High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! German nationalism (German: Deutscher Nationalismus or Deutschnationalismus) refers to the nationalism of Germans or of German culture. The origins of the beginning of a sense of German identity began with the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther that resulted in the spread of a standardized common German language and literature. The concept of nationalism itself was developed by German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder. Advocacy of a German nation began to become an important political force in response to the invasion of German territories by France under Napoleon. After the rise and fall of Nazi Germany that committed the genocide now known as the Holocaust in the name of extreme nationalism against Jews and others during World War II, German nationalism has been generally viewed in the country as negative and taboo. During the Cold War a mainstream moderate German nationalism arose that supported the unification of East and West Germany that was achieved in 1990.