September 4, 1870: Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared.

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Abdication, Battle of Sedan, Emperor Napoleon III of France, Franco-Prussian War, King Wilhelm I of Prussia, Napoleon III, Otto von Bismark, Second French Empire

Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; April 20, 1808 – January 9, 1873), the nephew of Napoleon I, was the first president of France, from 1848 to 1852, and the last French monarch, from 1852 to 1870. First elected president of the French Second Republic in 1848, he seized power by force in 1851, when he could not constitutionally be re-elected, and became the emperor of the French. He founded the Second French Empire and was its only emperor until the defeat of the French Army and his capture by Prussia and its allies in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. He worked to modernize the French economy, rebuilt the center of Paris, expanded the French overseas empire, and engaged in the Crimean War and the Second Italian War of Independence.

The Battle of Sedan was a total disaster for the French—the army surrendered to the Prussians and Napoleon himself was made a prisoner of war. MacMahon arrived at Sedan with one hundred thousand soldiers, not knowing that two German armies were closing in on the city (one from the west and one from the east), blocking any escape.

The Germans arrived on August 31, and by September 1, occupied the heights around Sedan, placed batteries of artillery, and began to shell the French positions below. At five o’clock in the morning on September 1, a German shell seriously wounded MacMahon in the hip. Sedan soon came under bombardment from seven hundred German guns. MacMahon’s replacement, General Wimpffen, launched a series of valiant cavalry attacks to try to break the German encirclement, with no success. During the battle and bombardment, the French lost seventeen thousand killed or wounded and twenty-one thousand captured.

As the German shells rained down on the French positions, Napoleon III wandered aimlessly in the open around the French positions. One officer of his military escort was killed and two more received wounds. A doctor accompanying him wrote in his notebook, “If this man has not come here to kill himself, I don’t know what he has come to do. I have not seen him give an order all morning.”

Finally, at one o’clock in the afternoon, Napoleon emerged from his reverie and ordered a white flag hoisted above the citadel. He then had a message sent to the Prussian King, who was at Sedan with his army: “Monsieur my brother, not being able to die at the head of my troops, nothing remains for me but to place my sword in the hands of Your Majesty.”

At six o’clock in the morning on September 2, in the uniform of a general and accompanied by four generals from his staff, Napoleon was taken to the German headquarters at Donchery. He expected to see King Wilhelm I of Prussia but instead he was met by Bismarck and the German commander, General von Moltke. They dictated the terms of the surrender to Napoleon.

Napoleon asked that his army be disarmed and allowed to pass into Belgium, but Bismarck refused. They also asked Napoleon to sign the preliminary documents of a peace treaty, but Napoleon refused, telling them that the French government headed by the Regent, Empress Eugénie, would need to negotiate any peace agreement. The Emperor was then taken to the Chateau at Bellevue near Frénois (Ardennes) [fr], where the Prussian King visited him. Napoleon told the King that he had not wanted the war, but that public opinion had forced him into it. The Prussian king politely agreed.

The news of the capitulation reached Paris on September 3, confirming the rumors that were already circulating in the city. When the news was given to the Empress that the Emperor and the army were prisoners, she reacted by shouting at the Emperor’s personal aide, “No! An Emperor does not capitulate! He is dead!…They are trying to hide it from me. Why didn’t he kill himself! Doesn’t he know he has dishonored himself?!”.

Later, when hostile crowds formed near the palace, and the staff began to flee, the Empress slipped out with one of her entourage and sought sanctuary with her American dentist, who took her to Deauville. From there, on September 7, she took the yacht of a British official to England. On September 4, a group of republican deputies, led by Léon Gambetta, gathered at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris and proclaimed the return of the Republic and the creation of a Government of National Defence. The Second Empire had come to an end.

The House of Bismarck, Part II.

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Fürst von Bismarck, German Nobility, Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen, mediatized, Niederer Adel, Otto von Bismark, Prince von Bismarck

The House of Bismarck, Part II.

The family has its roots in the Altmark region, descending from Herebord von Bismarck (d. 1280), the first verifiable holder of the name, mentioned about 1270 as an official (Schultheiß) at the city of Stendal in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. His descent from the nearby small town of Bismark is conceivable though not ascertained.

His relative Nikolaus von Bismarck (d. 1377) was a councillor and a loyal supporter of the Wittelsbach margrave Ludwig I, over which he fell out with the revolting Stendal citizens and was compensated with the manor of Burgstall in 1345. By a 1562 agreement with the Hohenzollern margraves, the Bismarcks swapped Burgstall with Schönhausen, located east of the Elbe river and formerly part of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, which also had been under Hohenzollern rule since 1513.

Otto Fürst von Bismarckj

A Prussian Junker family, its most notable member, Otto von Bismarck, gained the comital title (Graf) of Bismarck-Schönhausen in 1865 and the hereditary princely status of a Fürst von Bismarck after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

Two ships of the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine), as well as a battleship from the World War II era, were named after Otto von Bismarck. Also named in his honour were the Bismarck Sea and Bismarck Archipelago (both near the former German colony of New Guinea), as well as several places in the United States, among them Bismarck, North Dakota, the state’s capital.

A Prussian Junker family, its most notable member, Otto von Bismarck, gained the comital title (Graf) of Bismarck-Schönhausen in 1865; this comital title is borne by all his descendants in the male line. In 1871, he was further created Fürst von Bismarck (“Prince of Bismarck”) and accorded the style of Durchlaucht (“Serene Highness”); this princely title descended only to his eldest male heirs.

In 1890, Bismarck was granted the title of Herzog von Lauenburg (“Duke of Lauenburg”); the duchy was one of the territories that Prussia seized from the king of Denmark in 1864. It was Bismarck’s ambition to be assimilated into the mediatized houses of Germany. He attempted to persuade Emperor Wilhelm I that he should be endowed with the sovereign duchy of Lauenburg, in reward for his services to the imperial family and the German empire.

Princely arms of Otto von Bismarck

This was on the understanding that Bismarck would immediately restore the duchy to Prussia; all he wanted was the status and privileges of a mediatized family for himself and his descendants. This novel idea was rejected by the conservative emperor, who thought that he had already given the chancellor enough rewards.

