The Göhrde hunting lodge ( German : Jagdschloss Göhrde ) is a former hunting lodge in Göhrde , Lower Saxony in Germany . The Göhrde State Forest was once a favourite hunting ground of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg . Later the kings of Hannover also hunted here and – to 1918 – the German emperors as well.
116-462: As Elector of Hanover , king George I of Great Britain (1660–1727) built a baroque style palace here between 1706 and 1709 by the architects Louis Remy de la Fosse and Johann Christian Böhm. The palace was timber framed and in bad repair by the early 19th century. In 1827, it was taken down. The German Emperors redeveloped the former stables in a new hunting lodge. After the First World War ,
232-464: A massive naval build-up , contesting French control of Morocco , and building a railway through Baghdad that challenged Britain's dominion in the Persian Gulf . By the second decade of the 20th century, Germany could rely only on significantly weaker nations such as Austria-Hungary and the declining Ottoman Empire as allies. Despite strengthening Germany's position as a great power by building
348-828: A bellicose "New Course" to cement Germany's status as a leading world power. Over the course of his reign, the German colonial empire acquired new territories in China and the Pacific (such as Jiaozhou Bay , the Northern Mariana Islands , and the Caroline Islands ) and became Europe's largest manufacturer. However, Wilhelm often undermined such progress by making tactless and threatening statements towards other countries without first consulting his ministers. Likewise, his regime did much to alienate itself from other great powers by initiating
464-460: A bitter critic of Wilhelm's policies, but without gaining the support of a majority within the Reichstag there was little chance of Bismarck exerting a decisive influence on policy. In the early twentieth century, Wilhelm began to concentrate upon his real agenda: the creation of a German Navy that would rival that of Britain and enable Germany to declare itself a world power. The last Kaiser ordered
580-489: A boy and a student, his manner had been polite and agreeable; as an officer, he began to strut and speak brusquely in the tone he deemed appropriate for a Prussian officer. When Wilhelm was in his early twenties, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck tried to separate him from his parents, who opposed Bismarck and his policies, with some success. Bismarck planned to use the young prince as a weapon against his parents in order to retain his own political dominance. Wilhelm thus developed
696-428: A constitutional monarchy also cannot afford to make an enemy of the monarch, who represents the only real check and balance against a Chancellor's otherwise absolute power . This is because a constitutional monarch has plenty of means at his or her disposal of quietly blocking a Chancellor's policy objectives and is one of the only people who can forcibly remove an overly ambitious Chancellor from power. For these reasons,
812-551: A dysfunctional relationship with his parents, but especially with his English mother. In an outburst in April 1889, Wilhelm angrily implied that "an English doctor killed my father, and an English doctor crippled my arm—which is the fault of my mother", who allowed no German physicians to attend to herself or her immediate family. As a young man, Wilhelm fell in love with one of his maternal first cousins, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt . She turned him down, and in time, married into
928-458: A further heavy dose of chloroform, so he could better manipulate the infant. Observing the infant's legs to be raised upwards, and his left arm likewise raised upwards and behind his head, Martin "carefully eased out the Prince's legs". Due to the "narrowness of the birth canal", he then forcibly pulled the left arm downwards, tearing the brachial plexus , then continued to grasp the left arm to rotate
1044-579: A good fellow. Whether he was the right tutor for me, I dare not decide. The torments inflicted on me, in this pony riding, must be attributed to my mother." As a teenager, Wilhelm was educated at Kassel at the Friedrichsgymnasium . In January 1877, Wilhelm finished high school and on his eighteenth birthday received as a present from his grandmother the Order of the Garter . After Kassel, he spent four terms at
1160-447: A great admirer of Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm's characteristic impatience soon brought him into conflict with the "Iron Chancellor", the dominant figure in the foundation of his empire. The new Emperor opposed Bismarck's careful foreign policy, preferring vigorous and rapid expansion to protect Germany's "place in the sun". Furthermore, the young Emperor had come to the throne, unlike his grandfather, determined to rule as well as reign. While
1276-402: A juvenile cadet, who never took the tone of the officers' mess out of his voice, and brashly wanted to play the part of the supreme warlord, full of panicky fear of a monotonous life without any diversions, and yet aimless, pathological in his hatred against his English mother. Historian David Fromkin states that Wilhelm had a love–hate relationship with Britain. According to Fromkin, "From
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#17328548658581392-621: A kind of Shogunate and hoped to treat our family in the same way the Japanese shoguns treated the Japanese emperors isolated in Kyoto . My grandfather had no choice but to dismiss him." Bismarck was succeeded as Chancellor of Germany and Minister-President of Prussia by Leo von Caprivi . At the opening of the Reichstag on 6 May 1890, the Kaiser stated that the most pressing issue was the further enlargement of
1508-660: A large party attended by emperor Wilhelm II (1859–1941). After the First World War, the palace served as a recreation home for civil servants, and from 1929 as a seminary for vicars of the Hanoverian State Church. In 1939, the contract with the State Church was terminated; the church should no longer benefit from state institutions. Thus, the vicars had to move to the existing seminary in Loccum in 1940. The hunting lodge
1624-875: A party to it." But the origin of Bismarck's dismissal lies in home affairs. After gaining an absolute majority in the Reichstag he formed the Kartell , a coalition government of the German Conservative Party and the National Liberal Party . They favoured making the anti-Socialist laws permanent, with one exception: giving the German police the power, similarly to the Tsarist Okhrana , to expel alleged Socialist agitators from their homes by decree and into internal exile . Even Old Liberal statesman Eugen Richter ,
