what did the kulturkampf do

What was the goal of Kulturkampf?

The Kulturkampf in Prussia between 1871 and 1878 indicated the resolve of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to consolidate the institutional position of the Lutheran Church as an arm of the Prussian State and eradicate the influence of a transnational religious authority, the Vatican, in the administrative affairs of ...

What was the impact of the Kulturkampf?

Kulturkampf had two major effects in Prussia. First, it ensured the government, and not the Roman Catholic Church, would hold ultimate control over education and other public institutions, whether they were religious institutions or not. Secondly, it sewed greater divisions between Roman Catholics and Protestants.

Why was Kulturkampf a failure?

“The Kulturkampf ultimately failed, however, because it was backed by polit- ical institutions and managerial arrangements that were inappropriate for ef- fective enforcement” (p. 186f.).

Was Bismarck's Kulturkampf successful?

Conclusion. The Kulturkampf caused much suffering for the Church, but it was not a success. Moral victory lay with the Catholics, who emerged more closely united and much more attached to Rome.

What does the word Kulturkampf mean?

Definition of Kulturkampf : conflict between civil government and religious authorities especially over control of education and church appointments broadly : a conflict between cultures or value systems.

Who coined the term Kulturkampf?

The term Kulturkampf (“cultural struggle”) was coined by the German pathologist and liberal politician Rudolf.... 4. Generally, the liberals were a driving force behind Bismarck's efforts to restrict Catholic influence in state affairs. However, the following letter by Karl Biedermann (1812-1901), a former 1848er....

What countries was Prussia?

Though itself one of Germany's many states, the kingdom of Prussia was comprised of: West Prussia, East Prussia, Brandenburg (including Berlin), Saxony, Pomerania, the Rhineland, Westphalia, non-Austrian Silesia, Lusatia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, and Hesse-Nassau.

What was Bismarck's foreign policy?

Essentially, Bismarck's celebrated foreign policy consisted of a complex set of agreements meant to keep all the other powers perpetually off balance. Austria, Italy, and Russia were embraced in German alliances, thus denying their support to French plans for revenge and containing their own rivalries with each other.

Who was against Otto von Bismarck?

Bismarck stayed in St Petersburg for four years, during which he almost lost his leg to botched medical treatment and once again met his future adversary, the Russian Prince Gorchakov, who had been the Russian representative in Frankfurt in the early 1850s.

Why did Catholics leave Germany?

The causes were the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, the efforts by the various states within the Empire to increase their power and the Emperor's attempt to achieve the religious and political unity of the Empire.

Can you form Prussia as Catholic?

Prussia cannot be formed if your state religion is Catholicism, so you'll need to convert to Protestantism or Reformed first.

Why did Bismarck consider the Catholic Centre party to be a threat?

The threat was that if the Center Party became too powerful, then Germany would owe its first allegiance to a foreign power, the Vatican and not the German Empire itself. Otto von Bismarck is arguably one of the most influential figures in 19 th century history.

What were the May Laws 1873?

In 1873 the May Laws, promulgated by the Prussian minister of culture, Adalbert Falk, placed strict state controls over religious training and even over ecclesiastical appointments within the church. The climax of the struggle came in 1875, when civil marriage was made obligatory throughout Germany.

How did the conflict between church and state affect German politics in the 1870's?

How did the conflict between church and state affect German politics in the 1870s? Bismarck attempted to undermine the Catholic Church, but his moves ultimately increased people's loyalty to the church, which became more politically powerful.

What contributed to Germany's growth as an industrial power under Bismarck?

Which of the following contributed to Germany's growth as an industrial power under Bismarck? Prussia's victory over the French in the Franco-Prussian War.

What was the campaign launched against the church?

Answer: Martin Luther Biography. Martin Luther was a German monk who forever changed Christianity when he nailed his '95 Theses' to a church door in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

When did the Kulturkampf end?

The Kulturkampf in Prussia is usually framed by the years 1871 and 1878 with the Catholic Church officially announcing its end in 1880 but the struggle in Germany had been an ongoing matter without definite beginning and the years 1871 to 1878 only mark its culmination in Prussia.

What were the main issues of the Kulturkampf?

