Wilhelm II : into the abyss of war and exile, 1900-1941 / John C.G. Röhl ; translated by Sheila de Bellaigue and Roy Bridge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Röhl, John C. G., author.

Contributor:

De Bellaigue, Sheila, 1945- translator.

Bridge, F. R., translator.

Standardized Title:

Wilhelm II. English

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941.

William.

Germany--Politics and government--1888-1918.

Germany.

Germany--History--William I, 1871-1888.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxix, 1562 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This final volume of John Röhl's acclaimed biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II reveals the Kaiser's central role in the origins of the First World War. The book examines the Kaiser's part in the Boer War, the Russo-Japanese War, the naval arms race with Britain and Germany's rivalry with the United States as well as in the crises over Morocco, Bosnia and Agadir. It also sheds new light on the public scandals which accompanied his reign from the allegations of homosexuality made against his intimate friends to the Daily Telegraph Affair. Above all, John Röhl scrutinises the mounting tension between Germany and Britain and the increasing pressure the Kaiser exerted on his Austro-Hungarian ally from 1912 onwards to resolve the Serbian problem. Following Germany's defeat and Wilhelm's enforced abdication, he charts the Kaiser's bitter experience of exile in Holland and his frustrated hopes that Hitler would restore him to the throne.

Contents:

Death and transfiguration

The Kaiser and England during the Boer War

'I am the balance of power in Europe.' Wilhelm between Britain, Russia and France

The Boxer Rebellion and the Baghdad railway

The shabby compromise: Wilhelm II and Bülow's chancellorship

Wilhelm II and the Germans, 1900 to 1904

'We two make history and destiny is in our hands!' Kaiser and Tsar on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War

The Anglo-German antagonism: the Kaiser, the King and public opinion

The Kaiser and America

Uncle and nephew: Edward VII and the 'encirclement' of Germany

East Asia in flames: the Russo-Japanese War and its consequences

Operational plans for a war in western Europe

'Paris must get one in the eye from us one day!' The Kaiser and the first Morocco crisis

'A turning-point in the history of Europe' or the fiasco of Björkö

Balance of power or hegemony? The Anglo-German conflict and the quarrel with King Edward

Humiliation in Algeciras

'Encirclement': caught in the web of the Entente

Germany's 'dreadnougt leap'. The Kaiser and 'his' navy

The zenith of personal monarchy. The Kaiser and the government on the eve of the great crisis

'Kings are only human, after all.' Scandals at the Hohenzollern court

Prince Eulenburg's downfall. The campaign against the Liebenberg 'Camarilla'

The Kaiser's visit to Windsor and Highcliffe, November to December 1907

The hot summer of 1908. On the verge of war with Britain

'Our Kaiser and his people!' The crisis of Wilhelm's personal monarchy

Nemesis. Wilhelm II and the Daily telegraph affair

Upheaval in the Balkans. Kaiser Wilhelm and the Bosnian annexation crisis of 1908 to 1909

The 'pantomime': from Bülow to Bethmann Hollweg

Wilhelm and the direction of foreign policy under Bethmann Hollweg

The King is dead, or new hopes of an agreement with England

Agadir: the leap of the Panther

'The enemy identified.' The acceleration of the naval race and the growing menace of war

'Already leader of the United States of Europe?' Wilhelm and the debacle of the Haldane mission

November 1912: the strategic switch from west to east

Deterrence: the unresolved problem of Britain's neutrality

'Berlin has warned us off again.' The 'postponed racial war against Slavdom'

Kaiser and Reich. Wilhelm's personal monarchy on the eve of war

'With head held high and hand on sword-hilt!' Preparations for war 1913 to 1914

Summer 1914: the decision for war

The Kaiser's last Norwegian cruise

Confusion in Potsdam: the fear of Britain's involvement

Into the abyss: the outbreak of war

The supreme war lord in the First World War

The Kaiser's war aims

Downfall. The collapse of the Hohenzollern monarchy

The unicorn in winter. A new life in exile

'Blood must flow, much blood!' The Kaiser and the 'swinish' Weimar republic

Monarchy by the grace of Hitler? Wilhelm II and the Third Reich.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-72030-3

1-139-89022-0

1-107-72764-2

1-107-73000-7

1-107-73175-5

1-107-72824-X

1-139-04627-6

OCLC:

867317507