新澳门开奖结果

Top 10 Unknown Facts about Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II was the monarchical ruler of Germany, occupying the throne from June 1888 until his abdication at the end of World War I. He is remembered as the person most responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914 though most historians cover him with mixed opinions on how much of the blame truly belongs to him.

He ruled Prussia from 1888 to 1918 and was known to be hot-tempered, ambitious, and militaristic. He is known to love fighting his enemies and keeping grudges particularly when he was exiled to the Netherlands after world war I.

Though not much is known about him we will be taking you through a journey to some things probably many didn鈥檛 know about this WW 1 veteran.

1. He Boasts Relations in Europe

He was born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert, in Berlin on January 27, 1859, to Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Victoria, or 鈥淰icky.鈥�  Though German he had relations in the British Empire through his grandmother on his mother鈥檚 side who was Queen Victoria I of the British Empire, making him a cousin of King George V.

Being a grandchild of Queen Victoria, Wilhelm II was a first cousin of King George V of the United Kingdom. He also had relations in other parts of Europe. Queens Marie of Romania, Maud of Norway, Victoria Eugenie of Spain, and the Empress Alexandra of Russia. In 1889, Wilhelm’s younger sister, Sophia, married the future King Constantine I of Greece.

2. He Had Complications At Birth Which Made His Life Dramatic

His early beginnings were equally as dramatic as the way he eventually lived his life. Wilhelm鈥檚 first moments were utterly harrowing. His birth was abnormal meaning he emerged bottom first rather than headfirst (doctors call this a 鈥渂reech birth鈥�).

 The complications of such a birth, made him spend the rest of his life suffering from Erb鈥檚 palsy. A side effect of this condition was that his left arm was very frail, and six inches shorter than his right arm.

3. He Often Felt Restless and Impatient with People

As earlier mentioned, Wilhelm II was born with a birth defect that made him extremely self-conscious, so he tried to hide it whenever in public. He did this by sometimes carrying his long gloves in his left hand, or he would rest his left hand on the hilt of a sword or even hold his left hand in his right one. All these were done to maintain the illusion that they were the same length.

Wilhelm II exhibited the tough warrior-king attitude that a role to which he felt he must live up, and the result was that he overdid it. Inclination and a sense of duty鈥攊nculcated by a Calvinist tutor鈥攚ere alternating in him continually, each managing to frustrate the other. The tension between the two, superimposed on his physical disability, ultimately explains his taut, restless, and irresolute character

4. His Mother Preferred Him To Be Treated By British Doctors

Despite his mother being from the British Empire, she only allowed her son to be treated by British doctors. This made him blame his mother for his birth defects, as she had only allowed English doctors to assist in the birth.

To be fair to Vicky, we鈥檙e not sure what German physicians would have done any differently from the English. Wilhelm would hear none of that crap.

5. Wilhelm II Valued Masculinity And Was Obsessed With Uniform

He was exposed to Prussian culture from a very early age due to his close ties to the German region of Prussian. For his militaristic nature, and Prussian culture he pushed men to have a hyper-masculine attitude and demeanor.

It is this upbringing and value system that shaped Wilhelm II for the rest of his life. He was obsessed with uniforms (more on that later), and his traditionally masculine personality shaped all of his relationships.

6. Much of His Inspiration is From Otto von Bismark

Portrait of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in Uniform’,  by Lenbach, Franz, von – Wikimedia Commons

In history, we all know the famous man called Otto von Bismarck. He played a very big role in what Wilhelm II would turn out to be in life and also shaped German history.

 Bismarck was a long-lived and very powerful German statesman who helped orchestrate the unification of Germany as we know it today. Although he never wore a crown, Bismarck managed to intimidate and influence more than one Kaiser.

7. He was a Strong Believer in Culture and Tradition

In 1891, Wilhelm II was on a campaign to promote a return to tradition and the Protestant religion. He did this by constructing a new church in Berlin, named in the Kaiser鈥檚 honor.

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church survived its namesake鈥檚 reign, though it was badly damaged during a WWII bombing raid. The remains of the church now exist as a landmark in Berlin.

8. Wilhelm II Has Even Been Mimicked by Actors in Hollywood

He was portrayed on film before WWI was even over. For example, in 1918, actor/filmmaker Rupert Julian played the role of Wilhelm in the Hollywood propaganda film The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin.

 As you can imagine, Wilhelm II is portrayed negatively in the piece, with the film blaming his greed for starting WWI.

Although the film was a huge success upon release, no copies of it have survived.

9. After the German Defeat in World War I He Had to Seek Asylum in the Netherlands

During the war, although nominally supreme commander, he gave his generals a free hand in decision-making. By the autumn of 1918, he realized that Germany had lost the war.

He chose to seek asylum in the Netherlands. Subsequently, he lived quietly as a country gentleman in the Netherlands until he died in 1941.

10. He Singularly Made the Major Decisions

Wilhelm often claimed to be the man who made the decisions. These powers were donated to him by the German constitution of 1871 and put two important powers in his hands.

First, he was responsible for appointing and dismissing the chancellor, the head of the civil government. The chancellor needed the support of the Reichstag to pass legislation but not to remain in office.

Secondly, the German army and navy were not responsible to the civil government.  The Kaiser was the only person in Germany who was in a position to see that the policy followed by the soldiers and sailors was in line with that pursued by the civil servants and diplomats.

This was the reason why British journalists and publicists had some justification when during and immediately after the war that portrayed him as Supreme War Lord. Therefore the man who, more than anyone else, decided to make war.