Wilhelm II of Germany

the nation that fought during four and a half years against the whole world will always in the end come out top Kaiser bill speaking from exile stripped of his power but still the unrepentant German nationalist the man held responsible for sending millions to their deaths in the first world war who tried unsuccessfully to conquer Europe and bring the British Empire to its knees flower withers man whose photosphere in the years immediately after the First World War I believe that my grandfather agonized over his responsibility for the German defeat fan fountain geyser vilhelm the Emperor of Germany in his heyday he rather ungraciously dismisses his second most senior Admiral the Elms withered left arm which caused him so much distress in his childhood is barely noticeable it's wartime and his forces are occupying Belgium parts of France and huge Suede's of Russia and Eastern Europe Florida's even corner Ernest Harrison's anguish earned brighter in his heart of hearts I think he was a weak and insecure man and she tried to compensate by being outspoken he was buted I suppose under Farshad during his 30 years on the throne Wilhelm saw himself as the personification of German nationalism the unification of Germany in 1871 which he'd witnessed as a boy had released a wave of national self-confidence commish bar for meal Germany was the Kaiser on remedy kaisers on and when we saw him we could not contain our excitement too much shout hurrah Shareen were hard the pies I'd like the evidence taken the Kaiser was the highest being in existence a world star on the same level as God or the Pope he looked good had a good figure he was vigorous and big devilish when no its spots he had a moustache like this when I build that everyone including my father had one with works to make it stand stiffly boom are they that's a sub 2 inch tank Vilhelm grew up in pod stone the home for generations of the Royal House of Prussia the hoenn solids he was born in 1859 his English mother Vicky was Queen Victoria's eldest daughter she had a long and very painful labor because her infant was in the breech position to deliver the baby the German doctor had sharply yanked down his arms which damaged the nerves in his neck though Helms left arm was unable to grow or function properly one must take in consideration that even today if you have a disability it's a great problem but at that time to have a disability was a disaster that people were not called dis disabled but they were simply called cripples and to the people of of that time of the time of my great-grandfather he was in fact a [ __ ] and a [ __ ] in his position being the future emperor of Germany being the head of the army that was a complete catastrophe Vicky found it difficult to love a son with such an imperfection she desperately wanted doctors to heal him but their treatments were both ineffective and painful so growing up in the royal palace and park was not a happy time for the future Kaiser in letters to her mother Vicky depicted how Wilhelm's head had started to lean towards the stronger shoulder to stop this he was made to wear a brace it didn't work and when he was six the doctors straightened his head by cutting a tendon in his neck Vicki wrote Wilhelm behaved very quietly and without complaint afterwards he wept a little my great-grandfather was brought up to cope with this disability he learned to swim he learned to shoot and he learned to ride shooting with his one good arm sometimes with no support became one of villains favorite sports but in everyday life of course he was quite handicapped that meant there during dinners or luncheons he had a foot man behind him who had to cut his meal or his dinner or luncheon partner had to cut for him the meal later on he used a sort of combined fork and knife that was one instrument where could at the same time cut and have a fork Vicki directed her son's political education with the same fervor that she applied to his disability she impressed on him how backward Germany was politically and socially compared with England and her hopes that first her husband the crown prince and later Vilhelm would put this right vilhelm not only rejected his mother's progressive English values he rejected her as well in 1888 while his father lay dying after a rain of only a few months vilhelm surrounded the palace with loyal troops at the moment of death he searched his mother's quarters for evidence that she was conspiring to reform and so weakened the monarchy the new Kaiser he was 29 had no intention of handing over any of his imperial powers to the German parliament or the ape house as he later called it he intended to rule as well as terrain yet there was still a side of Bell realm which felt drawn to England the feeling was to evolve into a rivalry a wish to match England and surpass oh the English attraction began with his childhood visits to the Isle of Wight to his grandmother's retreat at Osborne Queen Victoria indulged her eldest grandson and a portrait of an angelic vilhelm with his parents and sister had pride of place in her dining room as an adult vilhelm was to talk about that dear old home of Osbourne I think his feeling about England centred very much on the English royal family because the Kaiser himself he felt himself being a member as well as of the royal family as of the family as a member of the House of Hohenzollern