Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II.
Last German Emperor, who backed Austria-Hungary in the July Crisis and abdicated and fled in 1918
The son of the Prussian crown prince and Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, he became emperor in 1888 and dismissed Bismarck in 1890. In 1900 he urged the troops sent against the Boxers to fight like Huns, and his naval build-up and Moroccan interventions isolated Germany. In the July Crisis of 1914 he assured Austria-Hungary of military support. In the war he left decisions largely to the Supreme Army Command, leading to the de facto military dictatorship of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. When his abdication was announced on 9 November 1918 he went into exile in the Netherlands, which refused to extradite him as the Treaty of Versailles provided. He died at Doorn in 1941.
Career timeline
- 1888German Emperor and King of Prussia
- 1890Dismissed Bismarck; the “New Course”
- 1914Guaranteed support to Austria-Hungary in the July Crisis
- 1918Abdication announced on 9 November; exile in the Netherlands