Otto von bismarck quotes balkans

One of Germany’s greatest statesmen Otto von Bismarck, who unified most Germans into the German Empire in 1871 (leaving the Austrians and Swiss-Germans outside the Empire), and the main practitioner of Realpolitik (politics as the art of the possible).

Born 1 April 1815 in Schönhausen near Berlin (200^th anniversary of his birth) and a polyglot speaking German, English, Italian, French, Polish and Russian, Bismarck held strong and disdained views on the Balkans, a region of Europe he considered rather troublesome.

Through the power struggles that took place during the 19^th century involving leading European nations such as France, Great Britain, Austria (later Austria-Hungary) and Russia, Germany often played the role as a mediator to ensure the different parties’ interests would not result in a war that would threaten the continent’s security and the balance of power.

Also known as the “Iron Chancellor”, Bismarck has often been portrayed as