orth of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.

Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burd

The new German Empire was a federal one: each of its twenty-five constituent states (kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities) retained its autonomy. The King of Prussia, as German Emperor didn’t have sovereignity over the entirety of Germany but as the first amongst equals. Bismarck was also appointed as the Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire, but retained his Prussian offices including those of Minister-President and Foreign Minister; thus, he held almost complete control of both domestic and foreign policy.

He almost changed the course of the German Nation by his tireless efforts and built it into one of Europe’s superpowers. The credit of the German Nation’s unification belongs to Bismarck from the collection of separate principalities and Free Cities since the era of Charlemagne. Over thousand years various kings and rulers had tried to unify the German states without success until Bismarck came into the scene and made it into a single country and one of the most powerful nations in Europe.

Bismarck by the realisation of the Austro-Hungarian problems of different nationalities within one state, tried to Germanize the state's national minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire, such as the Danes in the North of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.

Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burde

pointed as the Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire, but retained his Prussian offices including those of Minister-President and Foreign Minister; thus, he held almost complete control of both domestic and foreign policy.

He almost changed the course of the German Nation by his tireless efforts and built it into one of Europe’s superpowers. The credit of the German Nation’s unification belongs to Bismarck from the collection of separate principalities and Free Cities since the era of Charlemagne. Over thousand years various kings and rulers had tried to unify the German states without success until Bismarck came into the scene and made it into a single country and one of the most powerful nations in Europe.

Bismarck by the realisation of the Austro-Hungarian problems of different nationalities within one state, tried to Germanize the state's national minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire, such as the Danes in the North of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.

Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burd

to one of Europe’s superpowers. The credit of the German Nation’s unification belongs to Bismarck from the collection of separate principalities and Free Cities since the era of Charlemagne. Over thousand years various kings and rulers had tried to unify the German states without success until Bismarck came into the scene and made it into a single country and one of the most powerful nations in Europe.

Bismarck by the realisation of the Austro-Hungarian problems of different nationalities within one state, tried to Germanize the state's national minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire, such as the Danes in the North of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.

Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burd

ne and made it into a single country and one of the most powerful nations in Europe.

Bismarck by the realisation of the Austro-Hungarian problems of different nationalities within one state, tried to Germanize the state's national minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire, such as the Danes in the North of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.

Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burd

orth of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.

Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burden for German-Polish relations for a long time.

In order to avoid alienating the United Kingdom, he declined to seek a colonial empire or an expansion of the navy. In 1872, he extended the hand of friendship to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, whose rulers joined Wilhelm I in the League of the Three Emperors. Bismarck also maintained good relations with Italy.

During 1873, Germany, and much of the rest of Europe, had endured the Long Depression since the crash of the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1873. For the first time in Germany since vast industrial development in the 1850's after the 1848-49 revolutions, a downfall had hit the German economy. To aid faltering industries, Bismarck decided to abandon free trade and establish protectionist tariffs and created chaos in the relations with neighbouring European nations.

After Russia's victory over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, Bismarck helped to negotiate a settlement at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Russia had previously secured great advantages in southeastern Europe when it made peace by ratifying the Treaty of San Stefano. Bismarck and other European leaders, however, opposed the growth of Russian influence, and sought to protect the power of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of