Kaiser Wilhelm II Facts & Worksheets

Let’s know more about Kaiser Wilhelm II!

Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert, or Kaiser Wilhelm II, was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. In June 1888, he succeeded his father, Frederick III, who was already ill when he ascended the throne in March 1888 following the death of Wilhelm II’s uncle, Kaiser Wilhelm I. From 1888 until his abdication in 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II ruled the newly unified German Empire and let it into the First World War. However, his military and imperialistic ambitions led to the demise of Germany and, ultimately, his abdication. The 1918 German Revolution ended the monarchy and marked the beginning of the Weimar Republic.

Historical background of the Second Reich

• Also known as the Second Reich, the Kaiserreich was a period in Germany following the unification in 1871 until the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918. In 1871, 25 constituent states and an imperial territory were unified under the new German Empire. Imperial Germany was divided into four kingdoms, six Grand Duchies, five Duchies, seven Principalities, three Free and Hanseatic Cities and one imperial territory. Several states were gained from the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. 
• After unification into one German Empire, it was expected to be ruled under a constitutional monarchy wherein the monarch was supposed to lead with the parliament's advice. This did not happen, however, as the Kaiser ruled with absolute power. 
• Despite being considered a federal empire, the Kingdom of Prussia dominated the German Empire. In addition to its large territory, Prussia housed three-fifths of the Empire’s population. The House of Hohenzollern (the ruling house of Prussia) also held the imperial crown. Moreover, 17 out of 58 votes in the Bundesrat were also representatives from Prussia. 
• The king of Prussia was automatically named as the emperor of Germany, while the prime minister or minister president of Prussia also served as the chancellor of the Empire. 
• On 2 January 1861, Wilhelm I ascended the throne following the death of his brother, Frederick William IV of Prussia. In 1871, Wilhelm I became the first emperor of the unified German Empire. Among his closest confidants was Prussia’s prime minister (1862–1873) and first chancellor of the German Empire (1871–1890), Otto von Bismarck. At the age of 90, Wilhelm I was shortly succeeded by his son Frederick III, who died 99 days after ascension. 

Early life and family

• Dubbed the Year of the Three Emperors, 1888 was a remarkable year in German history, recording the death of two emperors (Kaiser Wilhelm I and Kaiser Frederick III) and the ascension of a new emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Following the long reign of Kaiser Wilhelm I, he was succeeded by his already ill son Frederick III. On 15 June 1888, following Frederick III’s death from throat cancer, 29-year-old Wilhelm II succeeded the throne. 

