The German Question, Part Sixty-Five

"Bismarck" Part 5/J "Bismarck as Chancellor & A Treaty With 'Contentious Relatives' "

"The End Of Bismarck"

Kaiser Wilhelm I, the man who appointed Bismarck to power and then stuck with him in that capacity through the years, died in 1888. His son, Friedrich III, became Kaiser (emperor), but he was dying of throat cancer, and he passed away a little more than three months after his father. Then Friedrich's son, Wilhelm, came to the German throne, as Wilhelm II. I would dare say, when many Americans hear the term "Kaiser," this is the man they think of (besides Kaiser rolls, haha), as he was the German leader during World War One. In fact, it would not surprise me in the least if some Americans think his first name was "Kaiser," as he is commonly referred to simply as "Kaiser Wilhelm," and I will use that here.

Once German unification had been achieved, Bismarck worked to keep peace in Europe often through alliances, although the very alliances he used to keep the peace, eventually led other countries into alliances, which then made war more likely if a lit match touched some powder keg. Whatever Bismarck's strengths or faults, he was able to help keep the Europeans from the throats of each other, and he worked hard to keep Germany from the possibility of a two-front war. He also sought to keep a distance from the hot issues in the Balkans, where the declining Ottoman (Turkish) Empire held large non-Turkish areas under their control, and these areas were interested in independence. Here, Russia's role as "protector of the Slavs" came into conflict with the Turks (and Austria-Hungary), as some of these areas were populated by large Slavic majorities.* Germany's closest ally, Austria-Hungary, also had large restless Slavic populations there, but Germany's treaty with Austria-Hungary did not guarantee German military involvement, unless Austria-Hungary was attacked by Russia.

Kaiser Wilhelm II was far more brash. Unlike his long-ruling grandfather, Wilhelm I, who essentially permitted Bismarck to run governmental affairs, this Wilhelm intended to take a far more active role in the governing of his country. This was bound to lead to conflict with Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany.** The relationship between Kaiser Wilhelm and Bismarck was complicated by the fact that Wilhelm had grown up during Bismarck's time as the head of the Prussian government, and then as chancellor of a unified Germany, and Bismarck probably never thought of Wilhelm becoming Kaiser during his time in office, or perhaps even in his lifetime, but Friedrich III's terminal illness intervened. Bismarck saw Wilhelm as something of a "pupil," who could be reined in, but he was terribly mistaken. Bismarck had been in office for so long, he undoubtedly assumed that the new Kaiser would go along with the policies he, Bismarck, decided to continue or to pursue. Bismarck was 73 years old when Wilhelm became Kaiser, at the ripe "old" age of 29. Just as an example, Bismarck had not shown much interest in a large German navy, but Kaiser Wilhelm did. Big, flashy ships were a way to demonstrate German power (and the Kaiser's), but big, flashy ships also antagonized the European naval powers, especially Britain, drawing them closer together to resist growing German power, instead of keeping them apart, as was Bismarck's policy.

Domestically, Bismarck was disillusioned with workers who, in spite of his "state sponsored socialism," could not be brought into the fold against socialist political views. With growing German prosperity, Bismarck decided to quash the German socialist movement. A large strike by coal miners in 1889 brought the focus on workers.*** Bismarck basically supported the mine owners, but Kaiser Wilhelm felt the miners had valid points and he wanted mine conditions improved. Bismarck then pushed for permanent anti-socialist laws in the Reichstag, where his allies (a majority) essentially supported the legislation. One part of the law permitted the police the power to evict socialists from their homes. A bit of German democracy showed, as even some of Bismarck's supporters felt this part of the law, which had been used against political opponents previously, was too extreme, but hardliners, following Bismarck's lead, insisted on the measure. The Kaiser disapproved. Bismarck had hoped that the strict legislation would bring socialist protests and violence which then could be used as a reason for a strong crackdown on the workers' movement. Bismarck and the Kaiser had a serious disagreement over this whole matter, and the Kaiser made it clear that he did not intend to wage war on his own people. Bismarck, seeing how he had misplayed the matter, backtracked, but the well had been poisoned. Bismarck also made it quite obvious that he did not support the Kaiser's position; a dangerous thing to do, when the chancellor's office relied only upon the Kaiser's support. The whole matter made voters turn away from Bismarck's supporters in the next election, and Bismarck had to put together a new coalition among the political parties in the Reichstag. He met with one party leader without informing Kaiser Wilhelm. Unlike his father and grandfather, Wilhelm expected to be kept informed of Bismarck's actions. The two German leaders clashed heatedly. Bismarck resigned at Kaiser Wilhelm's insistence in March of 1890. He eventually moved to the Hamburg area, where he died in 1898. Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm never really reconciled, although the Kaiser bestowed certain honors upon the former chancellor and founder of modern Germany. (A Word History is below the notes)

