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Kaiser Wilhelm I died in Berlin on 9 March 1888, and Prince Wilhelm's father ascended the throne as Frederick III. He was already experiencing an incurable throat cancer and spent all 99 days of his reign fighting the disease before dying. On 15 June of that same year, his 29-year-old son succeeded him as German Emperor and King of Prussia. [17]
The Willy-Nicky letters consist of 75 messages Wilhelm sent to Nicholas between 8 November 1894 (Letter I) and 26 March 1914 (Letter LXXV). The majority were sent from Berlin or the Neues Palais in Potsdam, and others from places as diverse as Rominten, Coburg, Letzlingen, Wilhelmshöhe, Kiel, Posen, Pillau, Gaeta, Corfu (where Wilhelm had a summer retreat), Stamboul, and Damascus.
Although Wilhelm thought little of Prince Max, he consented. Friedrich von Berg had previously obtained the Prince's agreement that as chancellor he would "resist excessive democratisation". On 2 October, Wilhelm and Max privately discussed the goals of the chancellorship in Berlin, and the following day he accepted the appointment. [9]
Wilhelm grew up full of disdain for their opinions on government; shortly after his father's death he proclaimed that he would follow the path of his grandfather, William I, and made no reference to Frederick III. [112] Wilhelm II abandoned all of his father's policies and ideas, and eventually led Germany into World War I. [99] [110]
Germany's first presidential election was constitutionally required to take place after the election for the first Reichstag, which was held on 6 June 1920. Hindenburg wrote to Wilhelm II, in exile in the Netherlands, for permission to run. Wilhelm approved, and on 8 March Hindenburg announced his intention to seek the presidency. [143]
From 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm used Yellow Peril ideology to portray Imperial Germany as defender of the West against conquest from the East. [ 49 ] : 210 In pursuing Weltpolitik policies meant to establish Germany as the dominant empire, the Kaiser manipulated his own government officials, public opinion, and other monarchs. [ 50 ]
The Kruger telegram was a message sent by Kaiser Wilhelm II to Paul Kruger, president of the South African Republic, on 3 January 1896.It congratulated Kruger on repelling the Jameson Raid, a botched raid against the Republic carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson.
Kaiser Wilhelm's reaction to the news of his son's suicide was one of fury, commenting that he was outraged "that the oaf should have done this, too, to us and especially to his mother!" [ 12 ] Although the Kaiser initially tried to convince his wife that the death of their youngest son had simply been an accident, she immediately realised what ...