How did Germany Become a Country? | Animated History

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Sources:
Burbank, Jane., Cooper, Frederick. Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010).

Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 2006).

Fulbrook, Mary. A Concise History of Germany, 3rd ed. (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Hirschi, Caspar. The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).

Merriman, John M. A History of Modern Europe: from the Renaissance to the Present (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996).

von Bismark, Otto. Speech to Prussian Parliament, September 30, 1862. Translated by Hermann von Petersdorff.

Westad, Odd Arne. The Cold War: A World History (New York: Basic Books, 2019).

Music:
Armchair Historian Theme - Zach Heyde
Puzzle Of Complexity - Jo Wandrini
Dismantle - Peter Sandberg
The Cold - Alec Slayne
The Miner - Both Are Infinite
Evidence - Alec Slayne
The Inventor - David Celeste
Digital Future - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
National Anthem Germany - National Anthem Worx

[TheArmchairHistorian]

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[lucianoosorio]

“This enraged the allies, who punished Germany severely.”

[oliversherman]

It's a shame that everyone focuses on Germany in the world wars and mostly ignores the rest of German history. The history of the German states is very interesting

[patrickhaeusler]

Might be nitpicking, but since this video is specifically about borders, Pomerania was not entirely under Swedish control before the Great Northern War. It had been split up between Sweden in the West and Brandenburg-Prussia in the East all the way back in 1648, and while Prussia took over parts of Swedish Pomerania, most importantly the major city of Stettin, it wasn't fully transfered until 1815. And "Lesser" Germany wasn't originally meant to include Alsace-Lorraine since it was a accepted as a part of France and only came under German control after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. However, the original Lesser Germany would include Luxembourg which was a part of the German Confederation and pulled out later due to it's personal union with the Netherlands.

[compatriot]

The region of Prussia and the Northern crusades in general are really deserving of its own video. It's often a part of history frequently overlooked

[FishCalledRen]

I hope The Evolution of X Borders gets turned into a series!

The video was really well made and unique, bravo to the Armchair Historian team!

[vineetsoni]

I am very grateful to you for developing my interest in history. Thank you Armchair Historian 💚

[DMMASTR]

I'd love to see a Polish Border video next! Poland kinda went all over the place.

[leodastopsign]

You and the Armchair team should definitely do this overview for other countries as well. Considering the large displacement and migrations resulting from large conquests over the centuries there are bound to be more interesting and radical border changes of nations to explore, especially in Eastern Europe, with the Huns, Avars and Mongol expansions.

[lukaswilhelm]

Earliest Germany i could think of is German Kingdom/Regnum Teutonicum which very rarely talk about in any videos. This eastern half of old Frankish Empire shall be used by Otto the Great to conquered other part of former Frankish realms in Italy and Burgundy to created the Holy Roman Empire.

[Fluffydragon]

iv never been so early to one of your videos, honestly been watching for a while always loved your content, and has fueled my love for History

[FastTquick]

I would love to see a video on the evolution of Italy’s borders. Including stories about the individual Italian city states that existed until unification in the late 1800’s.

[Drogwin]

I appreciate that you include the Saargebiet (after ww1) and the saarland (after ww2).
Well done

[galatheumbreon]

Can we all agree, the borders of Imperial Germany look so appealing

[gefreiterr]

10:50 You missed Klaipeda"s region annexation from Lithuania.

[Kai_Peters]

2:37 Your sidenote is incorrect. The reason the title "König in Preußen" (King IN Prussia) was chosen, is because the region of Prussia was not entirely in the hand of Friedrich I (aka Friedrich III of Brandenburg).
King OF Prussia would mean that he ruled the entirety of the region, which he did not as the western part of Prussia was still in Polish hand. King IN Prussia is just nonspecific enough, as not to anger Poland.
However it is true that Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. had stipulated Friedrich may only be crowned king outside of Imperial borders, and only lands outside of the Empire could become designated as part of the new kingdom.

On a sidenote to this sidenote of your sidenote:
This is almost the same reason why in 1871, on Bismarck's stern advice, Wilhelm adopted the title "Deutscher Kaiser" (German Emperor) and not as Wilhelm had preferred "Kaiser von Deutschland" (Emperor of Germany).
"Kaiser von Deutschland" would have claimed total dominion over all of Germany, which the semi-independent kings of Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony would not have accepted. "German Emperor" just meant that he is German and an emperor.

[enyrox]

0:25 slightly outdated map with Czechoslovakia

[AfFlix]

Some major Disagreement here
West (BRD) and East (DDR) Germany didn't unify into Modern Germany. The DDR was absorbed willingly/joined the BRD
Nothing in the BRD system changed.
Nothing of the DDR system remains.

[Xenogamer]

I hope we can see all sorts of countries like Poland next! 🥰

[natevanness]

2 million subs is a crime. This channel should have 10 million. Keep up the great work. I love your content!