Abdication of Wilhelm II.
The abdication of Wilhelm II marks the end of his rule as German Emperor and King of Prussia . The abdication was on 9 November 1918. as part of the November Revolution in the German Reich by Chancellor Max von Baden announced without authorization Wilhelms and only subsequently from that on 28 November the same year in writing from the Dutch exile confirmed. This was preceded by the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I , which was sealed with the Armistice of Compiègne on November 11th.
abdication
After the Supreme Command of the First World War was the end of September 1918 declared lost, the Cabinet of Chancellor stepped Georg von Hertling back. After consulting with his Vice Chancellor Friedrich von Payer , he suggested Max von Baden as a replacement, but Kaiser Wilhelm II gave in only after pressure from the Supreme Army Command, especially from Erich Ludendorff . Von Baden arrived in Berlin on October 1st and was appointed Chancellor two days later. The next day a message was sent to American President Woodrow Wilson asking for an immediate ceasefire and peace based on his 14 points , which the Germans had previously refused, to negotiate . Wilson replied that this required the parliamentarization of the empire and thus in fact the abdication of the "monarchist autocrat" Wilhelm II and the laying down of arms, while the Kaiser would have preferred to remain King of Prussia. After the Kaiser fled to Spa on October 29th and the November Revolution that began with the Kiel sailors' uprising , von Baden sent the Prussian Interior Minister Bill Drews to the Kaiser on November 1st to convince him to abdicate, while at the same time questioning the German Federal Princes whether Wilhelm II was supposed to abdicate, which became obsolete a few days later due to the November Revolution. Drews' attempts failed. Wilhelm II refused to abdicate and sent the message over the phone: "If you don't change your mind in Berlin, I'll come with my troops and shoot the city together." The mutinous sailors controlled Kiel on November 4th and many large cities on the 7th radical left revolutionaries, especially the Spartakusbund under Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg , called a general strike in Berlin. Ultimately, von Baden declared his abdication on November 9th at 11:30 a.m. without the consent of the emperor and at 12 noon handed the government over to the Social Democrats under Friedrich Ebert , who made up the strongest parliamentary group in the Reichstag, whereupon the German republic was proclaimed twice : Philipp Scheidemann called 2 pm the "German Republic" proclaimed, while Karl Liebknecht proclaimed the "Free Socialist Republic of Germany" at 4 pm. A day later the Council of People's Representatives was formed, while Liebknecht's exclamation achieved little. On the same day, the emperor fled to the Netherlands in disguise to see Count Godard van Aldenburg-Bentinck at Amerongen Castle . On November 11, the Compiègne Armistice was finally signed, which temporarily marked the end of the war.
The emperor did not formally abdicate until November 28th. The text of his letter read:
“I hereby waive the rights to the Prussian crown and the associated rights to the German imperial crown for all future. At the same time I release all officials of the German Empire and Prussia as well as all officers, NCOs and men in the Navy, the Prussian Army and the troops of the federal contingents of the oath of loyalty that they have taken to Me as their Emperor, King and Supreme Commander. I expect them to help the owners of actual violence in Germany until the reorganization of the German Reich to protect the German people against the threatening dangers of anarchy, famine and foreign rule. "
On December 1st, Wilhelm's son, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, also renounced his successor.
Consequences of the abdication
Personal consequences for Wilhelm II.
The Allies took it for granted that they would bring Kaiser Wilhelm II to court . This was slowed down by the post-war disorder, which is why they only later requested the emperor's extradition. Since the Dutch royal house of Orange was related to the Hohenzollerns , Queen Wilhelmina did not consent to extradition. A little later he moved to the Doorn house. There he lived on a large scale: in the first year of his exile alone, expenses are said to have amounted to 66 million marks . In exile he dealt with logging, growing roses and archeology.
In exile, Wilhelm was very critical of the Weimar Republic , which he also called the "Saurepublik von Weimar". He is also said to have had the firm belief that he could return to Germany and restore the empire there, which is why he even worked to put the German people in danger, whereupon they would bring him back. For these reasons, like some other Hohenzollerns, he allied himself with the National Socialists . This ended when it became clear that they did not want to restore the empire, but only used it for their legitimation.
