In the famous years 1871 to 1874, which the Germans
call the Gruendejahre, the foundation years, gigantic industrial and
commercial enterprises took a spring which seemed irresistible. A
Director of the Deutsche Bank, of the Dresdener Bank, the President of a
company for transatlantic commerce, such as the Hamburg-American Line,
or of the committee of great electric establishments, enjoyed an
influence in the councils of the State far greater than that of a Baron,
a Count, or a little mediatized Prince.
What was the aristocracy of birth going to do about it? Struggle
desperately? It took that tack at first. Bismarck ranged himself in its
support for some time. He was himself an agrarian. But he was not long
in installing paper mills on his estates at Varzin. It is said that the
Emperor himself possesses porcelain factories. A part of the nobility
for a long time tried to adapt itself to the new method of production.
It took to it awkwardly and often ended in ruin.
Freytag has described this phenomenon at its beginnings in a romance
which is a chef d'oeuvre. A part of the nobility yielded, fell into the
hands of the financiers, the money lenders, the managers of agricultural
enterprises, sold their lands, and took refuge in the great civil,
administrative and military posts.
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