Was German Reunification a Mistake?

[Bear Stearns]

>tfw people don't realize that the largest and most influential Germanic language-speaking city in the world is New York City.

>tfw Anglo-Saxons are more adept at rallying all Germanics on their side than Prussians are

Prussian right-wing socialism and Scandinavian social democracy are superior to individualistic Anglo-Saxon capitalism.

No they aren't. I'll take Anglo-Dutch Calvinist capitalism over Prussian Huns and Scandinavian weirdos.

[The Great-German Empire]

Capitalism knows no home or nation; it only knows profit, greed, exploitation and "money"...

Yeah, as opposed to socialism, the history of which can be accurately described with the phrase 'MISTAKES WERE MADE'.

[Cappuccina]

I forget where I saw this, but I sem to recall reading somewhere that Germans generally identify more strongly either with Europe or with their local region than they do with Germany. If I find a source, I'll be sure to post it.
EDIT: Here's a source from 2016 on the matter.

Eh, I guess as long as people still like Germany and associate 'Germanness' with something good, I'm not too desperate. Still, from a point of view of a Russian with some experience living in Britain and Canada, it's disturbing that countries in the EU have reached a point where their citizens actually don't care about their culture anymore.

Indeed, the indifference many Europeans have towards their heritage is nauseating.

individualistic Anglo-Saxon capitalism.

Capitalism knows no home or nation; it only knows profit, greed, exploitation and "money"...

^this.

[Coffin-Breathe]

Still, from a point of view of a Russian with some experience living in Britain and Canada, it's disturbing that countries in the EU have reached a point where their citizens actually don't care about their culture anymore.

How and why should they (the majority), when their "culture" is reduced to consumerism, tv-soaps, drinking contests and football(soccer) games ?

[Bienenhalde]

individualistic Anglo-Saxon capitalism.

Capitalism knows no home or nation; it only knows profit, greed, exploitation and "money"...

You are not entirely wrong about that, but the eternal Anglo has played an important role historically in the worldwide spread and propagation of capitalism and liberalism.

[The Great-German Empire]

Still, from a point of view of a Russian with some experience living in Britain and Canada, it's disturbing that countries in the EU have reached a point where their citizens actually don't care about their culture anymore.

How and why should they (the majority), when their "culture" is reduced to consumerism, tv-soaps, drinking contests and football(soccer) games ?

Only if you're too lazy to dig a little, and if your attention span is that of an actual moth. If dangling a TV screen in front of one's face is still enough to distract them, they're dead meat anyways. Yes, I realize I'm labeling quite a lot of people here, possibly unfairly.

[Zrhajan]

I forget where I saw this, but I sem to recall reading somewhere that Germans generally identify more strongly either with Europe or with their local region than they do with Germany. If I find a source, I'll be sure to post it.
EDIT: Here's a source from 2016 on the matter.

Eh, I guess as long as people still like Germany and associate 'Germanness' with something good, I'm not too desperate. Still, from a point of view of a Russian with some experience living in Britain and Canada, it's disturbing that countries in the EU have reached a point where their citizens actually don't care about their culture anymore.

That's the thing, they do care about their cultures. They care about the regional culture, which in many cases existed before the concept of Germanness was particularly widespread. Baden bleibt dann halt Baden.

[Bojikami]

yes.

[The New California Republic]

yes.

...because...?

[Zrhajan]

For the record, I voted that it was mishandled, in that many of the actually good aspects of the DDR were entirely gotten rid of and disregarded as being bad. See for example: free KiTa (child supervision for pre kindergarten kids).

[Imbalistan]

It was rushed, it should have begun to integrate economies first before this. Should have given it a year or 2. But no, reunification was needed.

[First American Empire]

The mere existence of Germany a unified polity is damaging.

I fail to see how. In fact, one of the scenarios floated here (Giving half of it to France) would make France become the very thing you're trying to destroy.

Giving half of Germany to France doesn't go far enough. Give the whole thing to France.

[Imbalistan]

I fail to see how. In fact, one of the scenarios floated here (Giving half of it to France) would make France become the very thing you're trying to destroy.

Giving half of Germany to France doesn't go far enough. Give the whole thing to France.

While were at it, lets give the entirety of Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran!

[Kowani]

Giving half of Germany to France doesn't go far enough. Give the whole thing to France.

While were at it, lets give the entirety of Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran!

What are we, British colonialists?

[Paratan]

While were at it, lets give the entirety of Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran!

What are we, British colonialists?

Indeed!

[Klorgia1]

Worth Throwing into this argument that Germany was not fully unified. Cities which belonged to the nation ethnically were purged in the 1940's. About a 5th of Polands current land (by my count) was ethnically German (or at least under their administration) in 1939, and this is not counting East-Prussia (talked about below) and there was mass murder as people who had been tormented by their Nazi overlords were now in control, and under a regime that fully supported German destruction.

Denmark regained some borderland lost during Prussia's rise under Bismarck (which is by no means a surprise), going against the Schleswig Plebiscites of 1920.

