Parliament was marginalised, the parties manipulated against each other, and Bismarck threatened to resign whenever he was seriously challenged.
It was outrageous and it ended in the ruins of Berlin of But the damage was done. Bismarck had built a racing car only he could drive. This kind of behaviour always matters because there are usually talented politicians around who see military adventurism and democratic corner-cutting as a tempting path to domestic ascendancy and wider prestige. And, before anyone mentions Margaret Thatcher, she was usually rather cautious and sensitive to parliament, more so than Tony Blair was, I am sorry to say.
Bismarck was the one man who could juggle five balls of which at least two were always in the air. That trick, added the Emperor, was beyond his own powers Despite considerable differences in our opinions, Prince Bismarck remained friendly and kindly disposed to me, and, despite the great difference in our ages, [16] a pleasant relationship grew up between us, since I, in common with all those of my generation, was an ardent admirer of the Prince and had won his trust by my zeal and frankness--nor have I ever betrayed that trust My assignment at the Foreign Office brought a very unpleasant happening in its wake.
My parents were not very friendly toward Prince Bismarck and looked with disfavor upon the fact that their son had entered into the Prince's circle. There was fear of my becoming influenced against my parents, of ultraconservatism, of all sorts of perils, which all sorts of tale bearers from England and "liberal circles," who rallied around my father, imputed against me.
I never bothered my head with all this nonsense, but my position in the house of my parents was rendered much more difficult for me and, at times, painful.
Through my work under Prince Bismarck and the confidence reposed in me--often subjected to the severest tests--I have had to suffer much in silence for the sake of the Chancellor; he, however, apparently took this quite as a matter of course Upon my return from Constantinople in I described to the Prince at his request my impressions of Greece, where my sister Sophie was married to the heir-apparent, Crown Prince Constantine, and also my Constantinople impressions.
In doing this, it struck me that Prince Bismarck spoke quite disdainfully of Turkey, of the men in high position there, and of conditions in that land. I thought I might inspire him in part with essentially more favorable opinions, but my efforts were of little avail. Upon asking the Prince the reason why he held such an unfavorable opinion, he answered that Count Herbert [Bismarck] had reported very disapprovingly on Turkey.
Prince Bismarck and Count Herbert were never favorably inclined toward Turkey and they never agreed with me in my Turkish policy--the old policy of Frederick the Great. During the last period of his tenure of office as Chancellor, Bismarck declared that the maintenance of friendly relations with Russia, whose Tsar [Alexander III] reposed special trust in him, was the most important reason for his remaining at his post.
In this connection it was that he gave me the first hints concerning the secret reinsurance treaty with Russia. When I was Prince Wilhelm, I was placed for a long time under the Chief President of the Province of Brandenburg, [Heinrich] von Achenbach [], in order that I might learn about home administration, get experience in economic questions, and, moreover, take an active part in the work.
Spurred on by the captivating discourses of Achenbach, I derived from this period of my life a special interest in the economic side of the inner development of the country, whereas the purely judicial side of the administration interested me to a lesser degree.
Improvements, canal construction, highway building, forestry, improvement in all kinds of transportation facilities, betterment of dwellings, introduction of machines into agriculture and their cooperative development--all of these were matters with which I busied myself later on; this being especially true of hydraulic work and the development of the network of railways, particularly in the badly neglected territory of eastern Germany.
I discussed all these matters with the ministers of state after I had ascended the throne. In order to spur them on, I allowed them free rein in their various domains. But it turned out that this was hardly possible so long as Prince Bismarck remained in office, since he reserved for himself the main deciding voice in everything, thereby impairing the independence of those working with him.
I soon saw that the ministers, being entirely under Bismarck's thumb, could not come out in favor of "innovations" or ideas of the "young master" of which Bismarck disapproved.
The ministry, in short, was nothing but a tool in the hands of Bismarck, acting solely in accordance with his wishes. This state of things was, in itself, natural enough, since a premier of such overwhelming importance, who had won for Prussia and Germany such great political victories, naturally dominated his ministers completely and led them despotically.
Nevertheless, I found myself in a difficult position; the typical answer with which my suggestions were met was: "Prince Bismarck does not want that done; we cannot get him to consent to that; Emperor Wilhelm I would not have asked such a thing; that is not in accordance with tradition, etc.
Here is an example to show the attitude of the cabinet toward me in those Bismarck days: The question came up of renewing the [Anti-] Socialist Law, a political measure devised by Prince Bismarck for fighting socialism. A certain paragraph therein was to be toned down, in order to save the law. There were sharp differences of opinion. I summoned a crown council. Bismarck spoke in the antechamber with my adjutant; he declared that His Majesty completely forgot that he was an officer and wore a sword belt; that he must fall back upon the army and lead it against the socialists, in case the socialists should resort to revolutionary measures; that the Emperor should leave him a free hand, which would restore quiet once for all.
At the crown council Bismarck stuck to his opinion. The individual ministers, when asked to express their views, were lukewarm. A vote was taken--the entire ministry voted against me. This vote showed me once more the absolute domination exerted by the Chancellor over his ministers. Deeply dissatisfied, I talked over the matter with Lucanus looked up some of the gentlemen and took them to task for their attitude, whereupon they made it clear that they were "not in a position" to oppose the Prince, and declared that it was quite impossible for anybody to expect them to vote against the wishes of the Prince.
