Why did Kaiser Wilhelm go to war?

Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, Wilhelm encouraged the Austrians to adopt an uncompromising line against Serbia, effectively writing them a ‘blank cheque’ for German support in the event of war. He appeared not to realise the chain reaction this would trigger.

What was Kaiser Wilhelm II education?

University of Bonn
Wilhelm II/Education

Wilhelm, the son of Prince Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria, was born in Berlin in 1859. He received a strict military and academic education at the Kassel Gymnasium and the University of Bonn.

Did Kaiser Wilhelm return to Berlin?

Wilhelm II was told that the German General Staff would make a unified, orderly march home to Germany when the war ended, but it would not defend him against his internal opponents. Shortly after that, Wilhelm, the last of the powerful Hohenzollern monarchs, traveled from Spa to Holland, never to return to German soil.

How old was Wilhelm II when he died?

In 1938, Wilhelm remarked that for the first time he was ashamed to be a German. After two decades in exile, he died in the Netherlands on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82.

How did King Wilhelm II become king of Germany?

With the death of Wilhelm’s grandfather in March 1888, his father became German Emperor and King of Prussia as Frederick III. Frederick himself died in June of that year, and Wilhelm II ascended the throne. In March 1890, he dismissed the German Empire’s powerful longtime chancellor, Otto von Bismarck .

Where was Wilhelm II in the line of succession?

After 1871, Wilhelm also became second in the line to the newly created German Empire, which, according to the constitution of the German Empire, was ruled by the Prussian king. At the time of his birth, he was also sixth in the line of succession to the British throne, after his maternal uncles and his mother.

What happened to Kaiser Wilhelm’s father?

Wilhelm’s father became Kaiser Frederick III of Germany in March 1888. Already ill with terminal throat cancer, he died after a reign of only several months.