The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastical appointments. A unique feature of Kulturkampf, compared to other struggles between the state and the Catholic Church in other countries, was Prussia's anti-Polish component.

What was the culture struggle?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kulturkampf ( German: [kʊlˈtuːɐ̯kampf] ( listen), 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the government of the Kingdom of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX .

Which state was the leading actor in the Kulturkampf?

Constitutionally, education and regulation of religious affairs were vested in the federal states and the leading actor of the Kulturkampf was Prussia, Germany's largest state. However, some of the laws were also passed by the Reichstag and applied to all of Germany. In general, the laws did not affect the press and associations including Catholic ones.

Which German state was the first to secularize?

In the wake of other European countries, most German states had taken first steps of secularisation well before unification. Predominantly Catholic Baden was at the forefront curbing the power of the Catholic Church (Baden Church Dispute, 1852–1854) and Kulturkampf Baden [ de] ( Badischer Kulturkampf, 1864–1876).

Why was the Center Party founded?

Thus, in 1870, on the eve of unification, the Center Party was explicitly founded to defend the position of the church in the new empire.

Did Bismarck and the Pope negotiate?

Bismarck and the Pope entered into direct negotiations without the participation of the Church or the Reichstag, yet initially without much success. It came to pass that Falk, vehemently resented by Catholics, resigned on 14 July 1879, which could be read as a peace offering to the Vatican. A decisive boost only came in February 1880, when the Vatican unexpectedly agreed to the civic registry of clerics. As the Kulturkampf slowly wound down the talks lead to a number of so-called mitigation and peace laws which were passed until 1887.

What was the Kultur policy of the Liberal Party?

The Kultur policy which the Liberal party then sought to impose on the newly-established empire and on its chief constituent states need not have produced the intense excitement that followed. It would have been possible, through the public press and assemblies, to keep up in the Parliament an appearance of peaceful legislative work and to influence in a moderate way the public opinion of the nation, somewhat, if we may so put it, as is now done in France. Instead of this, legislative action degenerated into a savage party struggle that aroused in the public mind all manner of violent emotions. The Liberal efforts to influence public opinion became so many fanatical assaults on the hereditary devotion to their Church of the orthodox Catholic masses. It is to be noted, however, that for this violence of temper there were certain reasons.

What was Falk's plan for the Landtag?

New laws of the Landtag (May, 1874) supplemented his authority and put at his disposal new means of compulsion. It was provided that when a bishop was deposed a representative agreeable to the Government should be appointed; if none such were to be had, appointments to vacant parishes should lie in the hands of the “patrons” in each parish, or should take place by free election of the parishioners. The Reichstag aided by passing a Priests-Expulsion Law (Priesterausweisungsgesetz) by which all priests deprived of their offices for violation of the May Laws were turned over to the discretion of the police authorities. During the debates on this law the Archbishops of Posen and Cologne and the Bishop of Trier were condemned to imprisonment; later, the Archbishop of Posen (Count Ledochowski) was deposed. Shortly after the promulgation of the new May Laws the Ministry saw to it that all the Prussian sees were vacated. A very great number of parishes were also deprived of their pastors. The ecclesiastical educational institutions were closed. These renewed efforts were no more successful than the former measures. No cathedral chapter chose an administrator, and no parish elected a parish priest. The exiled bishops governed their sees from abroad through secretly delegated priests. The faithful everywhere made it possible to hold Divine Service. The pope declared, February 5, 1875, the May Laws invalid (irritas). On all sides exasperation was well-nigh boundless.

What was Bismarck's main hope?

