Otto von Bismarck He was a German statesman, bureaucrat, military officer and politician, considered the founder of the modern German state. During the last years of his life he was nicknamed the Iron Chancellor for his determination and his strong hand in the management of everything related to his country, which included the creation of a system of international alliances that ensured the supremacy of Germany.
Otto von Bismarck
In 1862, after being appointed Prime Minister of Prussia, and supported by an authoritarian regime, he undertook an important military reform that allowed him to have a powerful army of 800,000 soldiers to carry out his great project... German unification . In 1864 he succeeded in seizing the dukedoms of Lauenburg from Denmark. , Schleswig and Holstein; two years later, after gaining neutrality from Napoleon III of France and in alliance with Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, he declared war on Austria and after defeating it at the Battle of Sadowa (1866) he was made with Hesse , Frankfurt and the kingdom of Hanover . He now had a clear path to face his great enemy... France. In 1870 he defeated the French and even took Napoleon III hostage. Still, Paris did not yield; they proclaimed the Republic and decided to resist... but in 1871 the powerful Prussian army entered Paris and through the Treaty of Frankfurt the French ceded Alsace and Lorraine .
On a visit by Otto von Bismarck to a village in the state of Thuringia -which was already part of the Germanic Confederation before the war against Austria- the heroes of the small town decided to entertain the prime minister with local products and for this they arranged a group of children. Once the gifts were delivered, a girl took Bismarck by the hand and said:
Can I ask you a question that is very important to us? We're just in a big hurry.
Bismarck, intrigued, told him to ask him whatever he wanted...
At school we want to buy a new atlas, and I would like to know if the new borders of Germany are already drawn... or are we waiting?