ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Prussian nationalism

Okay kiddo, so imagine you're playing with your friends and you form a group. You might feel proud of your group and want to make it stronger, right? That's kind of how Prussian nationalism worked - it was all about people in Prussia feeling proud of their region and wanting it to be powerful and successful.

Now let's imagine that Prussia is like a big neighborhood with lots of houses. People who live in those houses might start to feel a special connection to their neighborhood and the people who live there. They might have unique traditions or ways of talking or thinking. Over time, those things might become part of a shared culture that helps define what it means to be from that neighborhood.

In the same way, Prussian nationalism was about people in Prussia thinking of themselves as a unique group with their own set of shared values, traditions, and beliefs. They might have spoken a certain dialect or eaten certain foods or celebrated certain holidays that set them apart from people in other parts of Germany.

Now, sometimes when people feel proud of their group, they can start to feel like their group is better than other groups. That's where things can get messy. Prussian nationalists believed that their region was stronger and more powerful than others, and so they thought it was important to expand their influence and gain control over other parts of Germany. That led to some tensions and conflicts with other groups who didn't agree.

So, to sum up, Prussian nationalism was all about people in Prussia feeling proud of their region and wanting it to be powerful and successful. But sometimes that pride led to conflicts with other groups who didn't see things the same way.