History on a Postcard Postcards are associated with tourism and places visited. However, they can also be used for propaganda purposes. Many postcards printed and published between the end of the nineteenth century and 1945 in Germany were used to support German nationalism. This is a (very) short history of Germany during a turbulent time illustrated by postcards of the day. Prior to 1870 Germany was less a unified country than a loose alliance of principalities loyal to the Habsburg monarchy, with Prussia the largest and strongest. During the mid-nineteenth century, these states attempted to join, convening a general assembly ( Nationalversammlung ) in Frankfurt. However, provincial rivalries and pressure from Austria and Prussia defeated unification efforts, and the Nationalversammlung disbanded in 1849. Two rival options for a united Germany had emerged — a "Little Germany" that would exclude Austria from an alliance of states under Prussian control, and a "Grea...