Evening star., 1928-12-23
Kaiser's Fall Told i'm Diary


an interview. We met by appointment
at the German Club. said to him
that the Kaiser must abdicate and
showed him the reasons why no further
poStponement was possible.
IS. said that he the Kaiser) would
never get out voluntarily because the
Kaiserin would oppose it. But If the
Imperial Chancellor prince Max of
Baden) would go to the Kaiser and
say, Now it is time then he would
agree to 1t in five minutes. The Chan
cellor did not go, but Minister Drews
was sent instead.-Ed.l S. also holds
like the idea of jumping over the
Crown Prince.
In connection with this Fraceulein
Won G., of the Kaiserins court, came
to see. me and entrusted me with a
package Of jewelry, which was to put
away in some safe place. She looked
helpless and worn out and when l
said that the Kaiser must abdicate
she sobbed violently. At o'clock with
Lewald he told me that the War Cabi-
net had decided to send me tomorrow
to see Pilsudski
Read Wilson'S Conditions.
This evening at the wednesday So
ciety' Wilson'S armistice conditions
were made known and they led to an
excited scene. Some old gentlemen,
who drew pensions, wanted to send
speakers to the Potsdamer Platz: 9TH
ers protested vigorously against it.
Since nobody was willing to 60 him
self, nothing happened.
BERLIN. Nov. /.
'Tisza murdered in Budapest. In
Vienna and German Austria revolution
has ragged for several days-also in
Prague and Budapest. All the news
papers this morning discuss the Kaiser
question. The Herrenhaus upper
house of the Prussian Parliament)
passed yesterday resolution of devo-
BERLIN, Nov. 2.
Visit to Prittwitz at the Imperial
Chancellery. He also considers abdica-
ton necessary If the dynasty is to
stand But opposition comes from the
Kaiser and Grand Headquarters. The
Kaiser left Berlin suddenly yesterday
for Grand Headquarters. without giving
any notice to the Imperial Chancellery.
Faced Internal Revolution.
"At half-past one with Solf. He de-
veloped all the difficulties in the Kaiser
question. From Grand Headquarters
l.
abdicated the army would dissolve. He
admits that feeling among the workers
at home against the Kaiser Is becoming
more and more threatening. He sum-
married the situation in these words:
If the Kaiser stays, we have revolution
at home; If he goes, the army goes to
pieces
"At luncheon with Erzberger in the
back blue room at Killers, with AM
bassador Bernstorff and Berger. The
conversation turned almost without ex-
ception on the Kaiser question, on
which ErZberger is much upset. Where
as on Tuesday he said that he would
bring the question up that day in the
cabinet and talked with Berger and me
about gift of 10000, 900 marks for the
Kaiser on abdication, today he had
only hesitations. He was much inf1u-
enced by the reports from grand head
quarters that the army would break up.
Then the lack of an available and
popular agnate (relative on the pater-
nal side) for the regency. the objections
which the South German courts would
make, the uncertain attitude of the
Social Democratic party. A trade union
leader had talked with him and said
that the abdication would drop dyna-
mite into the unions.
BernstOrff in Background.
Finally Scheidemann had said that
he would not make apdication a cabi-
net question That seems to have
turned the scales with ErZberger.
Berger demanded tina: the cabinet de-
eide at once one way or the other.
Bernstorn kept in the background, al
though Erzberger kept looking at him
expectantly with his curious, naively
uncertain eyes, like an alert child to
its teacher.
Berger said to me confidentially
afterward that in his opinion the
Hohenzollern dynasty could no longer
be saved; it had gone bankrupt. 1t
was a matter of indifference whether
the Kaiser abdicated or not, since the
dynasty was lost.
BERLIN. November 8.
THE Kaiser issued today a procla-
nation in which he promised complete
democracy. In view Of the past:
Regis voluntas suprena lex esto,' ETC.,
its effect is undignified and ridiculous.
Who will believe in this sudden po-
litica1 conversion?
BERLIN. November S.
"Kisl is in the hands Of revolution
lists. The third division of the fleet
has mutiried The following days /
was busy in Magdeburg with Pilsudski.
On the evening of November 8 re-
turned to Berlin.
Fateful November 8.
BERLIN, November 9.
"At midday, going to the railway di-
rector's Office on the Schoenberger,
Ufer, where we wanted to order an extra
train for Pilsudski, Hatfield prince
Herman Hatfield, Polish expert in the
foreign ofice), and saw at the corner
of Koeniggraetz and Schoenberg streets
extras being sold: 'Kaisers Abdication.'
End of dynasty pitiful, casual, not even
any longer the chief event Of the day.
The Kaiser has fallen because nobody
any longer stuck to him.
ITO the question, VIII the Kaiser
abdicate?' early this morning in the
WilhelmstruSse a legation secretary
from whom I was seeking information
answered me: The question has no
meaning at present.
Copyright. 192s)