Entry of the Members of the Vorparlament

A lithograph produced in 1848 by Eduard Gustav May and Jean Nicolas Ventadour. The image shows the parliamentarians entering Paulskirche in Frankfurt in March 1848 for the first national assembly. The building is adorned with German flags, highlighting the significance of national unity and representation at the heart of the assembly. The Revolution's primary concern was not German unification, but it was certainly a strong undercurrent. The admission of liberals and democrats to parliament (or in this case, Vorparlament, meaning a pre-parliamentary session) inspired hope that unification and democratisation were not only feasible, but entwined. For that reason, the Frankfurt Assembly can be seen as a formative moment in nineteenth-century nation-building.