Hohenzollern family tree

• Other than the lineage of Frederick the Great of Prussia, Wilhelm II was the son of Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. Victoria was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
• After a complicated delivery (the baby was in breech and hypoxic), the future Wilhelm II was born on 27 January 1859. The baby, however, had brachial plexus, which resulted in an atrophied (shorter) left arm as Wilhelm reached adulthood. 
• Several treatments were used to cure young Wilhelm’s condition, including animal baths and electroshock sessions. 
• In modern medical assessments, baby Wilhelm’s traumatic birth resulted in Erb’s palsy, a paralysis of the arm caused by injured nerves. 
• In 1860, a letter from Princess Victoria to her parents expressed her guilt about having a son with a disability. The relationship between the princess and her eldest son was subject to speculation. Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud suggested that Wilhelm’s disability and Princess Victoria’s distanced relationship with her son impacted the former’s future behaviour as Kaiser. 
• However, historians, such as Wolfgang Mommsen, insisted that Princess Victoria was affectionate with all her children. 
• In 1863, young Wilhelm visited England and attended the wedding of his Uncle Bertie (later Edward VII) to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. 
• Frustrated by her child’s disability, Princess Victoria insisted Wilhelm be a good rider. At the age of eight, Wilhelm began riding lessons. At first, his imbalance often caused him to fall off, but over time he finally maintained balance. For a while time, Princess Victoria was disgraced for having borne a son with a disability. 
• In his teens, Wilhelm attended the Friedrichsgymnasium in Kassel. Upon finishing high school in 1877, Wilhelm received the Order of the Garter from his grandmother, Queen Victoria. He immediately attended the University of Bonn and studied politics and law for four terms. Described as a clever teenager, Wilhelm had a temper that often overshadowed his character. 
• Like other members of the Prussian aristocracy, Wilhelm was exposed to the hyper-masculine culture of militarism. Educated by tutors who supported the autocratic rule, Wilhelm’s ideals became more distant with his mother’s British liberalism. 
• At 21, Wilhelm I sent his grandson to military training. Future Wilhelm II was made lieutenant to the First Regiment of Foot Guards at Potsdam. In his 20s, Wilhelm was heavily influenced by Bismarck, which further alienated his relationship with his parents. In 1889, Wilhelm II angrily remarked that English doctors crippled his arm, killed his father, and that everything was his mother’s fault.
• On 27 February 1881, Crown Prince Wilhelm married Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, known as ‘Dona’, as proposed by Bismarck to seal the dispute between Prussia and Augusta’s father, Frederick VIII. 
• In 1884, Wilhelm attended the coming-of-age of Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia. Two years later, he met Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary. 
• Wilhelm II and Princess Augusta Victoria had seven children: Crown Prince Wilhelm, Prince Eitel Friedrich, Prince Adalbert, Prince August Wilhelm, Prince Oskar, Prince Joachim and Princess Victoria Louise. 
• A year after the death of ex-Empress Augusta in April 1921, former Kaiser Wilhelm II remarried. Then, 63-year-old Wilhelm married 35-year-old Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz. 
• Queen Victoria was Wilhelm II’s maternal grandmother, and his first cousins included King George V of the United Kingdom, Queens Maud of Norway, Victoria Eugenie of Spain, Marie of Romania, and Empress Alexandra of Russia (wife of Tsar Nicholas II).

  

• Records suggest that Wilhelm II had a contentious relationship with his British relatives. Queen Alexandra of Denmark (Edward VII of the United Kingdom’s wife) disliked the Prussian seizure of Schleswig-Holstein and this was extended to Wilhelm II. However, despite his distant relationship with his relatives in Britain, Wilhelm II attended the funerals of Queen Victoria in 1901 and Edward VII in 1910. 
• In 1913, George V and his wife, Queen Mary, were invited to the wedding of Wilhelm II’s daughter, Princess Victoria Louise, to Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover in 1913. 
• Amid the family relationships of the three principal monarchs (Kaiser Wilhelm II, Tsar Nicholas II and King George V), the First World War in 1914 was inevitable. 

Ascension and rule

• On 15 June 1888, Wilhelm succeeded his father as Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and his chancellors

• In the early years of his rule, Wilhelm II encountered conflict with Germany’s Iron Chancellor. His admiration of Bismarck withered over disagreements on peaceful foreign policy and a more aggressive German expansion. The heated disputes between Wilhelm II and Bismarck led to the latter’s resignation in 1890. Bismarck pointed out the emperor’s interference with his foreign and domestic policies in a letter. In 1890, Bismarck was succeeded by Leo Graf von Caprivi.
• One of Caprivi’s initiatives as chancellor was the refusal to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia. This ended the partnership between the tsardom and the Junkers.
• Signed in 1887, the Reinsurance Treaty was a secret agreement between Germany and Russia following the collapse of the Three Emperors’ League. 
• Following the end of the German-Russian treaty, Caprivi supported Austro-Hungarian plans in the Balkans. Moreover, he planned to make Great Britain part of the Triple Alliance through German concessions to British interests in East Africa. 
• Economically, Caprivi lowered tariffs imposed by Bismarck. Moreover, he rejected the renewal of anti-Socialist laws in the hope of gaining their favour. Caprivi’s social and foreign policies received opposition from parties in the Reichstag. Botho Graf zu Eulenburg, the Prussian prime minister, became one of Caprivi’s critics. In response to the struggle between Prussia and Germany, Wilhelm II dismissed Caprivi and Eulenburg in 1894. 
• In 1894, after serving as prime minister of Bavaria in 1870 and Statthalter of Alsace-Lorraine, 75-year-old Chlodwig Karl Viktor succeeded Caprivi as chancellor of Germany. Unlike his predecessor, he renewed the agreement with Russia. He also dropped the support for Austria-Hungary. However, he made no significant efforts to pass or amend anti-Socialist laws. Generally, he attempted to copy the Bismarck era without much conflict. 

