Kaiser and early Germany stuff Flashcards
Problems the kaiser had
He had a withered left arm so he lacked confidence to lead his army into battle
Anger issues couldn’t get across his opinion and if someone expressed their opinions he would shut them down
He dismissed Otto von Bismark who was trying to modernise Germany by creating a postal system
Rumours that he was a repressed homosexual
Problems with Prussia vs Germany
Prussia was the largest geographically had the largest economy the biggest army
The Kaisers focus would’ve been on prussia rather than germany
Kaiser foreign policy
He followed a policy of Weltpolitik and believed that Germany should have their place in the sun and being recognised with other world powers
He believed he needed to have a strong army and navy so he introduced many naval laws to compete with the british navy
Caused Britain to become worried and strengthen their navy
What was the unification of Germany
Prior to 1871, Germany was divided into 39 states. Each with their own leader, rules and customs.
The strongest of these states was Prussia
Prussia was ruled by the Kaiser and the Chancellor – the Chancellor at the time was Otto Von Bismarck; a man who believed heavily in militarism and unifying all of the German states together to create one country.
Many of the German states agreed that unification was a good thing, as it would
get rid of the threat of invasion by the surrounding large countries; Russia and France.
Austria disagreed with unification as they worried that it would impact on their empire and result in them losing power in the area.
Prussia were involved in a number of wars for territory, the most famous being the Franco-Prussian War which they fought against France in 1870-1871.
Prussia were successful in defeating France in this war and took land from them (Alsace-Lorraine). France were left embarrassed and were furious at Germany (holding a grudge way past WW1).
After this war, Prussia was successful in their mission to unify Germany and the country of Germany was born.
Germany was now a united country with the Prussian Kaiser at its helm, with Otto Von Bismarck acting as Chancellor.
Industrialisation
When he became Kaiser, Britain was the world’s most powerful country; it had the largest empire, and dominated world trade. Britain also had a navy that was twice the size of its two closest rivals added together.
Wilhelm dreamed of making Germany as great as Britain, and began by building up Germany’s industry. This process is called industrialisation.
Supported by rich, powerful German businessmen, Wilhelm’s desires came true and, by 1913, Germany was producing more iron and steel and as much coal as Britain. In industries such as electrical goods and chemicals, German companies dominated Europe.
Kaiser personality and problems it caused
Wilhelm was very energetic with a strong, outgoing personality. He could be charming and kind, but also impatient and rude.
The Kaiser would often sack ministers if they did not do what he wanted them to.
This resulted in him sacking the much loved Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, in 1890.
What caused socialism
The success of German industry had made many landowners, business and factory owners very rich. These people, along with noble army officers, were a powerful force in Germany at this time and had much influence with the Kaiser. They were keen to preserve their positions of influence, but things were changing.
Many workers in the new factories, mines and workshops were unhappy because their wages were low, working conditions were poor, and food was expensive. More and more working class people joined trade unions and organised strikes in the hope that this might force the Kaiser, his advisers and the politicians in the Reichstag to try to improve their conditions.
What was socialism and some problems with it
Many ordinary workers voted for a new political party called the Social Democratic Party [SPD]. They believed in socialism - the idea that power and wealth should be shared equally among the people.
The Social Democrats hoped that the Kaiser might share some of his power, and allow the Reichstag to make more social reforms or laws to improve workers’ rights and conditions.
Around one in three Germans voted for this political party at this time.
There were some socialists who took a more extreme view: they wanted to rebel against the Kaiser’s rule, start a revolution, take over the country, and allow cities and towns to be governed by councils of workers.
The rise in popularity of socialism is one of the major events in Germany at this time - and was potentially a major problem for the government.