1740-727: A powerful navy as well as promoting scientific innovation within its borders, Wilhelm's public statements and erratic foreign policy greatly antagonized the international community and are considered by many to have substantially contributed to the fall of the German Empire . In 1914, his diplomatic brinksmanship culminated in Germany's guarantee of military support to Austria-Hungary during the July Crisis which plunged all of Europe into World War I . A lax wartime leader, Wilhelm left virtually all decision-making regarding strategy and organisation of
1856-554: A privilege denied to the Crown Prince. That year, Prince Wilhelm was sent to the court of Tsar Alexander III of Russia in St. Petersburg to attend the coming-of-age ceremony of the 16-year-old Tsarevich Nicholas . Wilhelm's behaviour did little to ingratiate himself to the tsar. Two years later, Kaiser Wilhelm I took Prince Wilhelm on a trip to meet with Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary . In 1886, also, thanks to Herbert von Bismarck ,
1972-458: A series of strokes, and his younger brother Wilhelm , the young prince's grandfather, was acting as regent . Prince Wilhelm was the oldest of the 42 grandchildren of his maternal grandparents (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert ). Upon the death of Frederick William IV in January 1861, Wilhelm's namesake grandfather became king, and the two-year-old Wilhelm became second in the line of succession to
2088-504: A withered left arm about six inches (15 centimetres) shorter than his right. He tried with some success to conceal this; many photographs show him holding a pair of white gloves in his left hand to make the arm seem longer. In others, he holds his left hand with his right, has his disabled arm on the hilt of a sword, or holds a cane to give the illusion of a useful limb posed at a dignified angle. Historians have suggested that this disability affected his emotional development. In 1863, Wilhelm
2204-519: The Saxon Steed (German: Sachsenross, Niedersachsenross, Welfenross, Westfalenpferd ; Dutch : Twentse Ros / Saksische ros/paard ; Low Saxon : Witte Peerd ) is a heraldic motif associated with the German provinces of Lower Saxony and Westphalia , and the Dutch region of Twente as the electorate covered large portions of the original stem Duchy of Saxony . The electorate comprised large parts of
2320-637: The British Army , supported by troops from Prussia, Hesse-Kassel and the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , again expelled the occupants. Hanover remained unaffected for the rest of the war. After the war ended, peace prevailed until the French Revolutionary Wars started. The War of the First Coalition against France (1792–1797) with Great Britain, Hanover and other war allies forming
2436-535: The British Empire during the Jameson Raid . British public opinion had been quite favourable towards the Kaiser in his first twelve years on the throne, but it turned sour in the late 1890s. During the First World War , he became the central target of British anti-German propaganda and the personification of a hated enemy. Wilhelm exploited fears of a yellow peril trying to interest other European rulers in
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#17328548658582552-588: The Continental System , the French Empire annexed in late 1810 all of the continental North Sea coast (as far as Denmark) and the areas along the sections of the rivers navigable for seagoing vessels, including Bremen-Verden and Saxe-Lauenburg and some adjacent territories of Hanover proper. The government of George III did not recognise the French annexation, however, and was at war continuously with France for
2668-731: The French Empire , since 1804 France's new government, ceded Hanover, which it no longer held, to Prussia, which captured it in early 1806. On 6 August 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, thereby abolishing the function of prince-electors electing its emperors. After Prussia had turned against France in the War of the Fourth Coalition , it was defeated in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (11 November 1806), and France recaptured Hanover. Following
2784-523: The French invaded Hanover and defeated George II's son Prince William, Duke of Cumberland , leading the Anglo-Hanoverian army , at the Battle of Hastenbeck and drove him and his army into remote Bremen-Verden, where in the former Zeven Convent [ de ] he capitulated on 18 September ( Convention of Kloster-Zeven ). George II did not recognise the convention, however. The following year,
2900-767: The German Chancery , situated in St James's Palace in London. During the French and Indian War (1754–1763) in the North American colonies, Britain feared a French invasion of Hanover. George II formed an alliance with his Prussian cousin Frederick II combining the North American conflict with the Brandenburg-Prusso–Austrian Third Silesian, or Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In the summer of 1757,
3016-558: The House of Hanover since 1662. After Britain, this time without any allies, had declared war on France (18 May 1803), French troops invaded Hanover on 26 May . According to the Convention of Artlenburg (5 July 1803), confirming the military defeat of Hanover, the Hanoverian Army was disarmed, and its horses and ammunitions were handed over to the French. The Privy Council of Hanover, with
3132-668: The House of Welf . The Principality of Calenberg , ruled by a cadet branch of the family, emerged as the largest and most powerful of the Brunswick-Lüneburg states. In 1692, the Holy Roman Emperor elevated the Prince of Calenberg to the College of Electors , creating the new Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The fortunes of the electorate were tied to those of Great Britain by the Act of Settlement 1701 and Act of Union 1707 , which settled
3248-606: The Order of Saint John , he offered encouragement to the Christian order's attempts to place German medicine at the forefront of modern medical practice through its system of hospitals, nursing sisterhood and nursing schools, and nursing homes throughout the German Empire. Wilhelm continued as Protector of the Order even after 1918, as the position was in essence attached to the head of the House of Hohenzollern. Historians have frequently stressed
