Only a later generation will be able to pass a completely unbiased judgment on Prince Bismarck. We believe that posterity will be less inclined to sing the praises of his 28-year activity in public life than the contemporary world has often done. Before the eyes of the world, what he did to unify the Fatherland was shown to the fullest advantage; but only later generations, those destined to suffer the consequences of his flawed domestic policies, will become fully aware of how these measures have sinned against national life.
Those statesmen who must inherit his legacy are truly not in an enviable position. Many things will have to change in the German Reich if we are to have the opportunity to overcome the evil consequences of long-standing misgovernment. But once the blind cult of authority that has built up around the figure of Prince Bismarck has lost its central object, all segments of the population will hopefully discern much more sharply the damage that kind of politics has wrought. Above all, we hope that strong, confident political activity will now come to life everywhere in Germany. Instead of obeying with apathetic passivity whatever may come from above, we must once again draw inspiration from the idea that the people [das Volk] themselves are called upon to participate in their own destiny. In the long term, people get only the kind of government they deserve.
Source: Freisinnige Zeitung, no. 68, March 20, 1890.
Original German text reprinted in Gerhard A. Ritter, ed., Das Deutsche Kaiserreich 1871-1914. Ein historisches Lesebuch [The German Kaiserreich 1871-1914. A Historical Reader], 5th ed. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992, pp. 260-62.
Translation: Erwin Fink
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