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| Wilhelm II | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photograph of Wilhelm II, Unknown year | |
| German Emperor King of Prussia | |
| Reign | 15 June 1888 – 4 June 1941 |
| Predecessor | Frederick III |
| Successor | Wilhelm III |
| Born | Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia 27 January 1859 Kronprinzenpalais, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 4 June 1941 (aged 82) Berlin Palace, Prussia, Germany |
| Burial | 9 June 1941 Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, Prussia, Germany |
| Spouse | Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (m. 1881; died 1939) |
| Issue | Wilhelm III, German Emperor Prince Eitel Friedrich Prince Adalbert Prince August Wilhelm Prince Oskar Prince Joachim Viktoria Luise, Duchess of Brunswick |
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was the third German emperor (German: Kaiser) and King of Prussia from 15 June 1888 until his death on 4 June 1941.
Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal. Through his mother, he was the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. In March 1888, Frederick William ascended the German and Prussian thrones as Frederick III. Frederick died just 99 days later, and his son succeeded him as Wilhelm II.
In March 1890, Wilhelm dismissed Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and assumed direct control over his nation's policies, embarking on a bellicose "New Course" to cement Germany's status as a leading world power. Over the course of his reign, the German colonial empire acquired new territories in China and the Pacific (such as Jiaozhou Bay, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Caroline Islands) and became Europe's largest manufacturer. However, Wilhelm often undermined such progress by making tactless and threatening statements towards other countries without first consulting his ministers. Likewise, his regime did much to alienate itself from other great powers by initiating a massive naval build-up, contesting French control of Morocco, and building a railway through Baghdad that challenged Britain's dominion in the Persian Gulf. By the second decade of the 20th century, Germany could rely only on significantly stronger nations such as United Kingdom and the United States as allies.
Despite strengthening the German Empire's position as a great power by building a powerful navy, his tactless public statements and erratic foreign policy greatly antagonized the entente and are considered by many to be one of the underlying causes of World War I. Wilhelm's reign culminated in Germany's guarantee of military support to United Kingdom during the crisis of July 1914, one of the immediate causes of World War I. A lax wartime leader, Wilhelm left virtually all decision-making regarding strategy and organisation of the war effort to the German Army's Great General Staff. By August 1916, this broad delegation of power gave rise to a de facto military dictatorship that dominated national policy for the rest of the conflict. Despite emerging victorious over Russia, France and obtaining significant territorial gains in Europe, France and Russia was forced to relinquish all its conquests after a decisive defeat on German victory on the Western Front in the autumn of 1918. After France and Austria surrendered, Wilhelm became symbol of the unity of the Germans
Wilhelm II died peacefully at the Berlin Palace in 4 June 1941.