Bismarck - Otto Eduard Leopold Fürst von Bismarck

Japanese: ビスマルク - びすまるく（英語表記）Otto Eduard Leopold Fürst von Bismarck

German politician who contributed to the political unification of Germany and the founding of the German Empire.

[Kitani Tsutomu]

Conservative politician

He was born on April 1st into an old Prussian Junker family. He studied law at the University of Berlin and the University of Göttingen, and became a Prussian civil servant (1836-1839), but soon resigned, returned to his hometown, and devoted himself to managing his estates. In 1847, he became a member of the Bundestag. During this period, he was a narrow-minded conservative politician, and did not listen to the demands of liberals such as German unification and political reform. When the March Revolution occurred in 1848, he went to Berlin, published the conservative newspaper Kreuzzeitung, and worked to defend the monarchy. His efforts were recognized, and he became Prussia's representative at the Bundestag in Frankfurt from 1851, ambassador to Russia in 1859, and ambassador to France in 1862. During this time, he opened his eyes to the situation in Europe and came to believe in the need to exclude Austria and unify Germany with Prussia at its center.

[Kitani Tsutomu]

Iron Chancellor

In September 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed him Prime Minister of Prussia. At that time, Prussia was in a difficult situation, with the royal authority and government at odds with the parliamentary majority over military reform. Bismarck confronted the parliament with a forceful policy known as the "blood and iron policy," and implemented an increase in the military. He saw through the fact that the wealthy citizens, represented by the Progressive Party, were toying with seemingly radical rhetoric, but had no intention of starting a revolution again. He overwhelmed domestic opposition with a series of victories, such as the war against Denmark (1864), the Prussian-Austrian War (1866), and the Prussian-French War (1870-1871). Through these wars, the German Empire was established in 1871, and the project of German unification centered on Prussia was completed, which the German bourgeoisie had long awaited.

This process also coincided with the completion of the German Industrial Revolution. In economic policy, he adhered to liberalism, promoted the freedom of business and the abolition of protective tariffs, and established systems necessary for the development of the national economy, such as railways, banks, and postal services. As a result, German capitalism achieved rapid growth. Therefore, even if Bismarck's project for German unification was counter-revolutionary, it can be said that it was a "revolution from above" in which representatives of the old ruling class anticipated and realized some of the demands of the emerging bourgeoisie, ultimately promoting the transition from feudal society to civil society. Reflecting these circumstances of its establishment, the political structure of the German Empire was extremely complex, with a strong royal authority and a weak Imperial Diet based on universal suffrage coexisting, and conflicting principles such as sovereign power and popular sovereignty, and federalism and centralization in balance. And at the center of the entire system was Bismarck as Imperial Chancellor, who, although constitutionally he was merely a minister appointed by the emperor, in reality he was a dictator who concentrated all power in his hands.

Until the mid-1870s, the government followed a liberal course, with the National Liberal Party as the ruling party, which held a majority in the Imperial Diet. However, as the economic depression became more serious, the Junkers and heavy industry capitalists began to demand protective tariffs, and the rapid growth of the Social Democratic Party caused anxiety among the ruling class. In 1878, the government enacted the Anti-Socialist Act to suppress the labor movement, and the following year, in 1879, protective tariffs were introduced, mainly on iron and grain. This marked a shift to conservatism in domestic policy in general.

[Kitani Tsutomu]

Diplomacy

On the other hand, it was in the field of diplomacy that Bismarck achieved his most remarkable results during this period. His diplomacy, which sought to isolate France, which was crying out for revenge against Germany, and to protect the status quo in Europe, was accomplished through the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria, and Italy (1882), the Double Security Treaty with Russia (1886), and the Mediterranean Agreement (1886), in which Britain also joined, and it seemed as if the reins of European diplomacy were in Bismarck's hands alone. However, at the end of the 1880s, he came into conflict with the young Emperor Wilhelm II over a coal strike in the Ruhr and social policy issues, leading to his resignation in March 1890. Behind this lay a new momentum in Germany, which had strengthened its national power and was trying to overcome Bismarck's policy of maintaining the status quo and move towards a global policy.

Even after his retirement, he continued to criticize Wilhelm II's domestic and foreign policies, causing various political ripples, but the two men reconciled in 1894.

