Bavarian nationalism is a political ideology and social movement that represents the point of view that the Bavarians are a separate nation from other Germans , and which are aimed at promoting the cultural unity of the Bavarians. Bavarian nationalism began to gain momentum in Bavaria after its accession to Germany in 1871. Bavarian nationalists argue that Bavaria joined Germany on unfair grounds and declare that the German government for many years has sought to limit the autonomy of Bavaria. Bavarian nationalists also often advocate independence for Bavaria [1] .
History
The origins of Bavarian nationalism as an influential political movement date back to the times of the Austro-Prussian War . At that time, Bavaria was politically and culturally closer to Catholic Austria than to Protestant Prussia . The Bavarians and Austrians disliked the Prussians and both states were allies in this conflict. Austria together with Bavaria and other allies were defeated by Prussia and its allies, and after that Bavaria was forced to pay a large indemnity to Prussia and join the German Empire in 1871, the emperor of which was at the same time King of Prussia . After the unification of the two countries, the Bavarian nationalists opposed the domination of Prussia within the framework of the common German state and opposed further integration into the empire [2] .
After the defeat of Germany in the First World War , a revolution spread throughout the country. In Bavaria, the monarchy was overthrown and an independent communist republic was proclaimed ( Bavarian Soviet Republic ) [2] . After the fall of the communist regime, Bavarian nationalism associated with anti-Prussian and anti-Semitic traditions became popular among representatives of radical and reactionary movements [3] .
After the collapse of Austria-Hungary , calls for the annexation of Austria to Bavaria gained popularity [4] . The Bavarian government was particularly interested in integrating the regions of North Tyrol and Upper Austria into Bavaria [5] . These proposals were enthusiastically accepted by a significant number of people in North Tyrol [5] . The actions of the Government of Bavaria prompted the German leadership to respond to the Anschluss proposal Austria Germany [5] .
In 1923, the Bavarian monarchists, led by the Bavarian Prime Minister Gustav von Kara and the leaders of the Bavarian Popular Party, attempted to declare Bavaria's independence from Germany and restore the monarchy. The coup attempt was thwarted due to the actions of the Nazi party (very minor at the time). The Nazis thwarted the plans of the separatists, trying to seize power in Bavaria on their own. These events became known as the “ Beer Putsch ”. Bavarian nationalists and Nazis fought for voter support, but even in the elections of 1932 , when the Nazi Party won a major victory for the country as a whole, the Nazis did not manage to gain more votes in Southern Bavaria than the Catholic Bavarian People's Party . They won the victory only in the predominantly Protestant regions of Northern Bavaria [2] .
After the Nazis came to power , the new German government announced the existence of several conspiracies by the Bavarian separatists and used these accusations to suppress the Bavarian opposition, including the overthrow of the Bavarian government.
Initially, many Bavarians supported Germany in World War II , because they perceived it as a campaign against communism ; however, support for the war by the Bavarians began to decline rapidly as its end approached. Bavarian nationalism again manifested itself at the end of the conflict and the nationalists began to look for allies who would support the idea of creating an independent Bavaria. Nevertheless, as a result, the nationalists had to be content with more autonomy within the framework of federal Germany [2] .
In the 1950s, the separatist Bavarian party was a significant force in Bavarian politics, gaining from 5% to more than 20% of Bavaria’s votes in regional and federal elections. The Bavarian Party was part of the ruling coalition of the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Wilhelm Högner from 1954 to 1957, along with the Social Democratic and Free Democratic Party. The popularity of the party declined significantly in the following decades. In 2013, the Bavarian Party scored 2.1% in the parliamentary elections in Bavaria [6] .
See also
- Austrian nationalism
- German nationalism
- Germans
- Swabian nationalism
Notes
- ↑ James Minahan. One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups . Greenwood Publishing Group, Ltd., 2000. P. 108.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 James Minahan. One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups . Greenwood Publishing Group, Ltd., 2000. P. 106.
- ↑ James Minahan. One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups . Greenwood Publishing Group, Ltd., 2000. P. 107.
- ↑ Suda Lorena Bane, Ralph Haswell Lutz. Organization of American Relief in Europe, 1918-1919: Including Negotiations of Allied and Associated Powers. Stanford University Press, 1943. P. 119.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Carlile Aylmer Macartney. The Social Revolution in Austria . Cambridge University Press Archive. P. 112
- ↑ Wahl zum 17. Bayerischen Landtag am 15. September 2013 . Der Landeswahlleiter des Freistaates Bayern - Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung, München (2013). The appeal date is September 1, 2014.