There is reason to believe that Bismarck informed Wilhelm II of his wishes. After being forced by the sovereign to resign, he received the purely honorific title of “Duke of Lauenburg”, without the duchy itself and the sovereignty that would have transformed his family into a mediatized house. Bismarck regarded it as a mockery of his ambition, and he considered nothing more cruel than this action of the emperor.

The Duchy of Lauenburg was one of the territories which Prussia seized from Denmark in 1864, and the choice of this title was therefore a nod to Bismarck’s career.

Upon Bismarck’s death in 1898, his dukedom became extinct and his princely title passed to his eldest son, Herbert. The current prince is the Iron Chancellor’s great-great-grandson.

Princes of Bismarck

1. Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck (1815–1898)
2. Nikolaus Heinrich Ferdinand Herbert, Prince of Bismarck (1849–1904)
3. Otto Christian Archibald, Prince of Bismarck (1897–1975)
4. Ferdinand Herbord Ivar, Prince of Bismarck (1930–2019)
5. Carl, Prince of Bismarck (born 1961)

The heir apparent to the title is the current prince’s son, Count Alexei von Bismarck (born 2006).

Without becoming the member of a mediatized Family, The House of Bismark remained a member of the Niederer Adel, or Lower Nobility.

The House of Bismarck Part I

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German Confederation, German Empire, German mediatisation, High Nobility, Hochadel, Holy Roman Empire, House of Bismarck, Lower Nibility, Niederer Adel, Otto von Bismark, Uradel

The House of Bismarck Part I

The House of Bismarck is a German noble family that rose to prominence in the 19th century, largely through the achievements of the statesman Otto von Bismarck. He was granted a hereditary comital title in 1865, the hereditary title of Prince of Bismarck in 1871, and the non-hereditary title of Duke of Lauenburg in 1890. Several of Otto von Bismarck’s descendants, notably his elder son Herbert, Prince von Bismarck, were also politicians.

Before I delve into the history of the The House of Bismarck I would like address the complex subject of the German Nobility. It will be simplified here.

The German nobility (German: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups which until 1919 enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area.

Historically German entities which recognized or conferred nobility included the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the German Confederation (1814–1866) and the German Empire (1871–1918). All legal privileges and immunities of the royalty and nobility (appertaining to an individual, a family or any heirs) were officially abolished in 1919 by the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and nobility is no longer conferred or recognized by the Federal Republic of Germany.

In Germany, nobility and titles pertaining to it were recognised or bestowed upon individuals by emperors, kings and lesser ruling Royals, and were then inherited by the legitimate, male-line descendants of the ennobled person. Families that had been considered noble as early as pre-1400s Germany (i.e., the Uradel or ancient nobility) were usually eventually recognised by a sovereign, confirming their entitlement to whatever legal privileges nobles enjoyed in that sovereign’s realm.

In the evolution of noble titles in Germany two separate classes of nobles developed. Uradel (German for ancient nobility) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The term is in juxtaposition of the word Briefadel, a term used for titles of nobility created in the early modern period or modern history by letters patent. Uradel and Briefadel families are generally further divided into the categories adlig (untitled and titled nobility), freiherrlich (baronial), gräflich (comital), and fürstlich (royal, princely and ducal) houses.

The Uradel were further divided into the Hochadel (“upper nobility”, or “high nobility”) and the Niederer Adel (“lower nobility”). here is a definition of each class.

Hochadel

The Hochadel were those noble houses which ruled sovereign states within the Holy Roman Empire and later, in the German Confederation and the German Empire. They were considered Royalty; the heads of these families were entitled to be addressed by some form of “Majesty” or “Highness”. These were the families of kings (Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, Saxony, and Württemberg), grand dukes (Baden, Hesse and by Rhine, Luxembourg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), reigning dukes (Anhalt, Brunswick, Schleswig-Holstein, Nassau, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen), and reigning princes (Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Liechtenstein, Lippe, Reuss, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schwarzburg, and Waldeck-Pyrmont).

The Hochadel also included the Empire’s formerly quasi-sovereign families whose domains had been mediatised#(see below) within the German Confederation by 1815, yet preserved the legal right to continue royal intermarriage with still-reigning dynasties (Ebenbürtigkeit). These quasi-sovereign families comprised mostly princely and comital families, but included a few dukes also of Belgian and Dutch origin (Arenberg, Croÿ, Looz-Corswarem). Information on these families constituted the second section of Justus Perthes’ entries on reigning, princely, and ducal families in the Almanach de Gotha.

During the unification of Germany, mainly from 1866 to 1871, the states of Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (in 1850), Schleswig-Holstein and Nassau were absorbed into Prussia.

In addition, the ruling families of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen were accorded the dynastic rights of a cadet branch of the Royal House of Prussia after yielding sovereignty to their royal kinsmen. The exiled heirs to Hanover and Nassau eventually regained sovereignty by being allowed to inherit, respectively, the crowns of Brunswick (1914) and Luxembourg (1890).

Niederer Adel

Nobility that held legal privileges until 1918 greater than those enjoyed by commoners, but less than those enjoyed by the Hochadel, were considered part of the lower nobility or Niederer Adel. Most were untitled, only making use of the particle von in their surnames. Higher-ranking noble families of the Niederer Adel bore such hereditary titles as Ritter (knight), Freiherr (or baron) and Graf. Although most German counts belonged officially to the lower nobility, those who were mediatised belonged to the Hochadel, the heads of their families being entitled to be addressed as Erlaucht (“Illustrious Highness”), rather than simply as Hochgeboren (“High-born”).

There were also some German noble families, especially in Austria, Prussia and Bavaria, whose head bore the titles of Fürst (prince) or Herzog (duke); however, never having exercised a degree of sovereignty, they were accounted members of the lower nobility (e.g., Blücher, Pless, Wrede). Bismarck is such an example of a House belonging to the Lower Nobility and never exercised a degree of sovereignty.