from the roof of Osborne it's possible to see the servant one of Vale Elms visits coincided with cow's week his interest aroused he was invited to join the Royal Yacht Squadron soon he was sponsoring his own car vier home always competed in the big class especially against his uncle the Prince of Wales the future King Edward the seventh the two did not get on vilhelm was relentlessly competitive and he was always complaining to his British aristocratic friends about fat old Wales as he called him consorting with rich people he considered common his more memorable put-downs soon got around my father told a story of Sir Thomas Lipton now Sir Thomas Lipton was a great yachtsman a very rich man and he started the Lipton's grocery chain somebody asked the Kaiser where the king was and the Kaiser replied he's gone boating with his grocer no grocers were invited to the German equivalent of cows week vilhelm developed another obsession during his english visits the Royal Navy and he was thrilled when his grandmother made him an admiral of the British fleet fancy wearing the uniform of Nelson Wilhelm remarked it's enough to make one quite giddy the important event in 1896 was the arrival in cows of USS Chicago with under the command of Captain Alfred Thayer man Alfred Terre mom was a great theorist and he'd written a book called the impact of sea paw on history and the Kaiser thought this was the best thing he'd ever read he said I committed it to memory the book became his Bible and in 1897 film enhanced a massive naval building program the Kaiser wanted to turn his country from a continental power into a sea power a world power he said Germany was entitled to what he called a place in the Sun Ville held was challenging Britain's supremacy of the Seas in the early years of the century the British responded by making alliances with France and Russia who also felt threatened by villains power Europe was beginning to divide into two hostile camps in early 1901 after news reached him that Queen Victoria's health was failing Vilhelm came hurrying over to Osborn he joined his uncle and other members of the royal family in her bedroom and was helping the doctor to support her on her pillow when she died that's gotta hurt our green Clevelanders bomb my grandfather used to talk with great pride of how Queen Victoria died in his arms was I miss Rosa there are offers he saw it as evidence of her affection and love for him when to marry on low at the time she was hardly in a position to resist pressuring here to be a handgun the British public responded warmly to Vilhelm presence The Times wrote your English tears for love of England's Queen England will not forget the cheers which greeted the Kaiser on the London streets touched him but he already saw himself as Britain's rival my great-grandfather Kaiser had a very ambivalent attitude towards England in the fact that he wanted to be admired as a normal English gentleman and honored at the hand being feared as a Prussian warlord but there was yet another side to this complex man which was to cause the greatest embarrassment in his life despite his bravura and don't be his enjoyment of the privileges which came with power vilhelm was a lonely and uncertain figure but before he came to the throne he'd met a man who appealed to him in a way that his friends from the officer class and the British aristocracy did not it was a fateful choice filip Tzu Orenburg was a sensitive artistic and in some ways unconventional man who appealed to Vilhelm softer more romantic side divorcing Linda hot mangos felt a call for new yet my grandfather composed the Rosen leader he had a very beautiful voice Carlin gang sang and composed other songs some of which were dedicated to the Kaiser of course the Kaiser like that or not My dear foreign disruptor Union he was the friend he was the one who stood by the Kaiser through thick and thin on their condom socials in the end the Kaiser could scarcely do or decide anything without consulting my grandfather mounteen freely his name was Philip but the Kaiser called in Philly and would use do the intimate form of address games the friendship was to hunt him later villians other great recreation was taking long cruises on his yacht the Hohenzollern he was an early practitioner of German travel mania no women were allowed on these trips and vilhelm used to delight in playing very childish games on the senior government officials and military men accompanying him he thank with her the gang the sea was rough many of them were feeling seasick always weather even on the car the goddess the Kaiser spotted that dynam cabinet chef had me arrive using his right arm which was well developed he suddenly punched the chief of his naval cabinet in the stomach often bow and their cat earth after their to the Kaiser added any minute now whereupon the Admiral stagger to the railing and made his offering to Neptune opted not to sometimes Wilhelm's pranks and the eagerness of senior officers to oblige him got out of control such was the case of general count hills and Heslin WTO after design the general dressed up in a pink tutu and danced a little balance work Hin and above suddenly he dropped dead from a stroke under looking down a flock of sawdust it done Waterton everyone had trouble getting his costume off and his generals uniform back on form and routine this the whole on wiki they