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Wilhelm II #1
Wilhelm II: Die Jugend des Kaisers 1859-1888
Book by Rohl, John C. G
980 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
117 people want to read
About the author
John C.G. Röhl
19 books8 followersJohn Charles Gerald Röhl was a British historian notable for his work on Imperial Germany and European history.
Originally from London, England, Röhl taught in Germany at the University of Hamburg and at the University of Freiburg. In 1964 he became a professor of European history at the University of Sussex, where he was given emeritus status in 1999.
Originally from London, England, Röhl taught in Germany at the University of Hamburg and at the University of Freiburg. In 1964 he became a professor of European history at the University of Sussex, where he was given emeritus status in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 29, 2021
Perhaps the first question that arises when confronted with a three-volume biography of the German emperor Wilhelm II is: "Why?" Specifically, why does the failed ruler of a fallen dynasty deserve such attention? For some, the question answers itself, given that Wilhelm's reign ended in a war that defined the 20th century and reshaped the map of the Europe. But does his life warrant the three substantial tomes John Röhl has written about it?
The answer is a definitive "Yes," because what Röhl provides is not just a finely detailed account of the first three decades of Wilhelm's life, but a close examination of the family politics surrounding them. In doing so, what he offers his readers is a study that encompasses Wilhelm's parents — the future emperor Frederick III and his English wife Victoria — and the politics of the German court and the imperial Germany. This context is of particular relevance in Röhl's view given the vision that Frederick and Victoria had of a more liberal Germany than the monarch-dominated empire constructed by Otto von Bismarck, and their efforts to pass along their values to their eldest son. Their total failure to do so is an important part of the story of the Second Reich, and one that requires explanation.
Providing it serves as the focus of Röhl's first volume. In it he describes a childhood of constant pressures, ones that increased after Prussia established the German empire in 1871. Yet Wilhelm faced the additional problem of a physical handicap resulting from a difficult birth, one that left him with Erb's palsy on his left arm. Unable to accept this, Wilhelm's family employed often painful medical procedures and corrective devices designed to "correct" it, yet this could only moderate the effects of the paralysis. While many have speculated on the impact of such a paralysis on his emotional development, just as important was how it defined his relationship with his parents at his early age, which Röhl considers in detail. Relying upon a Freudian approach, he diagnoses many of Wilhelm's subsequent issues as stemming from his flawed relationship with his parents, ones that were often exacerbated by their best efforts to aid their son.
As heir to the throne from the moment of his birth, both Frederick and Victoria devoted considerable attention to the selection of Wilhelm's tutor, Georg Hinzpeter, and insisted that he attend a gymnasium and university. Yet for all of their efforts, Wilhelm grew into a temperamental young man who reveled in masculine martial activities. Rejecting his parents political values, increasingly he gravitated towards conservative, even reactionary figures, who welcomed his interest for the opportunity it provided to advance their vision of Germany and the world. Their political maneuvering increased as the emperor, Wilhelm I, neared the end of his long life and Frederick's illness from cancer promised a short reign. With their deaths in 1888 Wilhelm was poised for a long reign with enormous consequences for the entire world.
Röhl's book is an enormous achievement. Based on decades of research in the royal archives, it provides a careful examination of Wilhelm's personal and political development. At times the degree of detail can be wearying, and Röhl's reliance on Freudian explanations is a little questionable, but given the solid footing in the family papers it's impossible to dismiss altogether the arguments he makes. The result is a book that is unlikely ever to be surpassed as a thorough examination of Wilhelm's early years, one that lays a formidable foundation for the study of the reign that followed.
The answer is a definitive "Yes," because what Röhl provides is not just a finely detailed account of the first three decades of Wilhelm's life, but a close examination of the family politics surrounding them. In doing so, what he offers his readers is a study that encompasses Wilhelm's parents — the future emperor Frederick III and his English wife Victoria — and the politics of the German court and the imperial Germany. This context is of particular relevance in Röhl's view given the vision that Frederick and Victoria had of a more liberal Germany than the monarch-dominated empire constructed by Otto von Bismarck, and their efforts to pass along their values to their eldest son. Their total failure to do so is an important part of the story of the Second Reich, and one that requires explanation.
