History UsefulNotes / OttoVonBismarck

Bismarck had a long career in politics, starting with being appointed as a representative to the Prussian legislature, Minister President of Prussia, and eventually becoming [[TheChancellorsOfGermany Chancellor of the German Empire]]. It should be said, that while the [[PuppetKing Chancellor was supposed to be subservient to the Emperor, Bismarck tended to just do what he wanted]]. [[VetinariJobSecurity He really only kept his position for so long because he was ''just that good'' at running Germany, and was the only one skilled enough to maintain the complicated foreign policy he had set up.]] Unfortunately for Bismarck (and [[WorldWarOne eventually]] Germany) Wilhelm II quickly got fed up with him [[TheChessmaster having his own agenda]], and got rid of him.

* ChekhovsSkill: He learned to speak French when he was young, a skill he later used to [[FrancoPrussianWar instigate war between Prussia and France]] by simply ''shortening'' the report of a conversation between Wilhelm I and the French ambassador so it looked like each of them had been horribly disrespected by the other.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Famously predicted that "One day the great European War will come out of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria some damned silly thing in the Balkans"]]. [[WorldWarI He was right.]] He also stated that Germany would collapse twenty years after his death. He died in 1898.
** At the end of the FrancoPrussianWar, Bismarck knew that demanding the French pay war reparations would only guarantee the French would do it to the Germans [[WorldWarI the next time they fought.]] He only did it because he knew the German people wouldn't be satisfied any other way.

Bismarck had a long career in politics, starting with being appointed as a representative to the Prussian legislature, Minister President of Prussia, and eventually becoming [[TheChancellorsOfGermany Chancellor of the German Empire]]. It should be said, that while the [[PuppetKing Chancellor was supposed to be subservient to the Emperor, Bismarck tended to just do what he wanted]]. He really only kept his position for so long because he was ''just that good'' at running Germany, and was the only one skilled enough to maintain the complicated foreign policy he had set up. Unfortunately for Bismarck (and [[WorldWarOne eventually]] Germany) Wilhelm II quickly got fed up with him [[TheChessmaster having his own agenda]], and got rid of him.

* ChekhovsSkill: He learned to speak French when he was young, a skill he later used to instigate war between Prussia and France by simply ''shortening'' the report of a conversation between Wilhelm I and the French ambassador so it looked like each of them had been horribly disrespected by the other.

Bismarck had a long career in politics, starting with being appointed as a representative to the Prussian legislature, and eventually becoming [[TheChancellorsOfGermany Chancellor of the German Empire]]. It should be said, that while the Chancellor was supposed to be subservient to the Emperor, Bismarck tended to just do what he wanted. He really only kept his position for so long because he was ''just that good'' at running Germany, and was the only one skilled enough to maintain the complicated foreign policy he had set up. Unfortunately for Bismarck (and [[WorldWarOne eventually]] Germany) Wilhelm II quickly got fed up with him [[TheChessmaster having his own agenda]], and got rid of him.

* ItGotWorse: After Bismark resigned, the system he built fell apart, leading to both World Wars, the Cold War, and pretty much modern history as we know (and all its problems).

%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1300455137033037000
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

->''"Nicht durch Reden und Majoritätsbeschlüsse werden die großen Fragen der Zeit entschieden -- das ist der große Fehler von 1848 und 1849 gewesen -- sondern durch Eisen und Blut." [[hottip:*:"Not by speeches and votes of the majority are the great questions of time decided -- that was the great error of 1848 and 1849 -- but by iron and blood."]]''

**** Probably one of two things: A reversion to the semi-Cold War the Prussians and Habsburgs had in Germany, or the effective reconstruction of the HolyRomanEmpire.

**** As for that, probably a reversal of the Habsburg decay that had been setting in for about a century and either a resumption of the effective Cold War between the two or a defacto rebirth of the HolyRomanEmpire. Which would've led to [[TheSoundOfMartialMusic its' own issues]] considering that Franz Joseph [[EvenEvilHasStandards made Bismarck look like a freespirited Liberal.]]

* TheDogBitesBack: Considering his [[DomesticAbuser treatment]] of Wilhelm II, the later's sacking of him could well be read as this.

* OutGambitted: By himself no less! You see, he had taken Wilhelm II under his wing to influence him into going against his father. Though this worked in turning Wilhelm away from his father's policies, Bismark didn't account on Wilhelm's father being Emperor for only 99 days, and thus created a monster (Wilhelm) that he himself couldn't control. Then, Bismark was out gambitted again by Wilhelm - who managed to out gambit himself by out gambitting Bismarck, see WhatAnIdiot below.

** Of course, it was a very sneaky pet. He picked 65 (which has become the standard in a lot of Western Countries) as the retirement age because the average age was barely over 50, which meant almost nobody would receive benefits.

* StartOfDarkness: While it's indisputable he did not and would not have approved of the actions of [[TheKingsOfPrussia most of]] [[NaziGermany his successors]], the centralization and authoritarianism he fostered in the nascent German Empire turned out quite unhealthy for Germany's prospects in the early-mid 20th century.

** Of course, considering that he practically advocated rather... [[ObligatoryWarCrimeScene extreme measures]] be carried out during the march, the matter of political expediency and preventing Berlin from falling apart even further also came into play.
* WhatAnIdiot: On the part of Wilhelm II. Yeah, ''firing'' the MagnificentBastard who put your country together and has been running it for the past twenty years, in the middle of a diplomatic semi-crisis that he instigated and was in the process of resolving, was the [[SarcasmMode best possible thing you could have done]]. Of course, in his eyes, it *was*. Particularly since he calculated (correctly) that Germany could ride the crisis out, *bitterly* resented Bismarck on a personal ([[DomesticAbuser Very]] [[FreudianExcuse Personal]] and hardly unjustified level, and was tired of being hemmed in by the Iron Chancellor's power. He just didn't take into account the long term, and the fact that [[JerkassHasAPoint there might have been a]] [[MagnificantBastard very good reason]] for keeping [[RoyallyScrewedUp him]] out of the loop.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Famously predicted that "One day the great European War will come out of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria some damned silly thing in the Balkans"]]. [[WorldWarI He was right.]] He also stated that Germany will collapse twenty years after his death. He died in 1898.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Famously predicted that "One day the great European War will come out of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria some damned foolish thing in the Balkans"]]. [[WorldWarI He was right.]] He also stated that Germany will collapse twenty years after his death. He died in 1898.

* WhatAnIdiot: On the part of Wilhelm II. Yeah, ''firing'' the MagnificentBastard who put your country together and has been running it for the past twenty years, in the middle of a diplomatic semi-crisis that he instigated and was in the process of resolving, was the [[SarcasmMode best possible thing you could have done]].

*** Then someone else would sooner or later have ended up fighting over the power vacuum and wrecking the whole place yet again.

* PetTheDog: He originated the modern social insurance system.
** And united his country and tried to maintain peace in Europe.
--> "Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war."

* Badass:

* {{Ambadassador}}: He spent a bit of time as the ambassador to the Russian Empire.
* BadassMoustache
* BaldOfEvil / BaldOfAwesome

* TheManBehindTheMan: He played his own king like a flute.

* CunningLinguist: He spoke and wrote English, French, and Russian (as well as his native German) fluently.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: What would have happened if Bismark had never influenced Wilhelm II and remained in power? Would the World Wars, Russian Revolution, and the Cold War never have happened? Possibly.

[[caption-width-right:270:OurFounder]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Famously predicted that "One day the great European War will come out of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria some damned foolish thing in the Balkans"]]. [[WorldWarI He was right.]]