Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II | |||||
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Born | Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia
27 January 1859 Kronprinzenpalais, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia | ||||
Died | 4 June 1941 Huis Doorn, Doorn, Netherlands | (aged 82)||||
Burial | 9 June 1941 Huis Doorn, Doorn | ||||
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Prussian United) | |||||
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Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert;
Born during the reign of his granduncle
In March 1890, the young Wilhelm II dismissed Chancellor
Despite strengthening Germany's position as a
Early life
Wilhelm was born in
Traumatic birth
Shortly before midnight on 26 January 1859, Princess Vicky experienced labour pains, followed by her
Modern medical assessments have concluded Wilhelm's hypoxic state at birth, due to the breech delivery and the heavy dosage of chloroform, left him with minimal to mild brain damage, which manifested itself in his subsequent hyperactive and erratic behaviour, limited attention span and impaired social abilities.[7] The brachial plexus injury resulted in Erb's palsy, which left Wilhelm with a withered left arm about six inches (15 centimetres) shorter than his right. He tried with some success to conceal this; many photographs show him holding a pair of white gloves in his left hand to make the arm seem longer. In others, he holds his left hand with his right, has his disabled arm on the hilt of a sword, or holds a cane to give the illusion of a useful limb posed at a dignified angle. Historians have suggested that this disability affected his emotional development.[8]
Early years
In 1863, Wilhelm was taken to England to be present at the wedding of
Vicky was obsessed with her son's damaged arm, blaming herself for the child's handicap, and insisted that he become a good rider. The thought that Wilhelm, as heir to the throne, should not be able to ride was intolerable to her. Riding lessons began when Wilhelm was eight and were a matter of endurance for him. Over and over, the weeping prince was set on his horse and compelled to go through the paces. He fell off time after time but, despite his tears, was set on its back again. After weeks of this, he was finally able to maintain his balance.[10]
Wilhelm, from six years of age, was tutored and heavily influenced by the 39-year-old teacher Georg Ernst Hinzpeter.[11] "Hinzpeter", he later wrote, "was really a good fellow. Whether he was the right tutor for me, I dare not decide. The torments inflicted on me, in this pony riding, must be attributed to my mother."[10]
As a teenager, Wilhelm was educated at Kassel at the Friedrichsgymnasium. In January 1877, Wilhelm finished high school and on his eighteenth birthday received as a present from his grandmother the Order of the Garter. After Kassel, he spent four terms at the University of Bonn, studying law and politics. He became a member of the exclusive Corps Borussia Bonn.[12] Wilhelm possessed a quick intelligence, but this was often overshadowed by a cantankerous temper.
As a scion of the royal
Wilhelm was in awe of his father, whose status as a hero of the wars of unification was largely responsible for the young Wilhelm's attitude, as were the circumstances in which he was raised; close emotional contact between father and son was not encouraged. Later, as he came into contact with the Crown Prince's political opponents, Wilhelm came to adopt more ambivalent feelings toward his father, perceiving the influence of Wilhelm's mother over a figure who should have been possessed of masculine independence and strength. Wilhelm also idolised his grandfather, Wilhelm I, and he was instrumental in later attempts to foster a cult of the first German Emperor as "Wilhelm the Great".[13] However, he had a distant relationship with his mother.
Prussian Royalty |
House of Hohenzollern |
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Wilhelm II |
Wilhelm resisted attempts by his parents, especially his mother, to educate him in a spirit of British liberalism. Instead, he agreed with his tutors' support of autocratic rule, and gradually became thoroughly 'Prussianized' under their influence. He thus became alienated from his parents, suspecting them of putting Britain's interests first. The German Emperor, Wilhelm I, watched as his grandson, guided principally by the Crown Princess Victoria, grew to manhood. When Wilhelm was nearing 21, the Emperor decided it was time his grandson should begin the military phase of his preparation for the throne. He was assigned as a lieutenant to the First Regiment of Foot Guards, stationed at Potsdam. "In the Guards," Wilhelm said, "I really found my family, my friends, my interests—everything of which I had up to that time had to do without." As a boy and a student, his manner had been polite and agreeable; as an officer, he began to strut and speak brusquely in the tone he deemed appropriate for a Prussian officer.[14]
When Wilhelm was in his early twenties, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck tried to separate him from his parents, who opposed Bismarck and his policies, with some success. Bismarck planned to use the young prince as a weapon against his parents in order to retain his own political dominance. Wilhelm thus developed a dysfunctional relationship with his parents, but especially with his English mother. In an outburst in April 1889, Wilhelm angrily implied that "an English doctor killed my father, and an English doctor crippled my arm—which is the fault of my mother", who allowed no German physicians to attend to herself or her immediate family.[15]
As a young man, Wilhelm fell in love with one of his maternal first cousins,
Beginning in 1884, Bismarck began advocating that Kaiser Wilhelm send his grandson on diplomatic missions, a privilege denied to the Crown Prince. That year, Prince Wilhelm was sent to the court of
Accession
Kaiser Wilhelm I died in Berlin on 9 March 1888, and Prince Wilhelm's father ascended the throne as Frederick III. He was already experiencing an incurable throat cancer and spent all 99 days of his reign fighting the disease before dying. On 15 June of that same year, his 29-year-old son succeeded him as German Emperor and King of Prussia.[17]
Although in his youth he had been a great admirer of Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm's characteristic impatience soon brought him into conflict with the "Iron Chancellor", the dominant figure in the foundation of his empire. The new Emperor opposed Bismarck's careful foreign policy, preferring vigorous and rapid expansion to protect Germany's "place in the sun". Furthermore, the young Emperor had come to the throne, unlike his grandfather, determined to rule as well as reign. While the imperial constitution vested executive power in the monarch, Wilhelm I had been content to leave day-to-day administration to Bismarck. Early conflicts between Wilhelm II and his chancellor soon poisoned the relationship between the two men. Bismarck had believed that Wilhelm was a lightweight who could be dominated, and he showed escalating disrespect for Wilhelm's favored policy objectives in the late 1880s. The final split between monarch and statesman occurred soon after an attempt by Bismarck to implement a far-reaching anti-Socialist laws in early 1890.[18]
The dismissal of Bismarck
According to adherents of the "Bismarck myth", the young Kaiser rejected the Iron Chancellor's allegedly "peaceful foreign policy" and instead plotted with senior generals to work "in favour of a war of aggression". Bismarck himself once complained to an aide, "That young man wants war with Russia, and would like to draw his sword straight away if he could. I shall not be a party to it."[19]