couldn't send him to a mortuary half-naked in a little tutu luck with iron and ballerina virgin justice who was coming is wrong that scandal didn't reach the public another one did in 1906 a Berlin magazine accused Philip Orenburg a married man with eight children of being a homosexual after a delay Alan Berg sued the magazine but the evidence produced in court resulted in oil and burg being put on trial for homosexuality - lemurs are about of the Kaiser de quaza formed the terrible thing was that the Kaiser the great friend immediately dropped my grandfather suck the golf ball we freed archives of our been arrogant as he was the Kaiser had promised that the moment filly was found innocent he would collect him from court with a coach and six horses this poor young filly was not able to clear his name he developed a frightful heart condition and the trial was suspended filly was carried out of court on a stretcher and the Kaiser the great friend didn't lift a finger what the kaisers I'm fired artist niched good we got dessert Ricky he puts a special order remember this terrible court case was played up not so much with the intention of hitting audible as of striking of my grandfather and suggesting we were being led by a homosexual who was extreme went thus far this was such a serious political matter that my grandfather felt that a continuation of this friendship would endanger both state and monitor for insurance I'm a boy but when I see the fear desist there was no evidence that Vilhelm was homosexual quite apart from a wife and seven children he had had in his early days a string of mistresses and two illegitimate children Philips broken health prevented him from going back to court to clear his name Vol never spoke to his bosom friend again despite Phil downs sacrificing his friend the smell of scandal hung around and weakened him politically throughout his reign Wilhelm felt threatened by the growth of the Socialists who by 1912 had become the largest single party in the Reichstag they made no secret of their wish to clip his wings Vilhelm even warned his soldiers that he might have to order them to shoot their own brothers and fathers when putting down socialist disturbances 1912 was also the year when he realized that his attempts to turn Germany into a superpower had provoked three countries Britain Russia and France to ally against him the Kaiser told his army chiefs in December 1912 that they should prepare for war the best time for Germany to fight would be in about 18 months time a few months later Wilhelm invited the crowned heads of Europe for his daughter's wedding many of the monarchs were relatives of his and were soon to become his enemies Merlin's cousin King George the fifth of England arrived sporting a Prussian helmet the king's secretary was alarmed to hear from ro helm that a European war was imminent like his cousins in Vienna and st. Petersburg film was riding the Twin Tigers of nationalism and domestic unrest this was to be the last garlic performance of the old regime in June 1914 Wilhelm was in Kiel where the German fleet was awaiting a British contingent on a courtesy visit sailors from the two countries would attest each other's strengths on the water the Kaiser was invited to a reception on the British flagship and Sir Horace rumbled the number two at the British Embassy in Berlin was also present he turned up wearing his full fig us to say a morning coat top hat he thought was appropriate we're going to meet the Emperor the Kaiser and when he approached the Kaiser has introduced to him how they'll say that I see you wearing that hat again I'll smash it in one doesn't wear a tall hat on ship the Kaiser was enjoying his role I think because he was strictly speaking the command it British officer puzzled he was an admiral of his fleet was honoring his flagship he's flying his flag has annulled the fleet two days later on June the 28th Wilhelm had invited the children of his senior officers to a tea party on the imperial yacht among them was Christa Schilling what's wrong Julia Kaiser dancer you'd you'd rather come far the Kaiser had invited all the young people for coffee and cakes and flowers for a lovely party on his boat one long lon must iron colander sure in stress offering ship went yeah Kaiser Kaiser was standing nearby and nodded to us from time to time but he was busy so he let us get on with the party a lethal stun Cayenne under artists I'm Francois just when we were really enjoying ourselves there was suddenly a call for quiet and a telegram was read artisan well when you nod is our dad idea ville super hurt it was about Sarajevo and the murder there is damage Christie's Boston Buster's / dieted sir we were astonished and didn't know what to make of it well do off stare then we were told we would have to leave because the murder was terribly serious and there could be war guns forged by L stone duck intrigued osmium Billa was shocked by the assassination of the austrian crown prince he was sure the Serbs were responsible he promised Austria Germany's only Ally full support for an attack on Serbia the Austrian sent an ultimatum which they were sure the Serbians would not accept their conciliatory reply gave Vilhelm a let out he was no longer sure he wanted war on the 28th of July he read the reply of the Serbian reply and he said he said to his Chancellor well this is a moral a great moral