Grossdeutsch

German faction

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June 29, 2026

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The Grossdeutsch movement, or "Greater Germany," was a faction within Pan-Germanism that advocated for the unification of all German-speaking peoples into a single nation. This movement sought to include Germans from the Austrian Empire in this unified German state. Pan-Germanism itself was a nationalist movement aiming to unite all people who spoke German or a Germanic language. Its roots trace back to the early 19th century, fueled by a desire for German unification and nationalist sentiments. The Grossdeutschland solution was one of two main proposals for unification, the other being the Kleindeutsch (Little Germany) solution, which excluded Austria.12

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Austria
Revolution and counterrevolution, 1848–59
…not the non-German lands (the Grossdeutsch, or large German, position). Those against contended that the Austrian monarchy could never divide itself along ethnic lines and so favoured the exclusion of Austria altogether (the Kleindeutsch, or small German, position). Implicit in the latter position was that the new Germany would be…
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…not the non-German lands (the Grossdeutsch, or large German, position). Those against contended that the Austrian monarchy could never divide itself along ethnic lines and so favoured the exclusion of Austria altogether (the Kleindeutsch, or small German, position). Implicit in the latter position was that the new Germany would be…
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Germany
The revolutions of 1848–49
The Grossdeutsch (“great German”) movement maintained that Austria, the state whose rulers had worn the crown of the Holy Roman Empire for 400 years, should play a leading role in the united fatherland. The Kleindeutsch (“little German”) party, on the other hand, argued that the Habsburgs…
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The Grossdeutsch (“great German”) movement maintained that Austria, the state whose rulers had worn the crown of the Holy Roman Empire for 400 years, should play a leading role in the united fatherland. The Kleindeutsch (“little German”) party, on the other hand, argued that the Habsburgs…
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