Otto von Bismarck, whose birthday is celebrated for the 200th time on April 1, 2015, is the prominent figure in 19th-century German history. The East Elbian Junker took office as the Prussian Prime Minister in 1862 under the most unfavorable circumstances, brought about the founding of the German Empire through two wars, and significantly shaped the domestic and foreign policy of the Empire until his dismissal by Wilhelm II in 1890. Eberhard Kolb describes in this brilliantly written short biography Bismarck's journey from a reactionary Junker to a European statesman and also pays attention to the otherwise often overlooked young Bismarck.