Attempts at restoration
Weimar Republic
Monarchist currents in the Weimar Republic could be recognized early on. The monarchist German National People's Party (DNVP), founded on November 24, 1918, achieved results of up to 20% of the votes in the Reichstag elections in its heyday in the mid-1920s. Despite all of this, the emperor's return was unlikely, as the Allies would not have allowed it under any circumstances.
Third Reich
Early on after the rise of the NSDAP, some Hohenzollern people thought that they might be able to regain their imperial dignity through it. Among other things, Crown Prince Wilhelm and his brother August Wilhelm were members of the Harzburg Front, which was linked to the National Socialists . August Wilhelm was also one of the first members of the NSDAP with membership number 24.
After Hindenburg had appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor, the old flag from the time of the Empire was declared the official flag again. Nevertheless, Wilhelm II was critical:
“Everything is eliminated by the people: the princes, the nobility, the officers, the estates, etc .; but that will take revenge, the only flag they have left, the one with the swastika, will be curse again, and the Germans themselves will one day burn it. "
Nevertheless, he presented himself in public as Hitler-friendly.
After the death of the Crown Prince's son, Wilhelm von Prussia , who fell during the French campaign in 1940 , there was a funeral service in Sanssouci with a total of 50,000 participants. After this event, Hitler saw the Hohenzollern as a threat to his power and made the so - called Prince's Decree known. This decree decreed that members of former German noble houses were not allowed to serve at the front and later not in the Wehrmacht . The SA and SS were not included .
Representations
Prophecy? (Dropping the Pilot) by Will Dyson from 1914.
Dropping the Pirate by William H. Walker from 1918.
_Will_Dyson_1914.jpg)
satire
As early as 1914, a few months after the beginning of World War I, the Daily Herald published the cartoon Prophecy? (Dropping the Pilot) (German: Prophezeiung? (Drop the pilot ) ). This shows how Wilhelm II, who is represented as a pilot, gets off a ship. He is being watched by Germania , the personification of Germany. . December 1918, after the official abdication of Wilhelm II, even the American magazine published Life William H. Walker caricature Dropping the Pirate (German: Lower the pirates ). This time a soldier from the victorious powers was watching him on deck. The picture shows Wilhelm with the Jolly Roger and a chain with a ball. "Justice" is written on the ball. There is also a board in the water that bears the word "Oblivion". Both were an adaptation of the famous cartoon The Pilot Disembarks .
documentary
The docudrama Kaisersturz by the director Christoph Röhl shows the events around the abdication. The television film was shown for the first time on October 31, 2018 on ZDF . The film was based on the book Kaisersturz - On Failure in the Heart of Power by the historian Lothar Machtan .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Maximilian (Max) of Baden. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d 95 years ago: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
- ↑ Sebastian Haffner: The German Revolution 1918/19 . Kindler, 2002. ISBN 3-463-40423-0 .
- ↑ a b c d The abdication of Wilhelm II. Retrieved on April 4, 2020 .
- ↑ 100 years ago: Kaiser Wilhelm II was ousted in Spa. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d From the Empire to the Republic 1918/19. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g The shrill compulsory pensioner. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
-
↑ a b Wilhelm II. Dream of the Throne . In: Der Spiegel . No. 37 , 1968 ( online ). As well as Harald von Koenigswald (ed.): The Kaiser in Holland. Notes from the last wing adjutant of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Sigurd von Ilsemann. Volume 2: Monarchy and National Socialism 1924–1941. Verlag Biederstein, Munich 1968, p. 230.
Wilhelm II. And National Socialism - ↑ HISTORIC EXHIBITION OF GERMAN FEDERAL DAY: Reichstag election results and mandates in the Weimar Republic. Retrieved April 5, 2020 .
- ^ Karl Dietrich Bracher : The dissolution of the Weimar Republic. A study on the problem of the decline in power in a democracy. 5th edition, Ring, Villingen 1971, p. 362.
- ↑ Walther Hofer : The Reichstag fire. 1992, p. 521.
- ↑ Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1962, p. 494.