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The Age Of Enlightenment : The Criticism Of The Enlightenment Period

Decent Essays

Zoe Raiter
GER 223
Vogel
August 11th, 2017
GER 223: Midterm, Topic #2
The age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the ideology in Europe during the 18th century. Known as the Age of Reason and the Century of Philosophy, there was a strong emphasis on learning, religious tolerance, individual liberty, and much more. The ideas undermined the authority of the monarchy and the church, and paved the way for political revolutions. It was said that the motto of the Enlightenment was “Have the courage to use your own understanding". To say the least, individual freedom and free self-determination was a key proponent of the Enlightenment period. Spanning from 18th century to early 19th century, this era of newfound ideas spread across Europe rapidly, affecting Jews, Germans, Gypsies and Poles.
The Wilhelmine Empire lasted between 1890 to 1918, and was founded on policies to establish Germany as a world power. During this time, Poles faced discrimination, and eventually deportation from former Polish lands. They had been one of the largest minorities in the German Empire, and were viewed as an obstacle to German harmony and prosperity, as well as a problem for future expansion of the German state. Germans would describe Poles as disloyal, politically incompetent, and intolerant.Much like Jews and Gypsies, Poles faced extreme discrimination.
The Enlightenment period truly believed that a multicultural society was better for the nations,

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