victory for Vienna and there's every reason for war drops away and he ordered immediate talks mediation talks between Austria and and Serbia he told her they told his Chancellor do that and what'd he do he not he didn't do anything he simply ignore the order of the Kaiser so Germany's political and military leaders encouraged Austria to attack Serbia even though they knew it would provoke Serbia's ally Russia into mobilizing the timetables and plans worked out with fill hell's agreement before 1914 began to override his panicky attempts to limit the war the prospect of a world war frightened the Kaiser and brought him into conflict with his army chief Fon matka on August the first in this room Vilhelm signed the order for general mobilization but a few hours later he excitedly told Mulcair that Britain would remain neutral if Germany didn't attack France so it would be best to leave France alone an astonished Moltke reminded the Kaiser that the plow had required Germany to knock out France before attacking Russia and that millions of troops were already on their way to the French frontier to turn them around now would be disastrous my great-grandfather declared war on France because he was urged by his generals that the chimer well I'm not a military man butter and the Kaiser was put before the question either you you declare war now are you there the war would be would be lost bill helm gave him only after a new report made clear that Britain would not stay out of the war an exhausted kaiser summoned Mudkip now do as you please I don't care either way Germany was at war with Russia France and Britain and what that does is known inside met in prison he was bent on self fight the Kaiser loved him the Kaiser appeared on the balcony I spoke to the hundred thousand people standing between the Schloss and the Brandenburg Gate Ross ondimba on Bogut or or dozen I rushed home and told my parents full of enthusiasm a let's see it whatever guys drawn now on house within button gave us funky yes Stephen bill farad and battle and he appeared was filled with hope one on one on here there he comes the stairs ow he is best one fine ville helmet told his departing troops you will be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees his generals had assured him that France would be defeated in forty days but it was soon clear that the war would last much longer later Wilhelm would say he lost sleep thinking of the huge sacrifices Germans made during the war but in the early years he reveled in repeating bloodthirsty stories of piles of corpses six feet high he never visited the trenches where two million Germans and as many French and British would have died she lives changing the gas Creek the worst memory is gas they thought the musculation l have brought up if you didn't get your mask on quick and I mean quick you've had it you began to cough and slowly suffocate so the tongue sticks right out the eyes protrude and then foam comes out of the mouth teracle flip it's horrible to see men die from gas the creepiest war is always costly when men have to die many of them so young stabbed looseness so young Mudkip michel sutter - refreshing my grandfather obviously bore the final responsibility as supreme commander of the army array I had to draw right Clint Tim but he gave the Chiefs of the General Staff for virtual freehand damage from I am Keegan oh man go Saturday you could say that he rather withdrew from his responsibilities circuits alderman commander sorry Zane bear it was called the kaisers war but both strategy and management of the war and eventually political decisions were in the hands of the generals by the summer of 1916 vowels roll had become largely symbolic but there were exceptions he did for instance dig in his heels over Naval Operations the man who built his Fleet Admiral Tirpitz wanted to use it against the British Judith wooden frontier pits had their Chi contrary to the recommendations of Tirpitz my grandfather the Kaiser was reluctant for his precious fleet to face danger yeah why did he flutter I can click out and tongue for us but I wanted to keep the fleet up his sleeve as the ace of trumps at the peace negotiations Prince attract a lead in the only battle between the main British and German fleets at Jutland in 1916 had not been planned by vilhelm the kaisers force sank more ships and killed more men the spell of Trafalgar is broken Wilhelm declared in fact the tight British naval blockade of Germany was not affected by Jutland by the end of 1917 the Kaiser subjects were living on a diet of root vegetables they called it the turnip winter by September 1918 the kaisers Germany was beginning to unravel on the western front thousands of Germans were being taken prisoner in October the Allies made it clear that the removal of Vilhelm the symbol of German militarism was an essential precondition for peace Berlin was in turmoil with soldiers and workers calling for revolution a new reforming government which was trying to negotiate with the Allies suggested to Vilhelm that he should abdicate the kaisers adjutant heard his master's response when the Kaiser was asked to abdicate he was completely against it he took the point of view that he is the German emperor and nobody could send him away on the other side if there were problems inside Germany by toups rebelling he would take other troops he thought he could rely