The German Nationalists

The German Nationalist party consisted of various competing groups and parties describing themselves as “grossdeutsch”, “alldeutsch”, “kleindeutsch”, “völkisch”, "deutschnational“ or “deutschösterreichisch”. While some rejected the Habsburg state and called for unification of all Germans in a German nation state, others came to an arrangement with the Monarchy and focused on protection of Germanism in the face of the growing Slav influence. The most popular representative of the German Nationalists was Georg Ritter von Schönerer, whose demagogic skill enabled him to popularise the German Nationalist ideas. He called for the annexation of the German-speaking regions of Austria to the German Empire and advocated radical German Nationalism and railed against capitalists, Jews and the Catholic Church. Because of his radical political style, however, he increasingly manoeuvred himself onto the sidelines.