Hi everyone and welcome to the AQA GCSE History, Germany, the Democracy and the Dictatorship 1890-1945 Revision Series. This is episode 1 and we are going to be looking at Kaiser Wilhelm II and the German Monarchy. So to begin, the German Empire was created in 1871 and lasted until 1918. It was ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II from 1888 to 1918 where he abdicated.
and the empire was demolished. So what was Wilhelm II really like before he became Kaiser of Germany? Well he had rather a difficult childhood as he was born breached and as a result his arm was partially paralysed due to this traumatic birth. He blamed his mother for his disability and he also blamed her English doctors which you could argue is where his hate for England comes from.
But he also faced many psychological problems, he feared weakness and also craved power. On top of all of this, he was cousin to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and King George V of England, who were incredibly powerful monarchs at the time and he desperately wanted to be like them. He was also eldest grandson of Queen Victoria and when he went to visit her in England, she spoiled and smothered him.
Increasingly, he also turned his back on his mother's views and he went to study law at university and joined the Prussian army, only aged 21. When the German Empire was created in 1871, its constitution made the Kaiser the most powerful figure in the government. A German parliament called the Reichstag was also created, but in reality this really held little power at all. At the top of the government, there was the Kaiser. The Kaiser rules as if he was a king.
He has control over the army and the foreign policy. He has power to appoint and dismiss the Chancellor at any time and he can also remove the Reichstag. Kaiser Wilhelm II didn't believe in democracy. He hated working with the Reichstag.
He preferred to place his trust in the army and he often relied on his military advisors to help him make important decisions. Second to the Kaiser, there is the Chancellor. The Chancellor has power to run the government and propose new legislations. To stay in power, they don't need to support the Reichstag or the Bundestag. So, what's the Bundestag?
The Bundestag is made up of members, which are representatives from each different state in the German Empire. Its consent was needed for all legislations, however this can be easily overruled by the Kaiser. And finally the Reichstag.
The Reichstag is made up of members which are elected by the public every three years but this changes every five years after 1888. Members can pass or reject legislations handed down to them by the Bundesrat. The Persian army played a very very important role in Germany's unification in 1871. Kaiser Wilhelm II strongly was influenced by the prestige and power and adopted a system of militarism. This meant that he wanted to strengthen Germany's military and used it to increase Germany's influence so that he could become a world power.
He also believed in the traditionalism and the class system where the upper class held the most power. In the early 1900s Germany experienced massive economic and social changes. Between 1890 and 1924 Germany's economic status increased massively. Iron and coal production doubled and by 1924 Germany was producing two thirds of Europe's steel. New and exciting industries such as the chemical manufacturing also began to thrive.
As a result of this industrialization new jobs were created and the population of German cities increased too. Due to this working classes expanded and the upper classes had less power. Now that the working classes had expanded they played a much bigger role in Germany's society. However, their working conditions were very poor and they desperately wanted to better representation.
Finally, this meant that there was a massive rise in socialism, which led to the growth of the SPD, the Social Democratic Party. The German aristocracy and Kaiser Wilhelm feared the growth of socialism. Wilhelm was worried about the SPD wanting a revolution to overthrow the monarchy and destroy the German class system. Social and economic changes were good for industry but bad for German politics.
The growth of the working classes and the rise of socialism made ruling Germany increasingly difficult for Kaiser Wilhelm II. There was a desperate need for reform. The massive growth in population created new social issues.
The working classes desperately wanted better living and working conditions and pushed for new regulations. Out of fear of promoting socialist ideas, the government didn't want to pass any reforms. As a result, political groups that promised and encouraged changes became increasingly more popular.
The SPD seats in the Reichstag increased too. In 1887, there were only 11 seats, but by 1903, there were 81 seats. Trade unions were also established, and by 1914, around 3.3 million people were involved in a trade union.
But the Kaiser still saw the SPD... and the trade unions as a threat, and he was terrified of the socialist revolution, and he didn't want to give more power to the German public. As politics became even more radical, the upper classes feared the growth of the working class.
Wealth and social status was threatened. The political unrest made it increasingly more difficult for the Kaiser, and he was under a lot of pressure. Also, the increase in the SPD seats in the Reichstag made it more difficult to pass legislations.
Kaiser Wilhelm II desperately tried to divert attention away from socialism. The Kaiser passed the Workers'Protection Act in 1891 as an attempt at introducing some social reforms. This act was to improve the safety in the workplace. A foreign policy known as Welpaltic was adopted by the Kaiser in 1897. This idea focused on expanding German territory and the armed forces.
The Kaiser hoped that his actions would remove the attention of the socialists and increase support for the monarchy and the military. It would also make Germany a world power. In 1898, the Kaiser passed the first navy law in hope to build and improve Germany's naval fleet to challenge that of Great Britain. The German fleet increased to include 19 battleships.
In 1900, another navy law was passed by the Reichstag. which put a 17-year navy expansion plan into place. This was an act of propaganda to promote the ideas of patriotism among the German people.
The laws were very popular and to go against them would be unpatriotic. As a result, in 1907 the SPD lost 36 seats, but then, by 1912, the SPD was again the largest party in the Reichstag, showing an increase in desire for a democracy. That's the end of episode 1 AQA GCSE History Germany Democracy and Dictatorship revision series.
Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoyed. Our next episode will be on the end of World War 1 and the Treaty of Versailles. Please remember to like, subscribe and leave any questions in the comments below.