confrontation to cooperation

On August 1, 1975, after two years of negotiations, the signatories guaranteed the following: inviolability of frontiers; territorial integrity of states; peaceful settlement of disputes; non-intervention in internal affairs, avoidance of threat or use of force; sovereign equality; equal rights and self-determination of peoples; and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.

What sounded like dry diplomatic speak was in fact a political sea change on the European continent - from confrontation to cooperation. The signatories were in effect promising to stop pursuing each other's downfall, and instead to emphasize the superiority of their own political system.

For the first time since the end of World War II, the western states accepted the borders on the continent. That also went for the controversial German-Polish border on the Oder-Neisse line, which had previously been recognized in a treaty (Treaty of Warsaw) between Poland and the social-liberal coalition of West Germany. While Eastern European states saw this part of the Helsinki Accords as a political breakthrough, the Western European states played up the commitment to upholding human rights in the states of the Communist bloc. Both contributed to a de-escalation on the European continent.

The following morning, as agreed upon in Helsinki, every signing country published the text of the accords.

Consequences

The effect was enormous, as people all across the continent could see in black and white that borders had been granted inviolability, and that human rights were to be respected even in places where that had hitherto not been the case. In the initial months after the CSCE, many observers were of the opinion that the Eastern bloc was the actual winner of the process. But a few years later, it became clear that the Eastern European states' promise to uphold human rights was of ever-increasing significance. It wasn't long before dissident groups in East Germany (Swords into Plowshares) and Poland (Solidarity) were referring to the Helsinki Accords. The "Charter 77," which was signed by future Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel mong others, referenced the fact that the Czech government had committed to safeguarding human rights in Helsinki. This situation prevented governments in the Eastern bloc from repressing opposition movements with military means, as had been the case in East Berlin (1953), Hungary (1956) or Prague (1968).

Even though some Eastern European states attempted to silence civil rights movements with massive state violence, the Helsinki Accords remain the most significant document on Europe's path from a divided to a united continent. The CSCE process, which began at the behest of the Eastern bloc with the aim of securing their territorial integrity, ended up becoming a significant factor in the bloc's collapse between 1975 and 1990. As a result of this geo-strategic change, the East-West conflict - which had repeatedly brought Europe to the brink of a third, atomic world war since the end of World War II - was finally resolved.

 

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL - NOVEMBER 9, 1989

 

The path to German unity began with the fall of the Berlin Wall

On the evening of November 9, East Germany's government spokesman Guenter Schabowski (1929) mistakenly announced that East Germans could travel to the West. It was the beginning of the end of the GDR

This prime time press conference is now one of the most memorable in the history of the continent. Due to a misunderstanding, Guenter Schabowski incorrectly answered a follow-up question from an Italian journalist, who wanted to know when the GDR's new travel laws - which Schabowski had just announced - would come into effect.  "According to my knowledge…immediately, without delay," Schabowski said, in a statement that is now infamous. As the press conference was being broadcast live, and watched in both East and West Germany, his words had enormous significance for the global political situation.

Immediately following the press conference, East Germans began congregating along the inner-German border in Berlin, curious to cross over and visit the western part of the city. The border guards, who hadn't been informed of the new travel rules, managed to hold the crowds at bay for about three hours. But as soon as "western television" had set up their cameras and reported the sensational news, it was clear that on this night, the division of Germany which had begun with the building of the Berlin Wall on August 21, 1961, would come to an end. During the late evening hours on November 9, 1989, the border guards gave up their resistance and opened the city's border crossings to allow unchecked travel back and forth between East and West Berlin.

In the preceding months, thousands of East German citizens had begun taking to the streets to demonstrate for political reforms. In particular, the Monday demonstrations held in Leipzig had become notorious. Protesters there adopted the slogan "We are the people!" and chanted "Gorbi! Gorbi!" - calls to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (1931). Since 1985, he'd been introducing reforms throughout the Soviet Union. People in the GDR wanted the same kind of change. But the unwillingness of Erich Honecker's (1912 - 1994) regime to listen to the people prevented reform. As a result, the East German government brought about its own demise.

