Western Civilization II / Unit 11 WC2 1011 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Bismarck: Realpolitik, Iron and Blood
Captions available
The idea
Otto von Bismarck, a Prussian Junker, served his king without sentiment and used nationalism he distrusted. Made chancellor by Wilhelm I, he told the budget commission in eighteen sixty-two that the great questions would be decided by iron and blood, not speeches and majority resolutions.
In practice
The anchor: the inventor of Realpolitik.
Where people slip
The Confederation was a league; the Zollverein the trade zone.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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