All throughout High School my favorite classes were always history ones. I remember my sophomore year I took a European History class where we learned about Western Europe, and how they got where they are today. In this class, I remember learning about Germany in the 15th and 16th centuries and talking about Martin Luther, and the 30 Years War. However, after reading the first 2 chapters of Hagen Schulze’s Germany: a New History I realized that we had only scratched the surface.
The 30 Years War (1618-1648) was a religious war that was started when the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II wanted to restore the Catholic unity of Europe. The war mainly consisted of the Protestants of the Bohemian Estates, and the Catholics of the Roman Empire. Eventually the major European powers got involved such as Sweden, France, Great Britain, Spain and Austria. The war was actually a succession of several wars where the people of Germany suffered many casualties. In fact, roughly 20% of Germany’s population had perished during the war. The Peace of Westphalia was finally signed in 1648, ending the war and addressing most of the outstanding issues between the two sides.
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| Emperor Ferdinand II of the Holy Roman Empire |
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| Map of Europe During the 30 Years War
The 30 years war was an extremely important event in German history. Although it was catastrophic in the amount of people that were killed, there was some good to come out of it as well. With the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, the countries of Europe started to come together, and realized that if they were to keep on that path then the wars would never stop. It showed the countries in Europe that “in the long run, the only way to prevent ongoing universal strife was a political order that included everyone.” (Shulze p64). Europe realized there needed to be laws and regulations in place that made sure that the existence and rights of every country is recognized by every other country. The idea that the European countries must stick together in order to be successful is still seen in our world today. The European Union was created in order to connect the economies of Europe so that the countries can build off of one another, and help each other out should they ever need it. Because of an idea that was acted on almost 400 years ago, Europe is now flourishing because they are all working together, and helping each other out. In the United States we see this idea as well although the countries of North America are not as close together as Europe. The North American Free Trade Agreement is a concept based on the premise that the countries that are closest to you should be helping you, not threatening you. If the people in Europe didn’t learn this in 1648 then the world we live in today could have been much different. For example, the protestant religion, and Martin Luther’s religious reformation could have been wiped out, and the Lutherans that we know today could have much different beliefs based on something that happened almost 400 years ago.
Schulze, Hagen. Germany: A New History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.
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Word Count: 510