But the origin of Bismarck's dismissal lies in home affairs. After gaining an absolute majority in the
As the debate continued, Wilhelm became more and more interested in the social problems being exploited in the propaganda of the Socialists, especially the treatment of mine workers who
The final break between the Iron Chancellor and the Kaiser came when Bismarck initiated discussions with the opposition to form a new parliamentary majority without consulting with Wilhelm first. The Kartell, the shifting
In most parliamentary systems, the head of government depends upon the confidence of the parliamentary majority and has the right to form coalitions to maintain a majority of supporters. In a constitutional monarchy, however, the Chancellor is required to meet regularly with the monarch to explain his or her policies and intentions within the Government. A Chancellor in a constitutional monarchy also cannot afford to make an enemy of the monarch, who represents the only real check and balance against a Chancellor's otherwise absolute power. This is because a constitutional monarch has plenty of means at his or her disposal of quietly blocking a Chancellor's policy objectives and is one of the only people who can forcibly remove an overly ambitious Chancellor from power. For these reasons, the last Kaiser believed that he had every right to be informed before Bismarck began coalition talks with the Opposition.
In a deeply ironic moment, a mere decade after demonizing all members of the
After a heated argument at Bismarck's estate over the latter's alleged disrespect for the Imperial Family, Wilhelm stormed out. Bismarck, forced for the first time in his career into a crisis that he could not twist to his own advantage, wrote a blistering letter of resignation, decrying Wilhelm's involvement in both foreign and domestic policy. The letter was published only after Bismarck's death.[22]
In later years, Bismarck created the "Bismarck myth"; the view (which some historians have argued was confirmed by subsequent events) that Wilhelm II's successful demand for Bismarck's resignation destroyed any chance Imperial Germany ever had of stable government and international peace. According to this view, what Wilhelm termed "The New Course" is characterised as Germany's
According to Bismarck apologists, in foreign policy the Iron Chancellor had achieved a fragile balance of interests between Germany, France and Russia. Peace was allegedly at hand and Bismarck tried to keep it that way despite growing popular sentiment against Britain (regarding the
In contrast, historian
In interviews with
Wilhelm in control
This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2019) |
The New Course
Bismarck was succeeded as Chancellor of Germany and Minister-President of Prussia by Leo von Caprivi. At the opening of the Reichstag on 6 May 1890, the Kaiser stated that the most pressing issue was the further enlargement of the bill concerning the protection of the labourer.[26] In 1891, the Reichstag passed the Workers Protection Acts, which improved working conditions, protected women and children and regulated labour relations.
Caprivi in turn was replaced by
In appointing Caprivi and then Hohenlohe, Wilhelm was embarking upon what is known to history as "the New Course", in which he hoped to exert decisive influence in the government of the empire.[
In the early twentieth century, Wilhelm began to concentrate upon his real agenda: the creation of a
Promoter of arts and sciences
Wilhelm enthusiastically promoted the arts and sciences, as well as public education and social welfare. He sponsored the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the promotion of scientific research; it was funded by wealthy private donors and by the state and comprised a number of research institutes in both pure and applied sciences. The Prussian Academy of Sciences was unable to avoid the Kaiser's pressure and lost some of its autonomy when it was forced to incorporate new programs in engineering, and award new fellowships in engineering sciences as a result of a gift from the Kaiser in 1900.[28]
Wilhelm supported the modernisers as they tried to reform the Prussian system of secondary education, which was rigidly traditional, elitist, politically authoritarian, and unchanged by the progress in the natural sciences. As hereditary Protector of the Order of Saint John, he offered encouragement to the Christian order's attempts to place German medicine at the forefront of modern medical practice through its system of hospitals, nursing sisterhood and nursing schools, and nursing homes throughout the German Empire. Wilhelm continued as Protector of the Order even after 1918, as the position was in essence attached to the head of the House of Hohenzollern.[29][30]
Personality
Historians have frequently stressed the role of Wilhelm's personality in shaping his reign. Thus, Thomas Nipperdey concludes he was:
...gifted, with a quick understanding, sometimes brilliant, with a taste for the modern,—technology, industry, science—but at the same time superficial, hasty, restless, unable to relax, without any deeper level of seriousness, without any desire for hard work or drive to see things through to the end, without any sense of sobriety, for balance and boundaries, or even for reality and real problems, uncontrollable and scarcely capable of learning from experience, desperate for applause and success,—as Bismarck said early on in his life, he wanted every day to be his birthday—romantic, sentimental and theatrical, unsure and arrogant, with an immeasurably exaggerated self-confidence and desire to show off, a juvenile cadet, who never took the tone of the officers' mess out of his voice, and brashly wanted to play the part of the supreme warlord, full of panicky fear of a monotonous life without any diversions, and yet aimless, pathological in his hatred against his English mother.[31]
Historian David Fromkin states that Wilhelm had a love–hate relationship with Britain.[32] According to Fromkin, "From the outset, the half-German side of him was at war with the half-English side. He was wildly jealous of the British, wanting to be British, wanting to be better at being British than the British were, while at the same time hating them and resenting them because he never could be fully accepted by them".[33]
Langer et al. (1968) emphasise the negative international consequences of Wilhelm's erratic personality: "He believed in force, and the 'survival of the fittest' in domestic as well as foreign politics ... William was not lacking in intelligence, but he did lack stability, disguising his deep insecurities by swagger and tough talk. He frequently fell into depressions and hysterics ... William's personal instability was reflected in vacillations of policy. His actions, at home as well as abroad, lacked guidance, and therefore often bewildered or infuriated public opinion. He was not so much concerned with gaining specific objectives, as had been the case with Bismarck, as with asserting his will. This trait in the ruler of the leading Continental power was one of the main causes of the uneasiness prevailing in Europe at the turn-of-the-century".[34]
Relationships with foreign relatives
As a grandchild of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm was a first cousin of
Wilhelm's most contentious relationships were with his British relations. He craved the acceptance of his grandmother, Queen Victoria, and of the rest of her family.
