Abstract
The Third Reich was founded in France in the Palace of Versailles. It was a statement of German superiority over French. Germany was unified by military victory from above (not a revolution from below). To sign this treaty, Bismarck wore a military uniform (white in the painting but it was an invention). It helped to create the myth of Bismarck as the great unifier. It left a legacy in international relations, in France, in Great-Britain. At the beginning, Britain was not so unhappy France had been defeated. In Germany, it generated an uncontrolled nationalism. The liberals regarded the unification as a triumph of nationalism. They had the absolute majority in the Parliament. The Kaiser could choose his man and appoint his government. The liberals generally supported laws proposed by Bismarck (repressive legislation), although the left liberals were against.
A national system was created, with a single currency, a single system of measure. It was not a centralized strong state but a federal state. Prussia still had power to change the constitution (domination in Bundesart). When Bismarck was chancellor, the Kaiser was weak. In the constitution, Germany was a regime considered as a ‘pseudo-constitutional semi-absolutism' (Wehler) or even an ‘authoritarian nation state' (Mommsen). However, Bismarck was not a dictator. There were strong democratic elements such as the elections, even though elections did not produce the government.