[Kitani Tsutomu]

"Kitani Tsutomu, 'Research on the History of the Second German Empire' (1977, Aoki Shoten)"

[References] | Iron and Blood Policy | German History | Kingdom of Prussia | Prussian-Austrian War

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ドイツの政治家。ドイツの政治的統一、帝国建設に功績があった。

［木谷　勤］

保守政治家

プロイセンのユンカーの旧家に4月1日生まれる。ベルリン大学、ゲッティンゲン大学で法律を学び、プロイセンの官吏（1836～1839）になるが、まもなく辞任、故郷に帰り、領地経営に専念。1847年連合州議会議員となる。この時期は視野の狭い保守政治家で、ドイツの統一や政治改革など自由主義者の要求にいっさい耳を傾けなかった。1848年、三月革命が起こるとベルリンに出、保守派の『十字架新聞』を発行して、王制の擁護に努めた。その活躍が認められ、1851年からフランクフルト連邦議会でのプロイセン代表、1859年駐ロシア大使、1862年駐フランス大使を歴任。この間、ヨーロッパ情勢に目を開くとともに、オーストリアを排除し、プロイセンを中心とするドイツ統一の必要を信ずるようになった。

［木谷　勤］

鉄血宰相

1862年9月、国王ウィルヘルム1世によりプロイセン首相に任命された。当時のプロイセンは、王権と政府が軍制改革をめぐり議会多数派と対立、窮地に陥っていた。ビスマルクは「鉄血政策」とよばれる強行策で議会と対決、軍備増強を実施した。進歩党に代表される有産市民が一見急進的な言辞を弄(ろう)しながら、二度と革命を起こす気のないことを見抜いていた。そして対デンマーク戦争（1864）、プロイセン・オーストリア戦争（1866）、プロイセン・フランス戦争（1870～1871）といった一連の戦勝の実績で国内の反対派を圧倒した。これらの戦争を通じて1871年ドイツ帝国を建設、プロイセンを中心とするドイツ統一事業を完成したが、それはドイツの市民階級が長年待ち望んでいたものであった。

　この過程はまたドイツ産業革命の完成と一致した。経済政策では自由主義を貫き、営業の自由や保護関税の廃止を進め、また鉄道、銀行、郵便など国民経済の発展に必要な制度を整備した。ドイツの資本主義はこれにより飛躍的な成長を遂げた。それゆえ、ビスマルクのドイツ統一事業は、その政治的目的がたとえ反革命であっても、旧支配層の代表が新興市民階級の要求を一部先取り実現することによって、結果的に封建社会から市民社会への移行を促進した「上からの革命」であったといえよう。このような成立の事情を反映して、ドイツ帝国の政治の仕組みはきわめて複雑で、強力な王権と弱体ながら普通選挙に基づく帝国議会が共存し、君主大権と人民主権、連邦主義と中央集権といった相反する原則が拮抗(きっこう)していた。そして全制度の中心に位置したのが帝国宰相としてのビスマルクで、憲法上は皇帝の任命する一大臣にすぎなかったが、現実にはすべての権限を一手に集めた独裁者であった。

　1870年代なかばまで、帝国議会の多数派、国民自由党を与党にして、自由主義路線を歩んだ。しかしその後、経済不況が深刻になるにつれ、ユンカーと重工業資本家が保護関税を求めるようになり、また社会民主党の急成長は支配層の間に不安を引き起こした。1878年社会主義者鎮圧法を制定して労働運動の弾圧に乗り出し、翌1879年には鉄と穀物を中心に保護関税を導入した。これは国内政策全般の保守主義への転換を意味した。

［木谷　勤］

外交

一方、この時期いちばん目覚ましい成果を収めたのは外交の分野であった。対独復讐(ふくしゅう)を叫ぶフランスを孤立させ、ヨーロッパの現状を守ろうとする外交は、ドイツ・オーストリア・イタリアの三国同盟（1882）、ロシアとの二重保障条約（1886）、イギリスも加わる地中海協定（1886）を通じて完成し、ヨーロッパ外交の手綱はビスマルク一人の手に握られたかのようであった。しかし1880年代末、ルールの炭坑ストや社会政策の問題をめぐり、若い皇帝ウィルヘルム2世と対立、1890年3月辞任した。その背景には、国力を充実させたドイツが、ビスマルクの現状維持政策を乗り越え、世界政策に進もうとする新しい気運があった。

　なお、引退後もウィルヘルム2世の内外政策に対する批判を続け、さまざまな政治的波紋を投げかけたが、1894年に両者は和解した。

［木谷　勤］

『木谷勤著『ドイツ第二帝制史研究』（1977・青木書店）』

[参照項目] | 鉄血政策 | ドイツ史 | プロイセン王国 | プロイセン・オーストリア戦争

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