[40] Bromme (called also Brommy) was a German seaman who served in the Greek navy and who was later placed in charge of the Naval Commission by the German National Assembly in 1848. He organized the first modern German fleet and as admiral drove off the three Danish ships blockading the Weser. This navy was considered merely a passing necessity, and in 1853 Bromme was retired, after the little fleet had been sold at auction.
I swore to the colors when I came to the throne, after the mighty time of my grandfather, that, so far as in me lay, the bayonet and cannon would have to rest, but that bayonet and cannon, however, would have to be kept sharp and effective in order that jealousy and envy from without should not disturb us in the development of our garden and our beautiful house. I have made a vow, as a result of what I have learned from history, never to strive for an empty world-dominion. For what has become of the so-called world-empires? Alexander the Great, Napoleon I—all the great warriors—have swum in blood and have left subjugated peoples behind them who at the first opportunity have risen up again and brought the empire to ruin.
The world-empire of which I have dreamed shall consist in this, that the newly created German Empire shall first of all enjoy on all sides the most absolute confidence as a quiet, honorable, and peaceful neighbor; and that, if in the future they shall read in history of a German world-empire or of a Hohenzollern world-ruler, it shall not be founded upon acquisitions won with the sword but upon the mutual trust of the nations who are striving for the same goals. To express it briefly, as a great poet has said: “Limited outwardly, but with no limits upon inward development.”
You have mentioned the ships which here hang memorially from the ceiling of this beautiful old hall. The time in which I grew up was, in spite of the great war, not a great and glorious one for the seafaring part of our nation. I, too, have here drawn the logical conclusions from what my ancestors have done. In a military way much had been done within, as was necessary; now the equipment of the navy had to be brought forward.
I thank God that I do not have to make a desperate appeal here in this town hall as I once did in Hamburg.[41] The fleet is built and is on the seas; we have material for crews. The eagerness and the spirit are the same as those which filled the officers of the Prussian army at Hohenfriedberg, at Königgrätz, and at Sedan; and every German war-ship which leaves the slips is one more guarantee for peace on land. We are correspondingly more powerful as allies, and our opponents will be correspondingly less willing to offer us any aggression.
[41] The appeal referred to is the speech delivered at Hamburg on October 18, 1899, with its famous “Bitterly do we need a powerful fleet.”
To-day, as I scanned the citizens of Bremen, I saw the old and the young standing next each other—the old with their medals and their crosses, comrades in battle and in deeds under both the great leaders whose statues stand in this city, and before them stand the youth who shall grow up to the new empire and its tasks.
What will these tasks be? To develop steadily; to shun strife, hate, division, and jealousy; to rejoice in the German Fatherland as it is and not to strive after the impossible; to hold fast to the conviction that our God would never have taken such great pains with our German Fatherland and its people if he had not been preparing us for something still greater.
We are the salt of the earth, but we must also be worthy to be so. Therefore must our youth learn to give up and deny themselves what is not good for them, to put far from them the things which have slipped in from foreign peoples, and to preserve their morals, good conduct, reverence, and religion. Then some day may we write over the German people the motto on the helmet of the 1st Regiment of my guard: “Semper talis”—“Ever the Same.” Then we shall be looked upon from all sides with respect and in a measure with love as a safe and trustworthy people and can stand with our hand on our sword-hilt and with our shield grounded before us and say: “Tamen, come what will.”
I am sure that my words will fall upon good ground here in Bremen. Earnestly I hope that the golden peace which up to the present with God’s help we have maintained we may preserve still further and that under this peace Bremen may grow green, may bloom, and prosper. That is my innermost wish. Long life to Bremen—Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
March 31, 1905—November 17, 1906
Tangier, March 31, 1905
On the 8th of April, 1904, an entente which had settled all outstanding questions between France and Great Britain and gave to Great Britain a free hand in Egypt and to France a free hand in Morocco was formally signed in London. The German Government officially declared that the settlement between France and Great Britain concerned only these two countries; but the Pan-German Society, the Colonial Society, and the Navy League began so insistent an agitation that the government changed its attitude and the Emperor here declares in no uncertain terms that what Germany undertakes in Morocco will be done exclusively with the “sovereign Sultan.” Germany was evidently picking a quarrel with France over Morocco, with or without warrant, as the case may be, and was trying to ascertain, it is generally believed, the closeness of the relationship between France and Great Britain. The large commercial interests of which the Emperor speaks were fairly negligible; though he doubtless had the right to protect it, Germany’s yearly trade there did not amount to as much as that of an ordinary department store or of a fairly successful merchant. For the previous eight years it averaged less than half a million dollars annually. Her course here has usually been regarded as unnecessarily belligerent.
