General Zod
Banned
I'm not aware that the Iron Chancellor was a believer in the "Gross Deutschland" idea for an alternate reason ...
He was not a believer in the sense that he did not aggressively pushed for the breakup of A-H (his one glaring mistake) on his own initiative, but he was supremely talented to acknowledge and exploit an opportunity, or react to an emerging necessity, when he saw it. He well knew that the supreme interest of Prussia is best served by making Germany as strong as he can without triggering a general European war. Likewise, a collapsing Hapsburg empire is a serious threat to the safety of Prussia and Germany and the only best remedy is to partition it with Russia, Hungary, and Italy, which strengthens Prussia and Germany in many important ways. His mindfulness of the geopolitical issues involved were utterly unclouded by idiotic bygone notions of romantic solidarity between conservative monarchies or Protestant nations, only fit for 16th-17th Century Europe. To make Germany and Prussia strong he would have happily allied with the Pope or Karl Marx if need be. Therefore, my PoD stands.
Prussia had always seen herself as champion of the Protestant Cause in continental Europe. And in fact, it was the Prussian King, Frederick William III who in 1829 forced a consolidation of the Reformed (Calvinist) and Lutheran churches in Prussia, partly to present a more unite front to the power of the Roman church in Europe and Germany (as well as Prussia).
Former generation lousy Prussian statemanship and their terrible failures of 1848-50. To assume Bismarck is going to follow their own pathetic scale of priorities is to make a terrible injustice to the man. It's like giving Lincoln the priorities of GWB. Bismarck well knows that the interest of Prussia in mid-late 19th century Europe is one alone, to take the lead of German unification and make it as successful as possible. Either that or be a) swept away by national-liberal revolution b) swallowed up by France or Russia c) both.
The creation of a Gross Deutschland would seriously compromise that ability and create an almost 50/50 religious split among the resulting political entity.
That might be a concern in his agenda but only as something that is going to be addressed with the right political countermeasures. OTL he was exceedingly able to manipulate, bribe, and bully the German Catholic states and parties to do pretty much everything important he wanted. Adding Austria and Czechia does not radically change the equation, a 45% Catholic minority is something he can deal with and no exceeding effort. Again, thinking otherwise is to make an injustice to the man. That speaking about the need to keep the political leadership of united Grossdeutschland Empire strictly in the hands of himself and the Prussian elite, which is going to be his only real concern here. Anyway, if Bismarck would concern about containing the power of the Pope, his only real strong friend left in Europe is Napoleon III and he's going to have a reckoning with him anyway for far more pressing reasons. Killing the Hapsburg Empire and bringing Austrian catholics under the control of the Junkers strenghtens the interests of Protestants in Europe far much better than otherwise.
I believe research will uncover this issue as one of the reasons the redeemed Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen was treated almost like a colony rather than a new Land in the Reich between 1870 and 1919.
Only if such research is made from the writings of religious crackpots (no offense intended).