Although the Allies wanted to punish Wilhelm as a war criminal, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands refused to extradite him. His last years were darkened by the death of his first wife and the suicide of his youngest son in He did, however, make a happy second marriage in His new wife, Hermine Reuss , actively petitioned German leader Adolf Hitler in the early s to restore the monarchy, but nothing ever came of her negotiations.
In , Wilhelm remarked that for the first time he was ashamed to be a German. After two decades in exile, he died in the Netherlands on June 4, , at the age of But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Frederick II ruled Prussia from until his death, leading his nation through multiple wars with Austria and its allies.
His daring military tactics expanded and consolidated Prussian lands, while his domestic policies transformed his kingdom into a modern state The instability created in Europe by the First World War set the stage for another international conflict—World War II—which broke out two decades later and would prove even more devastating.
Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf Queen Elizabeth II has since served as reigning monarch of the United Kingdom England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and numerous other realms and territories, as well as head of the Commonwealth, the group of 53 sovereign nations that includes many former British Educated in the cadet corps, Ludendorff was named chief of staff to the Eighth Army after the outbreak of war and earned renown for the victory at the Battle of His murder catapulted into a war across Europe that lasted until On 13 July , he finally gave in to the relentless insubordination of the generals and dismissed the Reich Chancellor.
At the end of September , following the failure of his summer offensives, and under the influence of heavy German losses during the subsequent allied counter-offensives of August and September, Ludendorff told the Kaiser that the war was lost and that power must be transferred to civilian statesmen. On 1 November the Prussian Interior Minister Bill Drews was sent to Supreme Headquarters in Spa to urge the Kaiser to abdicate in the hope of saving at least the institution of monarchy, but Wilhelm refused with fury.
At Spa, a poll of commanders revealed that the soldiers would be unwilling to march on their homeland to keep the Kaiser on his throne. Alternative proposals, such as allowing Wilhelm to relinquish the imperial crown but remain as King of Prussia were dismissed. He failed in his bid to be restored to the throne by Adolf Hitler and died in exile at Huis Doorn, his home in the province of Utrecht, on 4 June International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. DOI : Version 1.
Wilhelm II, German Emperor. By John C. Into the Abyss of War and Exile, , Cambridge , pp. Paderborn , pp. Petersburg of 30 July , in Kautsky, Karl ed. Diplomatic and military documents, Manchester , p. Der letzte Kanzler des Kaisers.
Although he had previously admired the great German statesman Otto von Bismarck, within two years Wilhelm had forced his resignation. He was a strong believer in increasing the strength of the German armed forces, particularly the navy.
His policies towards Britain were contradictory. He alienated Britain with his naval expansion and a policy of aggressive German colonial expansion, and also supported the Boers in their fight against the British.
But he was also closely related to the British royal family and was particularly fond of his grandmother, Queen Victoria. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in , Wilhelm encouraged the Austrians to adopt an uncompromising line against Serbia, effectively writing them a 'blank cheque' for German support in the event of war. Too late he attempted to scale back German involvement: he was firmly dissuaded by the German military.
Click here to read Wilhelm's account of the events of July Wilhelm operated as Commander in Chief of the German armed forces throughout the war. Notwithstanding this, the German military operated under its own effective control: Wilhelm was essentially a figurehead. Wilhelm opposed the replacement of Erich Falkenhayn with Paul von Hindenburg in August , but the dismissal of Falkenhayn took place nonetheless.
Despite the great push of Spring , which nearly won the war for Germany, Germany's ability to win the war in collapsed, as U. It became clear that Germany was set to lose the war. With revolution spreading to Berlin, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate on 9 November Chancellor Max von Baden pre-empted Wilhelm's decision by announcing his abdication to the public. Wilhelm sought exile in Holland , where he lived for the rest of his life.
Holland refused to extradite Wilhelm as a war criminal to the Allies following the Armistice.
0コメント