• Under the persuasion of Philipp, Fürst zu Eulenburg, Wilhelm II’s personal friend, Bernhard von Bülow, was appointed as chancellor in 1900. Under Bülow, domestic policies such as extending the claiming period for accident insurance, creating industrial arbitration courts in towns, controlling child labour and expanding health insurance were passed. In 1904, a polling booth law that improved secret ballots was also introduced. 
• In international politics, Bülow put Germany between the interests of other great powers such as Great Britain, France and Russia. Regarded by Wilhelm II as ‘his Bismarck’, he pushed for an aggressive foreign policy like the Kaiser wanted. During his chancellorship, Germany acquired colonies in China and the Pacific. He also supported Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz’s modernisation of the German navy. 
• Unlike his predecessors, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg had no experience in foreign affairs. On 14 July 1909, he succeeded Bülow as chancellor. His attempts to negotiate with Britain over the reduction of naval armaments in March 1909 and February 1912 resulted in nothing due to opposition from Tirpitz and the Kaiser himself. During the Balkan Crises (1912–1913), Hollweg and British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey successfully alleviated tensions between Russia and Austria-Hungary. 
• While the Kaiser’s decision to support Austria-Hungary against Serbia in July 1914 was absolute, some historians viewed Hollweg’s approval of the action as pivotal to the outbreak of the First World War.
• On 13 July 1917, following the forced resignation of Hollweg, Georg Michaelis became Germany’s ‘first bourgeoisie chancellor’. His chancellorship was largely influenced by military men Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. Although supported by the army, the new chancellor failed to get the Reichstag, which was then dominated by the centre-left. Following the naval mutinies at Wilhelmshaven, the Reichstag demanded Michaelis’s resignation in August. The resignation took effect on 1 November 1917. 
• Before serving as Chancellor of Germany and Minister President of Prussia, Georg von Hertling served as the Minister President of Bavaria between 1912 and 1917. Like Michaelis, Hertling was seen as a puppet of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, constituting a virtual military dictatorship. Due to age and conservatism, Hertling was proven unable to manage the last quarter of the war. As a result, he was forced to resign. 
• For only 37 days, Prince Maximilian of Baden served as Chancellor of the German Empire. Despite his initial reluctance, Baden negotiated the armistice based on the proposal of US President Woodrow Wilson. His very short rule saw the collapse of the German Empire, the abdication of Wilhelm II and the transformation of the government into a parliamentary system with Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) Chairman Friedrich Ebert as President of the Weimar Republic. 

Kaiser Wilhelm II and the First World War

• Franz Ferdinand was to take over the Austro-Hungarian Empire but was assassinated on 28 June 1914. His murder in Sarajevo is widely thought by historians to be the immediate cause of the First World War, even though there were some other long-term causes that had been present for some time. Despite him being a minor figure in Europe, the relationship between Austria and other European nations is what started the war.

  

• Austria swiftly blamed Serbia for Franz Ferdinand’s death. Serbia had a reputation for encouraging the Black Hand and had also given them weapons, hoping that Serbia and Bosnia would unite to form a new Balkan state. It set off a chain of reactions across Europe.
• The war against Serbia would have been an easy win for Austria, but it became an entirely different issue with the Russians in the fold. Russia had a huge army, and Austria would not have survived the war. As a result, Austria called on Germany for help. The German government agreed to this. This response, however, provoked the French government.
• After the assassination, Wilhelm II offered Austria-Hungary assistance to crush the Black Hand. His support became known as the ‘blank cheque’. In a letter on 28 July 1914, Wilhelm II expressed his support of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum. 
• Two days later, Wilhelm II wrote a commentary following Russia’s declaration of war. The Kaiser was convinced that England, Russia and France had conspired to ignite a war. 
• Unknown to their rivals and allies, the German Empire had created the Schlieffen Plan. This plan was named after Graf Alfred von Schlieffen, a Senior Field Marshall who believed the German army was superior to any other army in Europe. However, he even conceded that it could not fight a war on two fronts, against the French and the Russians on the other.
• As predicted, France called up its army, and Germany carried out the Schlieffen Plan. They were to attack France through Belgium, not knowing what lay ahead.