True to his policy of personal diplomacy, the Emperor suddenly appeared at Tangier and while there made his speech to the German colony.
The whole question was taken up at the conference of Algeciras in 1906. Although the policy of “the open door,” which protected Germany’s commercial interests was guaranteed, the very general storm of protest in Germany, especially on the part of the war party and Navy League, showed that she had entered the contest with more serious intentions. World policy by aggressive interference had already been initiated when, in the Spanish-American War, the German Admiral Diedrichs started to hamper the operations of the American fleet at Manila. Morocco was looked upon by some, Doctor Liman, for instance, as a second defeat. In the Algeciras conference Italy sided with France and England. Italy had been continuing as a member of the Triple Alliance partly through fear that the French would annex Tripoli, which Italy desired. England and France had now privately agreed to give Italy a free hand. She sided with them and it was evident that her vital interests in the Triple Alliance had been considerably lessened. As England and Russia were also settling all their Eastern points of difference, Germany began to be conscious of her isolation, which had been largely a result of her attitude and unfortunate diplomacy.
I am pleased to make the acquaintance of the pioneers of Germany in Morocco and to be able to tell them that they have done their duty.
Germany has great commercial interests here. I shall advance and protect our commerce, which shows a satisfying increase, and for that reason shall insist upon equal rights with all powers, which is only possible through the sovereignty of the Sultan and the independence of the country. For Germany both of these must be unquestioned, and I am, therefore, ready to intervene for them at all times.
I hope that my visit in Tangier declares this plainly and emphatically and that it will call forth the conviction that what Germany undertakes in Morocco will be negotiated exclusively with the sovereign Sultan.
September 8, 1906
On this date the Emperor and his four sons dedicated a monument to Frederick the Great on the site of his famous bivouac at Bunzelwitz. In the evening he addressed a banquet in Breslau, in which he took up especially the services of the Silesians to the crown. He particularly recalls the support they gave Frederick William III in 1813, at the lowest ebb of that King’s fortunes. Divisions of patriotic volunteers, “free corps,” were organized in the province, who, not being Prussians, could not serve in the Prussian line. The best known of these was that of Lützow, to which the poet Theodor Körner belonged. It is from one of his most famous war-songs that the quotation in the Emperor’s speech is taken. The manner in which he speaks of the coronation of his grandfather “by the will of Heaven” and with no mention of the Constitution, is to be found in several of his speeches, notably the address at Königsberg (August 25, 1910). Most of these speeches were made in his hereditary provinces, Prussia, Silesia, and Brandenburg, and aroused considerable protest in other parts of Germany.
My Dear President:
With a heart deeply moved, I take the opportunity to-day to speak as sovereign Duke of Silesia to my Silesians, for the impressions which have been showered upon me during the short time that I have been among you are of so powerful and compelling a nature that words fail me to express them or to find the proper form for the thanks which I would like to communicate to my people of Silesia. I do not refer only to yesterday’s demonstrations, which surpassed, if that were possible, the jubilations on the day of my entrance. And I do not mean only those on the part of the old soldiers in black uniforms with their military decorations on their breasts, who can say, “We have been present at the time when history was made,” and who dare pride themselves on having been fellows in arms of the great Emperor and his noble son, my father, whose heart, as is known to all of you, beat high for Silesia, but I mean to-day, on my journey through the green Silesian country to Bunzelwitz, Schweidnitz, and Rogau and back—everywhere I have found the same warmth, the same glowing, burning enthusiasm. It is the old Silesian loyalty which breaks forth and which proves the appreciation on the part of the people for what the house of Hohenzollern has done for them. This loyalty is rooted in ground specially consecrated by history. For who will deny that the province of Silesia, almost more than any other, stands in closest union with the history of our Fatherland and of our house? And, especially, how could any one speak of the development of Silesia without first thinking of the one powerful figure of whom the grenadiers sang from the Rhine to the Oder: “Fredericus Rex, our King and leader”? Wherever we look over the plains of Silesia rise the memories of him, of the incomparable battles through which he made Prussia a world-power, and also of the splendid work of peace in which he sought to raise and strengthen the sorely oppressed country. And again in later times it was precisely to Silesia that it was reserved to send a new ray of hope to that sorely tried Hohenzollern King, Frederick William III, when he encountered the ardent enthusiasm of the first volunteers in Breslau, when the first raising of troops took place here, and when the “wild, dashing Lützow hunters” started in their career against the enemy at the Zobten. And so it has been ever since. The sons of Silesia have