rk, Austria, France and completing the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership on January 18,1871. The bond formed between Prussia and Germany lead to the building of the German army based on the Prussian militaristic traditions. Prussia continued to rule over Germany through King William I who was proclaimed German Kaiser during his reign in which Prussia comprised two-thirds of the population and land area and dominated German policy until the end of World War I. The last Prussian monarch, German Emperor William II was forced to abdicate in 1918 after the German defeat in WWI. Prussia was incorporated into the Weimar Republic, retaining its size but losing its powerful influence in political affairs. What remained of the Prussian autonomy disappeared when Hitler eliminated the governments of the German states. Despite the fact that the country of Prussia became nonexistent after WWII, it’s militaristic legacy lives on in the German army. The forced conscriptions of the House of Hohenzollern is evident in the two years of military service required of young German males. The first soldier was the Hohenzollern ruler; the army was a creation of the dynasty and a symbol of its’ strength. The dynasty may not have survived but the military innovations and concepts it achieved live on in modern armies as the legacy of the Prussian kingdom....