In 1913, Wilhelm hosted a lavish wedding in Berlin for his only daughter, Victoria Louise. Among the guests at the wedding were his cousins Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and King George V of the United Kingdom, and George's wife, Queen Mary.
Foreign affairs
German foreign policy under Wilhelm II was faced with a number of significant problems. Perhaps the most apparent was that Wilhelm was an impatient man, subjective in his reactions and affected strongly by sentiment and impulse. He was personally ill-equipped to steer German foreign policy along a rational course. There were a number of examples, such as the
British public opinion had been quite favourable towards the Kaiser in his first twelve years on the throne, but it turned sour in the late 1890s. During the
Wilhelm exploited fears of a
One of the few times when Wilhelm succeeded in personal diplomacy was when in 1900, he supported the morganatic marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria to Countess Sophie Chotek, and helped negotiate an end to the opposition to the wedding by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.[43]
A domestic triumph for Wilhelm was when his daughter Victoria Louise married the Duke of Brunswick in 1913; this helped heal the rift between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern that had followed Bismarck's invasion and annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover in 1866.[44]
Political visits to the Ottoman Empire
In his first visit to
In the face of all the courtesies extended to us here, I feel that I must thank you, in my name as well as that of the Empress, for them, for the hearty reception given us in all the towns and cities we have touched, and particularly for the splendid welcome extended to us by this city of Damascus. Deeply moved by this imposing spectacle, and likewise by the consciousness of standing on the spot where held sway one of the most chivalrous rulers of all times, the great Sultan Saladin, a knight sans peur et sans reproche, who often taught his adversaries the right conception of knighthood, I seize with joy the opportunity to render thanks, above all to the Sultan Abdul Hamid for his hospitality. May the Sultan rest assured, and also the three hundred million
Mohammedans scattered over the globe and revering in him their caliph, that the German Emperor will be and remain at all times their friend.— Kaiser Wilhelm II, [47]
On 10 November, Wilhelm went to visit Baalbek before heading to Beirut to board his ship back home on 12 November.[46] In his second visit, Wilhelm secured a promise for German companies to construct the Berlin–Baghdad railway,[45] and had the German Fountain constructed in Istanbul to commemorate his journey.
His third visit was on 15 October 1917, as the guest of Sultan Mehmed V.
Hun speech of 1900
The
Great overseas tasks have fallen to the new German Empire, tasks far greater than many of my countrymen expected. The German Empire has, by its very character, the obligation to assist its citizens if they are being set upon in foreign lands. ... A great task awaits you [in China]: you are to revenge the grievous injustice that has been done. The Chinese have overturned the law of nations; they have mocked the sacredness of the envoy, the duties of hospitality in a way unheard of in world history. It is all the more outrageous that this crime has been committed by a nation that takes pride in its ancient culture. Show the old Prussian virtue. Present yourselves as Christians in the cheerful endurance of suffering. May honor and glory follow your banners and arms. Give the whole world an example of manliness and discipline. You know full well that you are to fight against a cunning, brave, well-armed, and cruel enemy. When you encounter him, know this: no quarter will be given. Prisoners will not be taken. Exercise your arms such that for a thousand years no Chinese will dare to look cross-eyed at a German. Maintain discipline. May God's blessing be with you, the prayers of an entire nation and my good wishes go with you, each and every one. Open the way to civilization once and for all! Now you may depart! Farewell, comrades![49][50]
The official version omitted the following passage from which the speech derives its name:
Should you encounter the enemy, he will be defeated! No quarter will be given! Prisoners will not be taken! Whoever falls into your hands is forfeited. Just as a thousand years ago the Huns under their King Attila made a name for themselves, one that even today makes them seem mighty in history and legend, may the name German be affirmed by you in such a way in China that no Chinese will ever again dare to look cross-eyed at a German.[49][51]
The term "Hun" later became the favoured epithet of Allied anti-German war propaganda during the First World War.[48]
Assassination attempt
On 6 March 1901,[52] during a visit to Bremen, in an apparent assassination attempt Wilhelm was struck in the face by a sharp iron object thrown at him.[53] The assailant, identified as Johann-Dietrich Weiland,[54] was adjudged to be insane. The Kaiser was riding in a coach to the railway station when the incident happened at 10:10 pm, and the object thrown "afterward proved to be a fishplate". The German Emperor was left with a deep wound, an inch and a half long, below his left eye; the Chief of the Naval Ministry would note later, "On the temple or in the eye the blow could have been devastating. The wonder of it is that our All-Gracious Lord felt neither the object flying at him nor, in the rain, the copiously flowing blood; it was those around him who drew his attention to it at first."[55] Despite rumors in the press that the Kaiser had sunk into a depression, he would say in a speech at the end of the month, "nothing is more false than to pretend that my sanity has suffered in some way. I am exactly the same as I was; I have become neither elegiac nor melancholic... everything stays the same."
