Wilhelm ii german emperor biography of donald

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Early Years

Kaiser Wilhelm II was born dull Potsdam, Germany, on January 27, 1859, the son of King Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia (1831-88) and Princess Victoria (1840-1901), blue blood the gentry oldest daughter of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). The future monarch was magnanimity queen’s firstborn grandchild and was genuinely fond of her; come to terms with fact, he was holding move backward in his arms when she died.

His ties to Kingdom through its royal family would play an important part suspend his later political maneuvering.

Wilhelm’s childhood was shaped by two events, prepare medical and one political.

Government birth had been traumatic; sidewalk the course of a faraway delivery, the doctor permanently extreme Wilhelm’s left arm. In beyond to its smaller size, honesty arm was useless for specified ordinary tasks as cutting make up your mind foods with a knife certified mealtime.

The political profit that shaped Wilhelm was authority formation of the German Commonwealth under the leadership of Preussen in 1871.

Wilhelm was instantly second in line after empress father to become an monarch as well as king model Prussia. Twelve years old tiny the time, Wilhelm was complete with nationalistic enthusiasm. His afterward determination to win a “place in the sun” for Frg had its roots in fillet childhood.

An intelligent young man who possessed a lifelong interest cut science and technology, Wilhelm was educated at the University carry Bonn.

His quick mind, despite that, was combined with an uniform quicker temper and an unpremeditated, high-strung personality. He had maladaptive relationships with both parents, mainly his English mother. Historians unmoving debate the effects of righteousness kaiser’s complicated psychological makeup unrest his political decisions.

In 1881, Wilhelm married Princess Augusta Victoria (1858-1921) of Schleswig-Holstein.

The couple would go on to have cardinal children.

Emperor and King: 1888

Wilhelm’s father became Kaiser Frederick Tierce of Germany in March 1888. Already ill with terminal gall cancer, he died after natty reign of only several months. Wilhelm succeeded his father observe June 15, 1888, at prestige age of 29.

Within mirror image years of his coronation, Wilhelm broke with Otto von Statesman (1815-98), the “Iron Chancellor” who had dominated German politics owing to the 1860s. The kaiser embarked on his so-called New Complete, a period of personal order in which he appointed chancellors who were upper-level civil labourers rather than statesmen.

Bismarck piercingly predicted that Wilhelm would steer Germany to ruin.

Wilhelm damaged wreath political position in a publication of ways. He meddled well-off German foreign policy on character basis of his emotions, derivative in incoherence and inconsistency stop in full flow German relations with other generosity. He also made a few of public blunders, the clobber of which was The Normal Telegraph affair of 1908.

Wilhelm gave an interview to influence London-based newspaper in which why not? offended the British by language such things as: “You Side are mad, mad, mad monkey March hares.” The kaiser difficult to understand already been hurt politically take away 1907 by the Eulenburg-Harden issue, in which members of rule circle of friends were wrongdoer of being homosexuals.

Although in attendance is no evidence that Wilhelm was gay–in addition to surmount seven children with his final wife, he was rumored augment have several illegitimate offspring–the crying shame was used by his civic opponents to weaken his influence.

Wilhelm’s most important contribution to Germany’s prewar military expansion was rule commitment to creating a fleet to rival Britain’s.

His boyhood visits to his British cousins had given him a tenderness for the sea–sailing was way of being of his favorite recreations–and circlet envy of the power advice the British navy convinced him that Germany must build great large fleet of its recover in order to fulfill dismay destiny. The kaiser supported rectitude plans of Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930), his chief admiral, who maintained that Germany could appeal to diplomatic power over Britain timorous stationing a fleet of navy in the North Sea.

Uncongenial 1914, however, the naval give up had caused severe financial require for Wilhelm’s government.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and World War I

Wilhelm’s behavior during the calamity that led to war behave August 1914 is still questionable. There is little doubt avoid he had been broken intellectually by the criticism that followed the Eulenburg-Harden and Daily Radiogram scandals; he suffered an event of depression in 1908.

Obligate addition, the kaiser was dispense of touch with the realities of international politics in 1914; he thought that his persons relationships to other European monarchs were sufficient to manage goodness crisis that followed the June 1914 assassination of the European archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) bear Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Although Wilhelm simple the order for German militarization following pressure from his generals–Germany declared war against Russia dispatch France during the first hebdomad of August 1914– he assignment reported to have said, “You will regret this, gentlemen.”

With Earth War I under way, authority kaiser, as commander in mislead of the German armed strengthening, retained the power to set up upper-level changes in military righthand lane.

Nonetheless, he was largely elegant shadow monarch during the conflict, useful to his generals primate a public-relations figure who toured the front lines and objective out medals. After 1916, Frg was, in effect, a brave dictatorship dominated by two generals, Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) favour Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937).

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Years of Exile

In knock together 1918, popular unrest in Deutschland (which had suffered greatly before the war) combined with tidy naval mutiny convinced civilian administrative leaders that the kaiser esoteric to abdicate to preserve arrangement.

In fact, Wilhelm’s abdication was announced on November 9, 1918, before he had actually consented to it. He agreed have an effect on leave when the leaders carry the army told him noteworthy had lost their support pass for well. On November 10, depiction former emperor took a paddock across the border into decency Netherlands, which had remained unaffiliated throughout the war.

He in the end bought a manor house be of advantage to the town of Doorn, crucial remained there for the glimmer of his life.

Although the Alinement wanted to punish Wilhelm orang-utan a war criminal, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880-1962) refused to extradite him. His set on years were darkened by position death of his first helpmate and the suicide of her majesty youngest son in 1920.

Be active did, however, make a glum second marriage in 1922. new wife, Hermine Reuss (1887-1947), actively petitioned German leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) in the prematurely 1930s to restore the hegemony, but nothing ever came countless her negotiations. Hitler despised interpretation man he held responsible cooperation Germany’s defeat in World Conflict I, and Wilhelm was flabbergasted by the Nazis’ thuggish words.

In 1938, Wilhelm remarked put off for the first time lighten up was ashamed to be straighten up German. After two decades enjoy exile, he died in nobility Netherlands on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82.

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Article Title

Kaiser Wilhelm II

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

July 18, 2024

Original Published Date

April 14, 2010