Ideas/Help for German Unification TL

in the case of a 'less German Germany' Transcarpathia might be included into the Empire as well, not sure wether my TL is going to go in that direction though.
 
in the case of a 'less German Germany' Transcarpathia might be included into the Empire as well, not sure wether my TL is going to go in that direction though.
If we got less german germany that means not Transcarpathia, Just Galicia, creating a sub polish nation inside germany, when poles are not strong enough to make major noise, still would be part of the german nation and the second major ethnic group into it, plus solved the issue, as Galicia is now germany they will not allow nobody try to touch it.
 
I do think myself that it would be incredibly hard to annex/icorporate the Netherlands into a German Empire as the Dutch at that point were just their own nation. The thig you have to remember though, is that in this case we are not talking of a small-German solution (without Austria) as it was in otl in which case Germany was much more homogenous (few minorities, few Catholics, strong Prussian position) than it will be in my TL. The Germany of otl was 'more German' whih means that it would be harder to incorporate other cultures.
A Germany that includes Austrians, Italians, Chechs, more Poles and possibly some more of the Balcan people living in the Habsburg Empire before the Unification will be much more diverse, therefore easier to accept other cultures and for other cultures it would be easier to live there.
Still, it would be very hard but i guess that if there is some event that changes the attitude toward a netherland-ish entry. They could be:
- A royal marriage that is very popular on both sides of the border. You said the Danish constitution prohibited this though, I didn't know that, do you have a link? Thanks.
How good is your Dutch? I couldn't find an English source.

Artikel 29.

De Koning der Nederlanden kan geene vreemde Kroon dragen. In geen geval kan de zetel van de Regering buiten het Rijk worden verplaatst.

Basicly it says, the king isn't allowed to wear a foreign crown. And the seat of government can't be moved outside the Netherlands.

https://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Grondwet_voor_het_Koningrijk_der_Nederlanden_(1815)

- A long war in which Germany and Netherlands fight on the same side, possibly protecting the Netherlands against french agression. The Netherlands could get back Belgium (which used to be part of it) as a reward for entering the German Empire.

In reality, once Belgium was lost, the Dutch didn't realy care anymore about Belgium. Also fighting on the same side as Germany would not cause the Netherlands to join Germany. The Netherlands did not join the USA after WWII after all. I see no reason for the Netherlands to join the German empire this way, especialy since they did not consider themselves German. Mind you, I could see an alliance, but not joining. There is no insentive for the Dutch to join Germany.
- Danemark could enter the German Confederation as it nearly did in otl. During the Second Shleswig War, after Denmark lost, its King offered to enter the German Confederation to stop the victors from anexing Schleswig Holstein and protect the countries Unity. In this case, the German Empire would be more of a Germanic Empire which means that cultures which have another language but still te close to german culture could be included. Would kinda be a wank though, which I don't plan on doing.
With Denmark part of the German confederation, Germany is less likely to form and if it did it is likely Denmark won't become part of Germany. I realy doubt the Danes would like it after all. That said, still no reason for the Netherlands to follow. I don't think you either understand the Dutch identity or the age of nationalism very well.

Simply put, if you want the Netherlands to become German, you have to conquer it.
 
@pompejus
Firstly, thanx for the link. It says the Dutch king can't have a foreign king, but not that a foreign king cant have the Dutch crown. The government can't move out, but what if the Dutch government is left to a Dutch parliament seated in the Netherlands? The Emperor only needs to decide about foreign policy issues. I know this is playing with words and the Dutch people would probably still not accept being absorbed into a foreign Empire.
About Denmark: I agree with you that the Danes wouldn't be happy about it especially about joining a German Empire. But the Danish king actually made that proposal which means it was possible and I do think that at son point the German nations would have unified in any case.

Your comparation with the Dutch joining the USA is not really convincing as the circumstances of WWII were much different than the circumstances of the war I was proposing, furthermore Germany and the Netherlands share a border and a common culture whilst the USA and the Dutch share neither.

Still, you are right that I don't know that much about Dutch identity and I'm willing to believe myself that a incorporation of the Netherlands is only possible by conquest. That's why im glad when people like you who possibly are Dutch themselves and know about the topic tell me their opinions.

I still like discussing these topics as even though they are unlikely we are writing alternate history here and I like to not say 'this is hardly possible, lets forget about it' but say instead 'this is hardly possible, what do I have to change to make it possible?'
 
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Okay, sorry I`ve been gone so long but I've been very busy :D.

I made the following decisions:

-> There will be no integration of Belgium or the Netherlands as it would not make a lot of sense and would need mayor PODs and developents that shift away the focus from the actual topic: a peaceful Unification.

-> Neither will there an anexation of Denkamr, for the same reason.

-> The Transcarpathia thing is still not decided, im open for more suggestions

-> I'll start the timeline soon. Ideas are always welcome
 
At the end, leave Transcarpathia with the Hungarians, just another extra ethnic group to the mix and give a defensible border to Hungary if the russians try something funny...if not just annex formalia to austria them...
 
Austria will prefer to keep as much of their empire as possible a direct part of their kingdom within the German Empire, so as to increase the number of seats they have. This probably means that all of Bohemia-Moravia, Austria proper, and the italian possessions will be part of the kingdom of Austria. Hungary (incl. Slovenia and Transylvania) will probably be a separate kingdom ruled by a different Habsburg, allied to the German Empire.


Why not be the same Habsburg?

No conceivable Austrian Emperor is going to sign up to a scheme which deprives him of sizeable chunks of his territory, so if this is insisted upon, it will be a show-stopper. More likely, it is simply provided that only the "German" provinces (ie those within the boundaries of the German Confederation) are entitled to elect members to the German Parliament, though just possibly there might be some arrangement for the German minority in Hungary to send a delegate or two.
 
@Nivek might make it happen like that actually.

@Mikestone8 The thing is that therell need to be wuite a lot of unrest and seperatism in the AH Empire to get them to accept the Compromise in the first place so I guess it will be hard to create the kind of tension you need to get Austria to join forces with Prussia and keep together the PU at the same time.
Hungary will probably want its own ruler. I'll think about it though.
 
@Nivek might make it happen like that actually.

@Mikestone8 The thing is that therell need to be wuite a lot of unrest and seperatism in the AH Empire to get them to accept the Compromise in the first place so I guess it will be hard to create the kind of tension you need to get Austria to join forces with Prussia and keep together the PU at the same time.
Hungary will probably want its own ruler. I'll think about it though.


Can you find a single instance where the Austrian Empire ever gave up territory other than after defeat in war? It just didn't happen. And even then they conceded as little as they could get away with.
 
Problem is that that in this time period Austria was so desperate to keep Hungary they changed the name of the Empire in 1867. There is no practical way they would give it up to play second fiddle to Prussia. Even if the ruler could be bribed/persuaded, the nobilty/imperial family would arrange for him/her to cut their head off shaving by dawn the next day.
 
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