# German mediatisation was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularization of a large number of Imperial Estates. Most ecclesiastical principalities, free imperial cities, secular principalities, and other minor self-ruling entities of the Holy Roman Empire lost their independent status and were absorbed into the remaining states. By the end of the mediatisation process, the number of German states had been reduced from almost 300 to just 39. Despite losing sovereignty the former ruling houses of these states were still considered Hochadel under laws adopted by the German Empire.

March 9, 1888: Death of German Emperor Wilhelm I, King of Prussia. Part III.

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Assassination, Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Frederick III of Germany, German Emperor, German Emperor and King of Prussia, German Empire, Otto von Bismark, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II of Germany

Part III

In his memoirs, Bismarck describes Wilhelm as an old-fashioned, courteous, infallibly polite gentleman and a genuine Prussian officer, whose good common sense was occasionally undermined by “female influences”. This was a reference to Wilhelm’s wife, who had been educated by, among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and was intellectually superior to her husband. She was also at times very outspoken in her opposition to official policies as she was a liberal.

Wilhelm, however, had long been strongly opposed to liberal ideas. Despite possessing considerable power as Emperor, granted to him by the new constitution, Wilhelm left the task of governing mostly to his chancellor, limiting himself to representing the state and approving Bismarck’s every policy.

On May 11, 1878, a plumber named Emil Max Hödel failed in an assassination attempt on Wilhelm in Berlin. Hödel used a revolver to shoot at the then 81-year-old Emperor, while he and his daughter, Princess Louise, paraded in their carriage on Unter den Linden. When the bullet missed, Hödel ran across the street and fired another round which also missed. In the commotion one of the individuals who tried to apprehend Hödel suffered severe internal injuries and died two days later. Hödel was seized immediately. He was tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and executed on August 16, 1878.

A second attempt to assassinate Wilhelm was made on June 2, 1878 by Dr. Karl Nobiling. As the Emperor drove past in an open carriage, the assassin fired two shots from a shotgun at him from the window of a house off the Unter den Linden. Wilhelm was severely wounded and was rushed back to the palace. Nobiling shot himself in an attempt to commit suicide. While Wilhelm survived this attack, the assassin died from his self-inflicted wound three months later

Augusta, German Empress and Queen of Prussia

These attempts on Wilhelm’s life thus became the pretext for the institution of the Anti-Socialist Law, which was introduced by Bismarck’s government with the support of a majority in the Reichstag on October 18, 1878, for the purpose of fighting the socialist and working-class movement.

These laws deprived the Social Democratic Party of Germany of its legal status; prohibited all organizations, workers’ mass organizations and the socialist and workers’ press; decreed confiscation of socialist literature; and subjected Social-Democrats to reprisals. The laws were extended every 2–3 years. Despite the reprisals the Social Democratic Party increased its influence among the masses. Under pressure of the mass working-class movement the laws were repealed on October 1, 1890.

9th March 1888: Wilhelm I (1797 – 1888), king of Prussia and first German Emperor lying in state. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In August 1878, Russian Emperor Alexander II, Wilhelm’s nephew, wrote a letter (known as Ohrfeigenbrief) to him complaining about the treatment Russian interests had received at the Congress of Berlin. In response Wilhelm, his wife Augusta, and his son the Crown Prince Friedrich travelled to Russia (against the advice of Bismarck) to mend fences in face-to-face talks. However, by once again threatening to resign, Bismarck overcame the opposition of Wilhelm to a closer alliance with Austria. In October, Wilhelm agreed to the Dual Alliance (Zweibund) between Germany and Austria-Hungary, which was directed against Russia.

Despite the assassination attempts and Wilhelm’s unpopular role in the 1848 uprising, he and his wife were very popular, especially in their later years. Many people considered them the personification of “the old Prussia” and liked their austere and simple lifestyle. Wilhelm died on March 9, 1888 in Berlin after a short illness. He was aged 90 and he died 13 days before his 91st birthday. He was buried on March 16, at the Mausoleum at Park Charlottenburg.

The Year of the Three Emperors

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

1888 is called the Year of the Three Emperors, during the German Empire in German history. The year is considered to have memorable significance because of the deaths of two German Emperors, leading to a rapid succession of three monarchs within one year.

As we’ve seen, Emperor Wilhelm I died on March 9, 1888 after his long reign. He was then succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who became known as German Emperor Friedrich III when he assumed the throne. Along with his military successes, Friedrich III was a reputed liberal and married to the United Kingdom’s liberal Princess Royal Victoria, eldest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia

However, by the time of his father’s death, Friedrich was 56 years old and had already developed a terminal case of cancer of the larynx before he assumed the German imperial throne. Friedrich attempted to have it treated, but it was not successful. Due to this illness and subsequent treatment, as Emperor, Friedrich III could not talk during his short reign and had to communicate through writing. Friedrich III still accomplished some of his duties as emperor despite his protracted illness; however, he did not have any lasting effect upon Germany and was unable to enact any of his liberal policies. He died after only 99 days of rule on June 15, 1888.

Wilhelm II,

Friedrich III’s son, Wilhelm II, then succeeded to the throne at age 29. Unlike his father, Wilhelm II did not have any liberal tendencies. Upon consolidating power as emperor, Wilhelm launched Germany on a bellicose “New Course” to cement its status as a respected world power. However, he frequently undermined this aim by making tactless, alarming public statements without consulting his ministers.

He also did much to alienate his country from the other Great Powers by initiating a massive build-up of the German Navy, challenging French control over Morocco, and backing the Austrian annexation of Bosnia in 1908. His turbulent reign ultimately culminated in his guarantee of military support to Austria-Hungary during the crisis of July 1914, resulting in the outbreak of World War I. Wilhelm II became a figurehead during World War I and Germany was ruled by military generals. In 1918 Wilhelm II was pressured into abdicating resulting in the fall of the German Empire at the end of war.

March 9, 1888: Death of German Emperor Wilhelm I, King of Prussia. Part II.

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Frederick III of Germany, German Chancellor, German Emperor, German Emperor and King of Prussia, German Empire, German titles, Imperial Germany, Otto von Bismark, Wilhelm I of Germany

Part II

Wilhelm I, German Emperor

Against his convictions but out of loyalty towards his brother, Wilhelm signed the bill setting up a Prussian parliament (Vereinigter Landtag) in 1847 and took a seat in the upper chamber, the Herrenhaus.

