PREFACE

Why Bismarck? One hundred years ago, on 20 March 1890, young Emperor William II dismissed the chancellor of the German Reich from office, thereby "dropping the pilot." It is a sufficient, though not compelling, reason for an exhibition on Bismarck and his times. The fact that the newly founded German Historical Museum decided in the fall of 1987 to make "Bismarck" the subject of its first major event has little to do with the popularity of round numbers. With Europe on the threshold of unification, the real motive lay in the sense that there was ample need for a moment of critical reflection on the "Age of the Tricolors" and the role of the Germans in the Europe of states and nations of the nineteenth century. Hence, a comparative approach centering on the European perspective is the idea behind the exhibition. It has drawn an overwhelming response for which we express our deep appreciation. As many as 280 institutions and collectors in Germany and beyond have cooperated as donors and scientific consultants. This infectious idealism, including the unflagging enthusiasm of the exhibition team, has made this exhibition and its rich supporting program possible.

No one could have known three years ago how topical the subject of Bismarck would be in the summer of 1990. Whoever is worried that the event and its title could be misunderstood this fall should go through the exhibition. Nothing of the epoch's discontinuities and tensions are harmonized here. No one has thought of erecting a new monument to Bismarck. "Enlightenment and understanding" of a common past that is the motto of the German Historical Museum. Trusting in that, many people have assisted in this Bismarck project. We hope that they approve of the result.

This exhibition is being held under the auspices of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Richard von Weizsäcker, an honor for which we are sincerely grateful.

Berlin, July 1990
Christoph Stölzl