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Otto Von Bismarck was a Prussian statesman who successfully unified the German states under the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1871, at the successful conclusion of the Franco-Prussian war. Please see the web link below for an excellent biography of him. Bismarck was the driving force in uniting the 40+ states on German soil into the German Empire in 1870. He furthermore through his very sophisticated political work of alliances etc. gave Europe a period of peace between 1871 and 1914. He stepped down as a Chancellor in 1890. The men after him, in particular Emperor Wilhelm II, undid piece by piece v. Bismarck's achievements in foreign politics; they were not able to keep up his intricate peace work and drove Germany and Europe into WW1.

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16y ago

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