During the Revolutions of 1848 that swept across Europe, including Germany, Wilhelm successfully crushed a revolt in Berlin that was aimed at Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The use of cannons made him unpopular at the time and earned him the nickname Kartätschenprinz (Prince of Grapeshot). Indeed, he became so unpopular had to flee to England for a while, disguised as a merchant. In a year he returned and helped to put down an uprising in Baden, where he commanded the Prussian army. In October 1849, he became governor-general of Rhineland and Westfalia, with a seat at the Electoral Palace in Koblenz.

During their time at Koblenz, Wilhelm and his wife entertained liberal scholars such as the historian Maximilian Wolfgang Duncker, August von Bethmann-Hollweg and Clemens Theodor Perthes. Wilhelm’s opposition to liberal ideas gradually softened a little.

In 1857 Friedrich Wilhelm IV suffered a stroke and became mentally disabled for the rest of his life. In January 1858, Wilhelm became Prince Regent for his brother, initially only temporarily but after October it became permanent and he swore an oath of office on the Prussian constitution and promised to preserve it “solid and inviolable”. Wilhelm appointed a liberal, Karl Anton von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, as Minister President and thus initiated what became known as the “New Era” in Prussia, although there were conflicts between William and the liberal majority in the Landtag on matters of reforming the armed forces.

On January 2, 1861, Friedrich Wilhelm IV died and Wilhelm ascended the throne as Wilhelm I of Prussia. In July, a student from Leipzig attempted to assassinate William, but he was only lightly injured. Like Friedrich I of Prussia (1701-) Wilhelm travelled to Königsberg and there crowned himself at the Schlosskirche. Wilhelm chose the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, October 18, for this event, which was the first Prussian crowning ceremony since 1701 and the only crowning of a German king in the 19th century.

Wilhelm refused to comply with his brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s wish, expressed in His last will, that he should abrogate the constitution. Wilhelm inherited a conflict between Friedrich Wilhelm IV and the liberal Landtag. He was considered to be politically neutral as he intervened less in politics than his brother. In 1862 the Landtag refused an increase in the military budget needed to pay for the already implemented reform of the army, which involved raising the members of the peacetime army and to keep the length of military service (raised in 1856 from two years) at three years.

Otto Von Bismarck

When his request, backed by his Minister of War Albrecht von Roon was refused, Wilhelm first considered abdicating, but his son, the Crown Prince Friedrich, advised strongly against it. Then, on the advice of Roon, Wilhelm appointed Otto von Bismarck to the office of Minister President in order to force through the proposals. According to the Prussian constitution, the Minister President was responsible solely to the king, not to the Landtag. Bismarck, a ultra-conservative Prussian Junker and loyal friend of the king, liked to see his working relationship with Wilhelm as that of a vassal to his feudal superior. Nonetheless, it was Bismarck who effectively directed the politics, domestic as well as foreign; on several occasions he gained William’s assent by threatening to resign.

The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on June 8, 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris. The German Confederation replaced the ancient Holy Roman Empire that had been dissolved by Emperor Franz II under the pressure of the rise of Napoleon.

Creating a unified German State was the goal of many German statesman. The Bourgeois revolutions of 1848, which tired to give the Imperial Crown to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV was associated with highly educated and middle class subjects but this attempt was crushed in favor of peasants, artisans and Otto von Bismarck’s pragmatic Realpolitik.

Bismarck sought to extend Hohenzollern hegemony throughout the German states. Bismarck knew that to do so meant the unification of the German states and the exclusion of Prussia’s main German rival, Austria, from the subsequent German Empire. He envisioned a conservative Germany dominated by Prussia with Wilhelm as its Emperor. Three wars led to military successes and helped to persuade German people to do this: the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864, the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War against France in 1870–71.

Wilhelm is proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, France flanked by his only son, Crown Prince Friedrich and son in law – Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden. Painting by Anton von Werner

Wilhelm was the commander-in-chief of the Prussian forces in the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864 and the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. After the latter was won by Prussia, Wilhelm wanted to march on to Vienna and annex Austria, but was dissuaded from doing so by Bismarck and Crown Prince Friedrich. These actions were not part of Bismarck’s plan.

Bismarck wanted to end the war quickly, so as to allow Prussia to ally with Austria if it needed to at a later date; Crown Prince Friedrich was also appalled by the casualties and wanted a speedy end to hostilities. During a heated discussion, Bismarck threatened to resign if Wilhelm continued to Vienna. In the end Bismarck got his way. Wilhelm had to content himself with becoming the de facto ruler of the northern two-thirds of Germany. Prussia annexed several of Austria’s allies north of the Main, as well as Schleswig-Holstein. It also forced Saxe-Lauenburg into a personal union with Prussia (which became a full union in 1878).

In 1867, the North German Confederation was created as a federation (federally organised state) of the North German and Central German states under the permanent presidency of Prussia. Wilhelm assumed the Bundespräsidium, the presidium of the Confederation; the post was a hereditary office of the Prussian crown. Not expressis verbis, but in function he was the head of state. Bismarck intentionally avoided a title such as Präsident as it sounded too republican. Wilhelm also became the constitutional Bundesfeldherr, the commander of all federal armed forces. Via treaties with the South German states, he also became commander of their armies in times of war. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Wilhelm was in command of all the German forces at the crucial Battle of Sedan.

During the Franco-Prussian War, the South German states joined the North German Confederation. The country was renamed Deutsches Reich (the German Empire), and the title of Bundespräsidium was amended with the title Deutscher Kaiser (German Emperor). This was decided on by the legislative organs, the Reichstag and Bundesrat, and Wilhelm agreed to this on December 18, in the presence of a Reichstag delegation. The new constitution and the title of Emperor came into effect on January 1, 1871.

The German Emperor (German: Deutscher Kaiser) became the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. The title German Emperor was in direct contrast to both Emperor of the Germans or even Emperor of Germany (German: Kaiser von Deutschland).

