The Gründerzeit (German, literally: the Founding Epoch) denotes the first decades after the foundation in 1871 of the Prussia-led German Empire. As a design style it was succeeded by the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) (1895–1914). German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia ( German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... The term German Empire (Deutsches Reich) commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser ( Emperor) Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ... Alfons Mucha, lithographed poster, 1898 Art Nouveau (French for New art) is an art and design style that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century. ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

In the mindset of the Germans, the epoch is distinguished by Kaiser Wilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck, but it didn't end with them (in 1888/1890) but continued well into the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was the Golden Age of Germany, when the disasters of the Thirty Years War and the Napoleonic Wars were remedied, German scientists were developing new technologies faster than anyone else, German industrialists were developing new methods and products that no other nation could compete with, and German merchants were once again taking over market after market around the world. This was the time when particularly the German middle class rapidly increased their standard of living, buying modern furniture and kitchen fitting and household machines, of a standard that wasn't to be outshined for generations. The Germans (German: die Deutschen) is a nation in the meaning an ethnos (in German: Volk), defined more by a sense of sharing a common German culture and having a German mother tongue, than by citizenship or by being subjects to any particular country. ... Kaiser is a German title meaning emperor, derived from the Roman title of Caesar, as is the Slavic title of Czar. ... Wilhelm I of Germany Wilhelm I, (March 22, 1797 - March 9, 1888), German Emperor (Kaiser), ruled January 18, 1871-1888 and king of Prussia, ruled 1861-1888. ... The head of government in Germany has traditionally been called Kanzler ( Chancellor). ... Alternative meanings: See Bismarck (disambiguation). ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Wilhelm II German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern ( January 27, 1859– June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor ( Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia, ruling from 1888 to 1918. ... A golden age is period in a field of endeavour where great tasks were accomplished. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... The Napoleonic Wars lasted from 1804 until 1815. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ...

The social working of Industrialization was the same as elsewhere: Increased agricultural efficiency and introduction of new agricultural machines led to a polarized distribution of income on the countryside. The landowners gained to the disadvantage of the agrarian propertyless working force. Emigration, most of all to America, and urbanization were the unavoidable outcomes. Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is called a proletarian. ... Emigration is the action and the phenomenon of leaving ones native country to settle abroad. ... Urbanization is the expansion of a city, namely the proportion of total population or area in urban localities or areas (cities and towns), or the increase of this proportion over time. ...

In the rapidly growing industrial cities, new workmen's dwellings were erected, that already contemporary physicians denounced as unhealthy: "without light, air and sun", quite contrary to the then ruling ideas on town planning. The blame for a marked increase in tuberculosis, spread also to wealthier neighborhoods, came to a great deal to be put on the dark cramped flats. Tuberculous lungs show up on an X-ray image Tuberculosis is an infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (miliary TB), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...

However, also the working class saw improvements of living standard and other conditions, for instance social security through laws on workers' health insurance and accident insurance introduced by Bismarck in 1883/1884, and in the long run also through the foundation of a Social Democracy that would remain the model for the European sister parties until Hitler's Machtübernahme in 1933. The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Social security mainly refers to a field of social welfare concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognised needs. ... Health Insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. ... Events January January 16 - The United States Civil service, is passed January 19 - The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service (Roselle, New Jersey) It was built by Thomas Edison. ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...