i believe they were austrians.

That would be Prussia is what I think you are thinking of. It became part of the Germen Empire in the 1860's. I would say that that way that it added to the problems in Europoe because you are getting a growing Empire. And the thing with Empires, they grow and rarely peacefully. So you get the feeling of war on the horizon.

There was no nation in its very sense. The German nation was nothing but a fiction. In 1871 the German nation was founded as an artificial creation and we should not forget that only 4 years ago there was the last war between some German Kingdoms and Austria. The only thing you could call in a certain way a nation that was the fact of the same language and in a certain way the same philosophy. But still now I would doubt that Germany ist a nation just quite the others. Every German will first tell you that he is Bavarian or Prussian and secodly perhaps he would tell you that he is German. The mentality in the South of Germany is quite close to that of the Italians, Austrians and Swiss and in the north it is closer to the Danish, Brits or Swedish. So there is a wide gap of mentality between north and south.

before germany was created it was only small german states and a country called prussia.prussia thought it would be a good idea to start a country so started 3 wars. one with denmark, austria and france and in the result of fighting france germany took some land: Alsace and Lorraine.then they persuaded the other small german states to join therefor creating germany. germany were now worried because they were surrounded and had enemies. they decided to make alliances with austria and italy. france were wanting revenge for the land they lost and decided to join russia which germnay think that they wont come together because russia and germany are related but they did join. now the only way that germany could be safe is to join britain but britain refused becaused they were an island but joined france and russia instead because germany started an arms race between them. germany then came up with schleiffen plan. it was a war plan to start war before 1918 because by then russia would have mobalised. at the same time the balkans were now inderpendent and austria were afraid that people from its country would go back to there home country. the serbs made a policy for all serbs to return to serbia. austria decided to warn them by invading the country nexy door who were Bosnian-serbs. they suceeded and the serbs cooled off their policy but there were terrorists who thought opposite. the archduke of austria went parading in bosnia only to get killed by gavrilo princip, a terrorist. serbia were now in trouble and turned to russia for help and so got cuaght in a fight with austria which kicked in all the other alliances and this was a perfect excuse for the germans to use the schlieffen plan. waorl war 1 had started.