On October 18, 1989, Honecker was replaced by Egon Krenz (1937) as the head of the GDR's regime. But not even that move could stop the GDR's collapse. On November 4, half a million people joined a demonstration demanding state reform at East Berlin's Alexanderplatz. This powerful gathering made it clear that the new government did not have the trust of the people. Five days later, the Wall was opened, and at the same time, the voices demanding the reunification of the two Germanys grew louder.

A few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall and in the midst of calls for German unity, a period of intense shuttle diplomacy broke out in the GDR shortly before Christmas 1989.

In particular, France and Britain were wary of the idea of a large, economically powerful Germany in the center of the European continent. While they didn't outright try to prevent unification, they did require it to be linked to certain political conditions.

West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1930) acknowledged these concerns on December 19, 1989, when he delivered a much-watched speech in front of the ruins of Dresden's Church of Our Lady. In the speech, he said he would respect the will of the East German people - no matter what decision they reached. On that same evening, Kohl also said that the house of a united Germany could only be "built under a European roof." German and European unity were two sides of the same coin. With that, he also delivered a clear rejection of the idea of united but neutral Germany. Kohl's speech was met with thunderous applause from the GDR citizens in attendance.

Despite this, French President Francois Mitterand (1916 - 1996) arrived in East Germany two days later, in order to prevent the GDR from being "annexed" by West Germany. At the beginning of 1990, the reunification process of the two German states was embedded in an international process, in which the interests of the German people were given equal consideration with the interests of the victorious Allied powers of World War II.

 

THE MAASTRICHT TREATY - FEBRUARY 7, 1992

 

The "Treaty on the European Union" which was signed in Maastricht, the Netherlands, was the biggest step taken on the path to a political union in Europe since the Treaties of Rome in 1957.

In 1989/90, European politics entered a somewhat icy phase. The Germans were being accused of forging ahead with reunification without showing any regard for the concerns of their neighbors. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925) was anxious about the prospect of an overly powerful Germany in the heart of Europe. More than 80 million Germans would be living in a single state and - so she feared - would likely dominate over other European countries. French President Francois Mitterrand (1916 - 1996) was also not especially thrilled at the prospect of a unified Germany on France's eastern border.

In Brussels, Jacques Delors (1925) had been president of the European Commission since 1985. Behind the scenes, he was masterfully directing a negotiation process which eventually succeeded in reversing an initial mutual mistrust. Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1930) were the most vocal proponents of European unification. The European Union was not only meant to be a political union; it should also have a common currency. A common foreign and security policy was to be agreed, and this was to be represented by European "foreign ministers." All citizens of the European Union were also to be granted common European citizenship. At its core, Europe was to be further democratized and - via a protocol on social policy - offer improved social conditions for its citizens.

The political arenas in which future European policy was to be unified and commonly represented to the outside world didn't have as much emotional resonance as the decision to introduce a common currency. By January 1, 1999, the banking sector would be operating with a virtual common currency known as the euro, and by January 1, 2002, it would be introduced to the public for cash transactions. The thought of bidding farewell to deutschmarks, francs and guilders sparked fears about inflation and instability. Across Europe, people debated the pros and cons. Older people in particular could still remember the devastating inflation of decades past. Politicians were barely able to calm these fears. The Stability and Growth Pact which the German government introduced at the 1996 EU summit in Dublin managed to calm the situation somewhat. The pact was designed to avoid extensive deficits and resulting high inflation rates. As the years passed, the pact proved to be an effective instrument to maintain balance in most of the EU's national budgets.

