Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II (b. 27 Jan. 1859, d. 4 June 1941). German Emperor ( Kaiser) 1888–1918 Upon his accession to the throne the young, self-confident monarch soon clashed with his Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (b. 1815, d. 1898), whom he dismissed in 1890 to increase his own political influence. In an effort to end the increasing political polarization of German society, he proclaimed the conciliatory ‘New Course’ in 1890, but when this failed to stop the rise of socialism, he ordered his Chancellor to reintroduce measures to persecute the SPD through the Revolutions (Subversions) Bill, (Umsturzvorlage, 1894–5) and the Penitentiaries Bill (Zuchthausvorlage, 1899), measures which failed to get the necessary parliamentary support.

Subsequently his influence waned, and his political statements, such as those made in the Daily Telegraph Affair, became increasingly incoherent as well as controversial. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Tirpitz's plans for naval expansion, and he fully approved of his Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg's handling of the events following from the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo, though it is doubtful whether by 1914 his views had any bearings on political events. During the war he moved into the background. On the refusal of his generals led by Hindenburg to support him, he abdicated on 10 November 1918 and fled to Doorn in the Netherlands, where he died.