The kaiser 1888 -1918

• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  Ruler of Germany from 1888 until 1918
• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  • Spent most of his youth in the army
  • From Prussia (strong belief in militarism – a country should have a strong army and navy)
  • Wanted Germany to be a global power and have an empire like Britain's (Weltpolitik) from 1897
  • English mother and had a withered arm
  • Moody and unstable and had violent rages
  • Wanted to build a powerful navy to rival Britain's
  • Could ignore government advice and make his own laws
  • He made all the military and foreign policy decisions
• The Kaiser wanted Germany to be seen as a 'great power' like Britain
• To make Germany a 'great power' and have a large navy


  1. The Kaiser introduced a series of Navy Laws between 1898 and 1912

  2. He spent a lot of money on it

  3. Taxes had to rise and money was borrowed to pay for it
• Germany before WW1


  • Germany had begun to industrialise, and its economy was very successful as had a lot of raw materials
  • Production of iron and coal doubled
  • By 1913 Germany produced as much coal as Britain and MORE iron and steel
  • In industries such as chemicals and electrical goods, Germany was best in the world
  • Many workers were unhappy with the low wages and poor working conditions
• Workers' actions


  • Joined trade unions (over 3 million had by 1914)
  • Went on strike
  • Joined or voted for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) – about 1 in 3 Germans voted for it. It had about 30% of the seats in the Reichstag in 1912
• Before 1914 there was a big growth in socialism and therefore the Kaiser sometimes found it hard to get his laws through the Reichstag
• The Kaiser did try to meet the workers' concerns e.g. old age pensions were introduced as were benefits for those too ill or injured to work in 1890
• In 1914, war was very popular, and the German people thought that it would end quickly
• The British navy stopped ships getting food into Germany (blockade)


  This led to food shortages
• General Ludendorff stated that Germany could not win and advised the Kaiser to make Germany more democratic so the Allies would treat Germany more fairly


  October 1918
• The Kaiser allowed the Reichstag to have more powers


  But the German people were not satisfied and there were demonstrations
• German navy mutinied at Kiel and the protests spread. The Kaiser realised that he had lost control

  28th October 1918
• Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated (stepped down). This was a condition of ending WWI. Germany became a republic (a country without a king or queen)


  9th November 1918