What is an anvil ? what does vin below mean when he said germany will be a hammer or an anvil

Anvil is a tool used by blacksmiths, and it is the surface on which the object is placed which is worked on with a hammer- stroked  with a hammer.
von Bülow meant (in 1899)  that Germany will either have to colonize others ( be the hammer) or it would have to risk being colonized itself (being the anvil), hence showing the need for Germany to participate in colonization. 

This is what i found on google “the first mobile phone call was made 40 years ago today. on april 3, 1973, motorola employee martin cooper stood in midtown manhattan and placed a call to the headquarters of bell labs in new jersey.” i hope this you for what your looking.