fought whenever it was a question of coming forward and sacrificing their blood for the Fatherland. And so it may be very well said that the history of our house is indissolubly bound up with that of Silesia, one of her most beautiful provinces. And when we glance back over this great history we can characterize it with the phrase which my great departed grandfather used when, after fierce conflicts, through the will of Heaven the imperial crown was set upon his brow: “God was with us, and His be the honor!” And when I stop to think how the flags of the veterans passed me with proud bearing I believe that we can apply this to the present and thank God that He has disposed everything for the good and profit of this province and of our house; above all, for the fact that it has been granted us to carry out our work in peace. But if God was with us we ought earnestly to ask the question whether we were worthy of His help. Has every one among us also done his part by offering up his thought, his health, and strength to carry on and develop the legacy which was bequeathed to us by the past? If every one with his hand upon his heart asks himself this question sincerely, many a man will find it difficult to answer. And then, gentlemen, let us draw a lesson from the personality of the great King and decide where it was that we have failed in the work, where we have allowed our spirits to flag, and where dark thoughts and fears have bewildered our minds. Away with them! And just as the great King was never left in the lurch by the old Ally, so our Fatherland and this beautiful province will always be near His heart. And so out of the beautiful circle of memories and of golden loyalty which I have here encountered, let us coin a new vow: from this time on, through offering up our strength of soul and body, we will devote ourselves to the task of urging our country forward, of working for our people; and every one, according to his position, whether high or low, will do this; and the various creeds will unite to check unbelief; and above all things, for the future, we shall keep our vision clear and never despair of ourselves or of our people. The world belongs to the living, and the living are right. I cannot endure pessimists, and whoever does not take part in the work let him depart and, if he likes, seek out a better country. But I expect from my Silesians that they to-day will unite in the decision to be ever mindful of their great aims and examples, that they will follow their Duke, especially in his work of peace for his people. In this hope, I empty my glass to the health of the province of Silesia and of all faithful Silesians.
Münich, November 12, 1906
One of the men of letters whom the Emperor has been particularly delighted to honor and in whom he sees one of the glories of German literature is Doctor Ludwig Ganghofer, who is certainly not more than an able writer of the second rank. After a performance in the Hoftheater in Münich the Emperor expressed the desire to see him, and the following conversation took place which was reported in a confusing combination of direct and indirect quotation.
The Emperor said that he had recently read the “Hohen Schein” and spoke at some length about it, going over the content and thought of the book. From the way in which he spoke about it one could see how intensely he was occupied with one thing in particular.
What pleased him especially in the book was the optimistic tone which pervaded it, the preaching which stimulated belief in life, and the manner of accepting the misfortunes of existence, as well as the trust in the future and trust in humanity. “This,” said the Emperor, “makes such an impression upon me because I am an optimist through and through and will allow nothing to prevent me from remaining one to the end of my days.” He spoke of himself as a man full of his work and one who believed in his tasks. He said further: “I will go forward. I would greatly rejoice if men would understand me and would support me in my desires.” In this connection he spoke of the difficulty every one encountered in his work on account of distrust. He again recalled a passage from Ganghofer’s “Schweigen im Walde” which had also especially appealed to him because it had expressed his own point of view concerning life. The passage runs: “He who distrusts, commits a wrong against another and harms himself. It is our duty to believe that every man is good so long as he does not give proof to the contrary.” “On this basis,” said the Emperor, “I have always accepted every man with whom I had anything to do. One may sometimes meet with unpleasant experiences, but on that account he dare not give up. One must always go on again with new trust in humanity and in life.”
The Emperor then directed the conversation to a tablet which he had had made and which contained, besides the above-mentioned quotation, certain aphorisms of a like tenor from Ganghofer’s novels.
These quotations appealed to him so strongly because they expressed entirely his attitude toward life. With a good bit of optimism and a bright and trustful outlook a man will go much further, not only in his own personal life but in his vocation also, than he will if he looks upon all things with a pessimistic eye; and even in politics the case is the same. The German people certainly have a future, and there is one word, “Reichsverdrossenheit” [sullenness toward imperial destiny], which always offends him as often as he hears it. “What have we to do with sullenness? Rather work and look forward. I work—yes, not unwillingly—and I believe that I progress.”
