The Revolution of 1848/49 in Germany

In short: In the Revolution of 1848/49, people in the German states demanded civil liberties, a constitution and a common nation state. The revolution failed, but its ideas had a lasting influence.

In more detail: Sparked by the February Revolution in France, protests and uprisings broke out in many German states in March 1848. The first freely elected all-German parliament met in St Paul’s Church in Frankfurt.

In detail

• Starting point: The German Confederation consisted of many separate states. Censorship, suppression of political movements, economic hardship and failed harvests fuelled discontent.
• March demands: Demands included freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, trial by jury, constitutions and an all-German parliament.
• Early successes: Many princes initially gave way and appointed liberal governments, the so-called March ministries. In Berlin there was bloody street fighting.
• St Paul’s Church: From May 1848, the Frankfurt National Assembly was in session. Its members were mostly educated citizens such as lawyers, professors and civil servants.
• Basic rights: The parliament adopted a catalogue of basic rights, including equality before the law, freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
• Key dispute: The question was whether Austria should belong to the new state, the Greater German solution, or not, the Lesser German solution. In the end the Lesser German solution prevailed.
• Failure: In April 1849, the Prussian king Frederick William IV refused the imperial crown he was offered. Final uprisings, for example in Baden, were crushed by the military by the summer of 1849.
• Consequences: Many revolutionaries were persecuted or emigrated, a large number of them to the United States. German unity only came in 1871, imposed from above under Prussian leadership.
• Legacy: The colours black, red and gold and the Frankfurt catalogue of basic rights became models for the Weimar Constitution and the Basic Law (weimarer-republik, napoleon-und-europa, aufklaerung-und-franzoesische-revolution).