The great Westphalian coal workers' strike in the spring of took the civil administration by surprise, causing great confusion and bewilderment, especially among members of the Westphalian provincial administration.
From all sides came calls for troops; every mine owner wanted, if possible, to have sentries posted outside his room. The commanders of the troops which were summoned immediately made reports on the situation as they had found it. I decided that in so doing guiding principles and material were to be acquired which would serve the Chancellor and the Prussian government as a basis for working out appropriate projects for new laws.
I stuck to my ideas I said that it was my duty to take care of those Germans who were used up by industry, to protect their strength and better their chances of existence. The predicted opposition from Prince Bismarck was not long in coming. There was much trouble and fighting before I put through what I wanted owing to the fact that some of the big industrial interests ranged themselves on the side of the Chancellor.
The state council met, presided over by me. At the opening session the Chancellor unexpectedly appeared. He made a speech in which he ironically criticized and disapproved the whole undertaking set in motion by me, and refused his cooperation. Thereupon he walked out of the room. After his departure the strange scene had its effect on the assemblage.
The fury and ruthlessness which the great Chancellor brought to the support of his own policy and against mine, based upon his absolute belief in the correctness of his own judgment, made a tremendous impression upon me and all those present.
Nevertheless, it stood to reason that I was deeply hurt by what had occurred. The assemblage proceeded to take up its work again and turned out a wealth of material for the extension of that social legislation called into being by Emperor Wilhelm the Great, which is the pride of Germany, evincing, as it does, a protective attitude toward the laboring classes which as is not to be found in any other land on earth Later on I talked with Bismarck concerning his project of fighting the socialists, in case they resorted to revolutionary acts, with cannon and bayonets.
I sought to convince him that it was out of the question for me, almost immediately after Wilhelm the Great had closed his eyes after a blessed reign, to stain the first years of my government with the blood of my own people. Bismarck was unmoved; he declared that he would assume responsibility for his actions; that all I need do was to leave the thing to him.
I answered that I could not square such a course with my conscience and my responsibility before God, particularly as I knew perfectly well that conditions among the laboring classes were bad and must be bettered at all costs.
The conflict between the views of the Emperor and the Chancellor relative to the social question--i. This conflict between the Chancellor and me arose because of his belief that the social problem could be solved by severe measures and, if the worst came to the worst, by means of soldiers; not by following principles of general love for mankind or humanitarian nonsense which, he believed, he would have to adopt in conformity to my views [if he did not resign]. Bismarck was not a foe to the laboring classes--on that I wish to lay stress, in view of what I have previously said.
On the contrary! He was far too great a statesman to mistake the importance of the labor question to the state. But he considered the whole matter from the standpoint of pure expediency for the state. The state, he believed, should care for the laborer, as much and in whatever manner it deemed proper; he would not admit of any cooperation of the workers in this. Agitation and rebellion, he believed, should be severely suppressed; by force of arms, if necessary.
Government protection on the one hand, the mailed fist on the other--that was Bismarck's social policy. I, however, wished to win over the soul of the German workingman, and I fought zealously to attain this goal. I was filled with the consciousness of a plain duty and responsibility toward my entire people--also, therefore, toward the laboring classes.
What was theirs by right and justice should become theirs, I thought; moreover, I believed that this should be brought about, wherever the will or power of the employers ceased, by the lord of the land and his government, in so far as justice or necessity demanded. As soon as I had recognized the necessity for reforms, to some of which the industrial elements would not consent, I took up the cudgels for the laboring classes, impelled by a sense of justice.
I had studied history sufficiently to guard myself against the delusion of believing in the possibility of making an entire people happy. I realized clearly that it was impossible for one human being to make a nation happy. The truth is that the only nation which is happy is the one that is contented, or at least is willing to be contented; a willingness which implies a certain degree of realization of what is possible--a sense of the practical, in short. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of this.
I was well aware that, in the unbounded demands of the socialist leaders, unjustified greed would be constantly developed anew. But, for the very reason that I wished to be able to combat unjustified aspirations with a clear conscience and in a convincing way, it behooved me not to deny recognition and aid to justified aspirations.
Wilhelm was incensed by the publication of the diaries, "unheard of without permission from the reigning monarch," as he wrote to the heirs. Translated by Richard S.
On the 24th I traveled with the kaiser to the hunting lodge near Sufflenheim. The trip lasted about an hour during which the kaiser recounted, without interruption, the whole story of his quarrels with Bismarck. According to him, the dissension had begun in December [].
At that time the kaiser had demanded that something be done about the problem of labor. The chancellor was against it. The kaiser was of the view that unless the government seized the initiative, the Reichstag--that is, the Social Democrats, Centrists, and Progressives--would take matters in hand and the government would be left behind. The chancellor wanted to present the [Anti-] Socialist Laws, including the expulsion provision, to the new Reichstag.
When the [Reichstag] rejected this proposal, and in the event of [worker] uprisings, [he would] intervene energetically. The kaiser opposed this. Had his grandfather, after a long and illustrious career, found it necessary to proceed against an uprising, no one would have thought less of him. It was different for him [Wilhelm II] because he had not yet achieved anything. It was a pointed rebuke from beyond the grave.
Death of Bismarck. The first chancellor of the German Empire died on July 30th, , aged Related Articles. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled.
While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so.
This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. World War One Centenary. Settings Sign out.
0コメント