Movement to politically unify all German-speaking people.
The desire for German unification began in the early 19th century and was advanced by Ernst Arndt and other early nationalists. The Pan-German League was organized in 1894 by Ernst Hasse (18461908) to heighten German nationalist awareness, especially among German-speaking people outside Germany. The movement, which pressed for German expansion in Europe, gained support after World War I under the Weimar Republic and was actively promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party . After Germany's defeat in 1945 and the expulsion of Germans from formerly German areas of eastern Europe, the movement declined.