Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Wilhelm II or William II (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Preußen; English: Frederick William Victor Albert of Prussia; 27 January 1859  4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe.

Crowned in 1888, he dismissed the Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, in 1890 and launched Germany on a bellicose "New Course" in foreign affairs that culminated in his support for Austria-Hungary in the crisis of July 1914 that led in a matter of days to the First World War. Bombastic and impetuous, he sometimes made tactless pronouncements on sensitive topics without consulting his ministers, culminating in a disastrous Daily Telegraph interview in 1908 that cost him most of his influence. His top generals, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, dictated policy during the First World War with little regard for the civilian government. An ineffective war-time leader, he lost the support of the army, abdicated in November 1918, and fled to exile in the Netherlands.

German Emperor

The German Emperor (German: Deutscher Kaiser) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was used between the 18 January 1871 proclamation of King of Prussia and President of the North German Confederation Wilhelm I as "Deutscher Kaiser" and the official abdication of Wilhelm II on 28 November 1918. The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes also called "German Emperor" when the historical context is clear.

Following the revolution of 1918, the German head of state function was succeeded by the Reichspräsident ("President of the Reich"), beginning with Friedrich Ebert.

Creation

The title "German Emperor" was carefully chosen by Minister President of Prussia and Chancellor of the North German Confederation Otto von Bismarck after discussion which continued until the proclamation of Wilhelm I at the Palace of Versailles during the Franco-Prussian War. William I accepted this title grudgingly as he would have preferred "Emperor of Germany"; this had been unacceptable to the federated monarchs, and also would have signaled a claim to lands outside his reign (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg etc.). Emperor of the Germans, as had proposed at the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848, was ruled out by William as he considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and chosen "By the Grace of God", not by the people in a popular monarchy.

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Latest News for: wilhelm ii, german emperor

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The self-serving delusions of the ‘Swastika Kaiser’

The Spectator 21 Jan 2025
This was doubly true if the bearer of that title was Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, the eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, who was compelled to abdicate in ...
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‘Maestro’ Peter Fuchs reflects on his Holocaust survival and music career

Sun Sentinel 26 Aug 2024
Doorn’s most famous citizen at the time was Wilhelm II, the German kaiser (emperor) and king of Prussia from 1888 to 1918, who was living there in exile. In Doorn, my parents lived in a small German Jewish community.
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The Weimar Inflation Revisited

The Epoch Times 15 Jul 2024
Following the Great War, now known as World War I, the victorious allies forced the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who would be the last German emperor, and thus ending a 300-year dynasty that had ruled Prussia.
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Dachshunds under threat as Germany proposes ban on breeding

NewstalkZB 28 Mar 2024
... so-called “torture breeding,” the German government said ... Napoleon Bonaparte owned several dachshunds, and Germany’s last emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, had a headstone erected for his dackel, “Erdmann.”.
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New German dog breeding law could put dachshunds under threat

East Bay Times 27 Mar 2024
... so-called “torture breeding,” the German government said ... Napoleon Bonaparte owned several dachshunds, and Germany’s last emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, had a headstone erected for his dackel, “Erdmann.”.
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PETER HITCHENS: Is there ANYBODY who can call time on crazy Kaiser Bill

The Daily Mail 24 Mar 2024
On April 30, 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm II proclaimed that all his dominions would henceforth pretend that it was one hour later than it actually was ... the German Emperor, the fearsome, imperious warlord (and now time lord) Kaiser Wilhelm II.
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WEDNESDAY, March 20, 2024

Korea Times 19 Mar 2024
1815-Napoleon enters Paris after escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule. 1890-German emperor Wilhelm II fires republic chancellor Otto Von Bismarck. 1933-Dachau, first concentration camp, completed ... 1939-7,000 Jews flee German occupied Memel Lithuania ... .
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Here’s why the West can’t be trusted to observe its own ‘red lines’ in Ukraine

Russia Today 02 Mar 2024
the German chancellor ... Consider the too-little-known fact that, in the July Crisis of 1914, just before World War I started, even the German emperor Wilhelm II had moments where he privately felt that it could still be avoided.
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Lawton Community Orchestra to present 'Music Through the Ages'

The Duncan Banner 28 Feb 2024
Composed in 1889, the waltz was intended as a symbolic “toast of friendship” on the occasion of Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph I’s visit to German Emperor Wilhelm II.
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Déjà Vu, the Big Lie, and the Future of Democracy

WhoWhatWhy 10 Feb 2024
Germany’s defeat in fact resulted from miscalculations, disastrous risk-taking, and general indecision on the part of the last German emperor and king of Prussia, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
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France and Germany to research provenance of African objects in national museums

The Observer 19 Jan 2024
Prominent objects of Cameroonian heritage include the Mandu Yenu, a colourful throne lavishly adorned with pearls and shells, which was supposedly given to the German emperor Wilhelm II by King Njoya ...
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Theodor Herzl and Pope Pius X, by Salim Mansur

The Unz Review 22 Nov 2023
Hechler told Herzl about his role as a tutor to the children of Frederick I, the Grand Duke of Baden and the uncle of Wilhelm II, the German Emperor ... the Emperor’s reply was polite and noncommittal.
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Feasting on Islamic art in Berlin

Deccan Herald 18 Nov 2023
Last month the museum was shut down till 2037 for major refurbishment.</p>.<p>A large part of the south facade of the palace was presented as a gift to the&nbsp;German emperor Wilhelm II ...
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Afloat On The Rhine, Moselle

Journal Online Chicago 14 Nov 2023
Lording over the tip of land is a monumental equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888), first emperor of the New German Empire. Destroyed in World War II and replaced in 1993 after the fall of ...
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Attempted Prophecies: On reparations: blood money and sticky fingers

B & FT Online 08 Nov 2023
... were their individual motives? It is true that the Germans, spearheaded by their emperor, King Wilhelm II, joined the war for imperialistic reasons—not necessarily to help a friend, Austria-Hungary.
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