Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen was a major player in the unification of Germany. This Prussian junker, or aristocrat, was a Prussian nationalist and later a German nationalist. As Chief Minister to Wilhelm I of Prussia, he devised and executed a "klein-deutsch" (excluding Austria) plan to unify Germany. It was Bismarck's goal to unite the German states in a strong, single German empire with Prussia at its center. To do this, Bismarck would need to support of a powerful Prussian army. Upon request from Bismarck and King Wilhelm I, money was denied from th