"The position of Prussia in Germany will not be determined by its liberalism but by its power [...] Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be decided [...] but by iron and blood."

This is a quote made by Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia by then. His remarks give us an idea about what played an important role in Germany’s unification.

At that time, Germany was made up of many small states. Two of the most powerful states were Prussia and Austria, and they didn't get along. They started fighting.

In 1861, a new king came to power in Prussia. His name was William I, and he wanted to unite Germany. He chose a clever man named Bismarck to help him. Bismarck believed that having a strong military was important, so people called him the "Iron Chancellor."

Bismarck used his smartness to make friends with other German states and make Austria angry. Then Austria went to war with Prussia, but Prussia was ready and won in just 7 weeks! After that, Austria left the German Confederation and Prussia made a new one called the North German Confederation. Prussia became even more powerful.

Later on, France got worried about Prussia and decided to fight them too in 1870. But guess what? Prussia won again! Finally, all the German states agreed that William I should be the new emperor of the unified German Empire.

Bismarck was a very important person in history because he helped bring all the German states together. Even though things got chaotic after he left, we remember him as the one who made Germany united.