In connection with this word, the Emperor described the way in which he worked every day and told how the difficulty of the many duties and tasks which stormed in upon him often made him very weary. It was at such times that the need overcame him to get out of harness and see another part of the world, to become acquainted with other men who stimulated him again. Thus, his journeys to the north always invigorated him both mentally and physically.
The Emperor described earnestly and vividly how such a journey gradually rested and refreshed him. In the first days there was of course an abundance of work. Telegrams and letters came even to the boat, and he and those about him could not leave work for long. Then it became gradually more restful and solitary until eventually he found complete rest and could give himself up to the glories of nature. He then gave lively descriptions of his journeys, of the special beauties of the fjords, and of his impression of the midnight sun. He spoke especially of his pleasure at the simplicity and the cordiality of the people, who responded to him so naturally. Everything that oppressed him was cast aside for a few weeks—and yet the pleasures which he received were begrudged him by many people. He knew that he had always been called the “travelling Emperor,” but he had always taken it lightly and had not allowed his pleasure to be spoiled by it. We discover friends in travelling, even in our own home. He believed that the feeling of interdependence was strengthened in that way and added that there were many Germans who did not know how beautiful their own land was and how much there was to be seen in it. He always rejoiced when he had learned to know a new portion of Germany. The south especially seemed to him beautiful, and he was very much drawn to it by the manner of life there. He always remembered, he said, with particular pleasure a journey which he had made many years before to Berchtesgaden and the beautiful days which he had been allowed to spend in the hills behind it with his uncle, the Duke of Coburg. If only travelling were not accompanied by so many inconveniences! It was always necessary to take along so many paraphernalia. Often he longed to seat himself in an automobile and go whizzing off for a few days, to return satisfied and ready to work again. And such refreshment was necessary in a serious calling like his own—doubly necessary because he had to fight so much misunderstanding; it was a thankless situation, because no one ever gave him credit for being independent. If he succeeded in anything, then all the world asked: “Who advised him?” If he was unsuccessful, then they said: “He did not understand it.” “What in the cases of other princes is accepted as self-evident becomes in mine a matter of debate. And, nevertheless, the one answer is: ‘Because I wish the good of the German Empire and of the German people.’
“Many times also I meet with pleasant experiences—and most often on these very journeys which are made such a reproach to me.” So the days in Münich would remain an untroubled joy to him which he would never forget. The warmth and heartiness in the behavior of the population as well as the beautiful picture, gay with color, of the city in its artistic decorations had completely charmed him.
The conversation then turned upon several questions of literature and politics. The Emperor also related some anecdotes concerning his own family, and here the intimacy with which he spoke was particularly agreeable. He said merely, “my wife” and “my Buben” [boys]. In a particularly sincere manner the Emperor spoke of our regents, whose energy and self-sacrifice in such trying days he lauded, and expressed the wish that the Great Prince might preserve us all for a long time to come.
November 17, 1906
The policy of introducing legislation in the interest of the laboring classes may be said to have been inaugurated by Emperor William I in 1881. If one of its aims was to alleviate the condition of this class and to promote the welfare of Germany generally, another and perhaps its most important aim in Bismarck’s eyes was to stem the growth of the Social Democratic party and bring about a greater sense of solidarity within the empire. In this latter aim of “taking the wind out of the sails” of the Social Democratic party it had not proved successful at the time of the accession of William II. He began his reign with the idea of making still further concessions and on this point broke with Bismarck. When these again failed to conciliate the Social Democrats, he took measures to legislate against them. He declared, as we have seen, on one occasion: “For me, every Social Democrat is synonymous with enemy of the nation and of the Fatherland.” (May 14, 1889.) The fact that the party has continued to increase has always been a thorn in his side, and his attitude has been more or less contradictory with regard to the working classes; so that occasionally, as here, he seems to attempt to threaten and conciliate at the same time.
