Could you explain to me the evolution of Germany's education system?
- Roughly 10+ "old" universities existing since the 14th to 16th centuriy. Additional universities were created in the 18th and 19th century (Berlin, Karlsruhe as an example) by (independent) German states competing with each other.
- Reformation. Martin Luther emphasized that everyone should be able to read the bible (in German). So starting in the late 16th century (Dukedom of Pfalz-Zweibrücken 1592) German states slowly started to introduce compulsory education (Wuerttemberg 1649, Prussia 1717 etc.). The last one was Saxony in 1835.
- The importance of mining (Harz region , Saxon Ore Mountains) since the Middle Ages. In the late 18th century the first mining academies were founded in Germany (Freiberg 1765, Eisleben 1798) .
- Numerous technical academies (at first mainly for civil engineers) were founded during the 19th century (Gotha 1805, Giessen 1838 for example).
- The first Technical University was founded in 1880. Around 1900 there were 22 "traditional" universities in Germany following the Humboldt model (and with science departments) plus 10 Technical Universities. With new ones still being created.
- Prussia since the middle of the 18th century (era of enlightenment) was already experimenting with "practical" higher schools. The traditional system consisted of "Volksschulen" (elementary schools) for everyone and "Gymnasien" (secondary schools) with Latin and Greek for future university students. Prussia experimented with "Realschulen" (secondary modern schools) emphasizing instead of Greek or Latin modern languages or math and sciences. Enlarged and "codified" in the 19th century and granting access to universities too.
- The (partial) survival of the old Guild training system. Apprentice -> Journeyman -> Master Craftsman. Still surviving today in Germany. You hire a journeyman, you´ll know that he/she meets certain levels for theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
- That of course wasn´t true during the industrialization in the 19th century with lots of unskilled workers moving to the industrial centers. But since 1892 there also exist evening schools for metal working workers (Ruhr region for example). To teach these workers theoretical knowledge (added to their already existing practical knowledge). At first without exams. Over time they developed into evening "machine building (Maschinenbau)" schools with an education over several semesters with exams and certificates.
So in summary you have a generally literate population. An infrastructure ready to produce engineers, technicians and the like. And a tradition to "codify" job training reliably producing skilled workers.
Coupled with universities following the Humboldt model. Experiment, observe, test. And given the disunity of Germany till 1871 there is no single center of research and learning in Germany. German states and their universities compete with each other. There is no single center attracting all the talents.
Generally:
The coal deposits in the Ruhr and Saar region and Upper Silesia were already mentioned. Coal was one of the main driver of industrialization in the 19th century.
Likewise the need for railways to connect all the cities and industrial centers. The British isles for example had coastal traffic, rivers and canals even before railways. In Germany it took until the early 19th century before the German states along the river Rhine even started to work together to make the river Rhine a reliable waterway. Canals across state borders were even more difficult.
There´s also the founding of the
German Customs Union in 1834. The German Confederation back then consisted of 39 member states. Simply by getting most of them to join the Customs Union you create a much larger domestic market.
(I seem to remember reading about a Goethe trip here before the Customs Union. Making a boat trip on a secondary river, Goethe mentioned more than 10 stops due to political and custom borders.)
As already mentioned too, German companies in the 19th century shamelessly copied British products. And at first only producing bad quality products. Leading to the British Merchandise Marks Act in 1887.
Well a good part of it was state-driven; Imperial Germany was one of the few centralized nations that actively pursued industrialization (for military applications) . It's harder to start up infant industries without government assistance.
This is of course nonsense.
Imperial Germany wasn´t a centralized nation. With the exception of Austria-Hungary maybe the least centralized major power in Europe. Education, most taxes, law-enforcement, state election laws, armed forces, infrastructure (railway lines) etc. were all state rights.
Compared to the British isles, France and Russia, Germany was an anarchy.
Germany was quite like modern China in many ways.
Strict, militarist government which pushed industrialisation for its own means and limited political freedom....but allowed a huge degree of freedom in other areas to its people.
Russia just wasn't too big on freedom overall.
Imperial Germany had one of the most progressive election laws before 1914. I invite you to look at the last German election in
1912 (in German).
The then Socialist Social Democrats won a plurality of seats.
Minorities like the Poles, Danes and Alsatians consistently got more seats than warranted if Germany would have used a pure proportional representation system.
Imperial Germany also wasn´t centralized (see above).