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

Bismarck and Wilhelm continually discussed the imperial title even up until the proclamation of Wilhelm as emperor at the Palace of Versailles during the Siege of Paris. The title “German Emperor” was carefully chosen by Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm accepted this title grudgingly having preferred “Emperor of Germany.” However, that would have signaled a territorial sovereignty and superiority over all German monarchs and this was particularly unacceptable to the South German monarchs, as well as a claim to lands outside his reign (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, etc.).

Even the title “Emperor of the Germans”, which initially had been proposed at the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, was ruled out by Wilhelm as he considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and chosen “By the Grace of God”, not by the people in a popular monarchy.
T

January 18, 1871: Proclamation of the German Empire.

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Emperor of Germany, Emperor of the Germans, Frankfurt Parliament, Frederick III of Germany, German Chancellor, German Emperor, German Empire, Great Hall of Mirrors, Otto von Bismark, Palace of Versailles, Revolutions of 1848, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II of Germany

The future king and emperor was born Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia in the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin on March 22, 1797. As the second son of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and King Friedrich Wilhelm III, himself son of King Friedrich Wilhelm II, Wilhelm was not expected to ascend to the throne. His grandfather died the year he was born, at age 53, in 1797, and his father Became the King of Prussia.

Ever since the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806 uniting the German lands into a modern Nation State, a new empire, was the goal of many statesman as well as the populace of the multi German states that had made up the Holy Roman Empire.

The first attempt to create the Second German Reich occurred in 1848. In the wake of the revolutions of 1848 that swept across Europe, where the people of the many autocratic monarchies demanded that their governments be ruled by laws granted in a Constitution, the liberal Frankfurt Parliament offered the title “Emperor of the Germans” (German: Kaiser der Deutschen) to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in 1849 but he declined it citing that it was “not the Parliament’s to give.” Friedrich Wilhelm further stated he would not “stoop down in the gutter to pick up a crown” for he strongly believed that only the German princes had the right to make such an offer, in accordance with the traditions of the Holy Roman Empire.

German Emperor Wilhelm I

Despite this false start creating a German Empire was still the ultimate goal. After a series of wars orchestrated by the ultra conservative Otto von Bismarck, Minister President of Prussia and Chancellor of the North German Confederation; which culminated in uniting the North and South German Confederations at the end of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor in the Great Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on January18, 1871. However, creating the title of Emperor and convincing the King of Prussia to take the crown proved almost as difficult as forging the Empire itself.

The German Emperor (German: Deutscher Kaiser [ˈdɔʏtʃɐ ˈkaɪzɐ]) became the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. The title German Emperor was in direct contrast to both Emperor of the Germans or even Emperor of Germany (German: Kaiser von Deutschland).

The title was carefully chosen by Otto von Bismarck, after a discussion which continued until the proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as emperor at the Palace of Versailles during the Siege of Paris. Wilhelm accepted this title grudgingly on January 18 having preferred “Emperor of Germany.” However, that would have signaled a territorial sovereignty and superiority over all German monarchs and this was particularly unacceptable to the South German monarchs, as well as a claim to lands outside his reign (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, etc.).

“Emperor of the Germans”, as had been proposed at the Frankfurt Parliament in 1849, was ruled out by Wilhelm as he considered himself a king who ruled by divine right and chosen “By the Grace of God”, not by the people in a popular monarchy. This was an identical stance held by his brother, Friedrich Wilhelm IV. But more in general, Wilhelm was unhappy about a crown that looked artificial (like Napoléon’s), having been created by a constitution. He was afraid that it would overshadow the Prussian crown.

Since 1867, the presidency of the North German Confederation had been a hereditary office of the kings of Prussia. The new constitution of January 1, 1871, following Reichstag and Bundesrat decisions on December 9/10, legally transformed the North German Confederation into the German Empire. This empire was a federal monarchy; the emperor was head of state and president of the federated monarchs (the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, the grand dukes of Baden, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hesse, among others, as well as the principalities, duchies and of the free cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen).

German Emperor Friedrich III

Under the imperial constitution, the empire was a federation of states under the permanent presidency of the King of Prussia. Thus, the imperial crown was directly tied to the Prussian crown—something Wilhelm II discovered in the aftermath of World War I. He erroneously believed that he ruled the empire in personal union with Prussia. With the war’s end, he conceded that he could not remain emperor, but initially thought he could at least retain his Prussian crown.

However, his last chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, knew this was legally impossible, and announced Wilhelm II’s abdication of both thrones on November 9, 1918, two days before the Armistice. Realizing his situation was untenable, Wilhelm II went into exile in the Netherlands later that night. It was not until November 28 that Wilhelm II formally gave up all claim to “the throne of Prussia and to the German imperial throne connected therewith.”

German Emperor Wilhelm II

Full titles of the German Emperor

The German Emperors had an extensive list of titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse and diversity of the lands ruled by the House of Hohenzollern.

His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wilhelm I, By the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia; Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern; sovereign and supreme Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz; Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen; Duke of Saxony, of Westphalia, of Angria, of Pomerania, Lunenburg, Holstein and Schleswig, of Magdeburg, of Bremen, of Guelders, Cleves, Jülich and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kassubes, of Crossen, Lauenburg and Mecklenburg; Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia; Prince of Orange; Prince of Rügen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and Pyrmont, of Halberstadt, Münster, Minden, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, of Verden, Cammin, Fulda, Nassau and Moers; Princely Count of Henneberg; Count of Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, Tecklenburg and Lingen, of Mansfeld, Sigmaringen and Veringen; Lord of Frankfurt.

This date in History: December 3, 1838. Birth of Princess Louise of Prussia.

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Frederick III of Germany, German Empire, Grand Duchy of Baden, Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden, Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden, Otto von Bismark, Princess Louise of Prussia, Queen Victoria of Sweden, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Wilhelm I of Germany, Wilhelm II of Germany

Princess Louise of Prussia (December 3, 1838 – April 23, 1923)

Princess Louise of Prussia in 1856, portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Louise Marie Elisabeth was born on December 3, 1838 to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (future German Emperor Wilhelm I) and his wife Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the second daughter of Carl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Louise was named after her grandmothers, Louise, Queen of Prussia and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia and was known as “Vivi” in her family.

