26
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
At the time nation-states (and in particular France) consolidated themselves, the governance of the German-speaking parts of Europe was based on an older model, small principalities loosely associated ...
20
votes
Why did nationalism in all of Europe surge in the 19th century?
Who protects your daily security? Who does your loyalty belong to?
Initially (in the middle ages), the answer was your local nobleman, and, through him, via the duke and/or kind, to the Holy Roman ...
18
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
Hitler's ultimate motive was 'Upliftment of the Aryan Race'.
For this an auxillary goal was making the 'pure' German Nationality walk tall, and be strong.
Hitler was not a exactly a German ...
18
votes
Accepted
Why was the bald eagle chosen as the national bird of the United States?
As has been noted, the eagle became the national bird because it was chosen to be on the Great Seal, designed by Charles Thomson. The idea did not emerge out of thin air, however; the eagle is a very ...
17
votes
Accepted
Why is there is a pan-slavic movement?
Origins of Pan-Slavism
Speaking as a (western) Slav, panslavism was indeed a big topic in 19th century politics.
The primary reason for this seems to have been that outside of Russia, most Slavic ...
13
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
@Relaxed is right to point out that Germany was unified under Prussian, not Austrian hegemony. Prussia’s 1866 military victory over Austria at Koeniggraetz definitively shut out the Austrians. ...
13
votes
Accepted
How did the stigmatisation of nationalism begin?
WW1.
WW1 started amid a wild enthusiasm in all European nations (cf. lecture 5 "August Madness").
The wave of nationalism even swept the SDP!
The war was a huge disappointment to everyone involved. ...
13
votes
Did Serb nationalism play an outsized role in the breakup of Yugoslavia?
This depends on how you define "responsible"
The immediate reason was that the Croats and Slovenes (and later all the other non-Serbian nationals) overwhelmingly wanted independence. Under those ...
12
votes
Accepted
Why wasn't there French irredentism or pan-fransicm?
The thing is that at the time in question, France was actually quite diverse (and yet sufficiently unified on a political level to become a rather successful democratic nation-state rather than ...
10
votes
Accepted
Why were the continuity states of Imperial and Royal Austria-Hungary disunited, while the continuity states of Imperial Russia were united?
The answer is simple. In the parts of Imperial Russia that became the USSR, the Communist Party had managed to achieve sufficient control, and was determined to form a union. The parts that became ...
7
votes
Why is there is a pan-slavic movement?
It wasn't just about the Slavs; people everywhere were feeling this way.
It essentially happened because the idea of Nationalism: that people in ethnically, geographically, culturally, and ...
7
votes
Has there ever arisen a nation-state without violence/war/extreme subordination?
Iceland would probably count. It left its union with Denmark in 1918 at the end of a peaceful independence movement. However, it continued to share Denmark's king as head of state until 1944, when ...
6
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
As an addendum to @Relaxed's answer, it's worthwhile to point out that Austria actually tried (twice) to annex Bavaria in the late 18th century. These attempts were frustrated by other European powers,...
6
votes
Racism, or Nationalism, represented in 19th century English Wills?
A little bit of both, but mostly "nationalism."
First of all, the will opposed a marriage of Charlotte to say a Frenchman or a German, (at least unless they happened to be British subjects like some ...
5
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a polyglot nation of Germans (Oesterreich or "Austria" is German for Eastern Reich), Hungarians, Czechs, Slavs, etc. To Hitler and some other German Austrians, the only ...
5
votes
What exactly did the 1868 Szepes Petition do?
There is indeed a nice diploma thesis about this, that @WiJama found:
Lucia Tatarková; "Vplyv Spišských petícií na národné hnutie Slovákov v 60. rokoch 19. storočia", Filozofická fakulta Univerzity ...
5
votes
Accepted
Why didn't every nation commit genocides against every other nation when they conquered land?
Even the Mongols, who killed over thirty million people in their conquests and were some of the most bloodthirsty invaders on record found it more worthwhile to set themselves up as leaders. Why ...
5
votes
Accepted
Do Manchurian Nationalists want Independence?
Have they ever tried it before?
Yes, after the foundation of the republic, Manchurian elites fostered Manchurian nationalism in the dreams of an imperial restoration. The existence of this movement ...
4
votes
Were there regionalist/independentist movements or feelings in mid-19th century Spain?
In general, it is problematic to call "nationalism" anything before the French Revolution, because before that the idea that the nation was a political subject was just political-fiction.
Apart from ...
4
votes
Why was the bald eagle chosen as the national bird of the United States?
The bald eagle is the symbol of the United States due to its presence on the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal was developed by several different Congressionally-appointed committees and ...
4
votes
Why did Herzl's attempt to come to a political agreement with the Ottoman rulers of Palestine fail?
Advise Dr. Herzl not to take any further steps in his project. I
cannot give away a handful of the soil of this land for it is not my
own, it is for all the Islamic Nation that fought for the sake ...
4
votes
Was swastika really a popular symbol among Slavs and/or ancient Indo-Europeans?
I'm not sure the confusion here as the symbol is well attested in ancient Europe. The earliest finds of the symbol come from Eastern Europe.
The earliest known swastika comes from a figurine carved ...
4
votes
Accepted
When was the first national anthem?
If you had been born in 1769, no you probably would not have been familiar with the concept of a National Anthem. At least not until you got quite old.
Wikipedia has a nice entry on National Anthems, ...
4
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
The new Republic of Austria, the German-speaking rump of was left of much larger entity after World War I, was legally prevented from reunification with Germany. Hitler was one of those who opposed ...
4
votes
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
Until the 1800s Germany was divided into many different countries. When the concept of nation states was developing, the general idea was people who spoke the same languages was the same nation. By ...
4
votes
When was the first national anthem?
Actually, the oldest national anthem in the world is the Dutch Wilhelmus, which dates back to the Dutch revolutionary war, being composed in 1574, with the text being even older, having been traced ...
3
votes
When was the first national anthem?
The answer to your question depends on what exactly you consider to be an “official” national anthem. However, a case can be made for the priority of “God save the King”, first performed in 1745.
...
3
votes
When was the first national anthem?
Arguably the first national anthem was France's La Marseillaise in 1792. It was the symbol of revolutionary France against the monarchies of Europe. The title was a reference to a detachment of ...
3
votes
Was swastika really a popular symbol among Slavs and/or ancient Indo-Europeans?
To elaborate a bit on climenole's answer I'll add a bit of math behind the swastika symbol.
Swastika in both clockwise and counterclockwise direction has been, and still is used in many cultures. In ...
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