upon go back to Germany bring things in order and shoot the traitors if necessary vilhelm Adderley I left Berlin because he thought he would be safer with troops at the front but whilst he was traveling soldiers shouted at him for the first time in his life they accused him of prolonging the war it was to the little Belgian town of spar in the our den that Vilhelm came for help here were the German headquarters and the generals he could rely on they met on the morning of November the 9th first to speak was general groaner number 2 in the military hierarchy general Grenier told the Kaiser my great-grandfather that the German army would go back to Germany quietly under the command of the generals but not under the command of His Majesty the Kaiser immediately replied that he wanted to have written proof of that statement the generals couldn't produce that and then the Kaiser asked and what about the oath sworn to me and the colors and the general Grenier replied that doesn't mean a thing anymore bill home went into the gardens of the Chateau where he was staying to think the unthinkable should he abdicate while he was pondering a phone call from Berlin brought the news that the government had already announced his abdication and proclaimed a republic he's set for two hours in his chair thinking no smoking once hear that after the other and seeing nothing late in the afternoon Wilhelm and his staff decamped to the Imperial train they were worried that disaffected soldiers might seize him after all revolutionaries had murdered his cousin Tsar Nicholas a few months earlier after hours of agonizing about what to do bill helm decided to leave at 5 in the morning the train pulled out a few miles on it stopped fearing they might meet retreating troops Bill's body transferred into waiting cars the Kaiser urged his accompanying officers to equip themselves with guns so in the car everyone had a gun between his knees shuffle just in case close to the Belgian Dutch border the cavalcade ran into a retreating German unit da is the dead she says he befriends the guys across the border he Nate smart cars with armed guards I can see it now oh it best sanely so leafy he was passed and I saw him very briefly however the Bey I'm due for what odd mark Sheen that's right it was sad to see him going but also good good because it meant that the war was over thus far feeling that that was important for us soldiers as we were sick and tired of the war now we knew we could at last returned home Cystic leave us this gives time up to when bill Helms party reached Iceland on the Dutch border they parked their cars at the station the Dutch government was surprised by his arrival and had to decide very quickly what to do about such a controversial figure it became public in the neighbourhood that the kaiser was there so members of the population but also Belgium's tried to get up to the station they succeeded in getting near him and were also yelling a thing and screaming and threatening the Belgians wanted revenge for the long German occupation of their country Valon was glad to get back into the imperial train which had now caught up with him the Kaiser discussed this situation with my father when he was sitting in the Train he then suddenly said look people have disliked me a long time all over the world they are saying nasty things of me about me I couldn't care less it doesn't have minimal the next morning the Dutch government granted Wilhelm Asylum he was sent to stay with a noble Dutch family because I came in he said two things please give me a good cup of English tea and I don't want to disturb you at all I want to join family life it was November the 11th Vilhelm was now officially in exile on the same day fighting stopped the war was over as the kaisers once-proud battalions limped back home tired defeated and depressed Germans could now take stock of the fact that Vilhelm had on if I would I love them so Frieden we were glad to be rid of the Kaiser who's to say it's that and thanks it was the news of his abdication was shattering at first but then everyone said he caused the war he lost the war thank God he's gone what's a dank it is thick feelings in the Allied countries about Wilhelm were also running high in Britain there were calls for him to be hanged as a war criminal bill helm retreated to a house he bought in the little Dutch town of dawn he knew that the Netherlands which had been neutral during the war would not hand him over to the Allies lady bazooka D genes involved 9 MK V visitors came to see him in his cage they come the towers over the years they arrived in their thousands from Germany to get a glimpse of him in exile exceeded I'll start shunt wmf azubu shredders OMA I always tried to cheer him up but it was terribly difficult about Manzini Shriya then and I finish figures after all one should not forget that the Kaiser was in exile barbed wire around the property and a Dutch guard at the gate a violet orange of aha this was to be Vil Helms home for over 20 years a quarter of his life dawn was modest compared with Vil Helms palaces but he was not short of money he still drew a handsome income from properties in Germany the Dutch band Wilhelm from any political activity but he was allowed visitors for his new life vol rearranged his facial hair the aggressive upturned moustache of the warlord was replaced by the mellower image of