Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1859-1941 : a concise life /
Röhl, John C. G.,author.
De Bellaigue, Sheila,1945-translator.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Part I. 1859-1888 the tormented Prussian prince -- The "soul murder" of an heir to the throne -- Ambivalent motherhood -- A daring educational experiment -- The conflict between the prince of Prussia and his parents -- 1888: the year of the three Kaisers -- Part II. 1888-1900 the anachronistic autocrat -- Divine right without end -- Bismarck's fall from power, 1889-90 -- The establishment of the Kaiser's personal monarchy, 1890-97 -- The chancellor as courtier: the corrupt Bulow system (1897-1909) -- Part III. 1896-1908 the egregious expansionist -- The challenge to Europe: weltmachtpolitik and the battle fleet -- The Russo-Japanese War and the meeting of the emperors on Bjork (1904-1905) -- War in the west? The landing in Tangier and the fiasco of Algeciras (1905-1906) -- The intensification of the Anglo-German conflict -- Part IV. 1906-1909 the scandal-ridden sovereign -- The Eulenburg Affair (1906-1909) -- Bulow's betrayal of the Kaiser: the Daily Telegraph crisis (1908-1909) -- From Bulow to Bethmann Hollweg: the chancellor merry-go-round of 1909 -- Part V. 1908-1914 the bellicose supreme war lord -- The Bosnian annexation crisis (1908-1909) -- The "leap of the panther" to Agadir -- The battle fleet and the growing risk of war with Britain (1911-1912) -- Doomed to failure: the Haldane mission of 1912 -- Turmoil in the Balkans and a first decision for war (November 1912) -- War postponed: the "war council" of 8 December 1912 -- The postponed war draws nearer (1913-1914) -- The Kaiser in the Crisis of July 1914 -- Part VI. 1914-1918 the champion of God's Germanic cause -- The Kaiser's war aims -- The impotence of the supreme war lord at war -- Downfall: the collapse of the Hohenzollern Monarchy -- Part VII. The vengeful exile (1918-1941) -- A new life in Amerongen and Doorn -- The rabid anti-Semite in exile -- The Kaiser and Hitler.
William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941.