3364-839: The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 , which changed the Habsburgs' inheritance law. It took George II Augustus until 1733 to persuade Charles VI to enfeoff him also with the Duchy of Bremen and the Principality of Verden, colloquially called Duchies of Bremen-Verden. At both enfeoffments, George II Augustus swore that he would respect the existing privileges and constitutions of the estates in Bremen-Verden and in Hadeln, thus confirming 400-year-old traditions of estate participation in government. In Hanover ,
3480-537: The Principality of Calenberg . Although formally known as the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg ( German : Kurfürstentum Braunschweig-Lüneburg ), it made Hanover its capital city. For most of its existence, the electorate was ruled in personal union with Great Britain and Ireland following the Hanoverian Succession . The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg had been split in 1269 between different branches of
3596-480: The Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, the new Kingdom of Westphalia was founded, ruled by Napoléon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte , then including territories of the former Electorate of Hesse-Kassel , the ducal Brunswick-Lüneburgian principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and formerly Prussian territories. In early 1810 Hanover proper and Bremen-Verden but not Saxe-Lauenburg were also annexed by Westphalia. In an attempt to assert
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3712-514: The University of Bonn , studying law and politics. He became a member of the exclusive Corps Borussia Bonn . Wilhelm possessed a quick intelligence, but this was often overshadowed by a cantankerous temper. As a scion of the royal house of Hohenzollern , Wilhelm was exposed from an early age to the military society of the Prussian aristocracy . This had a major impact on him, and in maturity Wilhelm
3828-505: The " Wilhelmine Era ". These chancellors were senior civil servants and not seasoned politician-statesmen like Bismarck. Wilhelm wanted to preclude the emergence of another Iron Chancellor, whom he ultimately detested as being "a boorish old killjoy" who had not permitted any minister to see the Emperor except in his presence, keeping a stranglehold on effective political power. Upon his enforced retirement and until his dying day, Bismarck became
3944-458: The 'survival of the fittest' in domestic as well as foreign politics ... William was not lacking in intelligence, but he did lack stability, disguising his deep insecurities by swagger and tough talk. He frequently fell into depressions and hysterics ... William's personal instability was reflected in vacillations of policy. His actions, at home as well as abroad, lacked guidance, and therefore often bewildered or infuriated public opinion. He
4060-484: The 1860s, Roman Catholics in the 1870s, and Socialists in the 1880s with the highly successful and often repeated refrain, "The Reich is in danger." Therefore, in order to divide and rule , Bismarck ultimately left the German people even more divided in 1890 than they had ever been before 1871. In interviews with C.L. Sulzberger for the book The Fall of Eagles , Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia , grandson and heir of Kaiser Wilhelm II, further commented, "Bismarck
4176-460: The 42 grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom . In March 1888, Wilhelm's father, Frederick William, ascended the German and Prussian thrones as Frederick III. Frederick died just 99 days later, and his son succeeded him as Wilhelm II. In March 1890, the young Kaiser dismissed longtime Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and assumed direct control over his nation's policies, embarking on
4292-770: The Calenberg line further inherited the principality of Celle in 1705. Further included were the earlier-acquired counties of Diepholz and Hoya . Although the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, George III's government did not consider the dissolution to be final, and he continued to be styled "Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, Arch-treasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire" until 1814. Circles est. 1500: Bavarian , Swabian , Upper Rhenish , Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Franconian , (Lower) Saxon Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941)
4408-582: The Centre Party only after they had already begun. After a heated argument at Bismarck's estate over the latter's alleged disrespect for the Imperial Family, Wilhelm stormed out. Bismarck, forced for the first time in his career into a crisis that he could not twist to his own advantage, wrote a blistering letter of resignation, decrying the Monarchy's involvement in both foreign and domestic policy. The letter
4524-570: The Conservative Party. In most parliamentary systems , the head of government depends upon the confidence of the parliamentary majority and has the right to form coalitions to maintain a majority of supporters. In a constitutional monarchy , however, the Chancellor is required to meet regularly with the monarch to explain his or her policies and intentions within the Government. A Chancellor in
4640-601: The Crown Princess Victoria, grew to manhood. When Wilhelm was nearing 21, the Emperor decided it was time his grandson should begin the military phase of his preparation for the throne. He was assigned as a lieutenant to the First Regiment of Foot Guards , stationed at Potsdam . "In the Guards," Wilhelm said, "I really found my family, my friends, my interests—everything of which I had up to that time had to do without." As
4756-545: The Kaiser came when Bismarck initiated discussions with the opposition to form a new parliamentary majority without consulting with Wilhelm first. The Kartell , the shifting coalition government that Bismarck had been able to maintain since 1867, had finally lost its majority of seats in the Reichstag due to the Anti-Socialist Laws fiasco. The remaining powers in the Reichstag were the Catholic Centre Party and
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4872-611: The Napoleonic Wars against the French. French control lasted until November 1813, when the territory was overrun by Allied troops after the Battle of Leipzig spelled the definitive end to the Napoleonic client state of Westphalia, as well as the entire Confederation of the Rhine , and the rule of the House of Hanover was restored. The former electorate became the Kingdom of Hanover , which
4988-459: The Pacific, but few became profitable and all were lost during the First World War. In South West Africa (now Namibia ), a native revolt against German rule led to the Herero and Namaqua genocide , although Wilhelm eventually ordered it to be stopped and recalled its mastermind General Lothar von Trotha . One of the few times when Wilhelm succeeded in personal diplomacy was when in 1900, he supported