Under these circumstances Bismarck himself took charge of the situation. His main hope still lay in proving that the Center party was the enemy of the empire , and this stigma he endeavored by all possible means to fasten upon it; could he do so, the party would be isolated in the Reichstag, and soon helpless. At Kissingen, July 13, 1874, the Catholic cooper’s apprentice, Kullmann attempted to assassinate him. Though the chancellor had no evidence to justify his assertion, he declared in a public session of the Reichstag that the murderer “held to the coattails of the Center”, and refused to consider any denial of the charge by that party. Bismarck now called to his aid two allies which in the past he had always found serviceable in face of great popular opposition, i.e. hunger and penury. The methods of Bismarck differed considerably from those of Falk. The latter saw in the religious life of the Catholic people their chief fortress, and so attacked it with all earnestness, hoping to meet with victory in the tumultuary reaction likely to follow any interference with the spiritual needs of an entire people. In this there was for Bismarck too much idealism; he chose rather to appeal to the material needs of his opponents. On April 22, 1875, he obtained from the Landtag the so-called Sperrgesetz, by which all state payments to the Catholic bishops were withheld until they or their representatives complied with the new laws. Another law of the Landtag (May 31, 1875) closed all monasteries in Prussia, and expelled from Prussian territory all members of religious orders, with the exception of those who cared for the sick—and they were variously restricted. Finally (June 20, 1875), he dealt the Catholic Church what seemed to him a crushing blow; on that date was passed in the Landtag a law which confiscated all the property of the Church, and turned over its administration to lay trustees to be elected by the members of each parish. To accomplish this he had previously to commit another act of supreme violence, i.e. the abolition of those paragraphs of the Prussian Constitution which concerned the Church. The aforesaid Kanzelparagraf, or “pulpit-law”, was now amended by the Reichstag (February 26, 1876) so as to enable the Government to prosecute before the criminal courts any priest who should criticise in the pulpit the laws or the administration of the Prussian State. In the following years sixteen million marks ($3,250,000) were withheld by the Government from the Church, by virtue of the Sperrgesetz; two hundred and ninety-six monastic institutions were closed. By the end of 1880, 1125 parish priests and 645 assistants had fallen victims to the new laws (out of 4627 and 3812, respectively). Within the circle of their operation 646,000 souls were entirely deprived of spiritual assistance. We must add to this the Falk Ordinance of February 18, 1876, issued with Bismarck’s consent, by which in the future religious instruction in the primary schools was to be given only by teachers appointed or accepted by the State, i.e., all Catholic ecclesiastical control was suppressed.

What was Bismarck worried about?

On the other hand, the foreign situation soon brought up the question of the final abolition of the May Laws. Bismarck was again anxious in regard to Russia, and this time feared an alliance of that nation with France; the recent awakening of Panslavism added to his solicitude on this point. He was concerned lest the Vatican should favor the Franco-Russian alliance. On the other hand he now sought to rally all forces at the disposal of the Government for the suppression of the Polish movement that had by this time taken on large proportions; owing to his Kulturkampf policy, all classes of the Polish people had been deeply stirred during the previous decade, and their attitude now caused the chancellor great anxiety. He hoped, also, that a decisive ending of the ecclesiastical conflict would seriously affect the hitherto intact solidarity of the Center and weaken notably the popular attachment to the party, whereby its influence, even yet the source of his gravest political difficulties, would finally diminish. Leo XIII saw clearly that Bismarck was now earnestly desirous of peace; Rome, therefore, it seemed, need no longer be over timid in the matter of concessions based on suitable guarantees. The pope also hoped that Bismarck would in turn be helpful to him in respect of the German imperial policy towards Italy. It was of considerable importance that at this juncture the most statesmanlike member of the Prussian hierarchy, Bishop Kopp of Hildesheim (now Cardinal, and Prince- Bishop of Breslau), was made a member of the Prussian House of Lords (Herrenhaus). Bismarck still held with tenacity to the former government claims. In the matter of the Anzeigepflicht, the nominations of parish priests at least should not take place without the Government’s approval. Nor would he listen to the restoration of the former recognition of the Church by the Prussian Constitution. Finally, he held in its entirety to the state control of the schools. In reality he was able to maintain these three points; on the other hand he yielded to the Church, practically, the control of ecclesiastical education, permitted the reassertion of the papal disciplinary authority over the clergy, allowed the restoration of public worship and the administration of the sacraments, the application of ecclesiastical disciplinary measures (censures, etc.), and held out to the religious orders the hope of returning. This is substantially the content of the two comprehensive laws (May 21, 1886, and April 29, 1887), that modified the May Laws in an acceptable way and thereby ended formally the long conflict since known as the Kulturkampf.