Providing it serves as the focus of Röhl's first volume. In it he describes a childhood of constant pressures, ones that increased after Prussia established the German empire in 1871. Yet Wilhelm faced the additional problem of a physical handicap resulting from a difficult birth, one that left him with Erb's palsy on his left arm. Unable to accept this, Wilhelm's family employed often painful medical procedures and corrective devices designed to "correct" it, yet this could only moderate the effects of the paralysis. While many have speculated on the impact of such a paralysis on his emotional development, just as important was how it defined his relationship with his parents at his early age, which Röhl considers in detail. Relying upon a Freudian approach, he diagnoses many of Wilhelm's subsequent issues as stemming from his flawed relationship with his parents, ones that were often exacerbated by their best efforts to aid their son.
As heir to the throne from the moment of his birth, both Frederick and Victoria devoted considerable attention to the selection of Wilhelm's tutor, Georg Hinzpeter, and insisted that he attend a gymnasium and university. Yet for all of their efforts, Wilhelm grew into a temperamental young man who reveled in masculine martial activities. Rejecting his parents political values, increasingly he gravitated towards conservative, even reactionary figures, who welcomed his interest for the opportunity it provided to advance their vision of Germany and the world. Their political maneuvering increased as the emperor, Wilhelm I, neared the end of his long life and Frederick's illness from cancer promised a short reign. With their deaths in 1888 Wilhelm was poised for a long reign with enormous consequences for the entire world.
Röhl's book is an enormous achievement. Based on decades of research in the royal archives, it provides a careful examination of Wilhelm's personal and political development. At times the degree of detail can be wearying, and Röhl's reliance on Freudian explanations is a little questionable, but given the solid footing in the family papers it's impossible to dismiss altogether the arguments he makes. The result is a book that is unlikely ever to be surpassed as a thorough examination of Wilhelm's early years, one that lays a formidable foundation for the study of the reign that followed.
October 8, 2019
I became interested in learning about Kaiser Wilhelm II after reading about him in "An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm" and "Letters to Vicky: The Correspondence between Queen Victoria and Her Daughter Victoria, Empress of Germany, 1858-1901". After giving my general thoughts on the book, I will highlight things that stand out to me from my reading. This book is basically chronological, but also has a back and forth chronology that is not too difficult to follow. I love the way that the author subdivides each chapter into titled sections. It makes each chapter seem shorter, even though the book did not feel lengthy to read. There are some passages that were a little confusing to follow because many times they seem to say the opposite of what they are actually saying. I had to reread certain passages to understand the meaning. I feel that is probably due to the fact this book has been translated from German to English and some meaning was lost in that process. I highly recommend reading the "Notes" as you come to each reference number while reading the book. There is extra information in there that does not appear in the main text. Also, I started making lists of people and their positions but found it easier to just reference the index when I would forget who they were. Now, I will highlight the information that was of particular interest to me.
I have read several books on Queen Victoria and her family and there is always a mention of the hemophilia and porphyria present in their family genes. I understand hemophilia but I have never really understood porphyria, until I read this book. Rohl gives a fascinating description of the disease and diagnosis of porphyria in Princess Vicky's daughter, Princess Charlotte. Rohl spends 11 pages discussing Charlotte's symptoms and then uses them to diagnose her with porphyria. If, like me, you are not a medical professional, it is still not too difficult to follow. Just be prepared to look up some words. He also discusses the hemophilia present in the English royal family and how it spread to other European families with the marriages of Queen Victoria's descendants into those families.
Wilhelm's relationship with his wife, Dona, was also surprising to learn about. I had always been under the impression that their relationship was one of faithfulness and love. This book presents another side to it.
Other than Prince Wilhelm's mother, who I will discuss later, one of the defining factors in shaping the arrogant, superficial, and heartless personality of Kaiser Wilhelm II was in the unfortunate choice of his tutor, Georg Hinzpeter. At the time that Wilhelm's parents were deciding who would be his tutor, another man by the name of Gustav Willert was a candidate, a much more sympathetic man that Hinzpeter. I can only wonder how much different Prince Wilhelm's personality may have developed had he been placed in the hands of Willert instead of the unnecessarily strict Hinzpeter. I feel that Hinzpeter was more interested in controlling Wilhelm than in really helping him.
This book also leaves the door open for the reader to make their own decision about the type of person Princess Vicky was. From reading "An Uncommon Woman", the relationship between Vicky and her husband, Crown Prince Frederich (Fritz), was presented as a loving relationship and one in which she gave good advice that he heeded. I do believe that was mostly true, but the new information that Rohl was privy to shows a different side, one of a woman who controlled and beat down her weak husband. One has to consider the sources, though, of this information, and whether they were Vicky's enemies.