5104-588: The Prussian throne. After 1871, Wilhelm also became second in the line to the newly created German Empire , which, according to the constitution of the German Empire , was ruled by the Prussian king. At the time of his birth, he was also sixth in the line of succession to the British throne , after his maternal uncles and his mother. Shortly before midnight on 26 January 1859, Princess Vicky experienced labour pains, followed by her water breaking , after which August Wegner,
5220-460: The Reichstag, Baron Ludwig von Windthorst , to meet with him and begin the negotiations. The Kaiser, who always had a warm relationship with Baron von Windthorst, whose decades long defence of German Catholics, Poles, Jews, and other minorities against the Iron Chancellor have since attracted comparisons to Irish nationalist statesmen Daniel O'Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell , was furious to hear about Bismarck's plans for coalition talks with
5336-425: The Russian imperial family. In 1880 Wilhelm became engaged to Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein , known as "Dona". The couple married on 27 February 1881, and their marriage lasted 40 years until her death in 1921. Between 1882 and 1892, Augusta bore Wilhelm seven children, six sons and a daughter. Beginning in 1884, Bismarck began advocating that Kaiser Wilhelm send his grandson on diplomatic missions,
5452-428: The Russians allegedly expected a reversal of policy in Berlin, so they quickly negotiated a military alliance with the Third French Republic , beginning a process that by 1914 largely isolated Germany. In contrast, historian Modris Eksteins has argued that Bismarck's dismissal was actually long overdue . According to Eksteins, the Iron Chancellor, in his need for a scapegoat , had demonized Classical Liberals in
5568-430: The Socialists, especially the treatment of mine workers who went on strike in 1889. He routinely disagreed with Bismarck during Cabinet meetings. Bismarck, in turn, sharply disagreed with Wilhelm's pro-labor union policies and worked to circumvent them. Bismarck, feeling unappreciated by the young Emperor and by his ambitious advisors, once refused to co-sign a proclamation regarding the protection of industrial workers, as
5684-490: The approval of the Imperial Diet) until 1708, in the person of Ernest Augustus's son, George Louis. Though the elector's titles were properly duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he is commonly referred to as the elector of Hanover after his residence. Hanover acquired Bremen-Verden in 1719. The electorate was legally bound to be indivisible: it could add to its territory, but not alienate territory or be split up among several heirs; and its succession
5800-439: The armed neutrality. During the War of the Second Coalition against France (1799–1802), Napoléon Bonaparte urged Prussia to occupy the continental British dominions. In 1801, there was an invasion of 24,000 Prussian soldiers that surprised Hanover, which surrendered without a fight. In April they arrived at Bremen-Verden's capital, Stade , and stayed there until October. The British first ignored Prussian hostility, but when
5916-407: The arts and sciences, as well as public education and social welfare. He sponsored the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the promotion of scientific research; it was funded by wealthy private donors and by the state and comprised a number of research institutes in both pure and applied sciences. The Prussian Academy of Sciences was unable to avoid the Kaiser's pressure and lost some of its autonomy when it
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#17328548658586032-407: The author of the famous 1891 dystopian novel Pictures of the Socialistic Future , opposed banning the Social Democratic Party outright and said: "I fear Social Democracy more under this law than without it". The Kartell split over this issue and the law was not passed. As the debate continued, Wilhelm became more and more interested in the social problems being exploited in the propaganda of
6148-417: The autumn of 1918. Losing the support of his country's military and many of his subjects, Wilhelm was forced to abdicate during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which converted Germany into an unstable democratic state known as the Weimar Republic . Wilhelm subsequently fled to exile in the Netherlands, where he remained during its occupation by Nazi Germany in 1940 before dying there in 1941. Wilhelm
6264-479: The bill concerning the protection of the labourer. In 1891, the Reichstag passed the Workers Protection Acts, which improved working conditions, protected women and children and regulated labour relations. Caprivi in turn was replaced by Chlodwig von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst in 1894. Following the dismissal of Hohenlohe in 1900, Wilhelm appointed the man whom he regarded as "his own Bismarck", Bernhard von Bülow . In appointing Caprivi and then Hohenlohe, Wilhelm
6380-402: The capital of the electorate, the Privy Council of Hanover (electoral government) installed a new ministry in charge of the Imperial Estates ruled by the electors in personal union. It was called the Department of Bremen-Verden, Hadeln, Lauenburg and Bentheim . Nonetheless, the electors spent most of their time in England. Direct contact with the electorate was maintained through the office of
6496-417: The carnage of the First and Second World Wars. According to Bismarck apologists, in foreign policy the Iron Chancellor had achieved a fragile balance of interests between Germany, France and Russia. Peace was allegedly at hand and Bismarck tried to keep it that way despite growing popular sentiment against Britain (regarding the German colonial empire ) and especially against Russia. With Bismarck's dismissal,
6612-399: The castle as a cultural monument, as contained in the Lower Saxony Monument Protection Act, to the buyer. After the sale, there was a dispute over the use due to unclear ownership. Today, it is privately owned and in poor condition and deteriorating. During winter, the buildings are not heated, due to cost saving reasons. The owner does not allow local authorities and conservationists to enter
6728-460: The castle as a temporary residence before moving into Celle Castle , where she died only 23 years old. The timber framed palace was in bad repair by the early 19th century. In 1827, king George IV (1762–1830) decided to take down the palace. The salvageable material was auctioned off, covering about 10 percent of the original construction cost. Only the large royal stable and a Cavalier house were repaired to serve occasional hunting purposes. It