Her parents were an unhappy and tense couple, and Louise had only one other sibling, Prince Friedrich (future German Emperor Friedrich III, “Fritz”) and she was the aunt of Wilhelm II of Germany. Louise was seven years younger than her brother and two years older than his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, the daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Upon her birth, her mother Augusta declared that her duty in perpetuating the Hohenzollern dynasty was complete.

While Wilhelm showed some outward affection to his only son, he lavished attention on Louise, and often his unexpected visits to her schoolroom resulted in them playing together on the floor. Mother and daughter however were not close, with Augusta’s presence filling Louise up with awe; one account states that when Augusta encountered her daughter, Louise “involuntarily drew herself up to her full height, and sat stiff and constrained as for her portrait, while she inwardly trembled lest her answers should prove incorrect”.

Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden

Louise was betrothed to Friedrich, Prince Regent of Baden in 1854, and they married September 20, 1856 at Neues Palais in Potsdam. Friedrich had been regent because of his brother Ludwig’s insanity, and was proclaimed Grand Duke of Baden when doctors declared that there was no chance of recovery. As the only daughter of the Prussian crown prince (and later German Emperor), their marriage caused Baden to gain a great deal of importance, and even more so once the German Empire was founded.

Within a few weeks of their marriage, the new grand duchess was already pregnant with their first child, Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich (future Grand Duke Friedrich II). Louise was a happy wife and mother, writing to a friend that “since we last met, my life has become so much more beautiful, more precious, to me, my happiness is so much richer and deeper than before”.

Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden

Louise and Friedrich disliked the stiffness of the Karlsruhe court, and gladly escaped to their castle on the island of Mainau. They were popular in Baden, and everyone spoke with affectionate pride of their grand duke and duchess in Constance, where the couple had a summer residence.

The couple had three children.

1. Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden (9 July 1857 – 9 August 1928), married Princess Hilda of Luxembourg; no issue
2. Queen Victoria of Sweden (7 August 1862 – 4 April 1930), married King Gustav V of Sweden; had issue
3. Prince Ludwig of Baden (12 June 1865 – 23 February 1888), died unmarried; no issue

Louise was a great friend of Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, her sister-in-law’s younger sister; i.e., Alice was the sister of Crown Victoria of Prussia (Louise’s brother Friedrich’s wife) both sisters being daughters of Queen Victoria. The two often visited each other. In Queen Victoria’s letters, she and Frederick were always referred to with pleasure or sympathy as good Fritz and Louise of Baden. Though friends as young girls, Louise and her sister-in-law Victoria, Princess Royal (“Vicky”) always had a “none-too-friendly rivalry”, particularly when comparing their children: while Vicky’s eldest son Crown Prince Wilhelm was born with a deformed arm, Louise apparently could not resist bragging that her three children were healthier and bigger at the same age.

Louise doted on her nephew however, and Vicky wrote to her mother that the grand duchess “spoilt him quite dreadfully”. Often supporting him against his parents, her and Wilhelm’s close relationship would carry on to his adulthood, and he would later write in his memoirs that Louise “possessed considerable political ability and a great gift for organisation, and she understood excellently how to put right men in the right place and how to employ their strength serviceably for the general benefit”.

The Austro-Prussian War caused a degree of friction between Baden and Prussia, as the former, despite their close familial connections to Berlin, chose to support the Austrians. As the daughter of the Prussian king, Baden was not included in the list of states forced to pay excessive indemnities to Prussia. Her father’s strongly anti-Catholic chancellor Otto von Bismarck disliked Baden however, as it was one of Germany’s most important Catholic states; he saw its religion as threatening the stability of the new German Empire. Suspicious of the grand duchess’ influence on her father, he did his best to block her request for clemency on behalf of Alsace Catholics to the emperor.

Within two years, four of Louise’s closest family members died – her father, brother, younger son and mother. Vicky, now Dowager Empress Friedrich, took sympathy on Louise and persuaded her mother to confer Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, First Class, on her.

Grand Duke Friedrich died on September 28, 1907, and their eldest son succeeded as Grand Duke Friedrich II. That same year, their only daughter Victoria succeeded as Queen consort of Sweden, as the spouse of King Gustaf V of Sweden and Norway, the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway and Sofia of Nassau.

Louise, now Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden, lived to see her duchy become absorbed into the new state of Germany under the Revolution of 1918-19 that took place at the end of World War I. At the time of the revolution, her daughter, Queen Victoria of Sweden, was visiting her. After the abdication of the German emperor, riots spread in Karlsruhe on November 11. The son of a courtier led a group of soldiers up to the front of the palace, followed by a great crowd of people, where a few shots were fired. Louise, as well as the rest of the family, left the palace the backway and left for the Zwingenberg palace in the Neckar valley. By permission of the new government, they were allowed to stay at the Langenstein Palace, which belonged to a Swedish count, Douglas.

During these events, Louise was said to have kept her calm and never uttered a word of complaint. The government gave the order that the former Grand Ducal family was to be protected, and that Langenstein be excepted from housing the returning soldiers, because Louise’s daughter, the Queen of Sweden, was in their company and Baden should not do anything to offend Sweden. In 1919, the family requested permission from the government to reside in Mainau, and was met with the answer that they were now private citizens and could do as they wished.

The new republican government gave her permission to live out the rest of her life in retirement at Baden-Baden, where she died on April 24, 1923, (aged 84). She was the last surviving non-morganatic grandchild of Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia.

This Date in History: November 21, 1840. Birth of Victoria Princess Royal and German Empress.

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Crown Princess Victoria, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Empress Frederick, Otto von Bismark, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; November 21, 1840 – August 5, 1901) was German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Friedrich III. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and was created Princess Royal in 1841.

Educated by her father in a politically liberal environment, Victoria was betrothed at the age of sixteen to Prince Friedrich of Prussia and supported him in his views that Prussia and the later German Empire should become a constitutional monarchy on the British model. Criticised for this attitude and for her English origins, Victoria suffered ostracism by the Hohenzollerns and the Berlin court. This isolation increased after the arrival of Otto von Bismarck (one of her most staunch political opponents) to power in 1862.

