Unified in 1871, industrial giant by 1900, gone by 1918 — speed was the whole story. Germany built its empire in a hurry: a nation forged by war, an economy that overtook Britain's within a generation, and colonies grabbed in a three-decade sprint. It was the fastest imperial career in European history, and it ended at the same velocity.
Berlin ★ Kiel the Ruhr Versailles Colonies abroad: German South West Africa, German East Africa, Cameroon, Togo, Pacific islands Greatest extent — stylized map 1871 Proclaimed at Versailles 1890 Bismarck dismissed 1900 Industrial colossus 1904–1908 Herero war 1914 The Schlieffen Plan 9 November Abdication Rise · zenith · fall The rise The architect was Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian minister-president who united Germany by what he called “blood and iron.” Three short wars — against Denmark, Austria, and France — and on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, the German princes proclaimed the Prussian king as Kaiser Wilhelm I. The Second Reich was born in the palace of the defeated French: unification as humiliation, by design.
