Short History of Germany
Mary Platt Parmele
Play
Length 3 h 38 min
Chapters 20
First published 1898
Mary Platt Parmele brings to life the history of Germany and its rise to prominence in Europe. From scheming nobles to treaties created under the guise of peace, the reader is transported to the years before a cohesive group of city-states that became Germany. She shows us how the power of the Catholic Church stoked the fires of revolution, and caused the great schism between the Catholic people and the newly forming Protestant sects. The book begins by discussing the origins of the Aryan race (framed as describing people of Indo-European heritage as a racial grouping, or distinctive race/sub-race of the Caucasians) and ends around 1871 when Germany was united after defeating Napoleon.
Chapters
1
Preface Read by VioletBleu 1:28
2
Hermann—Defeat of Varus—Characteristics of the Ancient Germans Read by VioletBleu 5:46
3
Social Conditions—Form of Government—The Goth in Rome—A Gothic Kingdom in Spain—The Teuton Race Covering the European Surface—The Angles and Saxons in Britain Read by VioletBleu 8:31
4
Ulfilas—The Hunnish Invasion—The Roman Empire Perishing—Its Conversion—An Eastern Empire—Increasing Power of the Church—Charlemagne—France and Germany Separated—Feudal System Read by VioletBleu 10:12
5
Early Conditions—Hungarian Invasions—Creation of Burgs—Knighthood—Pope and Emperor Become Rivals—Henry IV.—Canossa—First Hohenstaufen—Welf and Waiblingen—The Crusaders—Conrad—Frederick Barbarossa Read by VioletBleu 13:27
6
Source of Weakness in the Empire—The Great Interregnum—The Nibelungen Lied—The Hanseatic League—The Guilds—Meistersingers Read by VioletBleu 6:25
7
Conditions—First Hapsburg and First Hohenzollern—Swiss Freedom—Intellectual Awakening—The Golden Bull—Hussite War—A Hohenzollern Receives a Mortgage on the Territory of Brandenburg—Discovery of Gunpowder—Conditions Existing under Frederick III.—Invention of Printing—The Passing of the Old and Coming of the New Read by VioletBleu 9:59
8
General European Conditions—Centralizing Tendencies at Work—Maximilian I.—A New World—The Rise of Spain—Isabella—Charles IV. Read by VioletBleu 7:48
9
Triple Game between Francis I., Henry VIII., and Charles IV.—Leo X.—Luther—The Diet of Worms—Protestantism Born—Margrave of Brandenburg Usurps Sovereignty over Prussia—The Peasants War—The Augsburg Confession—Charles V. Thwarted—Protestantism a Dominant Power in his Empire—Schisms in the New Faith—Calvinism—Reformers—Lutherans—The Schmalkaldian League—Anabaptists—Abdication of Charles V.—Philip II.—Death of Charles—Ferdinand I.—Council of Trent—Society of Jesus Read by VioletBleu 18:41
10
A Protestant Germany—A Divided Protestantism—True Meaning of the Struggle—Unfruitful Waiting—The Renaissance—Music, Art, Letters, Born Anew—Thought Awakened—Copernicus—Galileo—Kepler—Impending Calamity—Protestant Union and Catholic League—Thirty Years' War Commenced—Wallenstein—Gustavus Adolphus—His Triumph and Death—Richelieu—Death of Wallenstein—Peace of Westphalia—Division of Territory Read by VioletBleu 16:05
11
Romano-Germanic Empire Perishing—European Conditions—Louis XIV.—Decay of National Spirit—Rise of Brandenburg—Combination against Louis XIV.—Spanish Succession—Under Frederick I. Brandenburg Becomes Prussia—Alliance with England—Marlborough and Prince Eugene—Blenheim—Peace of Utrecht—Territorial Changes—Charles XII. and Peter the Great—Pragmatic Sanction—Frederick William I.—Stirrings of Thought in this Time of Chaos—Birth of German Speculative Philosophy—Spinoza—Soul Awakening Read by VioletBleu 14:59
12
Frederick the Great—His Childhood—Von Katte's Execution—Frederick at Potsdam—Frederick II., King of Prussia—Maria Theresa, Empress—War of Austrian Succession—Silesia—Personal Traits of the Two Sovereigns—Frederick Joins France against Austria—Peace of Dresden—Frederick Becomes "The Great"—Healing the Wounds Left by Two Wars—Voltaire's Influence—Frederick a Reformer and a Despot—Growth in Thought and Birth of a Native Literature—Voltaire at Frederick's Court—Change Wrought by a Nearer View of King and Poet Read by VioletBleu 17:00
13
War over American Boundary between England and France—Maria Theresa Joins France—Her Policy—A Combination against Frederick II.—Seven Years' War—Peace of Hubertsburg—Silesia Forever Abandoned by Austria—Prussia One of the "Five Great Powers"—Healing Wounds Again—Conditions External and Internal Read by VioletBleu 8:21
14
Marie Antoinette Married to the French Dauphin Louis—Unsuspected Conditions—Joseph II.—Reforms by a Progressive Hapsburg are a Failure—Romanticism Replaces Sentimentalism in Literature—Sturm und Drang Period—Luther's Influence upon Letters—Frederick Succeeded by his Nephew—Effect of Prussia's Ascendancy in the German Empire—Its Coming Dissolution—Why Patriotism Could Not Exist—The Calm before the Hurricane Read by VioletBleu 9:27
15
The Beginnings of the Storm—The United States of America and France—The Thought-Currents Which Moved toward a Vortex—Execution of King and Queen—France a Ruin but Free—A Republic—First Coalition—Poland and its Partition—Austria Fighting Alone for the Empire—Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy—His Methods and Their Result—Treaty of Campo Formio—Three New Republics—Napoleon in Egypt—His Return—Second Coalition—Dominions of Ecclesiastical Rulers Given Away—Napoleon the Instrument of Fate Read by VioletBleu 11:29
16
Napoleon Emperor of the French—Third Coalition—Prussian Neutrality—The Rheinbund—Dissolution of the Empire and Abdication of Francis II.—Retribution for Prussia—Battle of Jena—Peace of Tilsit—A Continental Blockade—Marriage with Marie Louise Read by VioletBleu 8:13
17
Revolt of Bavarian Peasants—The "League of Virtue"—Invasion of Russia—Burning of Moscow—Retreat—General York Leads a Popular Movement—Prussia at War with Napoleon—The Battle of Leipzig—The Allies in Paris—Napoleon Deposed—Louis XVIII. King—Return of Napoleon—Waterloo and St. Helena Read by VioletBleu 10:24
18
Reconstruction—The Act of Union—Sentiment of the People—Concessions—Francis II. Died—A Republic in France—Blaze of Revolutionary Fires in Europe—A National Parliament Granted—Its Failure—Napoleon III. in France—Magenta and Solferino—Revolution in Italy—Victor Emmanuel King—William I. King of Prussia Read by VioletBleu 12:45
19
King William and Bismarck—Schleswig-Holstein—Proposed Division—War against Austria—Königgrätz—The North German Union Read by VioletBleu 10:14
20
Napoleon III. Plans the Overthrow of Prussian Dominion—Vacant Throne in Spain—A Hohenzollern Candidate—Benedetti and King William—War Declared by France—Metz—Sedan—King William at Versailles—Crowned Hereditary Emperor of the German Empire—Death of Emperor William I.—Emperor Frederick—His Unfulfilled Dreams and his Death—William II. Emperor Read by VioletBleu 10:05
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens gutenberg.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
