History

• Wilhelm blamed his disability on his mother


  This is where Wilhelm's hatred for the British started, which grew even stronger due to a British physician that practiced electrotherapy and other absurd procedures on the future Kaiser
• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  • He was known to be intelligent but had a quick temper and a very strong personality
  • This later caused problems in his Reign
• The Kaiser publicly offended the British by saying "you English are not M marches"
• Wilhelm II‘s Beliefs


  He didn't align much with the British ideals of democracy and liberalism but much rather preferred the German standards of nationalism and traditionalism
• Wilhelm wanted a stronger Germany to compete with his cousins Tsar Nicholas II and George V
• Constitution of the new German Empire


  It made the Kaiser the most powerful figure in Germany as he was in absolute control of the army, foreign policy, and was able to appoint the chancellor who ran the government and was able to propose new legislation
• Governing bodies under the Kaiser


  • Bundist Strat (representatives from each German State who consented to the laws passed by the chancellor)
  • Reichstag (elected every 3 or 5 years and could pass or reject legislation handed down by the Bundist Strat)
• Germany had an economic boom from 1890 to 1924 and by the start of the 20th century, Germany was mainland Europe's most powerful Nation
• Iron and coal production in Germany doubled and Germany now produced 2/3 of Europe's steel
• This rapid industrialization led to an increase in the working class and poor working conditions, which made the people want change
• This led to a rise in socialism and in particular the rise of the Social Democratic party of Germany (SPD)
• By 1914, 3.3 million people were involved with trade unions in Germany
• The rise of the SPD was a big threat to the Kaiser and his power


  The possibility of a socialist Revolution
• The government didn't pass in a reform which made it even worse as people got angrier and supported more radical political parties
• The Kaiser hoped to distract the people


  By passing a series of laws to encourage nationalism and Military Pride
• The Navy laws


  1. Main goal was to build and improve Germany's naval fleet to compete with the British Royal Navy

  2. Secret main objective was propaganda to increase patriotism and decrease the popularity of radical parties such as the SPD
• The Navy laws were effective and Germany increased its number of battleships to 19 by 1903
• The Navy laws caught the eye of the British


  They answered by designing the powerful HMS Dreadnought
• This started an arms race as Germany answered by ordering the construction of Dreadnoughts
• By 1914, Germany had only produced 17 Dreadnoughts and Britain 29
• The naval arms race worsened Anglo-German relations and is argued to have possibly led to World War I
• By 1918, Germany was desperate due to a British Naval blockade, food, medicine and clothing shortages, and the Spanish flu pandemic
• General Ludendorff advised the Kaiser to create a new civilian government as he believed that Germany could possibly be treated more fairly if it became more democratic
• The Kaiser listened and tried to create a parliamentary monarchy led by Prince Max based on SPD support, but this failed as it was not democratic enough
• On October 31st 1918, the Kiel Mutiny occurred as sailors refused to go on a suicidal attack against British ships
• By late 1918, the Kaiser lost hope and control of the army as mass strikes and riots continued
• On November 9th, the Kaiser abdicated and escaped to the Netherlands never to return to Germany again
• On November 11th, 1918, Armistice was finally signed, marking the end of the war
• What Germany lost in the Treaty of Versailles


  • Alsace-Lorraine allocated to the French
  • North Schleswig given to the Danish
  • Eupen-Malmédy given back to the Belgians
  • Memel lost to Lithuania
  • Polish Corridor created to separate East Prussia from the rest of Germany
  • Saarland coalfields and the port city of Danzig became a free city under the control of the League of Nations
• The territorial losses meant that 12% of the German population was lost
• Germany also lost 75% of its iron ore, 68% of its zinc ore, and 26% of its coal
• Germany had to pay back war reparations which added up to 6.6 billion pounds
• The German Army was limited to a total of 100,000 men
• Clause 231 forced Germany to accept the blame for starting and prolonging the war, which many saw as unfair and insulting
• Weimar Constitution


  • At the bottom there's the people who elected the Reichstag, whose deputies were elected based on proportional representation
  • Over the Reichstag were the Chancellor and his ministers who proposed laws
  • The Chancellor is appointed by the President, who was elected every seven years by the people and commanded the Army and could dissolve the Reichstag and arrange new elections
  • The President also possessed Article 48 which gave them full dictatorship-like powers in case of an emergency
• Proportional representation led to too many parties that struggled to agree and cooperate, and allowed extremist parties that didn't believe in democracy to have a say
• Article 48 gave too much power to the President in case of an emergency
• The Treaty of Versailles left Germany crippling debt and took away its money-making industry
• In 1922, all the money produced by the German government was being paid straight back to the Allies
• In 1923, the French occupied the Ruhr with an army of 60,000 men, which was a catastrophe for Germany as it lacked a sufficient army and the Ruhr produced 85% of its coal