For most of the ninetennth century, Germany was a cultural and economic backwater, stymied by a dysfunctional political system of 39 states and and principalities. An inferior transport systerm, neglected roads, nightmarish passport system and a largely agrarian economy kept most people at home. Germany had no capital, so the horizons of the inhabitants were bounded by the Residenz= the seat of the administration and the territorial ruler. And the hereditary rulers imposed a highly authoritarian structure; political discourse was absolutely forbidden under strict censorship laws.
But for the libertarian philosopher and "Austrian Economics" expert Hans-Hermann Hoppe, these tiny backward units represented an anarcho-libertarian utopia – far preferable to the emerging national state that emerged in the 1870's.
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19th Century, that was when good old Marx was getting drunk and riding around on a Donkey in Germany. I’m waiting for Socialism to take over. I want my Spreewald Pickles and Mocha Fix Gold coffee! Rebuild the wall! I want to live in Eastern Germany. I wont complain about the lack of choices.
Germany as a modern nation only started with Bismarck, so the claim that its decline began with him is a bit meaningless. And it’s also meaningless to talk about it being somehow better before, perhaps in some ways it was for some, clearly not in others, but some sort of unification was more or less inevitable in an age of nationalism anyway. The problem was not unification per se, but some of the tendencies and events that followed for various reasons, but so were some before unification too.
Unfortunately there really is too much muddleheaded nonsense pronounced when it comes to Germany, not least by some Germans.