Another ASB thought: Seeing how the Austrian empire went from being a mayor European player in 1800 to just a bunch of ski resort and opera venues in 1920, what if Great Germany, which officially only had been established with the Inner German Tarif Union of 1900, would get the Austrian treatment:
1) splitting off of all provinces that are not 100% Kaiserlich German into separate countries, leaving only a core Germany of Greater Berlin
2) radical persecution of everything 'German' in the new countries, eradication of all German structures and forcing everyone feeling 'German' into either assimilation or emigration.
This may seem pretty ASB, but something along this line actually happened at the end of WWII with the redrawing of Germany's eastern borders in favor of Czechoslovakia and Poland.
The problem with this is that unlike Great-Austria, which at that time already had become Austro-Hungary, Greater Germany was pretty much one in language and culture. The only part , apart from the East, that you could split of on the basis of having its own sense of statehood was Austria, which actually happened. Apart of this, I don't think even Bavaria would want to become its own state again and would unify with the rest if Germany as soon as it had the chance.
If however you replace 'German' with 'Prussian', you might have a chance. Many German regions still felt overrun by a Prussian power apparatus and would 'unprussify' in a heartbeat, even if this meant forced independence. In fact, many of the regions did exactly that after 1945.
However, Prussian Genocide this is not, oh Padawan.
1) splitting off of all provinces that are not 100% Kaiserlich German into separate countries, leaving only a core Germany of Greater Berlin
2) radical persecution of everything 'German' in the new countries, eradication of all German structures and forcing everyone feeling 'German' into either assimilation or emigration.
This may seem pretty ASB, but something along this line actually happened at the end of WWII with the redrawing of Germany's eastern borders in favor of Czechoslovakia and Poland.
The problem with this is that unlike Great-Austria, which at that time already had become Austro-Hungary, Greater Germany was pretty much one in language and culture. The only part , apart from the East, that you could split of on the basis of having its own sense of statehood was Austria, which actually happened. Apart of this, I don't think even Bavaria would want to become its own state again and would unify with the rest if Germany as soon as it had the chance.
If however you replace 'German' with 'Prussian', you might have a chance. Many German regions still felt overrun by a Prussian power apparatus and would 'unprussify' in a heartbeat, even if this meant forced independence. In fact, many of the regions did exactly that after 1945.
However, Prussian Genocide this is not, oh Padawan.