Eulenberg Scandal
In the years 1906–1909, Socialist journalist
Homosexuality was officially repressed in Germany. ... It was a criminal offense, punishable by prison, although the law was rarely invoked or enforced. Still, the very accusation could stir moral outrage and bring social ruin. This was especially true at the highest levels of Society.[58]
The result was years of highly publicized scandals, trials, resignations, and suicides. Harden, like some in the upper echelons of the military and Foreign Office, resented Eulenberg's approval of the
Moroccan Crisis
One of Wilhelm's diplomatic blunders sparked the Moroccan Crisis of 1905. He made a spectacular visit to Tangier, in Morocco on 31 March 1905. He conferred with representatives of Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco.[60] The Kaiser proceeded to tour the city on the back of a white horse. The Kaiser declared he had come to support the sovereignty of the Sultan—a statement which amounted to a provocative challenge to French influence in Morocco. The Sultan subsequently rejected a set of French-proposed governmental reforms and invited major world powers to a conference that advised him on necessary reforms.
The Kaiser's presence was seen as an assertion of German interests in Morocco, in opposition to those of France. In his speech, he even made remarks in favour of Moroccan independence, and this led to friction with France, which was expanding its colonial interests in Morocco, and to the Algeciras Conference, which served largely to further isolate Germany in Europe.[61]
Daily Telegraph Affair
Wilhelm's most damaging personal blunder cost him much of his prestige and power and had a far greater impact in Germany than overseas.[62] The Daily Telegraph Affair of 1908 involved the publication in Germany of an interview with a British daily newspaper that included wild statements and diplomatically damaging remarks. Wilhelm had seen the interview as an opportunity to promote his views and ideas on Anglo-German friendship, but due to his emotional outbursts during the course of the interview, he ended up further alienating not only the British, but also the French, Russians, and Japanese. He implied, among other things, that the Germans cared nothing for the British; that the French and Russians had attempted to incite Germany to intervene in the Second Boer War; and that the German naval buildup was targeted against the Japanese, not Britain. One memorable quotation from the interview was, "You English are mad, mad, mad as March hares."[63] The effect in Germany was quite significant, with serious calls for his abdication. Wilhelm kept a very low profile for many months after the Daily Telegraph fiasco, but later exacted his revenge by forcing the resignation of the chancellor, Prince Bülow, who had abandoned the Emperor to public scorn by not having the transcript edited before its German publication.[64][65] The Daily Telegraph crisis deeply wounded Wilhelm's previously unimpaired self-confidence, and he soon experienced a severe bout of depression from which he never fully recovered. He lost much of the influence he had previously exercised in domestic and foreign policy.[66]
Nothing Wilhelm did in the international arena was of more influence than his decision to pursue a policy of massive naval construction. A powerful navy was Wilhelm's pet project. He had inherited from his mother a love of the British Royal Navy, which was at that time the world's largest. He once confided to his uncle, the Prince of Wales, that his dream was to have a "fleet of my own some day". Wilhelm's frustration over his fleet's poor showing at the Fleet Review at his grandmother's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, combined with his inability to exert German influence in South Africa following the dispatch of the Kruger telegram, led to Wilhelm taking definitive steps toward the construction of a fleet to rival that of his British cousins. Wilhelm called on the services of the dynamic naval officer Alfred von Tirpitz, whom he appointed to the head of the Imperial Naval Office in 1897.[67]
The new admiral had conceived of what came to be known as the "Risk Theory" or the
In addition to the expansion of the fleet, the
World War I
Historians typically argue that Wilhelm was largely confined to ceremonial duties during the war—there were innumerable parades to review and honours to award. "The man who in peace had believed himself omnipotent became in war a 'shadow Kaiser', out of sight, neglected, and relegated to the sidelines."[72]
The Sarajevo crisis
Wilhelm was a friend of Franz Ferdinand, and he was deeply shocked by his assassination on 28 June 1914. Wilhelm offered to support Austria-Hungary in crushing the Black Hand, the secret organisation that had plotted the killing, and even sanctioned the use of force by Austria against the perceived source of the movement—Serbia (this is often called "the blank cheque"). He wanted to remain in Berlin until the crisis was resolved, but his courtiers persuaded him instead to go on his annual cruise of the North Sea on 6 July 1914. Wilhelm made erratic attempts to stay on top of the crisis via telegram, and when the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum was delivered to Serbia, he hurried back to Berlin. He reached Berlin on 28 July, read a copy of the Serbian reply, and wrote on it:
A brilliant solution—and in barely 48 hours! This is more than could have been expected. A great moral victory for Vienna; but with it every pretext for war falls to the ground, and [the Ambassador] Giesl had better have stayed quietly at Belgrade. On this document, I should never have given orders for mobilisation.[73]
Unknown to the Emperor, Austro-Hungarian ministers and generals had already convinced the 83-year-old Franz Joseph I to sign a declaration of war against Serbia. As a direct consequence, Russia began a general mobilisation to attack Austria in defence of Serbia.