What was Falk's goal in the Catholic Church?

In the meantime Falk aimed to make the Catholic bishops independent of Rome, the clergy independent of the bishops, and both dependent on the State. The following means were in his mind destined to accomplish these aims. The education of the clergy was to depend entirely, or nearly so, on the State, and to be carried out in the spirit of the average German Liberalistic education. Next, all ecclesiastical offices were to be filled only after approval by the highest civil authority in each province. In the future all ecclesiastical courts outside Germany should no longer exercise any disciplinary power over the Prussian clergy. From all German ecclesiastical courts there was to lie, in the future, an appeal not only on the part of the accused, but also of the Chief President (on grounds of public interest), to a court composed of civil officials and to be known as the “Royal Court of Justice for Ecclesiastical Affairs”. Falk sought also to restrict considerably the exercise of the Church ‘s punitive and disciplinary authority, in other words to facilitate apostasy so that priests and laymen who chose to side with the State might suffer no inconvenience. It was evident from these measures that Falk had no idea of the close and indivisible solidarity of German Catholicism whereby bishop and clergy on one side, and the bishop and Rome on the other, were intimately bound to one another. He erred most grievously, however, when he made it a criminal offense for any priest to exercise his ministry without due authorization from the civil power, and “silenced” every bishop who refused to comply with the new legislation. In case the German clergy remained loyal to the Church these measures meant the withdrawal of the sacraments from the Catholic people, i.e., the most grievous spiritual suffering. The plans of Falk were formulated in four bills. The first was laid before the Land tag in November, 1872, the other three in January, 1873, though the royal consent was obtained with difficulty and only after insistence on the severity of the aforesaid papal allocution at Christmas of 1872. It was during the discussion of these Falk Bills that the word Kulturkampf was first used. The Land tag (Prussian Assembly) Commission to which the Falk Bills were referred expressed grave doubts as to their constitutionality, seeing that the Prussian Constitution guaranteed to the Catholic Church an independent administration of her own affairs. The Commission did not, therefore, advise the rejection of the Falk Bills, but rather proposed an amendment to the Constitution to the effect that in all her administration the Church was subject to the laws of the State and the juridically authorized supervision of the same.

What was the name of the political struggle for the rights and self-government of the Catholic Church?

Kulturkampf, the name given to the political struggle for the rights and self-government of the Catholic Church, carried on chiefly in Prussia and afterwards in Baden, Hesse, and Bavaria. The contest was waged with great vigor from 1871 to 1877; from 1878 to 1891 it gradually calmed down. On one side stood the government, the Liberals, and the majority of the Conservatives; on the other, the bishops, the priests, and the bulk of the Catholic people. Prussia was the chief center of the conflict. The Prussian government and Prince Bismarck were the leaders in this memorable struggle.

Who was responsible for the Kulturkampf?

Otto von Bismarck was the person most responsible for inaugurating the Kulturkampf. His motives were both religious and political. He misunderstood and disliked Catholicism as a religion, and a number of political considerations reinforced his opposition. Catholics were the chief opponents to his plans for uniting Germany, but excluding Austria. During the Franco-Prussian War some Catholics in southern Germany sympathized openly with France. In Alsace-Lorraine many of the Catholic clergy opposed incorporation into the new German Empire. Catholic nostalgia for a "Great Germany" did not disappear in 1870. Catholics throughout Germany showed themselves wary of a Protestant emperor. Bavarians voiced suspicions that unification under the Hohenzollerns aimed to convert all Germans into Prussians and Lutherans.

When did the Kulturkampf start?

The Conflict. The Kulturkampf began with the abolition of the Catholic bureau in the Prussian ministry of education and public worship (July 8, 1871).

What was the Church-State conflict in Prussia?

It became known as the Kulturkampf (struggle for civilization) after Rudolf Virchow, an atheist and materialist scientist, thus described it (Jan. 17, 1873) in the Prussian Landtag, where he represented the German Liberal party. The term is misleading because the struggle developed from a complex of causes.

Why did the chancellor attempt to assassinate Bismarck?

