Carlsbad Decrees

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: Examine the Maastricht Treaty on European Union in the context of nationalism in Germany in the nineteenth century. What circumstances changed that made nationalism in Germany and elsewhere in Europe less pronounced, as reflected in the Maastricht Treaty?
• 2.: Do you believe that it would be fair to trace German Nazism, as exemplified by Hitler's Proclamation to the German People and the Nuremberg Laws, to the nationalist impulse the Carlsbad Decrees attempted to suppress?
• 3.: History as it is often studied examines major events and important historical people: the German Confederation, Metternich, the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna, and so forth. How do you think the Carlsbad Decrees might have affected the daily lives of ordinary Germans—if at all?
• 4.: In contemporary life, nationalism is often associated more with conservatives than liberals; liberals generally are more likely to view the world through an internationalist lens. What has changed between now and the early nineteenth century? Why would liberal students in Germany at that time have advocated a strong nationalist point of view?
• 5.: To what extent do you think the Carlsbad Decrees contributed to the eruption of revolution throughout Europe in 1848? What lesson does this teach about censorship?