July 1914
On the night of 30 July 1914, when handed a document stating that Russia would not cancel its mobilisation, Wilhelm wrote a lengthy commentary containing these observations:
For I no longer have any doubt that England, Russia and France have agreed among themselves—knowing that our treaty obligations compel us to support Austria—to use the Austro-Serb conflict as a pretext for waging a war of annihilation against us ... Our dilemma over keeping faith with the old and honourable Emperor has been exploited to create a situation which gives England the excuse she has been seeking to annihilate us with a spurious appearance of justice on the pretext that she is helping France and maintaining the well-known Balance of Power in Europe, i.e., playing off all European States for her own benefit against us.[74]
More recent British authors state that Wilhelm II really declared, "Ruthlessness and weakness will start the most terrifying war of the world, whose purpose is to destroy Germany. Because there can no longer be any doubts, England, France and Russia have conspired themselves together to fight an annihilation war against us".[75]
When it became clear that Germany would experience a war on two fronts and that Britain would enter the war if Germany attacked France through neutral
Early War
On 1 August 1914 (Saturday), Wilhelm II made a war speech in front of a great crowd.[78] On Monday, he motored back to Berlin from Potsdam and issued an imperial order to convene the Reichstag the next day.[79]
On 19 August 1914, Wilhelm II predicted that Germany will win the war. He said, "I am firmly confident that, with the help of God, the bravery of the German Army and Navy and the unquenchable unanimity of the German people during those hours of danger, victory will crown our cause."[80]
On 14 November 1914, Wilhelm II met with his cabinet and concluded that the
Shadow-Kaiser
Wilhelm's role in wartime was one of ever-decreasing power as he increasingly handled awards ceremonies and honorific duties. The high command continued with its strategy even when it was clear that the
Abdication and exile
Wilhelm was at the Imperial Army headquarters in
Wilhelm's hope of retaining at least one of his crowns was revealed as unrealistic when, in the hope of preserving the monarchy in the face of growing revolutionary unrest, Chancellor
Wilhelm consented to the abdication only after Ludendorff's replacement, General Wilhelm Groener, had informed him that the officers and men of the army would march back in good order under Hindenburg's command, but would certainly not fight for Wilhelm's throne. The monarchy's last and strongest support had been broken, and finally even Hindenburg, himself a lifelong monarchist, was obliged, after polling his generals, to advise the Emperor to give up the crown.[88] On 10 November, Wilhelm crossed the border by train and went into exile in the neutral Netherlands.[89] Upon the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles in early 1919, Article 227 expressly provided for the prosecution of Wilhelm "for a supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties", but the Dutch government refused to extradite him. King George V wrote that he looked on his cousin as "the greatest criminal in history" but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". There was little zeal in Britain to prosecute. On 1 January 1920, it was stated in official circles in London that Great Britain would "welcome refusal by Holland to deliver the former kaiser for trial," and it was hinted that this had been conveyed to the Dutch government through diplomatic channels:
Punishment of the former kaiser and other German war criminals is worrying Great Britain little, it was said. As a matter of form, however, the British and French governments were expected to request Holland for the former kaiser's extradition. Holland, it was said, will refuse on the ground of constitutional provisions covering the case and then the matter will be dropped. The request for extradition will not be based on genuine desire on the part of British officials to bring the kaiser to trial, according to authoritative information, but is considered necessary formality to 'save the face' of politicians who promised to see that Wilhelm was punished for his crimes.[90]
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States opposed extradition, arguing that prosecuting Wilhelm would destabilise international order and lose the peace.[91]
Wilhelm first settled in
Life in exile
In 1922, Wilhelm published the first volume of his memoirs
Wealth
Wilhelm II was seen as the richest man in Germany before 1914. After his abdication he retained substantial wealth. It was reported that at least 60 railway wagons were needed to carry his furniture, art, porcelain and silver from Germany to the Netherlands. The Kaiser retained substantial cash reserves as well as several palaces.[98] After 1945, the Hohenzollerns' forests, farms, factories and palaces in what became East Germany were expropriated and thousands of artworks were subsumed into state-owned museums.
Views on Nazism
In the early 1930s, Wilhelm apparently hoped that the successes of the
Wilhelm was also appalled at the Kristallnacht of 9–10 November 1938, saying "I have just made my views clear to Auwi [August Wilhelm, Wilhelm's fourth son] in the presence of his brothers. He had the nerve to say that he agreed with the Jewish pogroms and understood why they had come about. When I told him that any decent man would describe these actions as gangsterisms, he appeared totally indifferent. He is completely lost to our family".[100] Wilhelm also stated, "For the first time, I am ashamed to be a German":[101]
There's a man alone, without family, without children, without God [...] He builds legions, but he doesn't build a nation. A nation is created by families, a religion, traditions: it is made up out of the hearts of mothers, the wisdom of fathers, the joy and the exuberance of children [...] For a few months I was inclined to believe in National Socialism. I thought of it as a necessary fever. And I was gratified to see that there were, associated with it for a time, some of the wisest and most outstanding Germans. But these, one by one, he has got rid of, or even killed ... Papen, Schleicher, Neurath - and even Blomberg. He has left nothing but a bunch of shirted gangsters! [...] This man could bring home victories to our people each year, without bringing them either glory or (danger). But of our Germany, which was a nation of poets and musicians, of artists and soldiers, he has made a nation of hysterics and hermits, engulfed in a mob and led by a thousand liars or fanatics.