An attempt by a Catholic to assassinate Bismarck (July 1874) was utilized by the chancellor to try to discredit the Center party and to justify further measures against Catholics. Civil marriage was made obligatory in Prussia (February 1875), and later in other German states.

What was the German liberalism?

German liberalism became very hostile to Catholicism. After the revolution in 1848, liberalism in Germany developed along lines more philosophical than political and fell under the influence of hegelianism and its views on the unlimited power of the state. The liberal outlook was materialistic and antiecclesiastical. To speed the process of laicizing society, secularizing education, and eliminating all religious influences from public and private life, the liberals advocated a return to Prussia's former practices of state control over religion. Middle-class financial and industrial interests, strong supporters of liberalism, objected also to the progressive social views of Bp. Wilhelm von ketteler and the center party. The naturalistic liberal view of the world and of man was so diametrically opposed to the Catholic one that the struggle between them could be regarded, in part at least, as a Kulturkampf. The syllabus of errors (1864) served to widen the gulf between liberals and Catholics.

What was the state control of religion in Prussia?

Part of it was confessional.

Which German state had interdenominational schools?

Baden, which had introduced restrictions on Catholics in the 1860s, enacted laws similar to Prussia's concerning clerical education and appointments. It required all primary schools to operate as interdenominational ones ( Simultanschule ) and assisted the Old Catholics. Although Baden did not copy Prussia's severity in enforcing these laws, the Archdiocese of Freiburg remained vacant from 1868 to 1881. Hessen-Darmstadt introduced interdenominational schools, but the other measures patterned on Prussia's were not strictly enforced. Baden and Hessen-Darmstadt repealed their Kulturkampf laws between 1880 and 1886. In Catholic bavaria, Johann von Lutz, the liberal minister of education (later premier), started the Kulturkampf in close cooperation with Bismarck. Bavaria aided the Old Catholics, established Simultanschule, and until 1890 reverted to the type of state control of the Church (Staatskirchentum) prevalent in the 18th century.

What was Bismarck's goal in the Kulturkampf?

Bismark's goal was to weaken the power of the Catholic Church by replacing religious supervisors with secular ones in the schools. Liberal Protestant school teachers and administrators supported the reform because they believed educational benefits would come from the change. Because the new secular supervisors were used primarily in Catholic schools, priests saw the reform as a political whip. The resulting radicalization of the priests offset any positive benefits of the reform.

What was the culture war?

Kulturkampf ("culture war" in English), which lasted from 1871 to 1887, was Otto von Bismarck 's unsuccessful effort to persecute and break the independent power of the Roman Catholic Church in the newly unified Germany. It was caused, not by Catholic actions or threats, but by the anxiety of Germany's Lutheran and Reformed elites faced with the sudden emergence of mass politics in which the Catholics could for the first time play a major role in politics. The failure was caused by weakness of the Prussian government and lack of public support from most Protestants.

What was the Kulturkampf?

A large part of the Kulturkampf was not only the persecution of Catholics, but the patronage of the Old Catholics, who in that decade after Vatican I were at their strongest. The State interfered whenever a Catholic Bishop disciplined a cleric for adhering to the Old Catholic sect; in several places, dismissed Old Catholic priests and even bishops were reinstated by the power of the State, similar to the manner in which the heretic emperors of old used to force the reinstatement of Arian bishops and priests.

What was Bismarck's goal in the Kulturkampf?

His initial aims were much more restricted and had as their aim the breaking up of the powerful Catholic Party (called the Centrum) in the Imperial Assembly ( Reichstag ). Both Bismarck’s conservative bloc as well as Germany’s National Liberals feared the power of the Centrum which, though not a majority, was large enough to be capable of pulling an election one way or another. In 1870-71, the Centrum was the second largest party.

What was Bismarck's position on the Council of the Holy See?

