Wilhelm II of Germany

Wilhelm II of Germany (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Preußen 27 January, 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia, ruling from 1888 to 1918.

Background and early life

He was born in Berlin to Crown Prince Friedrich and his wife, Britain's Princess Royal, Victoria. His mother was the aunt of Empress Alexandra (wife of Tsar Nicholas II), and sister of King Edward VII. A traumatic breech birth left him with a withered left arm due to Erb's Palsy, which he tried with some success to conceal. (In the photograph opposite, one hand is holding the withered one, concealing it. In many other photos he carries a pair of white gloves in his left hand to make the arm seem longer.)

Related Topics:
Berlin - Crown Prince Friedrich - Britain's Princess Royal, Victoria - Empress Alexandra - Nicholas II - Edward VII - Breech birth - Erb's Palsy

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Recent analyses of records of his birth in the Imperial Archives have also suggested that he may have experienced some brain trauma, possibly leading to damage. Historians are divided on whether such a mental incapacity may have contributed to his frequently aggressive, tactless, headstrong, and occasionally bullying approach to problems and people, which was evident in both his personal and political life. Such an approach certainly marred German policy under his leadership, most notably in his dismissal of the cautious Otto von Bismarck. He also had a very poor relationship with his mother, whose guilt over his deformity led her to try to "beat" it out of him through a regimen of rigorous exercise. He was accused of megalomania as early as 1894, by German pacifist Ludwig Quidde.

Related Topics:
Otto von Bismarck - Megalomania - 1894 - Ludwig Quidde

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Wilhelm was educated at Kassel at the Friedrichsgymnasium and the University of Bonn. On the death of Wilhelm I on March 9 1888, his father was crowned Emperor as Friedrich III but he was dying of throat cancer, and in June that same year Wilhelm II succeeded him as Emperor.

Related Topics:
Kassel - Friedrichsgymnasium - University of Bonn - Wilhelm I - March 9 - 1888 - Friedrich III

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