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Kleindeutschland)
- For the German neighbourhood in New York City, see Little Germany, New York.
Kleindeutschland (literally "Small Germany") was a 19th century political idea postulating the idea of a unified Germany led by Hohenzollern Prussia, and excluding the Austrian Empire. It stands in contrast to the idea of an Austrian led Grossdeutschland (Greater Germany). This was done in order to prevent the Austrian Catholics from being a predominant force in a Prussian Germany, as was seen in Bismarck's eyes.
The German parliament elected after the early successes of the revolution of 1848 favoured a greater Germany led by Prussia.
Kleindeutschland was realized (after the Austro-Prussian Dualism had been decided in favor of Prussia in 1866) in 1871.
During the Third Reich, this policy was effectively reversed by Hitler's Anschluss (annexation) of Austria, when the German State (Deutsches Reich) was renamed Grossdeutsches Reich, partly in recognition of the earlier idea.
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleindeutschland under GFDL