Bismarck had not initially attributed much importance to the affairs of the Council, although the Prussian Ambassador at the Holy See, Count Arnim , recommended a more active policy. Bismarck, recognizing that Prussia was a Protestant power, seemed content to follow the lead of other Catholic allies, like the Austrian Empire. In fact, relations with the Holy See in 1870 were not at all cold. Following the loss of the papal states, the Prussian Archbishop of Posen, Count von Ledochowsky, S.J., met Bismarck at Versailles during the closing days of the Franco-Prussian War and made overtures to the Chancellor on behalf of the Holy See. Ledochowsky had two requests: (1) That Bismarck and the newly established German Empire would protest the destruction of the Papal States, and that (2) the Pope would be offered asylum in Prussia if and when it became necessary to flee Rome. Bismarck categorically rejected the first request, not wanting to poison relations with the new Kingdom of Italy. But he was inclined to entertain the idea of a papal exile in Prussia, seeing obvious political benefits to hosting the Holy Father.

Why did Bismarck attack the Centrum?

Perhaps because he was embarrassed publicly , or perhaps just because he did not like being told no, Bismarck now went on the offensive. On June 19, 1871, he strongly attacked the Centrum in the conservative paper Kreuz-Zeitung. A few weeks later, he abolished the Catholic Department in the Prussian Kultus-Ministerium, the department of the Prussian government responsible for cultural matters. He bitterly attacked the Centrum in parliamentary speeches and called Ludwig Windthorst a Reichsfeind, that is, an enemy of the Empire. The Catholic Windthorst responded with all the clarity and imperturbability of Thomas More: “The Chancellor is not the State. Up until now, no minister has been so presumptuous as to call his opponents enemies of the State.” [4]

Who was the leader of the German centrum?

The leader of the Centrum was Ludwig Windthorst, one of the foremost parliamentarians in German politics in the late 19th century. He was despised by Bismarck, and as the foremost champion of Catholicism in German politics, he was likewise despised by the secular liberals and by the Protestant conservatives. Bismarck’s dislike of Windthorst went well beyond the personal; in a famous quote, which may be apocryphal, Bismarck is alleged to have said, “Everyone needs somebody to love and somebody to hate. I have my wife to love and Windthorst to hate.” [3] Windthorst, however, was a classy opponent. He never descended to the level of the mere personal that characterized Bismarck, and he always controlled his temper even when Bismarck lost his. Because of his fundamental charitable disposition, even towards enemies, Windthorst was held in high respect by his opponents, even when they disagreed with him.

Who tried to assassinate Bismarck?

In 1874, a man named Kullman, who had a very loose connection to a Catholic workingman’s club, attempted to assassinate Bismarck. Bismarck was only slightly wounded in the hand, but he tried to link the attempt to the Catholic Centrum and paint the entire party with disloyalty to the State. In 1875 Bismarck suspended all state payments to the Prussian Catholic bishops, which had been guaranteed in the Prussian constitution. Later that year all Catholic monasteries were closed, except for those which cared for the sick.

What did Bismarck do to help the German Empire?

No longer worried about Austrian influence in Germany, Bismarck determined closer relations with the Catholic Austrian Empire were essential as a counterweight to Russia. To pave the way for diplomacy with Austria, an improved understanding with the Church was needed . Catholic support in the Reichstag was also becoming more crucial as the inevitable rupture with the Liberals took place over their socialist agenda. The Conservatives likewise had grown disenchanted with the anti-Christian tenor of the legislation of the Liberal Minister Falk.

What was Bismarck's role in the Franco-Prussian War?

Having found common ground with the Liberals, Bismarck allowed them to hold many offices in the imperial government, climaxing in 1870 with the role of the Liberals in waging the Franco-Prussian War. When, therefore, Bismarck set out upon the Kulturkampf, the Liberals were his most enthusiastic foot-soldiers.

What was Bismarck's title?

Bismarck gave the crown a firm hand in its dealings with the Landtag and soon earned both his reputation as the most feared diplomat and statesman in Europe and his title of "Iron Chancellor.". He took as one of the central objectives for Prussian ambitions the unification of Germany.

What were Bismarck's strongest supporters?

Surprisingly, however, Bismarck's strongest supporters in the Prussian Landtag and then in the Reichstag were the Liberals. The Liberal Party in Germany had long opposed absolutism and called for constitutional government, but they were also united in their antipathy for the Catholic Church; many Liberal leaders were anti-clerical and ardent students of the German Enlightenment. This hatred for the Church naturally extended into their calls for a pure German culture freed from the supposed superstitions, dogmatism, and obscurantism of the Church. Their influence in German politics increased in the middle of the 19th century, when they used public sentiment for German nationalism to their advantage. Their presence increased steadily in the Landtag after 1860, and in that year they were permitted to introduce harsh anti-Catholic educational measures in traditionally Catholic Bavaria.

