This is the period of rapid industrial expansion, referred to in many, many references as the Period of Promotorism. I do not know of any "snappier" name. HTH - Dan

Dieser Geschichtszeitraum hat viele Namen. Ich tendiere immer gerne dazu, eher keine direkte Übersetzung einer Überschrift zu machen, sondern eher zu adaptieren. (Macht immer mehr Sinn....)
Also kann man da vielleicht 'German Unification' sagen, oder 'The Second Empire', oder 'The New Course'.
Im Internet findet man sehr gute Hilfen diesbezüglich unter dem Stichwort 'Germany 1870 - 1918'.

The expression I knew from my university years was Gründerjahre, som I started by making a search for texts in English containing "Gründerjahre" and found this:

The Founding Years (Gründerjahre)", in Dieter K. Buse and Juergen C. Doerr, eds., Encyclopedia of the History of Modern Germany. New York: Garland Press, 1998.

http://gaelnet.stmarys-ca.edu/about.smc/faculty/roper/public...


I also found "the Years of the Founders" in a text of Spanish origin, but somehow this didn't ring true to me.

So I tried a search for Founding Years and got 56 hits, most of which did not refer to Germany. To my mind, so much the better, because this makes it a natural way of expressing this concept in English.

Conclusion: I would definitely say The Founding Years.

I would leave the term untranslated. Put it in quotation marks and maybe add a footnote about what it means. There is no "snappy" translation or comparable term available in English, as this refers to a particular time in German history (1870-1871) and the conditions pertaining at that time. The untranslated term puts the text immediately in its historical context for the historically aware. And the explanation will serve the rest.

Sorry, I've just had time to check your question again and the spelling with an "o" is not used as often as the spelling with "e" so "Period of Promoterism" would be more widely known, although if the "o" is used, it does not sound so much like a boxing promoter. See my answer above. - Dan

This covers the period 1871-1918, also known as the German Empire.
Bismarck was actually dismissed by the emperor William II in 1890 and died in 1898.
However the whole period (1871-1918)is headed 'The Bismarck Reich' in a book called 'facts about German' published by the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government.

Whilst an emperium, Germany was ruled by Bismarck, the iron chancellor, or the chancellor with the iron fist for 19 years.
He laid the foundations of todays Germany.
Geographically, except Poland and Lithuania, Germany's borders are almost the same, he introduced the social structure still in existence.(political move caused by the French Revolution).

Those were the 'Foundation Years'. in short.

I would keep the term in its German garb, since it refers to a specific period in a specific setting. I would parenthetically add the phrase "Founding Era" with capital initials, for the sake of clarity ("Founding Period" would be just as fine).

I would do the same for "Gründerjahre," following it with "Founding Years."

That would be my approach, and that is what I suggest.

Fuad