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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
As one of the central documents of the revolution itself, this declaration expressed a fundamental change in the concept of political and society relations. It gave each and every French citizen an equal set of rights and protections regardless of social status. The passage of this document into law signifies a break with the old social order of King Louis XVI. -
Outbreak of Revolutions of 1848
The year 1848 saw the violent outbreak of social unrest across the major capitals of Europe such as Vienna, Paris, the German States, Budapest and Poland. Although these movements would all be suppressed, they signify the crystalization of a national identity amongst the vast spectrum of European society. -
Declaration of the German Empire at Versailles
The Franco-Prussian War, although a quick and decisive victory for Bismarck's Norther Coalition resulted in ripple effects that would set Europe up for years of devastation and war. In declaring the formation of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles a powerful national statement in the humiliation of France was made and would not be forgotten. -
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin in 1878 lead to the signing of the eponymous Treaty of Berlin which recognized the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro as well as the autonomy of Bulgaria. At play in Berlin was the perception of the growing Russian Empire and it's interests in the Balkans as well as the general interest of dismantling the Ottoman Empire amongst the European states. -
First Zionist Congress
The First Zionist Congress was held in Basle, Switzerland by Theodore Herzl. As a response to increasing anti-Semitism Herzl, amongst other delegates from across the world of European Judaism, secular and religious, met to debate the possibility of establishing a national homeland to secure the future of the Jewish people. Although most of the delegates to the Zionist conference were wary of the future, they could not predict the pogroms of the early 1900s and the calamity of the Holocaust. -
Nazi Party Takes Power 'Machtergreifung'
The seizure of power by the Nazis in 1933 is called the Machtergreifung. On the 30 of January the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler had officially and legally been granted governmental powers. This act was effectively the end of the democratic Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Nazi Third Reich. As the culmination of Nazi political ascendency, this event is the beginning of a nationalism without moral or ethical limits.