Twenty-five years ago to-day the late Emperor and King, William the Great, made his memorable announcement, and I welcome the opportunity of calling to mind with reverent gratitude this work of peace through which my noble ancestor inaugurated new lines of legislation for the protection of the economically weak. In obedience to his lofty will, with the hearty approval of the allied governments and the intelligent co-operation of the Reichstag, we succeeded in so advancing the difficult and multifarious development of the state’s labor legislation, in the domain of sick, accident, and disability insurance, that those deserving help in their day of need now possess a regularly constituted legal claim. Thanks to the comprehensive acts of the realm and of the employers as well as to their own contributions, the laborers have hereby attained a much higher degree of security with regard to their means of livelihood and the support of their families. But the great and fruitful ideas in the imperial message have not only inaugurated this condition in our own Fatherland but have served as an epoch-making example far beyond her borders. Unfortunately, through lasting opposition in the very quarter which believes that it has a right to represent the interests of labor the fulfilment of the highest aims of the imperial message is being checked and delayed. Nevertheless, I believe that a recognition of what has been done and a growing realization of the limits of the economically possible will in all circles of the German people bring about its final triumph. Then the hope of Emperor William that the laboring man’s insurance would be a lasting pledge of internal peace for the Fatherland will have been fulfilled. With this in mind, it is my firm will that legislation in the domain of social and political provisions should not cease, but that it should be carried out toward the fulfilling of the highest Christian duty with regard to the protection and the welfare of the weak and needy. But the task proposed by the spirit of the imperial message and its lofty framer cannot be carried out through merely legal acts and provisions. I gladly recognize to-day that in the German people there has never been a lack of men and women who willingly and joyfully gave up their strength in loving service for the good of their neighbor; and to all of those who devote themselves in unselfish sacrifice to the great social work of our time I express my imperial thanks.
I commission you to bring this decree to general notice.
Issued to the Imperial Chancellor, Donaueschingen, November 17, 1906.
William, I. R.
February 5, 1907—October 18, 1911
Berlin, February 5, 1907
A number of scandals in army and colonial administration had been exposed in 1906. It will be remembered that for years back the Emperor had been insisting on union between the various religious creeds. This was perhaps due in part to a spirit of toleration, but to a larger extent it was due to the fact that the Centre party (Catholic) had for a number of years been in control. The Reichstag of 1906 was dissolved, ostensibly over the government’s quarrel with the Centre party over the comparatively paltry sum of $2,000,000 demanded for the Southwest African colony. In reality the causes probably lay deeper. The late Reichstag had voted an insufficient sum for the navy and was beginning to object to the increasing taxes on the necessities of life. The Navy League was demanding a doubling of the German fleet. The government seemed to wish to undertake a more rapid policy of expansion. Mr. Barker is authority for the statement that leaders of the imperialistic agitation had gone so far as to recommend that if the Reichstag did not vote the credits necessary for doubling the fleet, a coup d’état should be effected by the government and that it should levy the taxes and govern in case of necessity against the will of the Reichstag or without the Reichstag. The expansionist policy was strongly advocated by the Colonial party and the Navy League and was championed by the Chancellor. As the Social Democrats opposed increases in taxation, they were likewise now specially under the ban of official disapproval. There are usually about forty parties in the Reichstag. The issue was, therefore, clearly drawn between a policy of imperialism and a stronger insistence on world-policy, on the one hand, and Social Democracy and the opposition on the other. The Emperor and the Chancellor, particularly the latter, threw themselves vigorously into the campaign, and in spite of the support of the Centre party the Social Democrats lost thirty-six representatives and their representation was reduced to forty-three. Although the Social Democrats have to a certain point supported the policy of commercial expansion, their defeat here may be looked upon as the unconditioned triumph of imperialism.
On the night of February 5, when it was announced that the Social Democrats had been defeated, a crowd gathered about the palace, and when the Emperor returned at about midnight from the meeting of the Electrical Society, where he had delivered an address, he stepped out on his balcony and made the following speech to the crowd:
Gentlemen:
With my whole heart I thank you for the beautiful demonstration of homage which you have shown me. It arises from the feeling that you are proud to have done your duty toward the Fatherland; in the phrase of our Chancellor, you are able to ride, and you will ride down everything that opposes us if all conditions and creeds stand together in firm union. Do not allow this hour of celebration to end like a passing wave of patriotic enthusiasm, but stand firmly to the path on which you have started. I close with the words of the great poet Kleist in his “Prince von Homburg” when old Kottwitz speaks to the Great Elector somewhat as follows: “What do we care for the rules according to which the enemy fights if he is beaten in the fighting? We have now learned the art of conquering him and are filled with the desire to practise it further.”[42]
[42] The exact passage runs as follows, though the lines are separated in the play and do not occur in this order:
Act V, Scene 5.
Münster, August 31, 1907
The following address of a general character, which represents the Emperor’s faith in God and in Germany, was delivered at a banquet in the Westphalian Provincial Museum. It is somewhat similar in its general attitude to the one delivered about a month later at the unveiling of the national monument at Memel.