What was Bismarck's mistrust of the Church?

Bismarck's long mistrust of the Church was only exacerbated by the definition of papal infallibility by the Vatican Council (1869-1870) which to a pragmatic politician seemed to suggest supremacy for the pope that outweighed loyalty to the state among the Catholic faithful. As a point of statecraft, then, Catholic influence had to be subjugated to the new imperial order.

Who was the leader of the Zentrum?

The leader of the Zentrum from 1874, and one of the great forgotten heroes of German Catholic history, was a Hanoverian by the name of Ludwig Windthorst. Windthorst had already proven himself an able opponent to Bismarck in the Landtag, but as leader of the Zentrum, he emerged as the Iron Chancellor's primary legislative nemesis.

Who were Bismarck's allies?

On the one hand, there were his natural supporters, the Conservatives, and especially their leader Moritz von Blankenburg. Blankenburg was openly opposed to the Catholic Church in Germany and determined to maintain the Protestant character of the government.

What was the effect of Bismarck's Kulturkampf?

In short, the Kulturkampf had failed miserably and in many ways, it had actually been counterproductive. Instead of uniting the new Germany, Bismarck’s policy had intensified bitter divisions, reduced the moral authority of the state and helped to promote socialism.

Who gave Bismarck's reforms the name Kulturkampf?

It was the famous scientist and social reformer Rudolph Virchow who gave Bismarck’s “reforms” the name Kulturkampf. He praised them as “a great struggle in the interest of humanity” which would eliminate medieval traditionalism, obscurantism, and authoritarianism.

What did Bismarck believe about the new nation?

Catholics – mostly in the Rhineland, southern Germany and in the Polish-speaking East – now constituted about a third of the new nation. Bismarck believed that he needed to press hard for unity of language, religion and education, drawing all of society under government control.

What happened in 1871?

In July 1871 the assault began with the abolition of the Catholic bureau of worship and control of government-Church relations was handed over to Protestant bureaucrats. In November Bismarck passed the Kanzelparagraph (the Pulpit Law) which severely penalised criticism of the government by the clergy. In March 1872, all schools were placed under government control. In July 1872 the Jesuits (and later other religious orders) were expelled or interned. In December 1872 he broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

How did the German Catholics work?

German Catholics worked within the political process to reverse Bismarck’s reforms. In this they found allies amongst Prussian Protestants who objected to state control of religious affairs. With time Bismarck’s strategy for national unity, or rather national uniformity, ran out of steam.

What did Prussia's progressive intellectual elite support?

Prussia’s progressive intellectual elite supported something which was clearly unjust: suppression of freedom of religion in the name of protecting freedom of thought . Second, democracy works slowly, but it works. German Catholics worked within the political process to reverse Bismarck’s reforms.

What was Bismarck's work?

Bismarck’s life’s work was the unification, through conquest and treaty, of an archipelago of German-speaking states (with the conspicuous exception of Austria). In 1870 Prussia humiliated France in the Franco-German War. Bismarck’s army took Emperor Napoleon III prisoner and starved Paris into submission.

Overview

Kulturkampf was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastical appointments. A unique feature of Kulturkampf, compared to other struggles between the state and the Catholic Church in other countries, was Prussia's anti-Polish component. By extension the term Kulturkampf is sometime…

Background

Timeline, 1871–76

Mitigation and Peace Laws, 1878–1887

Effects and impact

Kulturkampf in Austria

Kulturkampf in contemporary usage

See also

Restrictions and Controls

Catholic Resistance

Liquidating The Kulturkampf

Aftermath and Legacy

• The Kulturkampf left permanent scars, both for the Catholic populace and for Prussian and German society as a whole. Although Catholics suffered grievously during the Kulturkampf, when assessed in terms of its larger purpose—as a means to eradicate Catholicism as a major factor in Germany's political life, to break Catholic opposition to government...

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