Face Slapping Letter

Annoyed by the events and results of the Berlin Congress , Tsar Alexander II of Russia wrote the slap letter to his uncle, the German Kaiser Wilhelm I , on August 3rd / 15th, 1879 , in which he complained about Otto von Bismarck .

Historical classification

The letter fits in with the repeated attempts by Russia to take over the German Reich for its expansion in the Balkans . Berlin should give up its policy in favor of Austria and take sides for Russia. In return, Alexander II wanted to guarantee the security of the German Empire. Bismarck rejected this request, however, as he feared that it would fall back into the second tier of international politics as a possible consequence. According to this attitude he appeared at the Berlin Congress in 1878 in a neutral position (“honest broker”) between the European powers.

After the congress, the mood between Russia and the German Reich had deteriorated increasingly. On the Russian side, Bismarck faced Foreign Minister Prince Alexander Michailowitsch Gorchakov , who viewed the Berlin Congress as a personal defeat. After the congress, Gorchakov had troops deployed on the German-Russian border. Bismarck's protective tariff policy against Russian agricultural products and finally a general embargo due to a cattle epidemic caused further dissatisfaction in the Russian Empire. In the spring of 1879, Bismarck also launched a press campaign directed against Gorchakov personally.

The letter and its effect

In his letter, Alexander II accused Bismarck of subordinating German-Russian policy to personal confrontation with Gorchakov and thus heading towards an international crisis. In addition, he demanded a diplomatic return for Russian standstill in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, which Prussia had so far owed him: “The Chancellor Ew. Your Majesty has forgotten the promises of 1870. "

Wilhelm I found himself in a difficult position in view of the letter. He did not want to give up the alliance with Austria-Hungary, worsen relations with Russia or weaken Bismarck. The answer to the slap letter was not very meaningful, but linked to the announcement of a visit to Alexander II in September 1879.

At this meeting on September 4, 1879 in Alexandrovo, Tsar Alexander II declared, according to Wilhelm I's record, that he had written the “slap letter” alone, apologized for the offending passages and suppressed the anti-German campaign in the Russian press. This did not prevent Bismarck from advancing the conclusion of the dual alliance with Austria-Hungary and from urging the Kaiser to conclude the alliance as a continuation of the dissolved German Confederation .

The Russian ambassador in Berlin Paul von Oubril was recalled in the course of the affair.

literature

Günter Cordes: Letter in the face . In: Gerhard Taddey (Hrsg.): Lexicon of German history . Events, institutions, people. From the beginning to the surrender in 1945. 3rd, revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-520-81303-3 , p. 921.

Individual evidence

^ The Great Politics of the European Cabinets 1871–1914 . Edited on behalf of the Foreign Office by J. Lepsius et al., Volume 3, Berlin 1926, p. 14 ff.
↑ Quotation from Otto von Bismarck : thoughts and memories . Edited by Ernst Friedländer , Stuttgart 1959, p. 444.
^ The Great Politics of the European Cabinets 1871–1914 . Ed. On behalf of the Foreign Office by J. Lepsius et al., Volume 3, Berlin 1926, p. 36 ff.

[1] The Great Politics of the European Cabinets 1871–1914 . Edited on behalf of the Foreign Office by J. Lepsius et al., Volume 3, Berlin 1926, p. 14 ff.

[2] Quotation from Otto von Bismarck : thoughts and memories . Edited by Ernst Friedländer , Stuttgart 1959, p. 444.

[3] The Great Politics of the European Cabinets 1871–1914 . Ed. On behalf of the Foreign Office by J. Lepsius et al., Volume 3, Berlin 1926, p. 36 ff.