"To think that George and Nicky should have played me false! If my grandmother had been alive, she would never have allowed it." - Wilhelm II in July 1914

• Germany invaded Belgium on 4 August 1914, and Britain, as promised to Belgium, declared war on Germany as Russia supported Britain. Austria supported Germany, and only Italy was left out. Every country involved in the war thought it was only temporary and would only last from August to Christmas 1914.

  

• After the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, Wilhelm II’s role became increasingly ceremonial. Historians regarded him as a ‘Shadow Kaiser’ and identified the empire under a military dictatorship by 1916. 
• Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff held power over military strategies, while Wilhelm II retained his appointment authority. 

Decline, death and legacy

• The defeat of Germany in the First World War heavily impacted its population. The four years of war brought deaths, depleted resources, and heightened tensions between social classes in Germany.
• By 1918, support for the Kaiser had totally collapsed, and an uprising in Belgium took him by surprise. The emergence of the German Revolution caused him to abdicate on 9 November 1918, when it became clear that SPD leader Friedrich Ebert could effectively exert control of Germany. Chancellor Max of Baden resigned, and Wilhelm II went into exile in the neutral Netherlands.
• On 28 November 1918, Wilhelm II issued a belated statement of abdication, vacating the throne of Germany and Prussia. His action ended the five-century rule of the Hohenzollern dynasty over Prussia. 
• When the Treaty of Versailles was concluded in 1919, Article 227 stipulated the persecution of the Kaiser, but the Dutch government refused to extradite him. 
• While George V agreed with the crimes committed by his cousin, he refused to support British Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s idea of hanging the former Kaiser.
• On the contrary, US President Woodrow Wilson opposed the extradition, believing that prosecuting former Kaiser Wilhelm II would only destabilise international peace. 
• On 15 May 1920, Wilhelm purchased Huis Doorn in Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the central Netherlands. Two years later, he published the first volume of his memoirs, expressing that he was not guilty of starting the First World War. 
• Before the war, Wilhelm II was the wealthiest man in Germany, and even after his abdication, he could retain a substantial amount of wealth. Furnitures, art pieces, porcelain and silver were transported from the New Palace at Potsdam to the Netherlands. 
• In the 1930s, it was believed that the former Kaiser hoped for the victory of the Nazi Party, apparently for the restoration of the monarchy. Princess Hermine, his second wife, was believed to have petitioned Adolf Hitler on behalf of Wilhelm. However, Hitler and the party ignored the petition. 
• In May 1940, following the Nazis’ successful invasion of Poland, Wilhelm sent Hitler a congratulatory telegram indicating his hopes of restoring the German monarchy. Unimpressed by the message, Hitler was believed to have remarked, ‘What an idiot!’.
• Other telegrams were sent to Hitler following the fall of Paris in June 1940. Wilhelm praised Hitler for his conquest and claimed that they (including Hitler’s generals) were all educated in the former Kaiser’s school. 
• Despite his pro-Nazism sentiment, Wilhelm was offered asylum in Britain by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, but he rejected it. 
• On 4 June 1941, weeks before Germany’s Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, Wilhelm died of a pulmonary embolism. At the time of his death, the Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis. Amid Hitler’s attempt to bring the Kaiser’s body back to Berlin to be used in propaganda, he honoured the Kaiser’s orders to be interred in the Netherlands unless the German monarchy was restored. 
• A simple military funeral attended by several Nazi authorities and a few hundred people was held at Doorn. A small mausoleum was built at Huis Doorn, which became a pilgrimage site for German monarchists.