Kaiser Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II. as a child

The Wedding of Wilhelm and Dona

Dona and Wilhelm

3 Generations

Wilhelm, Donna and the eldest son Wilhelm


Wilhelm II. with Prince Wilhelm

Princess Daisy of Pless paints a good picture of the Kaiser in her biography. It made me think twice about the opinion that I had on the Kaiser

The more I learn about Wilhelm II, the more I come to dislike him. He was a very emotionally damaged man who would have done Germany a great favour by dying in childbirth. His maltreatment of his parents and siblings is explainable but not forgiveable. His obsession with his physical deformity made him unfit to rule.

He does have one redeeming action, in exile he showed great inner strenght when he refused the offer by Hitler to return to Germany from Holland that was delivered by Hermann Goring.

David

He was a very emotionally damaged man who would have done Germany a great favour by dying in childbirth.

Hmmm. Do not agree. Emotionally damaged leaders, ie Lincoln, Roosevelt, QV herself, Churchill, etc etc, as well as those in the industrial arena, ie Edison, Einstein, etc etc, would have left a void in the world had your idea of death at childbirth been realized. WII and the Wilhelmine era, in spite if his problems and weaknesses, created an unmatched growth and social programs that were the model for much of the rest of the world. The ongoing vilification of him for WWI is simply, although not completely, a matter of the loser taking the rap.

I wrote the words 'emotionally damaged' out of politesse. Obviously I should have written 'mildly brain damaged from oxygen deprivation during a very difficult birth'. Is it not true that infant Wilhelm had to be brought back to life by the doctors in attendance at his birth?

The social programmes that you cite were the work of forward thinking ministers not the emperor.

David

I have never heard or read that baby William was born dead and brought back to life. Interesting claim, but in the middle 19th century, such an medical miracle seems preposterous. But, surely difficult births can cause much needed oxygen to be cut off. Nonetheless, and in spite of the many criticisms levied on WII, his having actual brain damage is a brand new piece of information.

Yes, his ministers created many of the programs/ideas for his consideration, as in ALL governements whether autocracies or democracies. That he did NOT interrupt and actually nurtured and encouraged social programs to move forward to implementation is a significant testiment to his leadership. Other autocrats throughout history rarely took advise from good ministers or their subjects and fought change vehemently. His openness and embracing of such change that set the stage for social welfare globally is quite likely, and happily, a little piece of inherited liberalism from his parents.

Who comes up with the initial idea is not so much the hero. It is the person who gets the idea implemented who deserves and should get the glory. And, in this case WII deserves the credit in my opinion. Thanks for listening.

I think he was slightly deprived of oxygen at birth. If I recall correctly, he wasn't breathing when he was first born and had to have his chest massaged. He was probably somewhat oxygen deprived during his mother's long labor. Nowadays, even without a breech, laboring that long wouldn't be allowed to continue because of this fact.  I don't know if it led to any long-term effects or not. I think part of the reason his arm wasn't noticed right away is that the doctors and nurses were busy with him and his exhausted, ill mother.

I dug out one of my WII books (by MacDonough):

QV had sent her physician, Sir James Clark, along with some chloroform. Dr Clark (for whatever reason) didn't use it despite the fact that Vicky was in 8 hrs of intense labor. The Prussian doctors were Dr Wegner and midwife Fraulein Stahl. Neither doctor was an obstetrician. They were supposed to gain some expertise through royal surgeon Professor Schoenlein and Professor Martin. Martin arrived late, Wegner having summoned him through post (!!!). According to letters (and contrary to the official report), he apparently arrived after Wilhelm's birth and found them 'ministering to the child'.

Clark had finally administered some chloroform to Vicky to 'get the process moving' and turn Wilhelm from the breech position (which would be excruciating for the mother) and a uterine stimulant was also administered.

William 'was not breathing when he emerged, but by 'continuous rubbing...dousing in a hot bath and short, sharp slaps on his buttocks' they 'managed to get the child to breathe'". Those 'lost minutes and the absence of oxygen might have caused hypoxia, which could have resulted in slight brain damage.' It was only 3 days later that the midwife noticed that Wilhelm's arm was slack--it had been wrenched out of its socket and some muscle tissue torn.

  I think WII regretted what he had done to his parents in his later life, and may have convinced himself that he behaved more decently to them than he really had.  Wasn't he wondering at one point why no one remembered his mother and father when he had done so much to erase their existence from public memory?  He loved his parents, but hated them because of other influences in his life, like his tutor and grandparents.  These feelings, in turn, made him hate himself because his parents were part of him.  I think that's why he behaved so self-importantly, to disguise his psychological turmoil and make himself feel better.
 

I agree with Rohl when he surmises that Wilhelm was in a rush to marry largely to establish himself away from his parents. Vicky seemed to dominate Fritz especially in the political arena (which she would not, could not leave alone) and Wilhelm's differences with his parents' liberalism would have intensified as he got older. In his eagerness to make his mark on ccourt and political life, so this antagonism would become more pronounced.
I also think the Sandro affair had a powerfully negative effect on relations between mother and son and certainly Vicky's behaviour on this subject was at times provoking (and I'm a fan of hers!) Of course this came at a critical period and seems to have flavoured Wilhelm's attitude to his own taking up of the reins of power. He practically struts behind the cortege and onto the throne...

Good or Bad - its a fascinating discussion because it gets to the heart of his complexity and the mark he made on history. But going back to his marriage - I do think Dona must have tried the patience of a martyr!

grandduchessella:I dug out one of my WII books

and I found my John CG Röhl "Wilhelm II, die Jugend des Kaisers 1859-1888" and I´m browsing through the 980 pages I read 12 years ago. Fritz was a modern man who was present during the whole delivery. When it was expected he sent a letter to professor Eduard Arnold Martin, Germany´s leading gynaecologist, used to administrating chloroform. Had Fritz sent a footman instead Martin would have been there earlier and had seen before Weber that it was going to be a complicated delivery. Chloroform was dangerous to give in those days. It could lead to heart failure for the mother and also injure her liver. A child birth lasted for several hours longer than nowadays. The enervation of Willy´s left arm was injured at the height of the neck and his brain didn´t get enough of oxygen which most probably gave him a minimal brain damage. This could explain his (mis)behaviour during childhood and adolescence: hyperactivity, lack of concentration, difficulty with speech. When he was newly delivered he didn´t cry so the entourage thought he was stillborn. The wet nurse Fräulein Stahl(!) resolutely took him on her arm and slapped his bottom and he cried.
I must say that Röhl treats Vicky much harsher than I remembered. In short she overambitiously tried to make Willy into a new Prince Albert, not encouraging him enough when he tried to do his best and being ashamed of his handicap.