— Wilhelm on Hitler, December 1938[102]
In the wake of the
Upon the
After the German conquest of the Netherlands in 1940, the aging Wilhelm retired completely from public life. In May 1940, Wilhelm declined an offer from Winston Churchill of asylum in Britain, preferring to die at Huis Doorn.[107]
Anti-England, antisemitic, and anti-Freemason views
During his last year at Doorn, Wilhelm believed that Germany was still the land of monarchy and Christianity, while England was the land of classical liberalism and therefore of
He also believed that the Freemasons and the Jews had caused both world wars, and were aiming for a world empire financed by British and American gold, but that "Juda's plan has been smashed to pieces and they themselves swept out of the European Continent!"
Also, in 1940 came what would have been his mother's 100th birthday. Despite their very troubled relationship, Wilhelm wrote to a friend, "Today the 100th birthday of my mother! No notice is taken of it at home! No 'Memorial Service' or ... committee to remember her marvellous work for the ... welfare of our German people ... Nobody of the new generation knows anything about her."[111]
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Wilhelm in Amerongen, 1919
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Huis Doorn in 1925
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Wilhelm in 1933
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Huis Doorn in October 2004
Death
Wilhelm died of a
Wilhelm was buried in a mausoleum upon the grounds of Huis Doorn, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists, who gather there every year on the anniversary of his death to pay their homage to the last German Emperor.[114]
Historiography
Three trends have characterised the writing about Wilhelm. First, the court-inspired writers considered him a martyr and a hero, often uncritically accepting the justifications provided in the Kaiser's own memoirs. Second, there came those who judged Wilhelm to be completely unable to handle the great responsibilities of his position, a ruler too reckless to deal with power. Third, after 1950, later scholars have sought to transcend the passions of the early 20th century and attempted an objective portrayal of Wilhelm and his rule.[115]
On 8 June 1913, a year before the Great War began,
Marriages and issue
Wilhelm and his first wife, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, were married on 27 February 1881. They had seven children:
Name | Birth | Death | Spouse | Children |
---|---|---|---|---|
Crown Prince Wilhelm
|
6 May 1882 | 20 July 1951 | Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Married 1905) | Prince Wilhelm (1906–1940) Prince Louis Ferdinand (1907–1994) Prince Hubertus (1909–1950) Prince Frederick (1911–1966) Princess Alexandrine (1915–1980) Princess Cecilie (1917–1975) |
Prince Eitel Friedrich
|
7 July 1883 | 8 December 1942 | Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg (Married 1906; Divorced 1926) | |
Prince Adalbert | 14 July 1884 | 22 September 1948 | Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Married 1914) | Princess Victoria Marina (1915) Princess Victoria Marina (1917–1981) Prince Wilhelm Victor (1919–1989) |
Prince August Wilhelm | 29 January 1887 | 25 March 1949 | Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (Married 1908; Divorced 1920) | Prince Alexander Ferdinand (1912–1985) |
Prince Oskar | 27 July 1888 | 27 January 1958 | Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz (Married 1914) | Prince Oskar (1915–1939) Prince Burchard (1917–1988) Prince Wilhelm-Karl (1922–2007)
|
Prince Joachim | 17 December 1890 | 18 July 1920 | Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt (Married 1916; Divorced 1919) | Prince Karl Franz (1916–1975) |
Princess Victoria Louise | 13 September 1892 | 11 December 1980 | Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick (Married 1913) | Prince George William (1915–2006) (1917–1981)Princess Frederica Prince Christian Oscar (1919–1981) Prince Welf Henry (1923–1997) |
Empress Augusta, known affectionately as "Dona", was a constant companion to Wilhelm, and her death on 11 April 1921 was a devastating blow. It also came less than a year after their son Joachim committed suicide.
Remarriage
The following January, Wilhelm received a birthday greeting from a son of the late Prince Johann George Ludwig Ferdinand August Wilhelm of Schönaich-Carolath. The 63-year-old Wilhelm invited the boy and his mother,
Religion
Own views
In accordance with his role as the King of Prussia, Emperor Wilhelm II was a
Attitude towards Islam
Wilhelm II was on friendly terms with the Muslim world.[122] He described himself as a "friend" to "300 million Mohammedans".[123] Following his trip to Constantinople (which he visited three times—an unbeaten record for any European monarch)[124] in 1898, Wilhelm II wrote to Nicholas II that:[125]
If I had come there without any religion at all, I certainly would have turned Mohammedan!
In response to the political competition between the Christian sects to build bigger and grander churches and monuments which made the sects appear idolatrous and turned Muslims away from the Christian message.[clarification needed][126]
Antisemitism
Wilhelm's biographer
Cecil concludes:
Wilhelm never changed, and throughout his life he believed that Jews were perversely responsible, largely through their prominence in the Berlin press and in leftist political movements, for encouraging opposition to his rule. For individual Jews, ranging from rich businessmen and major art collectors to purveyors of elegant goods in Berlin stores, he had considerable esteem, but he prevented Jewish citizens from having careers in the army and the diplomatic corps and frequently used abusive language against them.[127]
At the height of German military intervention against the
On 2 December 1919, Wilhelm wrote to Mackensen, denouncing the
Documentaries and films
- William II. – The last days of the German Monarchy (original title: "Wilhelm II. – Die letzten Tage des Deutschen Kaiserreichs"), about the abdication and flight of the last German Kaiser. Germany/Belgium, 2007. Produced by seelmannfilm and German Television. Written and directed by Christoph Weinert.[130]
- Queen Victoria and the Crippled Kaiser, Channel 4, Secret History series 13; first broadcast 17 November 2013
- BBC TV series Fall of Eagles.