I wish to express to the representatives of the province whom I have gathered about me to-day my warmest thanks for the way in which I have everywhere been received in this beautiful country of Westphalia. I would also like to repeat to you in the name of her Majesty, the Empress and Queen, how disconsolate she is that it was unfortunately not possible for her to celebrate the Westphalian days with you and to come into personal contact with the Westphalian people.
The province of Westphalia offers an attractive picture of a state in which it has been proved possible to reconcile historical, religious, and industrial differences through love and loyalty for a common Fatherland. The province is made up of several districts, of which many have for a long time belonged to the crown of Prussia, while many others have been but recently acquired. They, however, vie with one another in their loyalty to our house. As I make no difference between old and new districts, so I also make no difference between the adherents to the Catholic and the Protestant creeds. Let them both stand upon the foundation of Christianity and they are both bound to be true citizens and obedient subjects. All the children of my country stand equally near to my heart, which is devoted to the Fatherland. In its industrial relations the province also offers a highly edifying example. It shows that the great branches of industry do not need to harm each other and that the welfare of the one works for the good of the others also. The farmer diligently cultivates his red Westphalian soil, holding fast to the traditions which have come down to him from ages past; a sturdy character, with unyielding energy and lofty purpose, of loyal nature, a firm foundation for our state. Therefore, the protection of agriculture lies especially near my thoughts. Your citizen brings his cities ever nearer to perfection; there are works for the benefit of the public—museums and collections, hospitals and churches. And deep in your mountains lie hidden the treasures which, mined by the diligent hands of the brave mountain people, give to industry the opportunity to develop itself—that industry, the pride of the nation, wonderful in its progress, the envy of all the world. May it be permitted to gather together further treasures for our national wealth and to increase abroad the good reputation of the thoroughness and excellence of German work.
In this connection I am mindful also of those laborers who, in these vast industrial undertakings, tend the great blast-furnaces and of those who, far from the daylight, accomplish their work with steady hands in the leads of the mines. Consideration for them, for their prosperity and their welfare I have taken over as a precious heritage from my late grandfather, and it is my wish and my will, in the province of such social regulations, to hold fast to the principles laid down in the memorable message of Emperor William the Great.
The lovely picture of unity which the province of Westphalia presents to the observer I would gladly see made general over our entire Fatherland. I believe that for such a unity of all our citizens, of all our conditions, only one means is possible, and that is religion. Not, indeed, understood in the sense of strict theological doctrine, but in the broader sense, practical for daily life. I must here go back to my own experience. In the long period of my reign—it is now the twentieth year since I came to the throne—I have had to do with many men and I have had to endure much from them; many times unconsciously, and unfortunately many times consciously, they have hurt me grievously. And if at such moments I have been in danger of losing my temper and thoughts of revenge have arisen, I have asked myself what were the means best fitted to temper anger and increase moderation. The only one which I have found is to say to myself: “All men are like you, and, although they do you harm, they bear a soul born in the realms of light above, to which we all wish to return, and through their souls they have a part of the Creator within them.” Whoever thinks in this way will judge his fellow men mildly. If this idea of mutual forbearance could only be spread among the German people, then the first condition for a complete unity would be established. This can only be accomplished if we tend toward one central ideal—the person of our Redeemer, the Man who called us brothers, who lived as an example for all of us—the most personal of all personalities. He still wanders among the people, and we are all conscious of Him in our hearts. In looking up to Him our people must find their union, and they must build firmly upon His words, concerning which He Himself has said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” If they do that, then they will succeed. To such co-operation I should like to-day to invite especially the men of Westphalia. For, as I have before explained, in their province they have understood how to present that charming spectacle of differences reconciled. They will also understand me first and best. In this spirit let old and new districts, citizens, farmers, and laborers hold together and unitedly work together through loyalty and love for the Fatherland. Then the German people will be the rock of granite upon which our Lord God can build and complete his work of culture in the world. Then will the words of the poet be fulfilled when he says: “In contact with German life, the world will grow well again.” To whosoever is ready to offer me his hand on this I shall be most grateful and I will accept it joyfully, no matter who or of what condition he may be. I believed that I would be most quickly understood by the Westphalians, and therefore I have turned to them.