that other role he loved to play the country gentleman the former Kaiser also had more time for his family his grandson Vilhelm Carl remembers his summer holidays in dawn trying Merapi [ __ ] or garbage he had the great talent of making each one of us feel that he or she was the favorite grandchild that was lovely for anonymity admonishing the subtle which film Carl's grandfather brought with him from Potsdam and used to sit on at his desk is still in the study and as Vilhelm Cole discovered so were some of his papers vanishing demand water it's my Christmas card to my grandfather grunts for the Mariners it says dear grandpa happy Christmas 1933 absolute your interest your honor mats our anniversary from your obedient grandson William Carl Carl it's the Imperial yacht attending naval exercises and touch that he kept it there's not that artistic in rosemary the eleven-year-old had picked two of the great passions of his grandfather's life the Navy and the sea the nearest the former Admiral of the Atlantic as he once styled himself got to the sea during his exile were local excursions the Dutch government allowed him to make once things had settled down Villa was unrepentant about the past as this newly-discovered interview reveals I absolutely believed in the future of my country a nation that fought during four and a half years against the whole world and if America had come in would have beaten their lives will always in the end come out top film was also bitter not for the first time in his life he picked on the Jews in a letter blaming the Jews for his abdication he said let no German rest until these parasites have been destroyed and exterminated anti-semitism and aggressive nationalism were key ingredients of the cocktail Hitler was offering German voters in the early 30s although the former kaisers views overlapped with Hitler's he was shocked by Hitler's atheism and distinct full of his vulgarity but he was very keen to get his throne back and was strongly supported by his second wife Amina a widowed German princess she approached the Nazis even before they gained power Georg Martin Wonderlic was her secretary Jewish daughters does see Kaiser and ashiya often if you're the Empress showed herself to be very open to national socialization to hire claw did you defer been doin it Selena she wanted to contact the Nazis so she could talk to Hitler directly hey try to lead another honestly Katharine buzz Epps first entries by a line still open she wanted to convince Hitler to put her husband the Kaiser back on the front supervillian here in man ding Kaiser bida often torn to bring it her Mina succeeded in getting Hitler to send Goering his chief leftenant to dawn but the talks gotta know where Hitler was never seriously interested in restoring Vilhelm to his throne eight years later in 1940 Hitler gained in a matter of weeks what the Kaiser had failed to achieve in four and a half years France defeated and Britain brushed off the continent Vilhelm Karl now a conscript in Hitler's army came to dawn for lunch when course whatever regatta tear it easy brother my grandfather was enthusiastic about this victory because he still felt very close to this army particularly with the higher ranking officers whom he had known well before and during the First World War don't embed yes mr. e elite a term was to invade America member knew he knew their regiments he had an amazing memory once of the prostrate our service our Martin birth in a way he regarded the victory as a testimony to his training hospitals did he frighten vilhelm sent a telegram congratulating Hitler on his victory though quoting the Lutheran him now think we all are God was hardly the Fuehrer style the former Kaiser was to spend the last year of his life as an unimportant subject of Hitler's Reich he was to go to his grave as a major promoter of the first world war and the man who stifled the growth of democracy in Germany he inherited one of the most advanced countries in Europe and left it ruined his failures were spectacular disastrous and bloody and must outweigh the good which some people detected in him natira Khadija Kazim does it yeah of course he knew that according to our Constitution and old Russian traditions the responsibility for everything was his portion targets urine different vote on two when he kept asking himself where have I failed what have I done wrong what could I have done differently I rest my arm Jerome the last German Kaiser died in 1941 at the age of 82 the devastating effects of shell shock are explored in the first of a new three-part series tomorrow on 4 at 8 o'clock you

Channel: The History Room

Views: 1,513,094

Rating: 4.509037 out of 5

Keywords: Wilhelm, Wilhelm II (Monarch), First World War, German history, German nationalism, Central Powers, Germans (Ethnicity), Germany (Country), Kaiser Wilhelm, origins of the First World War

Id: JzbCh4c-8vA

Length: 47min 38sec (2858 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 12 2013

Reddit Comments

[u/NotGustafKossinna]

I doubt that this documentary is properly researched, seeing that its very first claim - namely that Kaiser Wilhelm said that "Germany will come out top" - is false. It was his eldest son Wilhelm (*1882) in a Movietone Interview in 1932. If I know this - and I'm neither a historian nor particularly well read on this subject, so should the makers of this documentary.