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Central Europe Yearbook

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Published

2021-12-11

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Vol. 3 (2021)

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2021 Sam Hall

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A Fancy of Prince Bismarck?

Bismarck’s Strategic Aims for the Expulsions of 1885

Sam Hall

The University of St Andrews

Keywords: Otto von Bismarck, antisemitism, Germany

Abstract

In 1885, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck ordered the expulsion of over 30,000 non-naturalized Poles and Jews from Germany’s Prussian provinces. This article explores Bismarck’s strategic aims behind his decision to authorize one of the most extreme policies of his career. After examining the current historiographical assertion that the expulsions were a manifestation of antisemitic and anti-Polish clamor within German society, this article investigates Bismarck’s strategic aims for the expulsions within the context of domestic politics and international relations. This article argues that these policies actually aimed to harm Bismarck’s parliamentary critics and foreign powers threatening the Reich that he had constructed.

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