I now raise my glass with the wish that God’s blessing may rest upon the red Westphalian earth and upon all its people, that I may be permitted still longer to maintain peace in order that they may follow their calling undisturbed. God bless Westphalia! The province of Westphalia—Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
London, November 16, 1907
In November and December, 1907, the Emperor paid a visit to England. On this occasion the degree of Doctor of Civil Law was conferred upon him by Oxford University. Ever since the Morocco incident, in 1905, the feeling between the two countries had been somewhat strained and newspapers on both sides of the channel had helped to foment discontent. To a group of English journalists who had visited Germany during the summer the Emperor gave an audience and addressed them as follows:
Gentlemen:
I greatly appreciate your greeting. It gives me pleasure to think that your visit to Germany during the past summer has been so fruitful and that you are satisfied with the welcome accorded you by my countrymen. The power which you possess is great and extremely beneficial when it is used as a means for strengthening the feeling of friendship among the peoples. Your address shows that this task lies near to your hearts. I thank you, therefore, for your appearance here to-day. I rejoice to have seen you and hope that you will exert your influence to foster between our two nations the friendly feelings which are so necessary to the peace of Europe. We belong to the same race and have the same religion. These are bonds which should be strong enough to preserve harmony and friendship between us.
Strasburg, August 30, 1908
The Emperor delivered the following address at a banquet after the imperial manœuvres in Alsace-Lorraine. The general situation in Alsace-Lorraine has been discussed in connection with the address to the delegates of the Landesausschuss on March 14, 1891.
I bid you, gentlemen, heartily welcome and express to you the warmest thanks of the Empress and myself for the beautiful reception through which, here as in Metz, the people of Alsace-Lorraine have given so telling an expression of their love and loyalty. My heart also bids me thank you once more for the restoration of the old castle of Hohkönigsburg, especially the people of Lorraine for their patriotic attitude and the donation of the charming Lorraine Room in the castle. For more than thirty-seven years you have now been able to follow your different callings in peace, and beautiful Alsace-Lorraine, keeping pace with the unexpected development of the German Empire, has in this time blossomed forth most joyously. As inhabitants of this border-land, you naturally have the greatest interest in the further maintenance of peace, and I rejoice to be able to express to you my innermost conviction that the peace of Europe is in no danger. It rests upon too firm a foundation to be easily disturbed through instigations and slanders aroused in certain quarters by jealousy and envy. A solid security of the first rank is afforded by the consciences of the princes and statesmen of Europe who know themselves responsible to God and feel for the life and prosperity of the people intrusted to their charge. On the other hand, it is the wish and will of the people themselves to make themselves useful in the further development of the magnificent acquisitions of their progressive civilization and to measure their strength in peaceful competition. And, finally, peace will be secured and protected also through our forces on water and on land—through the German people in arms! Proud of the unequalled discipline and love of honor of her armies, Germany is determined, without threatening others, to carry these to still greater heights and so to expand as to further her own interests without either favoring or doing harm to any one. With God’s help and under the protection of the German eagle, you can therefore follow still further your peaceful callings and garner the fruits of your industry. May the blessing of God rest upon your work at all times! Long life to the German province Alsace-Lorraine!
October 28, 1908
Perhaps the most startling incident in the Emperor’s reign and the most extraordinary evidence of what may be called his “personal diplomacy” policy was brought out by the publication of an interview in the Daily Telegraph of London. German sympathies before and during the Boer War had been strongly pro-Boer. On the third of January, 1896, the Emperor had telegraphed to President Krüger: “I beg to express to you my sincere congratulations that, without help from foreign powers, you have succeeded with your own people and by your own strength in driving out the armed bands which attempted to disturb the peace of your country and in re-establishing order and in defending the independence of your people from attacks from outside.”
The German people had, therefore, assumed that the Emperor shared their friendliness toward the Boers and that the government was observing a policy of neutrality at least. When they learned that his General Staff had been called upon, and that he had prepared a plan of campaign against the Boers, a universal shout of protest was raised. The publication of this interview, which was designed to conciliate England, had a contrary effect upon Holland, and the feeling that their ruler was held down by no sense of responsibility was borne in forcibly upon the people. The matter was made the subject of innumerable controversies, debates in the Reichstag, and investigations. It was originally announced that the interview had been given to an English diplomat who had retired to private life. It was discovered that such was not the case. It had been granted to an English journalist who had written certain flattering articles about the Emperor. As for the text, it was admitted that it was substantially authentic; it had been shown to and had practically received the visé of the German Foreign Office. The Emperor’s Chancellor, however, had not seen the interview and under the storm of criticism offered his resignation. This the Emperor did not accept, and the Chancellor attempted to defend the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Emperor withdrew and for a time, like Achilles, pondered in his tent. Even the Chancellor had to admit the Emperor’s indiscretion and to inform his sovereign that it would be impossible to carry out any consistent foreign policy if the Emperor did not observe a proper reserve in his public and private utterances.