I have a couple of criticisms of this book. Much was mentioned about Wilhelm's arrogance, superficiality, and narcissism as a child. His mother stated that she could not find in Wilhelm's Christianity the tenderness and love to his little sisters and brother. However, there were no specific examples given of this behavior or any other childhood behavior that would have this description. I am not saying that I doubt it; in fact, I firmly believe he was all those things. However, I would have liked for Rohl to have given more detailed examples. Also, Rohl stated that it was difficult for Wilhelm to cultivate close friendships, but several examples are given of close friendships that Wilhelm had prior to becoming Kaiser. That seems to be a contradiction, but again the meaning may have been lost in the translation of the book. It is not enough for me to give the book less than 5 stars.
The saddest thing to me is the broken relationship between Wilhelm and his mother, Princess Vicky. Vicky had an extremely difficult time giving birth to Wilhelm. As a result of one of her doctor's mishandling of the delivery, he was physically handicapped and possibly had minor brain damage. I don't believe Vicky ever really accepted him as he was. I believe that her and Wilhelm's father's attempts to correct his physical problems were made in good faith and love, but the techniques were tortuous and macabre. Also, Wilhelm simply did not have the intelligence or academic drive of his mother or his grandfather, Prince Albert. This was a bone of contention for Vicky. She even corrected his spelling in a letter that he sent her. She simply could not get past the fact that he did not live up to her expectations. I feel that Wilhelm attempted to be loving toward his mother early on, but she simply would not let him due to her overachieving desires for his education and development towards being the future Kaiser of Germany. I really believe she saw him as a future Kaiser more than her son and, thus, treated him that way. Wilhelm finally just gave up. Rohl suggests that between his tutor, Hinzpeter, and his mother, Princess Vicky, Wilhelm essentially endured "soul murder."
I highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the remaining two books in this series.
I have read several books on Queen Victoria and her family and there is always a mention of the hemophilia and porphyria present in their family genes. I understand hemophilia but I have never really understood porphyria, until I read this book. Rohl gives a fascinating description of the disease and diagnosis of porphyria in Princess Vicky's daughter, Princess Charlotte. Rohl spends 11 pages discussing Charlotte's symptoms and then uses them to diagnose her with porphyria. If, like me, you are not a medical professional, it is still not too difficult to follow. Just be prepared to look up some words. He also discusses the hemophilia present in the English royal family and how it spread to other European families with the marriages of Queen Victoria's descendants into those families.
Wilhelm's relationship with his wife, Dona, was also surprising to learn about. I had always been under the impression that their relationship was one of faithfulness and love. This book presents another side to it.
Other than Prince Wilhelm's mother, who I will discuss later, one of the defining factors in shaping the arrogant, superficial, and heartless personality of Kaiser Wilhelm II was in the unfortunate choice of his tutor, Georg Hinzpeter. At the time that Wilhelm's parents were deciding who would be his tutor, another man by the name of Gustav Willert was a candidate, a much more sympathetic man that Hinzpeter. I can only wonder how much different Prince Wilhelm's personality may have developed had he been placed in the hands of Willert instead of the unnecessarily strict Hinzpeter. I feel that Hinzpeter was more interested in controlling Wilhelm than in really helping him.
This book also leaves the door open for the reader to make their own decision about the type of person Princess Vicky was. From reading "An Uncommon Woman", the relationship between Vicky and her husband, Crown Prince Frederich (Fritz), was presented as a loving relationship and one in which she gave good advice that he heeded. I do believe that was mostly true, but the new information that Rohl was privy to shows a different side, one of a woman who controlled and beat down her weak husband. One has to consider the sources, though, of this information, and whether they were Vicky's enemies.
I have a couple of criticisms of this book. Much was mentioned about Wilhelm's arrogance, superficiality, and narcissism as a child. His mother stated that she could not find in Wilhelm's Christianity the tenderness and love to his little sisters and brother. However, there were no specific examples given of this behavior or any other childhood behavior that would have this description. I am not saying that I doubt it; in fact, I firmly believe he was all those things. However, I would have liked for Rohl to have given more detailed examples. Also, Rohl stated that it was difficult for Wilhelm to cultivate close friendships, but several examples are given of close friendships that Wilhelm had prior to becoming Kaiser. That seems to be a contradiction, but again the meaning may have been lost in the translation of the book. It is not enough for me to give the book less than 5 stars.