- Christopher Neame played Wilhelm II in the several episodes of the 1975 BBC TV series Edward the Seventh.
- Rupert Julian played Wilhelm II in the 1918 Hollywood propaganda film The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin.
- Alfred Struwe played Wilhelm in the 1987 Polish historical drama film Magnat.
- Robert Stadlober played a young crown prince Wilhelm and friend of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria in the acclaimed 2006 film Kronprinz Rudolf (The Crown Prince).
- Ladislav Frej played the Kaiser in the 2008 film The Red Baron.
- Rainer Sellien played Wilhelm II in the 2014 BBC miniseries 37 Days.
- Christopher Plummer played a depressed Wilhelm II living in exile at Huis Doorn in the 2016 romantic war drama The Exception.
- Sylvester Groth portrayed Wilhelm II during his last days as Emperor in the 2018 miniseries Kaisersturz ("The Emperor's Fall").
- Tom Hollander played Wilhelm II in the 2021 movie The King's Man.[131]
Orders and decorations
- Prussia:
- Knight of the Black Eagle, 27 January 1869; with Collar, 1877[135]
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, 27 January 1869
- Knight of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class, 27 January 1869[135]
- Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 27 January 1869[135]
- Founder of the Ladies Merit Cross, 25 April 1892[136]
- Founder of the Wilhelm-Orden, 18 January 1896[137]
- Founder of the Red Cross Medal, 1 October 1898
- Founder of the Jerusalem Cross, 31 October 1898[138]
- Founder of the Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown, 18 January 1901[137]
- Iron Cross, 1st Class, 1914; Grand Cross, 11 December 1916[139]
- Pour le Mérite (military), 16 February 1915; with Oak Leaves, 12 May 1915[139]
- Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
- Anhalt:
- Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, 1884[140]
- Friedrich Cross, 1914
- Baden:
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1877[141]
- Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 28 July 1877
- Grand Cross of the Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order, 1 November 1914
- Bavaria:
- Knight of St. Hubert, 1881[142]
- Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph, 1 November 1914
- Brunswick:
- Grand Cross of Henry the Lion, 1881[143]
- War Merit Cross, 1914
- Ernestine duchies:
- Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1877[144]
- Cross for Merit in War (Meiningen), 15 October 1917
- Free Hanseatic Cities: Hanseatic Crosses, 15 October 1917
- Hesse and by Rhine:[145]
- Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 2 April 1872
- Knight of the Golden Lion, with Collar, 19 April 1894
- Lippe: War Service Cross, 1st Class, 15 October 1917
- Mecklenburg:
- Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Crown in Ore
- Military Merit Cross, 1st Class (Schwerin), 15 October 1917
- Oldenburg:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown and Collar, 18 February 1878[146]
- Friedrich August Cross, 15 October 1917
- Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, 1877[147]
- Saxony:
- Knight of the Rue Crown, 28 July 1877
- Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry, 22 October 1914
- Schaumburg-Lippe: Service Cross, 1914
- Württemberg:
- Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1877[148]
- Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 11 November 1914
- Austria-Hungary:[149]
- Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1872
- Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1914
- Grand Cross of the
- Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (military), 9 October 1884
- Brazil: Grand Cross of the Southern Cross, 28 July 1877
- Bulgaria:
- Grand Cross of St. Alexander, 28 July 1877
- Knight of Saints Cyril and Methodius, with Collar, 1912
- Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 18 January 1916
- Order of Bravery, 1st Class, 11 October 1917[150]
- Denmark:[151]
- Knight of the Elephant, 28 November 1879
- Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog, 18 February 1906
- Finland: Grand Cross of the Cross of Liberty, with Swords and Diamonds, 30 June 1918[152]
- Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
- Order of Kamehameha I, 1881[153]
- Italy:
- Knight of the Annunciation, 24 September 1873[154]
- Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
- Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy, 8 September 1889
- Tuscan Grand Ducal Family: Grand Cross of St. Joseph, 9 October 1884
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion
- Japan: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 24 September 1886; Collar, 10 December 1894[155]
- Montenegro: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I, 28 July 1877
- Netherlands:
- Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion, 28 July 1877
- Grand Cross of the Military William Order, 8 September 1889[156]
- Grand Cross of the House Order of Orange, 4 May 1905
- Norway:
- Grand Cross of St. Olav, with Collar, 1 August 1888[157]
- Knight of the Norwegian Lion, 27 January 1904[158]
- Ottoman Empire:
- Order of the House of Osman, 30 November 1898
- Order of Osmanieh, 1st Class in Diamonds
- Order of Distinction
- Order of Glory in Diamonds, 15 October 1917
- War Service Medal, 15 October 1917
- Portugal:
- Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword, 9 October 1884; with Collar, 1888
- Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders
- Russia:
- Knight of St. Andrew, 1872
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, 1872
- Knight of the White Eagle, 1872
- Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class, 1872
- Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class, 1872
- Romania:
- Grand Cross of the Star of Romania, 28 July 1877
- Grand Cross of the Crown of Romania, 28 July 1877
- Collar of the Order of Carol I, 1906[159]
- San Marino: Grand Cross of San Marino, 9 October 1884
- Serbia:
- Siam:
- Grand Cross of the Crown of Siam, 28 July 1877
- Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, 15 July 1891
- Spain: Knight of the Golden Fleece, 8 November 1875[160]
- Sweden:
- Knight of the Seraphim, 25 April 1878; with Collar, 1 November 1888[161]
- Commander Grand Cross of the Order of Vasa, with Collar, 30 July 1909[162]
- United Kingdom:
- Stranger Knight Companion of the Garter, 27 January 1877[163] (expelled in 1915)
- Knight of Justice of St. John, 1888 (expelled in 1915)
- Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 21 November 1899[164] (expelled in 1915)
- Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain, 9 November 1902[165] (expelled in 1915)
- Venezuela: Collar of the Order of the Liberator, 4 May 1905
Ancestry
Ancestors of Wilhelm II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
- ^ The English-language form William II is uncommon in contrast to other historical monarchs.