6844-463: The coalition, did not affect Hanoverian territory since the first French Republic was fighting on several fronts, even on its own territory. Men were drafted to recruit the 16,000 Hanoverian soldiers fighting in the Low Countries under British command against France. In 1795, the Holy Roman Empire declared its neutrality, including Hanover, but a peace treaty with France was being negotiated until it failed in 1799. Prussia, however, ended for its part
6960-442: The country had to sign a treaty with Great Britain whenever Hanoverian troops fought on the British side of a war. Merged into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807, it was re-established as the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814, and the personal union with the British crown lasted until 1837. In 1692, Emperor Leopold I of the House of Habsburg elevated Duke Ernest Augustus of the Brunswick-Lüneburg line of Calenberg , to
7076-499: The court architect Louis Remy de la Fosse, with assistance of Johann Christian Böhm. Construction started in 1706 and was completed in 1710. The palace was a compact three story building and slightly lower side wings, which contained at least 48 apartments to accommodate guests. Ancestral portraits from Henry the Lion (1129/1131-1195) onwards decorated the palace walls. The royal stables could house more than 500 horses. In addition, there were also dog kennels. The hunting lodge in Göhrde
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#17328548658587192-399: The ducal family, the change needed imperial confirmation, which Emperor Leopold I granted in 1692. In 1692, at its upgrading to the rank of electorate, its territory comprised the Brunswick-Lüneburgian principalities of Calenberg and Grubenhagen , which the line of the former had already inherited in 1665. Before the confirmation of the electorate by the Imperial Diet in 1708, however,
7308-412: The duchies of Bremen-Verden from King Frederick IV of Denmark (confirmed by the 1719 Treaty of Stockholm ), whereby his former landlocked electorate gained access to the North Sea . In 1700, the territories forming the electorate introduced, like all other Protestant territories of imperial immediacy , the Improved Calendar, as the Gregorian calendar was called by Protestants to avoid mentioning
7424-576: The electors in Germany also grew, as they de facto purchased the formerly Swedish -held duchies of Bremen and Verden in 1719. George Louis died in 1727 and was succeeded by his son George II Augustus . In 1728, Emperor Charles VI officially enfeoffed George II (gave him land in exchange for a pledge of service), with the reverted fief of Saxe-Lauenburg , which had de facto been ruled in personal union with Hanover and with one of its preceding Principality of Lüneburg since 1689. In 1731, Hanover also gained Hadeln . In return, Hanover recognised
7540-423: The entire period, and Hanoverian ministers continued to operate out of London . The Privy Council of Hanover maintained its own separate diplomatic service, which maintained links with countries such as Austria and Prussia. The Hanoverian Army was dissolved, but many of the officers and soldiers went to England, where they formed the King's German Legion . That was the only German army to fight continually throughout
7656-420: The family's personal physician, was summoned. Upon examining Vicky, Wegner realised the infant was in the breech position ; gynaecologist Eduard Arnold Martin was then sent for, arriving at the palace at 10 am on 27 January. After administering ipecac and prescribing a mild dose of chloroform , which was administered by Vicky's personal physician Sir James Clark , Martin advised Fritz the unborn child's life
7772-531: The first German Emperor as "Wilhelm the Great". However, he had a distant relationship with his mother. Wilhelm resisted attempts by his parents, especially his mother, to educate him in a spirit of British liberalism. Instead, he agreed with his tutors' support of autocratic rule, and gradually became thoroughly 'Prussianized' under their influence. He thus became alienated from his parents, suspecting them of putting Britain's interests first. The German Emperor, Wilhelm I, watched as his grandson, guided principally by
7888-420: The funeral. He also was present at the funeral of King Edward VII in 1910. In 1913, Wilhelm hosted a lavish wedding in Berlin for his only daughter, Victoria Louise . Among the guests at the wedding were his cousins Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and King George V of the United Kingdom, and George's wife, Queen Mary . German foreign policy under Wilhelm II was faced with a number of significant problems. Perhaps
8004-480: The heir apparent to the British throne, treated Wilhelm not as a reigning monarch, but merely as another nephew. In turn, Wilhelm often snubbed his uncle, whom he referred to as "the old peacock" and lorded his position as emperor over him. Beginning in the 1890s, Wilhelm made visits to England for Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight and often competed against his uncle in the yacht races. Bertie's wife, Alexandra, also disliked Wilhelm. Even though Wilhelm had not been on
8120-505: The high command of the armed forces to read United States Navy Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan 's book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History , and spent hours drawing sketches of the ships that he dreamed of having built. Bülow and Bethmann Hollweg , his loyal chancellors, looked after domestic affairs, while Wilhelm obliviously began to spread alarm in the chancelleries of Europe with his increasingly eccentric and ill-advised statements on foreign affairs. Wilhelm enthusiastically promoted
8236-422: The hunters, horses and hounds as they persecuted the frantic stag at great speed. When the exhausted stag was no longer able to run, the dogs held it fast by biting its throat, ears, legs and muzzle. Thus, the stag was “fixed” and the king was summoned with a special horn signal. He carried out his duty as the master of the hunt by killing the stag with a stab wound to the heart. With the accession of king George to
8352-483: The hunting lodge as state-owned property dispensable, which was confirmed by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. Due to reasons of prudent financial management, the sale of the property, which was in need of renovation, became necessary. After years without a buyer, the listed castle complex was sold at the end of 2005 to private owner for 30,000 euros. This also transferred the obligation to preserve