Victoria was empress for only a few months, during which she had opportunity to influence the policy of the German Empire. Friedrich III died in 1888 – just 99 days after his accession – from laryngeal cancer and was succeeded by their son Wilhelm II, who had much more conservative views than his parents. After her husband’s death, she became widely known as Empress Frederick (German: Kaiserin Friedrich).

The empress dowager then settled in Kronberg im Taunus, where she built Friedrichshof, a castle, named in honour of her late husband. Increasingly isolated after the weddings of her younger daughters, Victoria died of breast cancer on August 5, 1901, not long after her mother’s death on January 22, 1901.

Marriage of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach & Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

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Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Conservative, Elisabeth of Bavaria, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, German Chancellor, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Liberal, Marriage, Otto von Bismark, Wilhelm I of Germany

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Augusta Marie Luise Katharina; September 30, 1811 – January 7, 1890) was the Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the consort of Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

Wilhelm I (March 22, 1797 – March 9, 1888) of the House of Hohenzollern, was King of Prussia from January 2, 1861 and the first German Emperor from January 18, 1871 to his death, the first Head of State of a united Germany. He was the second son of King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia (himself son of King Friedrich-Wilhelm II) and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, circa 1838, by Carl Joseph Begas

Augusta was the second daughter of Carl-Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a daughter of Pavel I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

Meeting with Wilhelm

Augusta was only fifteen years old when, in 1826, she first met her future husband, Prince Wilhelm, who was more than fourteen years older than her. Wilhelm thought the young Augusta had an “excellent personality,” yet was less attractive than her older sister Marie, whom Wilhelm’s younger brother, Karl, had already married.

It was Wilhelm’s father who pressed him to consider Augusta as a potential wife. At this time, Wilhelm was in love with the Polish Princess Elisa Radziwill. The Crown Prince at the time was Wilhelm’s elder brother, Crown Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm (later King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV). He and his wife Elisabeth Ludovika* had been married three years and had no children. Although it was not anticipated that they would remain childless (which turned out to be the case), the court did expect that Wilhelm, as heir presumptive to the throne, should make a dynastic marriage and produce further heirs.

King Friedrich-Wilhelm III was indulgent of the relationship between his son Wilhelm and Elisa, but the Prussian court had discovered that her ancestors had purchased their princely title from Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and she was not deemed noble enough to marry a potential King of Prussia. Ironically, Crown Princess Elisabeth Ludovika, who as a Bavarian princess was considered to be of correct rank, counted both Bogusław Radziwiłł and Janusz Radziwiłł among her ancestors, albeit through female descent.

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

It was suggested by some courtiers that if Eliza Radziwill was adopted by a family of adequate rank, then a marriage with Prince Wilhelm was possible. In 1824, the Prussians turned to the childless Alexander I of Russia to adopt Elisa, but the Russian Czar declined. The second adoption plan by Elisa’s uncle, Prince August of Prussia, likewise failed because the responsible committee considered that adoption does not change “the blood.” Another factor in the adoption falling through was the Mecklenburg relations of the deceased Queen Louise of Prussia (wife of Friedrich-Wilhelm III) influence in the German and Russian courts.

Thus, in June 1826, Wilhelm’s father felt forced to demand the renunciation of a potential marriage to Elisa. Thus, Wilhelm spent the next few months looking for a more suitable bride, but did not relinquish his emotional ties to Elisa. Eventually, Wilhelm asked for Augusta’s hand in marriage on August 25, 1826, in writing and through the intervention of his father. Augusta agreed and on October 25, 1828, they were engaged.

Wilhelm wrote to his sister Charlotte, the wife of Nikolai I of Russia, with reference to Elisa Radziwill: “One can love only once in life, really” and confessed with regard to Augusta, that “the Princess is nice and clever, but she leaves me cold.”Augusta liked her future husband and hoped for a happy marriage, in the end, it was an inwardly happy marriage despite outward appearances.

On June 11, 1829, Wilhelm and Augusta were married in the chapel of Schloss Charlottenburg.

Augusta, German Empress and Queen of Prussia

The first weeks of marriage were harmonious; Augusta was taken favorably in the Prussian King’s court, however, Augusta soon started to be bored with its military sobriety, and most courtly duties (which may have counteracted this boredom) were reserved to her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Elisabeth.

In a letter which Wilhelm wrote on 22 January 1831 to his sister Charlotte, he has mixed feelings of his wife’s “lack of femininity”.

Despite the coldness and distance between them they did conceive two children. The first was Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm (later Friedrich III, German Emperor), born on October 26, 1831. Seven years later Princess Louise, was born on December 3, 1838.

Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia.

Princess Louise of Prussia, Grand Duchess of Baden.

Augusta as a politician

A strong area of difference between Wilhelm and Augusta was politics. Wilhelm was a staunch Conservative while Augusta was very Liberal.

Augusta was very interested in politics. Like so many other liberally-minded people of the time, she was hopeful regarding the accession of Friedrich-Wilhelm IV, her brother-in-law, who was regarded as a potentially modern and open king. However, he refused to grant a constitution to Prussia and led a far more conservative government than was expected from his liberal ideals during his years as the crown prince.

In liberal circles, an idea was seriously discussed as to whether or not to force the King to abdicate, Prince Wilhelm renounce his rights to the throne, and instead have Augusta take up a regency for their son, Friedrich. Because the letters and diaries of that time were later destroyed by Augusta, it is not clear whether she seriously considered this option.

Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Augusta, German Empress and Queen of Prussia. Their elldest children, Victoria the Princess Royal and German Emperor Friedrich III were married.

In his memoirs, Chancellor Bismarck describes Wilhelm I as an old-fashioned, courteous, infallibly polite gentleman and a genuine Prussian officer, whose good common sense was occasionally undermined by “female influences”. This was a reference to Wilhelm’s wife, who had been educated by, among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and was intellectually superior to her husband. She was also at times very outspoken in her opposition to official policies as she was a liberal. Wilhelm, however, had long been strongly opposed to liberal ideas.

Empress Augusta

* Here are some interesting genealogical information on Elisabeth Ludovika (November 13, 1801 – December 14, 1873) who was a Princess of Bavaria and later Queen consort of Prussia as the wife of King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV of Prussia.