See also
- Ålesund, a Norwegian city rebuilt by Wilhelm II after it had been almost completely destroyed by fire in 1904
- German entry into World War I
- Family tree of German monarchs
- Wilhelminism on society, politics, culture, art and architecture of Germany 1890–1918
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- Motadel, David, ed. (2014). Islam and the European Empires (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199668311.
- Nipperdey, Thomas (1992). Deutsche Geschichte 1866–1918. Vol. 2: Machtstaat vor der Demokratie (in German)., translated in Evans, Richard J. (1997), Rereading German History: From Unification to Reunification, 1800–1996, Routledge, p. 39
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- Palmer, Alan Warwick (1976). Bismarck. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 978-0-684-14683-6.
- Palmer, Alan (1978). The Kaiser: Warlord of the Second Reich. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9781857998672.
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- Putnam, William L. (2001). The Kaiser's Merchant Ships in World War I. Flagstaff, Arizona: Light Technology Publishing. ISBN 978-1622336999.
- Reinermann, Lothar (October 2008). "Fleet Street and the Kaiser: British Public Opinion and Wilhelm II". German History. 26 (4): 469–485. .
- Röhl, John C. G. (1994). The Kaiser and His Court: Wilhelm II and the Government of Germany. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-40223-1.
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- Röhl, John C. G. (1998). Young Wilhelm: The Kaiser's Early Life, 1859–1888. Cambridge University Press.
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- Röhl, John C. G. (1982). Röhl, John C. G.; Sombart, Nicolaus (eds.). Kaiser Wilhelm II New Interpretations: The Corfu Papers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01990-3.
- Röhl, John C. G. (2014). Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Concise Life. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107072251.
- Röhl, John C. G. (2014b). Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-72896-7.
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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Steakley, James D. (1989). "Iconography of a Scandal: Political Cartoons and the Eulenburg Affair in Wilhelmine Germany". In Dubermann, Martin (ed.). Hidden From History: Reclaiming The Gay And Lesbian Past. New York City: New American Library. pp. 325–326.
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- Willmott, H. P. (2003). First World War. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-1-4053-0029-2.
- "The interview of the Emperor Wilhelm II on October 28, 1908". London Daily Telegraph Online
Further reading
- Clark, Christopher M. Kaiser Wilhelm II (2000).
- Domeier, Norman. The Eulenburg Affair: A Cultural History of Politics in the German Empire (2015).
- Eley, Geoff. "The View From The Throne: The Personal Rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II", Historical Journal, June 1985, Vol. 28 Issue 2, pp. 469–485.
- Haardt, Oliver FR. "The Kaiser in the Federal State, 1871–1918". German History 34.4 (2016): 529–554, online.
- Kohut, Thomas A. Wilhelm II and the Germans: A Study in Leadership, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-19-506172-7.
- Langer, William L. The Diplomacy of Imperialism, 1890–1902 (1935) online.
- Mombauer, Annika; Deist, Wilhelm (2003). The Kaiser: New Research on Wilhelm II's Role in Imperial Germany. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-44060-8.
- Mommsen, Wolfgang J. "Kaiser Wilhelm II and German Politics". Journal of Contemporary History 1990 25(2–3): 289–316. ISSN 0022-0094(argues his irrationality and instability made worse the weaknesses in Germany's constitutional and political systems).
- Otte, T.G., "'The Winston of Germany': The British Elite and the Last German Emperor" Canadian Journal of History 36 (December 2001).
- Retallack, James. Germany in the Age of Kaiser Wilhelm II (St. Martin's Press, 1996). ISBN 978-0-333-59242-7.
- Rich, Norman. "The Question of National Interest In Imperial German Foreign Policy: Bismarck, William II, and the Road to World War I". Naval War College Review (1973) 26#1: 28–41, online.
- Röhl, John C. G; Sombart, Nicolaus, eds. Kaiser Wilhelm II New Interpretations: The Corfu Papers (Cambridge UP, 1982).
- Van der Kiste, John. Kaiser Wilhelm II: Germany's Last Emperor, Sutton Publishing, 1999. ISBN 978-0-7509-1941-8.
- Waite, Robert GL Kaiser and Führer: A Comparative Study of Personality and Politics (1998) (psychohistory comparing him to Adolf Hitler).
External links
- The German Emperor as shown in his public utterances
- Hohenzollern, William II (1922), My Memoirs: 1878–1918, London: Cassell & Co, Google Books.
- The German emperor's speeches: being a selection from the speeches, edicts, letters, and telegrams of the Emperor William II
- Works by Wilhelm II at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Wilhelm II at Internet Archive, mostly in German
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 667–669. .
- Saunders, George (1922). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.).
- The Last German Emperor, Living in Exile in The Netherlands 1918–1941 on YouTube
- Historical film documents on Wilhelm II from the time of World War I at European Film Gateway
- Newspaper clippings about Wilhelm II in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- The 1922 book review of My Memoir from The Spectator
- Portraits of Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia at the National Portrait Gallery, London