The saddest thing to me is the broken relationship between Wilhelm and his mother, Princess Vicky. Vicky had an extremely difficult time giving birth to Wilhelm. As a result of one of her doctor's mishandling of the delivery, he was physically handicapped and possibly had minor brain damage. I don't believe Vicky ever really accepted him as he was. I believe that her and Wilhelm's father's attempts to correct his physical problems were made in good faith and love, but the techniques were tortuous and macabre. Also, Wilhelm simply did not have the intelligence or academic drive of his mother or his grandfather, Prince Albert. This was a bone of contention for Vicky. She even corrected his spelling in a letter that he sent her. She simply could not get past the fact that he did not live up to her expectations. I feel that Wilhelm attempted to be loving toward his mother early on, but she simply would not let him due to her overachieving desires for his education and development towards being the future Kaiser of Germany. I really believe she saw him as a future Kaiser more than her son and, thus, treated him that way. Wilhelm finally just gave up. Rohl suggests that between his tutor, Hinzpeter, and his mother, Princess Vicky, Wilhelm essentially endured "soul murder."
I highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the remaining two books in this series.
August 23, 2018
This is a phenominal book. The one reason it didn't get five stars from me is it felt a little dry in the second half. This book gives great detail to the Prince's early life, especially his relationship with his parents. The author paints Wilhelm as a not necessarily a victim, but definitely a product of the way his parents raised him. His mother was too involved, and his dad not enough. That is not to say his childhood would have been perfect anyway, as the author points out. He was born with a number of deformities which, although they hindered how he was treated, Wilhelm seemed to not use this as an excuse to be treated any different. The author also does a brilliant job of painting Wilhelm's difficulty with understanding his political surroundings, while at the same time, adapting in a way that makes him feel isolated, although he is clearly not. The author claims this is where his "odd" personality comes from, or is at least a foreshadowing of. A great deal of Wilhelm's questionable ideals in the 20th century come from his early experiences in the 19th. Although I do want to read all three volumes, I will probably take a break for a couple months. This book is a lot to digest. This book is proof that, yet again, Good reads needs half stars. This easily gets 4.5 from me, but 5 is a hard sell.
May 23, 2022
Exhaustive but not exhausting, this first instalment in an academic trilogy on Wilhelm II's life is unlikely to ever be bettered. Beginning with the agony inflicted upon the future emperor to 'fix' an arm left partially paralysed by medical incompetence during his birth, "Young Wilhelm" chronicles his education, early political 'radicalisation' by his ultra-conservative grandfather Wilhelm I and towards German nationalism by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, his deteriorating relationship with his liberal parents and obsessive relationship with his British mother Victoria, his early love affairs, his religious and political development, and his marriage to Princess Augusta-Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.
Like Wilhelm's mother, Röhl is frequently unimpressed by Wilhelm. While there are moments of sympathy - for example, it is impossible not to feel sorry for Wilhelm the child, given what doctors did to him to cure the 'withered arm' - this is, largely, a resolutely critical biography, seeking to explain how Wilhelm became the man who, in Röhl's view, brought down the German monarchy. Those familiar with Röhl's work elsewhere - he is one of the leading experts on late Imperial Germany - will know that he a major modern critics of Wilhelmine government. "Young Wilhelm" seeks to explain how many of the last Kaiser's failings began in the 29 years before he became emperor.
Painstakingly well-researched and thorough, academics and researchers will greatly appreciate "Young Wilhelm's" contribution to the historiography and study of the Second Reich.
Like Wilhelm's mother, Röhl is frequently unimpressed by Wilhelm. While there are moments of sympathy - for example, it is impossible not to feel sorry for Wilhelm the child, given what doctors did to him to cure the 'withered arm' - this is, largely, a resolutely critical biography, seeking to explain how Wilhelm became the man who, in Röhl's view, brought down the German monarchy. Those familiar with Röhl's work elsewhere - he is one of the leading experts on late Imperial Germany - will know that he a major modern critics of Wilhelmine government. "Young Wilhelm" seeks to explain how many of the last Kaiser's failings began in the 29 years before he became emperor.
Painstakingly well-researched and thorough, academics and researchers will greatly appreciate "Young Wilhelm's" contribution to the historiography and study of the Second Reich.
April 9, 2024
Book I of John Rohl's life work, a three-part biography of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Interesting, full of excerpts from letters & diaries, a surprising number originally written in English, due Wilhelm's English mom (Queen Victoria's daughter). Wilhelm II was arguably the pivotal person in the pivotal nation of a pivotal war. He ended a millennium of kings.
July 4, 2019
Very good bio about the early years of Wilhelm.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews