German Middle Class

The German Middle class since they were educated and aware of the circumstances that the German states were facing, slowly embraced the concept of a united German state during the nineteenth century. The revolutionary idea started in universities where young college students dreamed of putting their idealism into action by forming societies dedicated to advocating the merging of several German speaking states into one nation. Many of them decided to participate in war against Napoleon, mainly inspired by their growing pride to fight for the German fatherland. Students also took park in holding festivals honoring the Reformation and the Battle of Leipzig. It is interesting that students honored Lutheran and his work to break away from the Catholic Church. To some degree, it can be applied that Protestantism is strongly tied with the idea of a united Germany and that the two cannot be separated. College students also made huge bonfires where they burned anything that was foreign or symbolized foreign domination as well as objects that represented domestic oppression. These acts can also imply that German students became fiercely nationalistic. Strong nationalistic sentiments will occur continuously in Germany's history, up until the end of World War II.