Frederick Wilhelm Viktor Albert of Hohenzollern
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany
Ascent: Emperor Wilhelm I dies 9-Mar-1888. Frederick III is crowned Emperor
but cannot rule due to throat cancer and a ninety-nine day coma. Wilhelm II succeeds his father and is crowned Emperor (midyear) 1888.
Politics: Above all, the Kaiser wanted "a place in the sun" for the German people. The problem
was the only places left were in the shade. There was very little room left for new colonization in the early part of this century. Never the less the Kaiser built up the German military machine and under the Tirpitz Plan, built a naval fleet to rival that of Great Britain. The term "saber rattler" sums up his politics as well as his personality. Historian Barbara Tuchman put it well when she referred to the Kaiser as "possessor of the least inhibited tongue in Europe".
Personal: The Kaiser was born with a withered left arm (like FDR's polio, this defect was
pretty well covered up and is visible in only a few photographs). This, together with having some tough footsteps in which to follow, led
Wilhelm towards the military lifestyle. He loved his numerous uniforms and surrounding himself with the elite of German military society.
Misconception: The Kaiser was a war monger solely responsible for the First World War. The Kaiser did not start the war. The Kaiser did not want the war. "Saber rattling" is one thing, a war with the other major European powers is something very different indeed! The most that can be said is that the Kaiser did not do enough to try to control the actions of Austria-Hungary and prevent the outbreak of war. In the end he accepted war.
Fate: The Kaiser was forced to ø abdicate as part of the Armistice. He went to Holland where he died in 1941. He is buried at Doorn.
- "only fit to live in a country house and grow turnips"
- The Kaiser on Czar Nicholas II
- "a very nice boy"
- The Kaiser on King George V (only six years his junior)
- "bear yourselves as Huns of Attila"
- The Kaiser to troops heading for the Boxer Rebellion in China
- "He is satan, you cannot imagine what a satan he is"
- The Kaiser on King Edward VII
- "a spirited note, what?"
- The Kaiser on the ø ultimatum to Serbia
- "A great moral victory for Vienna, but with it, every reason for war disappears."
- The Kaiser on the ø Serbian reply to the ultimatum
- "Gentlemen, you will regret this."
- The Kaiser to the general staff on the decision to mobilize