Germany before World War 1
Your activity:
1. Read through the information sheet
2. Write a definition for the words you don’t understand (there will be quite a few and you may
be tested on them e.g. industrialisation)
3. When you return to the Academy in September you will be given a short assessment on this
article to check your understanding. If you fail this test (below 70%) it will be considered
that you did not complete your summer IL.
What was Germany like before WW1? An overview.
Whilst peasantry was the principal form of living until the late 19th century, it would dramatically change.
Industrialisation transformed agricultural societies into urban, industrialised nations while economic
pressure was at the same time forcing an increasing amount of peasants off the land and into the cities, in
which the life of the poor stood in an increasing contrast to the life of the rich.
Life for a white, educated man with some wealth was not bad at the start of the 20th century. Germany
outranked Britain as the major European producer of iron and steel amongst other factors guaranteed for
the well-being and comfort of the German people as well. But there are downsides to each story. Life in
Germany prior to the outbreak of WW1 was very good. Germany had become a big and prosperous
country. If we compare it to today’s France, it was a little bit bigger, and over 50% bigger than today’s
Germany and covered areas which today lie within the boundaries of Poland, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, France and others. The German states had an educational system which was admired and
imitated elsewhere. Research at its universities was second to none in terms of quality and quantity, and
ambitions academics abroad actually had to learn German in order to keep up with developments in their
respective subjects. The country even had a small scale welfare state with reference to age pensions,
health service etc. Economic prosperity and growth led to increased urbanisation within Germany, and
by 1910, 60% of its citizens lived in cities. In 1914, Germany was the 2nd largest industrial power in the
world, only beaten by the United States.
Although German law allowed every male aged 25 or above to vote, the real power was still firmly in
the hands of the nobility and aristocracy. And the lack of democracy was the biggest problem which was
facing Germany. It did indeed have a parliament, but its powers were limited as the Kaiser (emperor) and
his friends without too much effort could do as they wished. Kaiser Wilhelm furthermore focused a lot
on expanding the German military.
Kaiser Wilhelm:
Wilhelm II (1859-1941), the German Kaiser (emperor) from 1888 to 1918, was one of the most
recognizable public figures of World War I (1914-18). He gained a reputation as a boastful militarist
through his speeches and ill-advised newspaper interviews. While Wilhelm did not actively seek war,
and tried to hold back his generals from mobilizing the German army in the summer of 1914, his
verbal outbursts and his open enjoyment of the title of Supreme War Lord helped bolster the case of
those who blamed him for the conflict. His role in the conduct of the war as well as his responsibility
for its outbreak is still controversial. Some historians maintain that Wilhelm was controlled by his
generals, while others argue that he retained considerable political power. In late 1918, he was forced
to abdicate. He spent the rest of his life in exile in the Netherlands, where he died at age 82.
His early years:
Kaiser Wilhelm II was born in Potsdam, Germany, on January 27, 1859, the son of Prince Frederick
Wilhelm of Prussia (1831-88) and Princess Victoria (1840-1901), the oldest daughter of Queen
Germany before World War 1
Victoria of England (1819-1901). The future monarch was the Queen’s firstborn grandchild and was
genuinely fond of her; in fact, he was holding her in his arms when she died. His ties to Britain
through its royal family would play an important part in his later political manoeuvring.
Wilhelm’s childhood was shaped by two events, one medical and one political. His birth had been
traumatic; in the course of a complicated delivery, the doctor permanently damaged Wilhelm’s left
arm. In addition to its smaller size, the arm was useless for such ordinary tasks as cutting certain foods
with a knife at mealtime.
The political event that shaped Wilhelm was the formation of the German Empire under the
leadership of Prussia in 1871. Wilhelm was now second in line after his father to become an emperor
as well as King of Prussia. Twelve years old at the time, Wilhelm was filled with nationalistic
enthusiasm. His later determination to win a “place in the sun” for Germany had its roots in his
childhood.
An intelligent young man who possessed a lifelong interest in science and technology, Wilhelm was
educated at the University of Bonn. His quick mind, however, was combined with an even quicker
temper and an impulsive, high-strung personality. He had dysfunctional relationships with both
parents, particularly his English mother. Historians still debate the effects of the Kaiser’s complicated
psychological makeup on his political decisions.
Wilhelm’s father became Kaiser Frederick III of Germany in March 1888. Already ill with terminal
throat cancer, he died after a reign of only several months. Wilhelm succeeded his father on June 15,
1888, at the age of 29. Within two years of his coronation, Wilhelm broke with Otto von Bismarck
(1815-98), the “Iron Chancellor” who had dominated German politics since the 1860s. The Kaiser
embarked on his so-called New Course, a period of personal rule in which he appointed chancellors
who were upper-level civil servants rather than statesmen. Bismarck bitterly predicted that Wilhelm
would lead Germany to ruin.
Wilhelm damaged his political position in a number of ways. He meddled in German foreign policy
on the basis of his emotions, resulting in incoherence and inconsistency in German relations with
other nations. He also made a number of public blunders, the worst of which was The Daily Telegraph
affair of 1908. Wilhelm gave an interview to the London-based newspaper in which he offended the
British by saying such things as: “You English are mad, mad, mad as March hares.”
Wilhelm’s most important contribution to Germany’s pre-war military expansion was his commitment
to creating a navy to rival Britain’s. His childhood visits to his British cousins had given him a love
for the sea–sailing was one of his favorited recreations–and his envy of the power of the British navy
convinced him that Germany must build a large fleet of its own in order to fulfil its destiny.
Wilhelm’s behaviour during the crisis that led to war in August 1914 is still controversial. There is
little doubt that he had been broken psychologically by the criticism that followed the Daily Telegraph
scandals; he suffered an episode of depression in 1908. In addition, the Kaiser was out of touch with
the realities of international politics in 1914; he thought that his blood relationships to other European
monarchs were sufficient to manage the crisis that followed the June 1914 assassination of the
Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Although Wilhelm signed the
order for German mobilization following pressure from his generals–Germany declared war against
Russia and France during the first week of August 1914– he is reported to have said, “You will regret
this, gentlemen.”