Elisabeth Ludovika was born in Munich, the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his Queen, Friederike of Baden, and she was the identical twin sister of Amalie of Bavaria, consort of King Johann I of Saxony. Another sister was of Sophie of Bavaria Austria, wife of Archduke Franz-Carl of Austria and she was the mother of Emperor Franz-Josef I of Austria-Hungry and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. Another sister was Caroline of Bavaria the wife of Franz II, last Holy Roman Emperor and first Emperor of Austria. The youngest daughter was Ludovika of Bavaria, wife of her cousin, Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria. Ludovika of Bavaria was the mother of Emperor Franz-Josef’s consort, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi), who was Elisabeth’s godchild and namesake.

Kaiser Wilhelm II Dismisses Chancellor Bismarck: March 18, 1890.

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German Chancellor, Imperial German Chancellor, Kaiser, Kaiser Friedrich III, Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Otto von Bismark, World War I

Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (Born von Bismarck-Schönhausen; (April 1, 1815 – July 30, 1898), known as Otto von Bismarck he was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890 and was the first Chancellor of the German Empire between 1871 and 1890.

Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of the German Empire.

In 1862, King Wilhelm I of Prussia appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890, with the exception of a short break in 1873. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France. Following the victory against Austria, he abolished the supranational German Confederation and instead formed the North German Confederation as the first German national state in 1867, leading it as Federal Chancellor.

This aligned the smaller North German states behind Prussia. Later receiving the support of the independent South German states in the Confederation’s defeat of France, he formed the German Empire in 1871, unifying Germany with himself as Imperial Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia at the same time. The new German nation excluded Austria, which had been Prussia’s main opponent for predominance among the German states.

Wilhelm I, German Emperor and King of Prussia

With that accomplished by 1871, he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to maintain Germany’s position in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, remained at peace. For historian Eric Hobsbawm, it was Bismarck who “remained undisputed world champion at the game of multilateral diplomatic chess for almost twenty years after 1871, [and] devoted himself exclusively, and successfully, to maintaining peace between the powers”. However, his annexation of Alsace-Lorraine gave new fuel to French nationalism and promoted Germanophobia in France.This helped set the stage for the First World War.

In 1888 Kaiser Wilhelm I died, leaving the throne to his son, Friedrich III. The new monarch was already suffering from cancer of the larynx and died after reigning for only 99 days. He was succeeded by his son, Wilhelm II, who opposed Bismarck’s cautious foreign policy, preferring vigorous and rapid expansion to enlarge Germany’s “place in the sun.”

Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia

Bismarck was sixteen years older than Friedrich III; before the latter became terminally ill, therefore Bismarck did not expect he would live to see Wilhelm II ascend to the throne and thus had no strategy to deal with him. Conflicts between Wilhelm II and Bismarck soon poisoned their relationship. Their final split occurred after Bismarck tried to implement far-reaching anti-socialist laws in early 1890. The Kartell majority in the Reichstag, including the Conservative Party and the National Liberal Party, was willing to make most of the laws permanent. However, it was split about the law granting the police the power to expel socialist agitators from their homes, a power that had been used excessively at times against political opponents. The National Liberals refused to make this law permanent, while the Conservatives supported only the entirety of the bill, threatening to and eventually vetoing the entire bill in session because Bismarck would not agree to a modified bill.

As the debate continued, Wilhelm II became increasingly interested in social problems, especially the treatment of mine workers during their strike in 1889. Keeping with his active policy in government, he routinely interrupted Bismarck in Council to make clear his social views. Bismarck sharply disagreed with Wilhelm’s policies and worked to circumvent them. Even though Wilhelm II supported the altered anti-socialist bill, Bismarck pushed for his support to veto the bill in its entirety. When his arguments could not convince Wilhelm, Bismarck became excited and agitated until uncharacteristically blurting out his motive to see the bill fail: to have the socialists agitate until a violent clash occurred that could be used as a pretext to crush them.

Wilhelm countered that he was not willing to open his reign with a bloody campaign against his own subjects. The next day, after realizing his blunder, Bismarck attempted to reach a compromise with Wilhelm by agreeing to his social policy towards industrial workers and even suggested a European council to discuss working conditions, presided over by the Emperor.

Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia

Still, a turn of events eventually led to his breaking with Wilhelm. Bismarck, feeling pressured and unappreciated by the Emperor and undermined by ambitious advisers, refused to sign a proclamation regarding the protection of workers along with Wilhelm, as was required by the German constitution. His refusal to sign was apparently to protest Wilhelm’s ever increasing interference with Bismarck’s previously unquestioned authority. Bismarck also worked behind the scenes to break the Continental labour council on which Wilhelm had set his heart.

The final break came as Bismarck searched for a new parliamentary majority, as his Kartell was voted from power as a consequence of the anti-socialist bill fiasco, the remaining forces in the Reichstag were the Catholic Centre Party and the Conservative Party. Bismarck wished to form a new block with the Centre Party and invited Ludwig Windthorst, the parliamentary leader, to discuss an alliance. That would be Bismarck’s last political maneuver. Upon hearing about Windthorst’s visit, Wilhelm was furious.

In a parliamentary state, the head of government depends on the confidence of the parliamentary majority and has the right to form coalitions to ensure their policies have majority support. However, in Germany, the Chancellor depended on the confidence of the Emperor alone, and Wilhelm believed that the Emperor had the right to be informed before his minister’s meeting.

After a heated argument in Bismarck’s office, Wilhelm—to whom Bismarck had shown a letter from Tsar Alexander III describing Wilhelm as a “badly brought-up boy”—stormed out, after first ordering the rescinding of the Cabinet Order of 1851, which had forbidden Prussian Cabinet Ministers from reporting directly to the King of Prussia and required them instead to report via the Chancellor. Bismarck, forced for the first time into a situation that he could not use to his advantage, wrote a blistering letter of resignation, decrying Wilhelm’s interference in foreign and domestic policy. The letter, however, was published only after Bismarck’s death.

“Dropping the Pilot”, a famous caricature by Sir John Tenniel (1820–1914), first published in the British magazine Punch, March 29, 1890.

Bismarck resigned at Wilhelm II’s insistence on March 18, 1890, at the age of seventy-five.