Kaiser Wilhelm II

You would be forgiven for thinking in the 30 years he ruled he just sat there in his office doing nothing. I can find very little information on his domestic policy, I can find a little on his dismissal of Bismarck and his anti-Socialist policies, as well as his supposed promotion of the arts and sciences (all rather vague on the wikipedia entry). Can anyone point me in the direction of where someone would go if they were interested in German domestic policy in these years? The Internet seems to give me null so learning German and going to a library is all I got atm.

More specific:

German business during this period and how regulated it was by the Kaiser (was it proto-fascist or liberal?)

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

zgb1

2

If you ask for literature you would have to see for yourself. contrary to popular believe in modern day Germany the Kaiser was benevolent and the Secodn Reich was even more democratic than the UK at that time. SPD (also Germanys version of the Labour) won elections for the first time in the early 1900s while more people had a right to vote than in the UK at that time.

Also, the Second Reich was the first modern welfare state in the world.

Reply 2

jakeel1

OP

12

Original post by zgb1

If you ask for literature you would have to see for yourself. contrary to popular believe in modern day Germany the Kaiser was benevolent and the Secodn Reich was even more democratic than the UK at that time. SPD (also Germanys version of the Labour) won elections for the first time in the early 1900s while more people had a right to vote than in the UK at that time.

Also, the Second Reich was the first modern welfare state in the world.

Yeah Bismarck introduced the anti-Socialist laws which introduced some social insurance measures which were continued by Wilhelm II, SPD won a lot of seats despite state resistance, briefly familiar with the three class franchise and the Junker class. There is not much specifics though, most of this happened under Wilhelm I.

Is most of the literature only available in German?

Reply 3

zgb1

2

Original post by jakeel1

Yeah Bismarck introduced the anti-Socialist laws which introduced some social insurance measures which were continued by Wilhelm II, SPD won a lot of seats despite state resistance, briefly familiar with the three class franchise and the Junker class. There is not much specifics though, most of this happened under Wilhelm I.

Is most of the literature only available in German?

Well, they were not anti-Socialist laws in sence they were about to repress the socialists but to give the people all the things that socialist intended to give in order to prevent the Socialist to be more popular and making the government instead.
Also, when you speak about Wilhem II he was not a ruling entity. Germany had its chancellor (or PM; that were Bismarck, Leon von Caprivi, Berthman von Hollweg), the parliament (or Reichstag in which were active parties like the Liberals, SPD and the catholic Zentrumspartei) and its subkingdoms since the German Empire was actually a federation of smaller kingdoms and dukeships (which also have had its respective ruling dynasties and parliaments). Also the Kaiser was not actually an Emperor, officially he was the President of the konfederation and was only King of Prussia.

From what I see it is but even the German literature is in my opinion not quite adecuate since the kaiser Wilhelm is potraite as a negative person (probably due to Germanys Nazi past) although some acomplishments are admitted. I can give you some interview of a german historian about the Kaiser but it is unfortunately on German. So, yes most literature is on German (the literature on English is also a bit bias in my opinion).