Next..."Kaiser Wilhelm and World War I"

* Being seen as "protector of the Slavs" was not the only reason Russians were involved in the Balkans, as they had a longstanding interest in acquiring territory there themselves.

** Chancellor is really just the chosen German title for the head of the government, and it corresponds to the British "Prime Minister," or to the title "Premier," in certain other countries, although it bears repeating, in the governing system of Germany at that point in time, the chancellor was appointed by, and therefore beholden to, the Kaiser. He did not have to align himself with any particular political party, or have a majority in the Reichstag for that particular party, or even form a coalition with other parties, except on specific issues, which is what Bismarck did. While the German Reichstag was elected by a truly democratic vote of the German people (that is, "democratic" in those times, meaning "proper age males"), the German political parties lacked clout because of their "disconnect" with the head of the German government, the chancellor. What had developed in the British system, on the other hand, was that the Prime Minister was affiliated with a political party, that party, or in coalition with another party, was able to form a majority in Parliament, and the king/queen then "asked" the party leader (or chosen leader of the coalition) to become Prime Minister. (Note: In Bismarck's time, the British monarch was Queen Victoria, and her oldest child, her namesake daughter Victoria, was married to Friedrich, who later became Kaiser Friedrich III, but who died of throat cancer shortly thereafter. Their son, Wilhelm, became Kaiser Wilhelm II; and yes, he was, therefore, Queen Victoria's grandson.)

*** Coal was big business in industrial powerhouse Germany. The companies showed big profits, but paid low wages, implemented longer working hours, and refused to pay workers for their time spent descending into, and ascending from, the mines. Mine supervisors were known for ruthlessness and brutality. These were the main reasons for the strike.

WORD HISTORY:
Frau/Fräulein-These two German words have both come into English over time; "Frau" by the early 1800s, although "likely" earlier, but more widespread by the early 1800s, and, "Fräulein" came into English in the 1600s. The main word is "Frau" (the "au" pronounced like the "ow" in English "how"), which means "married woman," and is also the equivalent to the English title "Mrs.," but also, more generally, means "woman, lady, wife." This goes back to Indo European "pro(w)," one of the notions of which was "main, first, chief." This then gave its Old Germanic offspring "frawan," which meant "lord, master," and the feminine form "fraw(o)." Originally the word had a connection to the nobility, but then became more general. This then gave Old High German "frouwa," which then later became "vrouwe," before acquiring its modern form. (The Old Germanic form also gave Old English "frowe," meaning 'woman, lady,' which later died out.) "Fräulein" simply uses the base word "frau," and the diminutive (see note) suffix "-lein," which initially was spelled "lin," giving the German of the Middle Ages "vröuwelîn," which meant "young noble woman." Later it just came to mean "young woman, unmarried woman," and is equivalent to the English title "Miss." It is properly pronounced as if "froy-line." Low German has "Froo" and "Frölen," Dutch has "vrouw," West Frisian has "frou." NOTE: Diminutive means it makes it "smaller or less;" in this case, "less in age."