Germany only became a unified state in 1871. It was proclaimed in January 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, not far from where the Prussian army besieged Paris in the final days of the Franco-Prussian War with Berlin was its capital and the king of Prussia as emperor.
Its constitution was adopted on 16 April 1871. The empire had a population of 41,000,000 in 1871 and 66,500,000 in 1910.
The German Empire occasionally referred to as the Second Reich, also died in battle, on November 9, 1918 when William II abdicated his throne in the final days of World War I. Germany became Europe’s leading power. It also acquired colonies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
The architect of the German Empire was Prussian Prime Minster Otto von Bismarck.
During World War I (1914-18) Germany and its allies, Austria-Hungary and Turkey, battled Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States.
The war ended with a disastrous defeat for the German Empire, German lost land to surrounding countries.
German Empire