Any number of projects were presented in the November debates of the Reichstag for changing the Constitution, to bring about co-operation between the Reichstag and the Emperor in the appointment and dismissal of Chancellors and declarations of war, and for introducing a law to bring about ministerial responsibility. Nothing came of these, however, and we shall see from the Königsberg speech (August 25, 1910) that the chastening which the Emperor had received on this occasion had no particularly lasting effect. Although both the interview and the telegram are undoubtedly authentic (the interview was published in official government organs in Germany, like the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, and by the Wolff Bureau), they are not included in any official collection of the Emperor’s utterances, and Penzler, of course, does not print them with the speeches. The interview as here given is taken from the account of the London Times, of October 29, 1908.
The Emperor, who is stated to have spoken with “impulsive and unusual frankness,” began by declaring that “Englishmen, in giving the rein to suspicions unworthy of a great nation,” were “mad as March hares.” “What more can I do,” he asked, “than I have done? I declared with all the emphasis at my command, in my speech at Guildhall, that my heart is set upon peace and that it is one of my dearest wishes to live on the best of terms with England.
“My task is not of the easiest. The prevailing sentiment among large sections of the middle and lower classes of my own people is not friendly to England. I am, therefore, so to speak, in a minority in my own land, but it is a minority of the best elements, just as it is in England with respect to Germany. That is another reason why I resent your refusal to accept my pledged word that I am the friend of England.”
The writer reminded his Majesty that “not England alone, but the whole of Europe, had viewed with disapproval the recent action of Germany in allowing the German consul to return from Tangier to Fez.” His Majesty replied, “with a gesture of impatience,” that German subjects in Fez were “crying for help and protection.”
“And why not send him? Are those who charge Germany with having stolen a march on the other powers aware that the French consular representative had already been in Fez for several months when Doctor Vassel set out?”
The Emperor then reverted to “the subject uppermost in his mind—his proved friendship for England.” It was commonly believed in England, he said, that during the South African War Germany had been consistently hostile to her. German opinion, he admitted, was hostile—“bitterly hostile”; but not so official Germany. In fact, while other European peoples had received and fêted the Boer delegates who came to solicit European intervention, he alone had refused to receive them at Berlin, “where the German people would have crowned them with flowers.” His Majesty continued:
“Again, when the struggle was at its height, the German Government was invited by the governments of France and Russia to join with them in calling upon England to put an end to the war. The moment had come, they said, not only to save the Boer republics, but also to humiliate England to the dust. What was my reply? I said that so far from Germany joining in any concerted European action to put pressure upon England and bring about her downfall, Germany would always keep aloof from politics that could bring her into complications with a sea power like England. Posterity will one day read the exact terms of the telegram—now in the archives of Windsor Castle—in which I informed the sovereign of England of the answer I had returned to the powers which then sought to compass her fall. Englishmen who now insult me by doubting my word should know what were my actions in the hour of their adversity.”
These were not the only proofs which his Majesty had given of sympathy with the British cause:
“Just at the time of your Black Week, in the December of 1899, when disasters followed one another in rapid succession, I received a letter from Queen Victoria, my revered grandmother, written in sorrow and affliction, and bearing manifest traces of the anxieties which were preying upon her mind and health. I at once returned a sympathetic reply. Nay, I did more. I bade one of my officers procure for me as exact an account as he could obtain of the number of combatants in South Africa on both sides, and of the actual position of the opposing forces. With the figures before me, I worked out what I considered to be the best plan of campaign under the circumstances, and submitted it to my General Staff for their criticism. Then I despatched it to England, and that document, likewise, is among the state papers at Windsor Castle, awaiting the serenely impartial verdict of history. And, as a matter of curious coincidence, let me add that the plan which I formulated ran very much on the same lines as that which was actually adopted by Lord Roberts and carried by him into successful operation.”
In conclusion, his Majesty dwelt upon the importance to Germany of a powerful fleet. Germany must be able to protect her growing commerce and manifold interests “in even the most distant seas.” “Germany,” he went on, “looks ahead. She must be prepared for any eventualities in the far East. Who can foresee what may take place in the Pacific in the days to come?” Looking to the accomplished rise of Japan and the possible national awakening of China, he urged that “only those powers which have great navies will be listened to with respect when the future of the Pacific comes to be solved,” and that even England herself may welcome the existence of a German fleet “when they speak together on the same side in the great debates of the future.”
Manzell, November 10, 1908