Germany before World War I

From Napoleon to the signs of World War I

The end of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In Europe, Napoleon rules and decides on nations. In many battles he defeats the armies of European states. Only in his Russian campaign he suffers a great defeat, which continues in the Battle of Leipzig. But only at Waterloo he is finally defeated. For Europe, a new era begins. It is the era of the German fraternities. It follows the German revolution and the first German National Assembly in the Frankfurt St. Paul's Church. Prussia and Austria become the ruling powers in Central Europe. After the Franco-Prussian War, the political landscape in Europe is set to change again. The second German Reich is born. Wilhelm I, the Prussian king, becomes German emperor. Germany becomes a world power with colonies in Africa and the Pacific Ocean.

This book also reports on German classical music, romanticism and the Biedermeier period. It is the time of famous German composers, writers and painters, but also the time of German inventions that change the world.

Many drawings by the author complete this great work.