In Germany, Chancellor Kohl was accused of sacrificing the stable deutschmark in order to win acceptance of Germany's neighbors for reunification. Additionally, the treaty was said to be suited to creating a bureaucratic monster which would undemocratically and opaquely rule over Europe from its seat in Brussels. There was no doubt that the treaty was the product of compromise, and for this reason, quite complex. For the Germans, however, the benefits of being part of a political union in Europe outweighed the disadvantages. In 1992, Chancellor Kohl defended the treaty at a CDU party conference: "I would say that Europe is a vital question for Germany. As the country at the center of our continent, we have more borders and neighbors than the others. And much more than the others, our national future is linked to the development of Europe. That's why we must not be apathetic to the path Europe takes; whether it irrevocably commits to a political and economic union, or whether it once again falls back into the national rivalries of earlier times."

Eastern European states were eager to join the union created in Maastricht

The discussions about a new treaty framework for Europe were also influenced by events in Eastern Europe. In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and one after the other, former Eastern Bloc countries made the transition to democratic forms of government, expressing the desire to be allowed to join the European Union created in Maastricht as quickly as possible.

The EU expanded in several phases, and now includes 27 member states. EU membership continues to be an attractive goal for non-member states. From the outside looking in, at least, the advantages of belonging to a geopolitical entity with some 500 million citizens far outweigh the difficulties and disadvantages.

 

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE EURO - JANUARY 1, 2002

 

The starter kit: for 20 DM, Germans received 10.23 euros. One of the biggest economic areas sharing a common currency was created with the introduction of the euro. Overnight, some 320 million people began carrying the same money in their wallets.

But the skepticism was enormous. Many people were afraid that the stable Deutschmark would be replaced with a currency that would usher in an era of high inflation rates. Others were concerned about the influence of those national economies that produced less than Germany. What influence would their inflation rates have on the stability of the common currency?

The euro was made available at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2001, but the run-up period was lengthy. The retail sector and banks had been using the new currency since September. Prices had to be listed in both currencies so that people could start to develop a sense of the euro's value. In Germany, the rule of thumb was: two D-marks equal one euro.

Posters and campaigns helped spread the word about the coming currency conversion, and on December 17, 2001, starter kits went on sale at bank counters. For 20 D-marks, you could buy just over 10 euros in coins. But you couldn't use them yet to pay for anything - that only began on January 1, 2002.

The introduction of the euro was the subject of many lengthy debates held by politicians throughout the EU member states. A dedicated European, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had already voted in favor of the common currency during the negotiations over the Maastricht Treaty in February of 1992. His agreement carried enormous weight, as evidenced by the fact that many countries made their approval of German reunification dependent on Germany remaining firmly anchored in the western community of values. A common European currency seemed to the participating heads of state the best means of ensuring that this decision would be irreversible.

During Germany's parliamentary debate about the introduction of the euro, Chancellor Kohl highlighted the decision's historic dimensions. "The realization of the European economic and currency union is, in its consequences, the most significant decision since German reunification. It is the most deeply reaching change on our European continent since the collapse of Communism."

It was not the first time that a common currency had been introduced on the continent. Around 1,150 years before, Frankish King Charlemagne (747 - 814) had had the same idea. Everyone everywhere was able to pay for goods with the silver denier. It made it possible to compare prices and to find out what price your services had in another place. Then as now, people on the continent profited from the ability to carry out transactions anywhere without having to change money. But it was an advantage that vanished again with the division of Franconia at the end of the ninth century.

The original skepticism about the euro has disappeared. Seven years after its introduction, the euro is one of the most stable currencies in the world.  Many countries hold their currency reserves in euros, which have been gaining more and more in value against the US dollar. That's mainly due to a common European Central Bank, of which Germany was a vocal advocate. Common fiscal policy is - in part due to historical reasons - aimed at keeping inflation low. The alarming inflation rates seen in Europe in the past are still firmly embedded in the collective conscience, and are even capable of provoking fear and worry among those who didn't personally experience such times.

The euro has passed its initial tests, and it now plays a respected role in the global financial system. The eurozone has also helped secure peace on the continent. Waging war against one's own currency makes just as little sense as a company that would destroy its own factories. Former German Finance Minister Hans Eichel (1941) summed up the significance of the day of the introduction of the euro as follows: "This is a historic day because European unity has become a tangible reality for every person. For us Europeans, this is a great project for prosperity and peace in the 21st century."