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Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany

Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany

Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's 300-year rule of Prussia.

Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal. Through his mother, he was the eldest of the 42 grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. In March 1888, Wilhelm's father, Frederick William, ascended the German and Prussian thrones as Frederick III. Frederick died just 99 days later, and his son succeeded him as Wilhelm II.

In March 1890, the young Kaiser dismissed longtime Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and assumed direct control over his nation's policies, embarking on a bellicose "New Course" to cement Germany's status as a leading world power. Over the course of his reign, the German colonial empire acquired new territories in China and the Pacific (such as Jiaozhou Bay, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Caroline Islands) and became Europe's largest manufacturer. However, Wilhelm often undermined such progress by making tactless and threatening statements towards other countries without first consulting his ministers. Likewise, his regime did much to alienate itself from other great powers by initiating a massive naval build-up, contesting French control of Morocco, and building a railway through Baghdad that challenged Britain's dominion in the Persian Gulf. By the second decade of the 20th century, Germany could rely only on significantly weaker nations such as Austria-Hungary and the declining Ottoman Empire as allies.

Despite strengthening Germany's position as a great power by building a powerful navy as well as promoting scientific innovation within its borders, Wilhelm's public statements and erratic foreign policy greatly antagonized the international community and are considered by many to have substantially contributed to the fall of the German Empire. In 1914, his diplomatic brinksmanship culminated in Germany's guarantee of military support to Austria-Hungary during the July Crisis which plunged all of Europe into World War I. A lax wartime leader, Wilhelm left virtually all decision-making regarding strategy and organisation of the war effort to the German Supreme Army Command. By August 1916, this broad delegation of power gave rise to a de facto military dictatorship that dominated the country's policies for the rest of the conflict. Despite emerging victorious over Russia and obtaining significant territorial gains in Eastern Europe, Germany was forced to relinquish all its conquests after a decisive defeat on the Western Front in the autumn of 1918.

Losing the support of his country's military and many of his subjects, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which converted Germany into an unstable democratic state known as the Weimar Republic. Wilhelm subsequently fled to exile in the Netherlands, where he remained during its occupation by Nazi Germany in 1940 before dying there in 1941.

Atatürk, père de la Turquie moderne

2023

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The Cultural History of Museums

2022

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Leonardo da Vinci and the Bust of Flora

2020

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From Atatürk to Erdoğan: Building a Nation

2019

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Apocalypse: The Battle of Verdun

2016

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Winston Churchill: A Giant in the Century

2014

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Doomsday: World War I

2012

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Wilhelm II. - Die letzten Tage des deutschen Kaiserreichs

2007

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Zeppelin - Das fliegende Schiff

1987

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A Wall in Jerusalem

1968

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The Guns of August

1964

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Paris Nineteen Hundred

1948

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Forgotten Treasure

1943

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The Fight For Peace

1939

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Huis Doorn III

1932

Doorn Juli 1931

1931

Some of the Life of Our Emperor in Doorn

1928

The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

1927

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From the Heyday of Emperor Wilhelm II

1926

Kaiser Wilhelm in Eijsden

1918

Ahlbeck. Wilhelm II Visits a Working-Class Children's Home

1914

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Arrivée en gondole des souverains d'Allemagne et d'Italie au palais royal de Venise

1899

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Seine Majestät von Bethlehem zurückkehrend

1899

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Marktplatz in Beirut

1899

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Landung in Haifa

1899

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Kaiserparade in Damaskus

1899

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Einfahrt in Konstantinopel

1899

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Emperor and Empress of Germany

1899

Départ en gondole de Leurs Majestés

1898

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Kaiser Wilhelm II. beim Besuche der Vulkan-Werft in Stettin am 4. Mai 1897

1897

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Görlitz : revue devant Guillaume II et Nicolas II

1896

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III. Défilé de hussards devant Guillaume II

1896

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Guillaume II et Nicolas II à cheval

1896

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The German Emperor Reviewing His Troops

1895