Confused about Elon's referencing of different German speaking provinces? Until its final national unification in 1871 (under the military and political leadership of Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm of Prussia) the country we know as Germany was operated as separate provinces with different political, social and economic agendas. Language and dialect variations (along with different local foods, beers, sausages, pastries, cultural ancestries, etc.) as well as different religious alliances helped maintain invisible borders between provinces (and their populations) as well as fostered serious rivalries. A map of the contemporary Germany may help you visualize the different places referenced in our reading. Mendelssohn was born in Dessau (in Sachsen-Anhalt) and walked to Berlin (through Brandenburg to the city-state of Berlin, collectively known as Prussia). Heine was born in Duesseldorf which is in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Worms and Speyer are located in the south part of Rheinland-Pfalz. As Napolean marched across Europe, he brought French Revolutionary reforms from west to east so that Heine's part of Germany felt his impact well before Prussia did.
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