(a) In 1834, a customs union or zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia. It was joined by most of the German States.(b) The aim of zollverein was to bind the Germans economically into a nation. The Union abolished the tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to only two.It helped to awaken and raise national sentiment through a fusion of individual and provincial interests. The German people realised that a free economic system was the only means to engender national feeling.