Bismarck is a famous figure in German history. Under his ingenious planning, the Prussian kingdom finally completed the unification of Germany. Bismarck once said two famous words, one is that major contemporary problems should be solved through iron and blood, and Bismarck was crowned as the iron and blood prime minister. The second sentence is that God favors three kinds of people: drunkards, fools and Americans. The first sentence is easy to understand, which means to remove the stumbling block of German reunification with iron and blood. The literal meaning of the second sentence is also very simple, that is, God cares for three kinds of people, but obviously the focus is on Americans. Bismarck's juxtaposition of Americans with fools and drunkards is enough to show his disdain for Americans, but he also said that God cares for Americans and seems a little jealous. So why did Bismarck say that?
First, Bismarck looked down on the United States: the ancestors of the Germans were Germans who lived in Central Europe in ancient times and overthrew the Western Roman Empire. In the tenth century, the Holy Roman Empire was established. Although it soon split up, its history was earlier and it was brilliant for a while. The United States is an immigrant country, and it was an Indian territory before17th century.
Second, the gap between Germany and the United States is obvious:1When the United States became independent in 776, Germany was still in chaos, and neither Prussia nor Austria was able to unify Germany. 1800, Napoleon crisscrossed Europe, and the French army entered Berlin as a conqueror and removed the goddess of peace symbolizing Germany from the Brandenburg Gate as a trophy. The United States did not waste its efforts to buy Louisiana from France, thus realizing its territorial expansion. These gaps make the Germans deeply feel the injustice of fate.
The German poet Schiller once sighed helplessly: "Germany? Where is it? I can't find that place. " Goethe said more simply that there is not a city or even a place, which makes us firmly point out that this is Germany. If we ask this question in Vienna, the answer is that this is Austria; If we ask this question in Berlin, the answer is that this is Prussia. So where is Germany? This historic problem has been tormenting the hearts of Germans. It was not until 187 1 that Germany was unified almost a hundred years after the independence of the United States. So what has the United States become at this time?
As early as 1848, the territory of the United States has expanded to the Pacific Ocean and become a country with two oceans. 1867, the United States bought Alaska and extended its territory to the Arctic Ocean. Therefore, when Germany was unified, the United States had become a big country with more than 9 million square kilometers of land, and its geographical environment was extremely superior. There are no strong neighbors between the north and the south, but there are two oceans, not only a large area of land suitable for farming, but also two long and unconstrained coastlines.
Almost all of these advantages are innate, and the United States easily gained them. On the other hand, Germany, although painstakingly unified, is still surrounded by powerful enemies, with France in the west, Russia in the east and only the northern coast. As a result, it is still restricted by Denmark and Britain. Seeing such an international environment, even Bismarck, the bloody prime minister, could not help but sigh that Germany was too difficult. So it is not surprising that Bismarck will compare Germany with the United States and say that God is partial to Americans.