On October 27, 1806, it was Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of the French Empire, who entered the Brandenburg Gate as a conqueror.

Napoleon led a powerful French army that swept through Europe like a hurricane and easily conquered this land in central Europe.

The Peace was removed from the Brandenburg Gate as a trophy and shipped back to France.

Humiliation struck again, awakening painful memories deep in the hearts of the German people.

Over the past few hundred years, this piece of land known as the European Corridor has been a battlefield throughout Europe.

The Germans often became mercenaries of the surrounding European powers, killing each other on their own land.

In 1648, after the "Thirty Years' War" for hegemony, European countries signed the "Peace of Westphalia", which finally legally determined the division of Germany. In this year, this land

It was divided into 314 large and small states. Although they still share the name "German Holy Roman Empire", the states are independent and the central power is almost non-existent.

When Napoleon's army invaded in 1806, this so-called empire was unable to resist it. The two largest states in the empire: Prussia and Austria suffered a disastrous defeat. Prussia was also forced to cede half of its territory and pay 150 million francs in war reparations.

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The German Holy Roman Empire collapsed.

When even a nominal country no longer exists on this land, people are reminded of the sigh of the German poet Schiller: "Germany? Where is it? I can't find that place." Schiller's friend Goethe said

To put it bluntly, there is not a single city, or even a single place, that allows us to firmly say that this is Germany.

If we ask this question in Vienna, the answer is, this is Austria; if we ask this question in Berlin, the answer is, this is Prussia.

Where is Germany?

This historic question tortures every German heart.

German poets use verses to explore the future of the nation; German musicians use musical notes to express the passion of struggle; German philosophers use ideas to inspire the supreme national worship.

Interview: August Winkler, professor of modern history at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. The main theme of German history in the 19th century was unity and freedom. At that time, Germany was not a unified nation-state like France and Britain.

The movement for German unification in the 19th century always pursued the establishment of a nation-state and a constitutional state.

In 1814, Napoleon was defeated by an anti-French alliance composed of European countries. Under the leadership of Britain and Russia, the "German Confederation" composed of 38 states was established, but each state still had independent sovereignty.

Because the European powers have always been unwilling to see a unified Germany rise in the middle of Europe.

After the defeat, France returned the Peace Lady, but the Peace Lady who returned to the Brandenburg Gate still faced a divided Germany.

Perhaps what makes history intriguing is its complexity and subtlety.

Although the conqueror Napoleon increased the humiliation of this land, Napoleon became the promoter of German unification.

He used force to sweep away the feudal order that had existed in this land for hundreds of years, and widely spread the principles of freedom and equality advocated by the French Revolution wherever he went.

Under the guidance of the ideas of the French Revolution, the Germans began to seek to establish a unified and free country.

Reutlingen is a beautiful and quiet town in southern Germany. For more than two hundred years, the town has been enjoying the glory brought by Friedrich List.

In the process of German reunification, Liszt was considered the most active and influential figure.

Interview: Professor Eugen Vendler List of the University of Reutlingen in Germany believes that only by achieving political unification can Germany be able to compete with Britain and France.

This unification cannot be achieved by revolution, but should be achieved through peaceful methods, and Lister is very clear that this unification cannot be achieved overnight, but should be achieved through a gradual approach, that is to say, he believes that the German economy should be achieved first

alliance on.

In the 19th century, when people were still accustomed to using war to solve national problems, Lister's idea was obviously a bit ahead of its time.

From economic unification to political unification, this is not only the unique vision of an economist, but also a bold idea.

The practical reason for proposing this idea is that Germany's economic development was hindered by division.

In the Customs Museum in Hamburg, some currencies used by the German states at that time are displayed.

At its peak, there were over 6,000 currencies used in this land.

In addition to chaotic currencies, numerous checkpoints have been set up between states and heavy tariffs have been levied. Now it only takes a few hours to drive from Berlin to Switzerland, but in the early 19th century, it had to go through 10 states and go through 10 procedures.

, exchange currency 10 times, pay tariffs 10 times, and the tariffs paid along the way even exceed the value of the goods transported.