The state of East-Prussia (which the post-WW1 allies at least let Germany keep on their part even if removed from the mainland) was split between the USSR and its Polish puppet, and Russia retains their side of the land today.

The largest example of this is by far Breslau, now called by its Polish name, Wroclaw.

Belgium also gained a small amount of land, ceded by the Germans in 1956, but the Germans got some back in return, so it seems like a fair deal.

So to say Germany didn't already lose land would be a mistake, and the question of Reunification was moot, seeing that ethnically German land had been cleaned far before. "Was re-unifying most of Germany a mistake" is the question we're asking.

[North German Realm]

So does unified France! and let's not mention unified Great Britain.

France, up until the satanic revolution, was valuable to the world. The UK unifying was illegitimate but in the long run has also been beneficial.

Pretty much for the entirety of its life after the centralization of the realm by Louis XIV, France was the biggest threat to peace and stability in Europe, and it remains so to the modern day. Its needless wars with Britain, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Portugal, Netherlands, and -finally- all of the above combined resulted in it being the subject of one coalition war after the other whenever it wasn't the one starting the wars, for the entirety of the 17th and 18th century, until its capacity for destruction was fully taken from it in the Congress of Vienna. Even afterwards, France was still the reason for instability in Europe in general. The Rhine Crisis, Revolutions that seeped into Europe in form of the Springtime of Nations, essentially the entirety of Napoleon III's reign, and the Luxembourg Crisis. Your statement is ahistorical as hell.

[Nilrahrarfan]

Germany should never have been reunified because it lost its ability to get back its eastern lands, spreading all the way to the memel. And yes, I call those its eastern lands. Problem?

[The Liberated Territories]

Germany should have been shattered into a hundred states, just like the good ol' days.

[Kowani]

France, up until the satanic revolution, was valuable to the world. The UK unifying was illegitimate but in the long run has also been beneficial.

Pretty much for the entirety of its life after the centralization of the realm by Louis XIV, France was the biggest threat to peace and stability in Europe, and it remains so to the modern day. Its needless wars with Britain, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Portugal, Netherlands, and -finally- all of the above combined resulted in it being the subject of one coalition war after the other whenever it wasn't the one starting the wars, for the entirety of the 17th and 18th century, until its capacity for destruction was fully taken from it in the Congress of Vienna. Even afterwards, France was still the reason for instability in Europe in general. The Rhine Crisis, Revolutions that seeped into Europe in form of the Springtime of Nations, essentially the entirety of Napoleon III's reign, and the Luxembourg Crisis. Your statement is ahistorical as hell.

Personally, I think that some of the Ideas of France at the time may have been good. The whole thing of “hundreds of years of war, allez!” Not so much.

[Das Kaiser Reich]

the Unification of Germany in 1871 was the True Mistake.

[Nilrahrarfan]

the Unification of Germany in 1871 was the True Mistake.

>Name is "Das Kaiser Reich"
>Doesn't wan't Germany to be unified
Congratulations, you played yourself.

[North German Realm]

Pretty much for the entirety of its life after the centralization of the realm by Louis XIV, France was the biggest threat to peace and stability in Europe, and it remains so to the modern day. Its needless wars with Britain, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Portugal, Netherlands, and -finally- all of the above combined resulted in it being the subject of one coalition war after the other whenever it wasn't the one starting the wars, for the entirety of the 17th and 18th century, until its capacity for destruction was fully taken from it in the Congress of Vienna. Even afterwards, France was still the reason for instability in Europe in general. The Rhine Crisis, Revolutions that seeped into Europe in form of the Springtime of Nations, essentially the entirety of Napoleon III's reign, and the Luxembourg Crisis. Your statement is ahistorical as hell.

Personally, I think that some of the Ideas of France at the time may have been good. The whole thing of “hundreds of years of war, allez!” Not so much.

The absolutist ideals of France "at the time" were good? Didn't expect you to be a Divine Right monarchist, Kowani.
(On a more serious note, I'd have to kinda agree but disagree with you on the ideals of revolutionary France. The rhetorical ideals were good, but they were just that, rhetoric)

the Unification of Germany in 1871 was the True Mistake.

no u

[Das Kaiser Reich]

the Unification of Germany in 1871 was the True Mistake.

>Name is "Das Kaiser Reich"
>Doesn't wan't Germany to be unified
Congratulations, you played yourself.

i am speaking form a Prussian Point of View, if Germany was never united Prussia could still exist.

[Nilrahrarfan]

>Name is "Das Kaiser Reich"
>Doesn't wan't Germany to be unified
Congratulations, you played yourself.

i am speaking form a Prussian Point of View, if Germany was never united Prussia could still exist.

OH! Well then, I agree with your point of view on that. That's why I voted that reunification is a mistake, even today with Germany's migrant problems indirectly caused by it.
If only Austria had united it, so that it would be easier for the Prussian storm girl nation to remain in power.