In 1871, the German Empire began passing laws meant to control the Catholic Church in Germany, which it regarded as a potential fifth column. This legislation inspired attempts by other German speaking countries, and within five years governments arrested and exiled bishops, removed priests from their parishes, seized church property and expelled religious orders from their countries. This episode has become known as the "Kulturkampf," the civilizational struggle between a modernizing German nation and the retrograde Catholic Church. Join me for this episode as I dive into the causes, effects and legacy of this traumatic event in the history of Europe and the Catholic Church.

CORRECTION: in the podcast I incorrectly refer to Silesia as a province of Germany populated by a French minority. Silesia was a Polish minority province. I meant to refer to Alsace-Lorraine, a former French territory conquered by Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War.