8468-476: The hunting lodge served as a seminary and school. Today, it is privately owned and in poor condition. Almost nothing remains of the 18th-century splendour. The Göhrde forests are located near the Elbe river between Lüneburg and Dannenberg . The forests were a favourite hunting ground of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and later Electors of Hanover. Already as of 16th century, there was a hunting lodge. King George I
8584-401: The imperial constitution vested executive power in the monarch, Wilhelm I had been content to leave day-to-day administration to Bismarck. Early conflicts between Wilhelm II and his chancellor soon poisoned the relationship between the two men. Bismarck had believed that Wilhelm was a lightweight who could be dominated, and he showed escalating disrespect for Wilhelm's favored policy objectives in
8700-471: The infant's trunk and free the right arm, likely exacerbating the injury. After completing the delivery, and despite realising the newborn prince was hypoxic , Martin turned his attention to the unconscious Vicky. Noticing after some minutes that the newborn remained silent, Martin and the midwife Fräulein Stahl worked frantically to revive the prince; finally, despite the disapproval of those present, Stahl spanked
8816-641: The last Kaiser believed that he had every right to be informed before Bismarck began coalition talks with the Opposition. In a deeply ironic moment, a mere decade after demonizing all members of the Catholic Church in Germany as ( German : Reichsfeinde , "traitors to the Empire") during the Kulturkampf , Bismarck decided to start coalition talks with the all-Catholic Centre Party. He invited that party's leader in
8932-601: The late 1880s. The final split between monarch and statesman occurred soon after an attempt by Bismarck to implement far-reaching anti-Socialist laws in early 1890. According to adherents of the "Bismarck myth", the young Kaiser rejected the Iron Chancellor's allegedly "peaceful foreign policy" and instead plotted with senior generals to work "in favour of a war of aggression". Bismarck himself once complained to an aide, "That young man wants war with Russia, and would like to draw his sword straight away if he could. I shall not be
9048-552: The latter joined the pro-French coalition of armed neutral powers, including Denmark-Norway and Russia , Britain began to capture Prussian ships. After the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) , the coalition fell apart and Prussia withdrew its troops. As part of the German Mediatisation of 25 February 1803, the electorate received the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück in real union , which had been ruled by every second ruler of
9164-437: The leg. His grandmother, Queen Victoria, missed seeing the fracas; to her Wilhelm remained "a clever, dear, good little child, the great favourite of my beloved Vicky". Vicky was obsessed with her son's damaged arm, blaming herself for the child's handicap, and insisted that he become a good rider. The thought that Wilhelm, as heir to the throne, should not be able to ride was intolerable to her. Riding lessons began when Wilhelm
9280-598: The minister Friedrich Franz Dieterich von Bremer holding up the Hanoverian stake, fled to Saxe-Lauenburg , across the Elbe , which was ruled by Britain and Hanover in personal union. Soon, the French also occupied Saxe-Lauenburg. In the autumn of 1805, at the beginning of the War of the Third Coalition against France (1805), the French occupying troops left Hanover in a campaign against Austria . British, Swedish and Russian coalition forces captured Hanover . In December,
9396-497: The modern German state of Lower Saxony in Northern Germany . Beside the Principality of Calenberg it also included the former princely lands of Göttingen and Grubenhagen as well as the territory of the former County of Hoya . In 1705, Elector George I Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg with the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg upon the death of his uncle Duke George William of Brunswick-Lüneburg . In 1715, he purchased
9512-515: The most apparent was that Wilhelm was an impatient man, subjective in his reactions and affected strongly by sentiment and impulse. He was personally ill-equipped to steer German foreign policy along a rational course. There were a number of examples, such as the Kruger telegram of 1896 in which Wilhelm congratulated President Paul Kruger for preventing the Transvaal Republic from being annexed by
9628-574: The name of Pope Gregory XIII . Sunday, 18 February (Old Style) was thus followed by Monday, 1 March ( New Style ). In 1692, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, elevated George's son, Duke Ernest Augustus to the rank of elector of the empire as a reward for aid given in the War of the Grand Alliance. There were protests against the addition of a new elector, and the elevation did not become official (with
9744-507: The newborn vigorously until "a weak cry escaped his pale lips". Modern medical assessments have concluded Wilhelm's hypoxic state at birth , due to the breech delivery and the heavy dosage of chloroform, left him with minimal to mild brain damage, which manifested itself in his subsequent hyperactive and erratic behaviour, limited attention span and impaired social abilities. The brachial plexus injury resulted in Erb's palsy , which left Wilhelm with
9860-436: The outset, the half-German side of him was at war with the half-English side. He was wildly jealous of the British, desiring to be British and to be better at being British than the British were, while at the same time hating them and resenting them because he never could be fully accepted by them". Langer et al. (1968) emphasise the negative international consequences of Wilhelm's erratic personality: "He believed in force, and
9976-519: The palace complex, which are preserved in the British Map Library . Although Göhrde remained a royal hunting property from 1766 onwards, it was no longer used for hunting when king George III (1738–1820) ordered the hunting rights in Göhrde to be leased, but no lessee was found. The palace also remained unused and was left to decay. In 1772, the exiled Danish queen Caroline Matilda (1751–1775) used
10092-526: The perils they faced by invading China; few other leaders paid attention. Wilhelm also used the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War to try to incite fear in the west of the yellow peril that they faced by a resurgent Imperial Japan , which Wilhelm claimed would ally with China to overrun the conventional European Powers. Wilhelm also invested in strengthening the German colonial empire in Africa and
