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[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm by Strassberger.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Kaiser Wilhelm II]]

[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm by Strassberger.jpg|right|thumb|Kaiser Wilhelm II]]

'''Kaiser Wilhelm II''' (27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was king of [[Prussia]] and  [[Germany|German]] emperor from June 1888 to November 1918. He fled to the Netherlands at the end of [[World War I]].

'''Kaiser Wilhelm II''' (27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was king of [[Prussia]] and  [[Germany|German]] emperor from June 1888 to November 1918. He fled to the Netherlands at the end of [[World War I]].

Wilhelm's mother was Victoria, the eldest child of Britain's Queen Victoria. She was a dominating figure in his early life. She attempted to indoctrinate him with the values of Britain's nineteenth century Liberal Party. As as result, Wilhelm had conflicted feelings regarding Britain. He respected British values, but used militarism to overcompensate for his mother's unGermanic influence. He was also a manic depressive, which resulted in inconsistent and erratic decision making. Wilhelm was easily entranced by conspiracy theories and was libel to blame foreign policy setbacks on the machinations of his uncle, King Edward VII of Britain.

Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with an elected parliament, or Reichstag. However, the Kaiser had the final say on all significant matters, including appointments.<ref name=rohl2>Röhl, p. xviii</ref> His supporters boasted that he was the "mightiest ruler on earth."<ref name=rohl1>Röhl, John C. G., [https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941] (2014), p. xxvii.</ref> His views were particularly influential in foreign affairs and on matters of war and peace.

The world war between Germany and the Allied Powers of France, Russia, and Britain lasted from 1914 to 1918. When German submarines blockaded Britain and attacked neutral shipping in 1917, the United States declared war. The war was the most significant event of Wilhelm's reign. It ended in catastrophic defeat for Germany, and over 4.2 million Germans were killed. Wilhelm's role in launching the war is much debated.

Victoria, the Kaiser mother and the eldest child of Britain's Queen Victoria, was a dominating figure in his early life. She attempted to indoctrinate him with the values of Britain's nineteenth century Liberal Party. As as result, Wilhelm had conflicted feelings regarding Britain. He respected British values, but used militarism to overcompensate for his mother's un-Germanic influence. He was also a manic depressive, which resulted in inconsistent and erratic decision making. Wilhelm was easily entranced by conspiracy theories and was libel to blame foreign policy setbacks on the machinations of his uncle, King Edward VII of Britain.

===''Weltpolitik'' and the Navy===

Wilhelm was a prominent figure in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He pursued an aggressive foreign policy known as ''Weltpolitik,'' literally "world policy." This strategy is to be distinguished from Bismark's ''Realpolitik'', which emphasized the "balance of power" concept. Wilhelm hoped to persuade Britain to withdraw from European affairs. If he could accomplish this, he imagined that the German army could then defeat both France and Russia, allowing him to emerge with a "Napoleanic supremacy."<ref name=rohl>Röhl, John C. G., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941]'', (2014), p. xxviii</ref> Mindful of the role the British played in Napolean's downfall, he built up the German navy hoping that this would intimidate Britain. The British countered with a naval buildup of their own and by forming a "Triple Entente" (1907) with France and Russia. Thus the German buildup had an effect opposite to what was intended.

 

===''Weltpolitik'' and the naval buildup===

Wilhelm pursued an aggressive foreign policy known as ''Weltpolitik,'' literally "world policy." This strategy is to be distinguished from Bismark's ''Realpolitik'', which emphasized the "balance of power" concept. Wilhelm hoped to persuade Britain to withdraw from European affairs. If he could accomplish this, he imagined that Germany's economic and military power would allow him to dominate both France and Russia, allowing him to emerge with a "Napoleanic supremacy."<ref name=rohl2 /> Mindful of the role the British played in Napolean's downfall, he built up the German navy hoping that this would intimidate Britain. The British countered with a naval buildup of their own and by forming a "Triple Entente" (1907) with France and Russia. Thus the German buildup had an effect opposite to what was intended.

===Role in launching World War I===

===Role in launching World War I===

The collapse of the Russian army in Russo-Japanese War of 1905 freed Germany to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy. In the years that followed, Wilhelm repeatedly pushed Europe to the brink of war. The Bosnian crisis of 1908-1909 was followed by the Agadir crisis of 1911 and by the Balkan crisis of 1912-1913. As a constitutional monarch, Wilhelm did not take the initiative on any of these occasions. Instead, he responded to proposals put to him by his chancellor, military chief, or foreign secretary. However, the Kaiser had the final say on all significant matters, including appointments.<ref name=rohl /> Britain's intervention in the 1911 crisis fueled a wave of Anglophobia in Germany. The Kaiser's reluctance to go to war with Britain began to look quaint, even to his own advisors.

The collapse of the Russian army in Russo-Japanese War of 1905 freed Germany to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy. In the years that followed, Wilhelm repeatedly pushed Europe to the brink of war. The Bosnian crisis of 1908-1909 was followed by the Agadir crisis of 1911 and by the Balkan crisis of 1912-1913. As a constitutional monarch, Wilhelm did not take the initiative on any of these occasions. Instead, he responded to proposals put to him by his chancellor, military chief, or foreign secretary.<ref name=rohl /> German public opinion was generally opposed to war until 1911, when Britain's intervention in the Agadir crisis fueled a wave of Anglophobia. The idea that war was inevitable became conventional wisdom and the Kaiser's reluctance began to look quaint, even to his own advisors.

 

In November 1912, Wilhelm approved a proposal to support Austria-Hungary against Serbia even if this led to war with both France and Russia. This proposal was presented to the Kaiser jointly by Bethmann Hollweg, the chancellor; Moltke, the army chief of staff; and Kiderlen, the foreign secretary. In December, the Kaiser was informed that Britain would likely side with France in the event of such a war. The Kaiser responded by ordering a "postponement of the great fight" until the summer of 1914 so that additional preparations could be made.<ref name=rohl>Röhl, John C. G., [https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941] (2014), p. xxviii</ref> A meeting of the German Imperial War Council on December 8, 1912 was identified as the decisive moment by German historian Fritz Fischer.<ref>Fischer, Fritz, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=wIE5mgEACAAJ&dq= Germany's Aims in the First World War]'', W. W. Norton, 1968.</ref> Events played out much as the Kaiser anticipated at this meeting, resulting in World War I. The murder of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand provoke a final diplomatic crisis in July 1914. When he realized that the British intended to side with the French after all, Wilhelm attempted to reverse course. His last minute change of heart proved to be too little, too late.<ref name=rohl />

In August 1913, a war credit act past the Reichstag, creating a financial basis for the coming war. By this time, war fever in Germany had grown so intense that all major parties, even the supposedly pacific Social Democrats, voted for the bill. The murder of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand provoke a final diplomatic crisis in July 1914. When he realized that the British intended to side with the French after all, Wilhelm attempted to reverse course. His last minute change of heart proved to be too little, too late.<ref name=rohl2 />

===Later years===

===Later years===