Who Actually Ran Germany? (Germany n 1900)

Question 0

Rohl - “Personal rule”

Answer 0

Following extensive research into private letters he concluded that aspects of the Kaiser’s personality do suggest that he was mentally unbalanced and at times manic. He goes to argue that this erratic character, charmed by an inner circle of friends and advisors created a situation in which he gained control over other sources of power

Question 1

Who was at the centre of the Kaiser’s rule?

Answer 1

At the centre of this was the Kaiser’s friends - Bulow and Eulenberg. Rohl therefore placed Wilhelm’s personality at the centre of his interpretation of imperial Germany.

Question 2

How did the constitution place powers with the Kaiser?

Answer 2

He lone had the right to appoint and dismiss the chancellor and his state secretaries completely independent of the wishes of the Reichstag. He was the commander of all armed forces.

Question 3

What limited the Kaiser?

Answer 3

The Kaiser’s grasp of politics was limited.
He was essential lazy.
He was never able to settle down to a regular routine.
He much preferred to be a social man rather than the roles on the monarch.

Question 4

Wehler and the structuralist approach - the Elites

Answer 4

Structuralist approach, Wehler has rejected that the Kaiser was the main influence in Germany.
They say the Kaiser had neither the character of the strength to rule the country.
As the powers of the chancellor and the reichstag were limited, this created a power vacuum. This led to the Kaiser hiding the fact that there was an on going crisis in politics.

Question 5

Wehler quote about the Kaiserreich

Answer 5

Wehler said the Kaiserreich was suffering from a permanent “crisis of the state behind its facade of high handed leadership”.

Question 6

What other forces were able to take advantage of the situation?

Answer 6

The Prussian Junkers
Army officials
High ranking officials in the civil service.
The judiciary

Question 7

Sammslungpolitik?

Answer 7

The desire of the elites to maintain their power against democracy promoted them to seek alliance with the elites of industry and commerce. This bringing together of the two groups of elites is known as Sammlungspolitik.

Question 8

What are the criticisms of the structuralist approach?

Answer 8

It exaggerated the unity of purpose within the elites.
Failed to recognise the decline in influence of the Junker.
It did not emphasise the fears of the Middle class.

Question 9

Mass political movements, “history from below”

Answer 9

Historians such as Blackbourn and Eley have tried to out emphasis on “history from below” rather than from above, by recognising popular movements.

Question 10

“History from below”- why was it not the elites?

Answer 10

The elites lacked real unity and so struggled with social upheavals along with economic changes.
They focus on trade unions, Mittelstand, Agrarian pressure groups and influence of Catholics. Many of these groups were demanding a genuine voice for the first time.

Question 11

The labour for force

Answer 11

The expansion of industry and commerce changed the workforce, the number of people in the secondary and tertiary sectors increased dramatically, this meant that the German economy was being transformed.

Question 12

Chancellor and the Imperial government

Answer 12

Chancellor was in effect the chief minister of the Reich, he was: 1) responsible to the kaiser alone, 2) responsible for shaping the framework of Reich policies, 3) not accountable to the Reichstag, 4) responsible for appointing all the state secretaries.

Question 13

Federal council (Bundesrat)

Answer 13

58 representatives nominated from all states (17 from Prussia), they could make changes to the constitution, responsible for ratifying all legislation, they had the ability to reject any military or constitutional issue with just 14 votes.

Question 14

Imperial parliament (Reichstag)

Answer 14

elected directly by universal suffrage. It was run according to the following terms: it was elected by all males over 25, it could discuss proposals put forward, could not introduce its own legislation, Imperial government not accountable to it.

Question 15

Implications of the constitution:

Answer 15

There were tensions between monarchical and political claims… 1) as more democratic parties filled the Reichstag it became harder for the Imp government to maintain control, 2) chancellor still had his weaknesses, 3) In theory, all states were equal and enjoyed the same rights, but Prussia made up 2/3, they had 17 seats in Bundesrat.

Question 16

Prussia’s regional assembly

Answer 16

Prussia’s regional assembly had its own archaic voting system which disproportionally divided the electors into 3 classes based on how much tax they pay. This allowed landowners, big business to have more influence

Question 17

Implications of the Constitution - fundamental problems over taxation

Answer 17

Only the states could raise direct taxes - imperial government could not levy a national income tax. As a result, the Reich was dependant on indirect taxes. As a modernising and expanding state, its spending was increasing. This lack of funds put more dependance on Prussia and so their influence increased.

Question 18

The German economy

Answer 18

By 1914, Germany had become Europe’s industrial superpower. It had exceeded Britain’s iron production, steel production increased 9x, by 1914 their output was double that of Britain.

Question 19

Germany’s second revolution - new technology

Answer 19

Before the First World War, Germany exploited and developed a range of new industries: electrics - German firms of Siemens and AEG. By 1913 50% of the world’s electrics came from Germany. Chemicals - research and development in the manufacture of chemicals gave Germany the lead in dyes and pharmaceuticals, by 1900 Germany produced 90% of the world’s synthetic drugs.