10208-410: The property, so they are not able to assess what the current status is. 53°08′26″N 10°52′36″E / 53.14048°N 10.87667°E / 53.14048; 10.87667 Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover ( German : Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply Kurhannover ) was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from
10324-616: The rank of prince-elector of the empire as a reward for aid given in the Nine Years' War . There were protests against the addition of a new elector, and the elevation did not become official until the approval of the Imperial Diet in 1708. Calenberg's capital, Hanover , became colloquially eponymous for the electorate, but it officially used the name Chur-Braunschweig-Lüneburg of the entire ducal dynasty. The electoral coat of arms and flag (see info box upper right of this article) displayed
10440-813: The role of Wilhelm's personality in shaping his reign. Thus, Thomas Nipperdey concludes he was: ...gifted, with a quick understanding, sometimes brilliant, with a taste for the modern,—technology, industry, science—but at the same time superficial, hasty, restless, unable to relax, without any deeper level of seriousness, without any desire for hard work or drive to see things through to the end, without any sense of sobriety, for balance and boundaries, or even for reality and real problems, uncontrollable and scarcely capable of learning from experience, desperate for applause and success,—as Bismarck said early on in his life, he wanted every day to be his birthday—romantic, sentimental and theatrical, unsure and arrogant, with an immeasurably exaggerated self-confidence and desire to show off,
10556-644: The son of the Chancellor, Prince Wilhelm began to be trained twice a week at the Foreign Ministry. Kaiser Wilhelm I died in Berlin on 9 March 1888, and Prince Wilhelm's father ascended the throne as Frederick III. He was already experiencing an incurable throat cancer and spent all 99 days of his reign fighting the disease before dying. On 15 June of that same year , his 29-year-old son succeeded him as German Emperor and King of Prussia. Although in his youth he had been
10672-474: The succession to the British throne on Queen Anne's nearest Protestant relative, the Electress Sophia of Hanover , and her descendants. The prince-elector of Hanover became king of Great Britain in 1714. As a consequence, a reluctant Britain was forced time and again to defend the king's German possessions. Nonetheless, Hanover remained a separately ruled territory with its own governmental bodies, and
10788-424: The throne at the time, Alexandra felt anger over the Prussian seizure of Schleswig-Holstein from her native Denmark in the 1860s, and was also annoyed over Wilhelm's treatment of his mother. Despite his poor relations with his English relatives, when he received news that Queen Victoria was dying at Osborne House in January 1901, Wilhelm travelled to England and was at her bedside when she died, and he remained for
10904-594: The throne of the United Kingdom in 1714, the Personal union of Great Britain and Hanover started. The king relocated to London and the large hunting parties in Göhrde were reduced to a few events, but they were still there. The king liked to go from time to time to Hanover. In 1725, king George I entertained king Frederick William I of Prussia (1688–1740) at Göhrde. Between 1756 and 1765, Benjamin Hase drew various site plans of
11020-603: The war effort to the German Supreme Army Command . By August 1916, this broad delegation of power gave rise to a de facto military dictatorship that dominated the country's policies for the rest of the conflict. Despite emerging victorious over Russia and obtaining significant territorial gains in Eastern Europe, Germany was forced to relinquish all its conquests after a decisive defeat on the Western Front in
11136-455: The war with France by the Treaty of Basel (1795), which stipulated that Prussia would ensure the Holy Roman Empire's neutrality in all of the latter's territories north of the demarcation line of the River Main , including the British continental dominions of Hanover, Bremen-Verden, and Saxe-Lauenburg. To that end, Hanover also had to provide troops for the so-called demarcation army maintaining
11252-449: Was a passionate hunter. It was said that he ‘had no other pleasure but the hunt’. In 1706, he decided to expand the existing infrastructure: the existing lodge was to be replaced by a new palace. In addition, various new outbuildings were added as well, such as new stables, a theatre, a bakery and an abattoir. Construction costed 83,000 talers and it was the king's most elaborate and major construction project. The palace designs were made by
11368-532: Was born in Berlin on 27 January 1859—at the Crown Prince's Palace —to Victoria, Princess Royal ("Vicky") and Prince Frederick William of Prussia ("Fritz", the future Frederick III). His mother, Vicky, was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom . At the time of Wilhelm's birth, his granduncle Frederick William IV was king of Prussia . Frederick William IV had been left permanently incapacitated by
11484-472: Was certainly our greatest statesman, but he had very bad manners and he became increasingly overbearing with age. Frankly, I don't think his dismissal by my grandfather was a great tragedy. Russia was already on the other side because of the Berlin Congress of 1878. Had Bismarck stayed he would not have helped. He already wanted to abolish all the reforms that had been introduced. He was aspiring to establish
11600-454: Was confirmed at the Congress of Vienna in 1814. The electorate was legally indivisible: it could add to its territory, but not alienate territory or be split up among several heirs, as had been the rule before, which led at times to a multitude of Brunswick-Lüneburgian principalities. Its succession was to follow male primogeniture . Since that was against Salic law , which was then valid for
11716-452: Was eight and were a matter of endurance for him. Over and over, the weeping prince was set on his horse and compelled to go through the paces. He fell off time after time but, despite his tears, was set on its back again. After weeks of this, he was finally able to maintain his balance. Wilhelm, from six years of age, was tutored and heavily influenced by the 39-year-old teacher Georg Ernst Hinzpeter . "Hinzpeter", he later wrote, "was really
