Largest possible non-Nazi Germany

Does mega-Austria count as mega-Germany?
Is not a mega Austria... Is another Germany...
Austria was a part of Germany until the Austro Prussian War of 1866 who was the definitive affermation of Prussia as German leader and the first step for the unification of the OTL's Germany and the exit of Austria from the Germany nation...
 
Germanic chieftain takes over the Hunnic tributary empire from within, maintaining the tribal alliances and allegiances for a few more years.
 
Successfully 1848 Revolution is a good starting point ;)

I agree. Maybe a more successful spring of nations in Austria? Hungary and Lombardia-Veneto secede, while the rest becomes cut down Republic(?) of Austria, so it could be integrated into the German Empire later (Frankfurt's or Bismarck's version). No idea what to do with Galicia. Independence would not be pleased in Prussia and Russia, because this quasi-Polish state would increase ambitions of Poles in other countries. So maybe a wide autonomy as a part of Hungary?
 
Inspired by Faeelin's Prince of Peace:

Frederick Barbarossa doesn't drown on crusade.

Having leverage against the Pope as savior of Jerusalem, and having dispensed with much of his empire's centrifugal forces (read: knights and lords) by letting them wear themselves ragged in the Levant, he returns home with overwhelming prestige. He spends it, and his remaining years, consolidating his rule. Right there you have a proto-state stretching from central France to western Poland and from Denmark to Tuscany, not counting Sicily and Naples. It'd be a question how well it'd last when he finally dies, except that we already know his heir was extremely competent in his own right.

England and France probably try to one up Rotbart's crusade by going after Egypt, or possibly Constantinople. Either way, that keeps them a little busy while the HRE gets its house in order for really the first time. The Pope is a constant opponent, but will be pretty helpless unless and until Italy rises against the empire again. That probably happens more than once, actually. The Polish kingdom is in a decline, and the pieces were apparently comfortable nominally recognizing the Emperor as a distant sovereign.

That becomes significant because in the lifetime of Frederick's successor, the Mongols will come barreling into Hungary and Poland. That's too good a rallying cry and too big a threat to ignore, so the HRE leads the defense of Christendom. It's actually relatively safe, because the Mongol logistical train can only manage so far past the good grassland, so Germany survives, being largely out of reach. Hungary and Poland, though, are proper war zones and do even worse then historically. Eventually, the Mongol leader withdraws to Kiev to build himself a power base, as OTL.

A few hundred years later, the kingdoms of Hungary and Poland, plus much of the Baltic, are politically German. Italy probably isn't, but such is life.
 
Admiral Matt. This is just totally irrealistic.

First of all, Frederick Barbarossa was born between 1122 and 1125. So he would not have lived many more years after 1190, had he not drowned.

Secondly, Barbarossa had been defeated by the alliance of the lombardian cities and the pope.

Thirdly, the contribution of England and France to the third crusade was rawly as important as the contribution of the HRE. And Richard I the lionheart was a great military commander, so Frederick I would certainly not havez stolen all the glory of a victory in the Holy land.

Fourthly in 1184, when Frederick launched an attack against the french kingdom of young Philip Augustus, he was blocked and had to give it up because of the mere opposition of a few princes of Low Lorraine.

And at last, the HRE was one thing and Germany was another thing : only a part of the HRE.

The better point for a greater Germany starting post 1700 would probably be a "no miracle of Brandeburg" or an total defeat of Frederick II of Prussia with Austria taking back Silesia.

The key to greater Germany is having the Habsburgs uniting the whole of Germany on the ruins of Prussia. They compensate their french allies by giving them the left bank of the Rhine and you have an austrian-french / Habsburg/Bourbon alliance ruling the european continent.
 
Admiral Matt. This is just totally irrealistic.

Unrealistic. No offense, but at first glance it seems like some of your objections are due to a language barrier obscuring my meaning. I'll try to clarify.

First of all, Frederick Barbarossa was born between 1122 and 1125. So he would not have lived many more years after 1190, had he not drowned.

He doesn't need to. He just needs to complete the crusade and return home with more glory and fewer potential rebels than he left with. As I mentioned before, given an organized succession his extremely competent heir will spend his reign solidifying the empire and attempting to expand it, rather than trying to rebuild what was lost when his father died.

Secondly, Barbarossa had been defeated by the alliance of the lombardian cities and the pope.

I'm aware. I'd been under the impression that he'd reasserted nominal overlordship by the time of the crusades, but I grant I could easily be wrong.

It doesn't matter very much, does it? Either way, the HRE is going to be fighting Lombard League who'll hold the Pope's backing. Either way, "Germany" will eventually lose for geographic, logistic, and demographic reasons. Either way, it will continue to rule the Alps and (probably) Italy's western land border. Either way, the above means that the petty states will be practically-speaking within the HRE's sphere of influence unless they unify politically. Even such a united Italy would either end up perennially losing wars to their northern neighbor, or as the junior partner in an alliance with it.

Thirdly, the contribution of England and France to the third crusade was rawly as important as the contribution of the HRE. And Richard I the lionheart was a great military commander, so Frederick I would certainly not havez stolen all the glory of a victory in the Holy land.

Most of the HRE-crusaders went home when the man died, before they'd done anything against the Saracens. Of course the kingdoms were more important. At any rate, the Germans would have reached Jerusalem first, so....

I already said they French and English would go do their own thing, not having The City to liberate. Not clear why you felt the need to say that Richard would get his own glory as if I disagreed.

Fourthly in 1184, when Frederick launched an attack against the french kingdom of young Philip Augustus, he was blocked and had to give it up because of the mere opposition of a few princes of Low Lorraine.

Good. Trying to get more France would be ridiculous. He already ruled something like 2/5 of the modern country. Someone needed to settle down and finish the system that could have kept what they had. If you read above carefully you'll notice I didn't suggest him conquering a thing, aside from Jerusalem.

And at last, the HRE was one thing and Germany was another thing : only a part of the HRE.

Well, duh. But actually you're a bit off. Germany wasn't really another thing, because Germany as we know it did not actually exist. At this time it'd have been ludicrous to draw a line near the Rhine mouth and say that the Low Countries weren't German. Certainly a Germany that coalesced from the HRE would be a very different creature to OTL's ethnically-centered nation state, but it'd still be a Germany. In the long run.

I don't actually see anything you pointed out that demonstrates this is inherently unrealistic. More it seems mostly a combination of semantics and misunderstanding. If you do have some information that demonstrates why this is implausible, I'd be happy to discuss it. Best way to learn.
 
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