Kissinger dictation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First page of the Kissinger dictation in Herbert von Bismarck's handwriting

The Kissinger Dictation refers to a piece of diplomatic files dictated by Otto von Bismarck on June 15, 1877 in Bad Kissingen , which contained important features of his foreign policy concept.

background

Otto von Bismarck feared coalitions of the other European powers against the newly formed German Empire of 1871 ("nightmare of coalitions" or French cauchemar des coalitions ) with its vulnerable geographical position in the middle of Europe. He assumed that France was opposed in principle , since the unification of Germany was achieved in a war against France in 1870/71 . In the end France had lost Alsace and part of Lorraine , and Bismarck therefore feared a French revenge.

content

In the Kissinger dictation that Otto von Bismarck dictated to his son Herbert on June 15, 1877 in his spa apartment in Bad Kissingen in connection with the Balkan crisis (1875–78), he outlined the ideal “not just any land acquisition, but that of an overall political situation in which all powers except France need us, and are prevented from coalitions against us through their relations with one another if possible. "

The document describes a defensive policy to avoid war in Central Europe and thus to secure Germany's position. In order to prevent alliances against Germany, Bismarck wanted to use the conflicts of interest between the other European powers on the periphery or outside Europe. Support or at least a neutral position for Germany in these conflicts should be necessary for the other great powers.

The Kissinger Dictation conceived the program of his diplomacy , which was realized in Bismarck's alliance system , which, based on a certain realistic insight into the international balance of power, sought to secure the foreign policy position of the Prussian-German Empire, but also - to the conflicting interests of the European powers to gain German allies to be able to exploit - did not really want to solve an international problem.

See also

literature

  • Jakob Dannenberg: Bismarck's guiding principle in the Balkan crisis. The Kissinger dictation from June 15, 1877 (= student paper at the University of Rostock, 2010). GRIN Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-668001-02-2 (e-book).
  • Karl Alexander Hampe : News on Bismarck's Kissinger dictation of 1877. In: Historical yearbook. Volume 108. Verlag Karl Alber, Munich 1988, ISSN  0018-2621 , pp. 204-212.
  • Gilbert Krebs, Bernard Poloni (Ed.): People, Empire and Nation. Texts on the unity of Germany in the state, economy and society 1806 - 1918. Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-910212-02-5 , pp. 198–199 ( digitized from Google Books ).
  • Rainer F. Schmidt: The Balkan Crisis from 1875 to 1878 - Strategies of the Great Powers. In: Historical communications. Volume 58. Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISSN  0936-5796 , pp. 36-96.
  • Peter Weidisch (Ed.): Bismarck in Bad Kissingen. (= Bad Kissinger Museum Information. Issue 3). Verlag Stadt Bad Kissingen, Bad Kissingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-934912-11-3 , pp. 17-18.
  • Peter Weidisch (Ed.): Bismarck and the Kissinger dictation. (= Bad Kissinger Museum Information. Issue 5). Verlag Stadt Bad Kissingen, Bad Kissingen 2015, ISBN 978-3-934912-19-9 .
  • Egmont Zechlin: The establishment of an empire. 3. Edition. Ullstein Verlag, Frankfurt / Berlin / Vienna 1978, ISBN 3-548-03840-9 , pp. 176-180.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Institute for Foreign Policy in Hamburg (ed.): The Foreign Policy of the German Empire 1871-1914. Tape. 1. Berlin 1928, p. 58 f.