11832-563: Was embarking upon what is known to history as "the New Course", in which he hoped to exert decisive influence in the government of the empire. There is debate amongst historians as to the precise degree to which Wilhelm succeeded in implementing "personal rule" in this era, but what is clear is the very different dynamic which existed between the Crown and its chief political servant (the Chancellor) in
11948-463: Was endangered. As mild anaesthesia did not alleviate her extreme labour pains, resulting in her "horrible screams and wails", Clark finally administered full anaesthesia. Observing her contractions to be insufficiently strong, Martin administered a dose of ergot extract, and at 2:45 pm saw the infant's buttocks emerging from the birth canal but noticed the pulse in the umbilical cord was weak and intermittent. Despite this dangerous sign, Martin ordered
12064-405: Was forced to incorporate new programs in engineering, and award new fellowships in engineering sciences as a result of a gift from the Kaiser in 1900. Wilhelm supported the modernisers as they tried to reform the Prussian system of secondary education, which was rigidly traditional, elitist, politically authoritarian, and unchanged by the progress in the natural sciences. As hereditary Protector of
12180-591: Was infuriated by his sister's conversion from Lutheranism to Greek Orthodoxy ; upon her marriage, he attempted to ban her from entering Germany. Wilhelm's most contentious relationships were with his British relations. He craved the acceptance of his grandmother, Queen Victoria, and of the rest of her family. Despite the fact that his grandmother treated him with courtesy and tact, his other relatives largely denied him acceptance. He had an especially bad relationship with his uncle Bertie (later Edward VII ). Between 1888 and 1901, Wilhelm resented Bertie, who despite being
12296-403: Was not encouraged. Later, as he came into contact with the Crown Prince's political opponents, Wilhelm came to adopt more ambivalent feelings toward his father, perceiving the influence of Wilhelm's mother over a figure who should have been possessed of masculine independence and strength. Wilhelm also idolised his grandfather, Wilhelm I, and he was instrumental in later attempts to foster a cult of
12412-651: Was not so much concerned with gaining specific objectives, as had been the case with Bismarck, as with asserting his will. This trait in the ruler of the leading Continental power was one of the main causes of the uneasiness prevailing in Europe at the turn-of-the-century". As a grandchild of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm was a first cousin of King George V of the United Kingdom , as well as of queens Marie of Romania , Maud of Norway , Victoria Eugenie of Spain and Empress Alexandra of Russia . In 1889, Wilhelm's younger sister Sophia married Constantine, Crown Prince of Greece . Wilhelm
12528-427: Was not until the return of a new king to Hanover, Ernest Augustus (1771–1851), in 1837 that the place revived. Ownership of the property passed to the German emperor William I (1797–1888) in 1866, who carried out some major renovations and expansions. The former stables were turned into a new hunting lodge, which could serve as a new centre of hunting parties. The last major imperial hunt took place here in 1913 with
12644-526: Was now intended to be used as a National Socialist educational institution for female teachers. This did not happen, and after 1946, the building became an educational centre ( German : Heimvolkshochschule Jagdschloss Göhrde) . Among other events, the 23rd meeting of Group 47 took place here in October 1961 with the author and poet Hans Magnus Enzensberger as the speaker. In 1997, the Lüneburg (region) declared
12760-492: Was published only after Bismarck's death. In later years, Bismarck created the "Bismarck myth"; the view (which some historians have argued was confirmed by subsequent events) that Wilhelm II's successful demand for Bismarck's resignation destroyed any chance Imperial Germany ever had of stable government and international peace. According to this view, what Wilhelm termed "The New Course" is characterised as Germany's ship of state going dangerously off course, leading directly to
12876-460: Was required by the German Constitution , and prevented it from being made law. While Bismarck had previously sponsored landmark social security legislation, by 1889–90, he had become violently opposed to the rise of organized labor . In particular, he was opposed to wage increases, improving working conditions, and regulating labour relations. The final break between the Iron Chancellor and
12992-404: Was seldom seen out of uniform. The hyper-masculine military culture of Prussia in this period did much to frame his political ideals and personal relationships. Wilhelm was in awe of his father, whose status as a hero of the wars of unification was largely responsible for the young Wilhelm's attitude, as were the circumstances in which he was raised; close emotional contact between father and son
13108-510: Was taken to England to be present at the wedding of his uncle Bertie and Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra ). Wilhelm attended the ceremony in a Highland costume , complete with a small toy dirk . During the ceremony, the four-year-old became restless. His 18-year-old uncle Prince Alfred , charged with keeping an eye on him, told him to be quiet, but Wilhelm drew his dirk and threatened Alfred. When Alfred attempted to subdue him by force, Wilhelm bit him on
13224-513: Was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's 300-year rule of Prussia. Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia , Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal . Through his mother, he was the eldest of
13340-408: Was the scene of large ‘par force’ hunts. These were grand theatrical events, meticulously planned to demonstrate power and greatness. King George I and his guests participated in the hunt, or positioned themselves centrally in the forest while they waited to be summoned. Meanwhile, the mounted hunters and their hounds pursued the day's quarry. From their waiting place, the king and his guests could watch
13456-454: Was to follow male primogeniture. The territory assigned to the electorate included the Brunswick-Lüneburg principalities of Calenberg, Grubenhagen, and Lüneburg (even though at the time Lüneburg was ruled by Ernest Augustus's older brother) and the counties of Diepholz and Hoya. In 1714, George Louis became king of Great Britain and Ireland and so the electorate and Great Britain and Ireland were ruled in personal union . The possessions of
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