What does Bethmann-Hollweg’s chancellorship suggest about Wilhemine Germany?

C/B aim – to explain thisB/A aim – to explain this and link in democracy and autocracy

After hearing Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollwegspeak in the Reichstag where he introduced a bill increasing the German Army by two army corps Raymond Gram Swingwrote an article of several thousand words predicting the outbreak of war in Europe. He later recalled: "I waited for the four or five weeks to pass which it would take to deliver my solemn and warning article to Chicago and for it to appear on page one and be delivered to Berlin. Four weeks passed, then five and six, and finally eight. And then I was to discover an article of mine on an inside page, with von Bethmann-Hollweg's speech omitted, along with all reference to the danger of war... Subsequently I was told that Charles Dennis, the managing editor, had said he was not going to put up with any nonsense about the danger of war from his youngsters in the European bureaus.“

What does this suggest about Bethmann-Hollweg? Start a mind-map on your A3 paper.

Overview • Son of a Prussian official. In1905 to 1907 he was Prussian

Minister of the Interior, and then Imperial State Secretary for the Inferior from 1907-1909. He was appointed as Chancellor in 1909.

• Initially followed detente with Britain• He was very unpopular and tried to find a coalition in the

middle between the left and right which wasn’t working • No real major events until 1912 • Bethmann-Hollweg encouraged Austria-Hungary to attack

Serbia at the beginning of WWI, it appears he hoped it would be a quick war which would lead to greater economic and political success for him at home – especially as the SPD had become the largest party in the Reichstag with 35% of the vote in 1912

Coming to power

• How did he come to power? • What had happened to the Bulow bloc? (What

was the Bulow Bloc)? • What would this mean for Bethmann-Hollweg

in domestic politics?

Diagonal Policy• He hoped to attract support from the centre (not

the centre party, mainly from the Social Democrats and left liberal).

• What would be problematic with this? • Look at the table on p.35. How successful would

this diagonal policy be? • The SPD didn’t grow as much as they could have

if the constituency boundaries had been redrawn to reflect urbanisation. There were two branches in the SPD the orthodox Marixsts and the moderates.

Military Spending• In 1912 the army and navy submitted plans involving major

increases in expenditure. Moltke, the Chief of Staff, demanded a second Army Bil to increase the peacetime strength of the army to 800,000 men – an increase of 20%.

• Bethmann-Hollweg worried about how he would fund this. He thought the conservative parties would reject any increase in inheritance tax. However, he proposed this anyway, and surprisingly it was passed, despite the It did lead to nationalist associations calling for more and more military spending.

• What would the Conservatives have thought of this? • What would the SPD have thought of this?

After hearing Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollwegspeak in the Reichstag where he introduced a bill increasing the German Army by two army corps Raymond Gram Swingwrote an article of several thousand words predicting the outbreak of war in Europe. He later recalled: "I waited for the four or five weeks to pass which it would take to deliver my solemn and warning article to Chicago and for it to appear on page one and be delivered to Berlin. Four weeks passed, then five and six, and finally eight. And then I was to discover an article of mine on an inside page, with von Bethmann-Hollweg's speech omitted, along with all reference to the danger of war... Subsequently I was told that Charles Dennis, the managing editor, had said he was not going to put up with any nonsense about the danger of war from his youngsters in the European bureaus.“

What does this have to do with military spending?

So far, what does Bethmann-Hollweg’s chancellorship suggest about Wilhemine

Germany?

Zabern Affair In the 19th C Alsace-Lorraine and Zabern (Saverne in

French) was constantly invaded and taken over by the French and Germans. From 1871 to 1918 it was controlled by the Germans with mostly French inhabitants, this was a sore point for both nations.

From your reading answer....• What caused the Zabern Affair?

Zabern Affair - the impacts

Read the sheet and answer...1.What does the Zabern Affair show you about

the distibution of power in the Second Reich?

Do you think this is funny...?

Then...On December 2, military practice was held in Saverne. The scene was

watched from the street by Karl Blank, a journeyman shoemaker, who broke out laughing at the sight of the young, finely dressed Forstner, and some inhabitants that were standing around joined in. As a result, the second lieutenant lost control, struck down Blank with his saber and gave him severe head injuries. That new act of aggression further intensified the affair.

Forstner was sentenced to merely 43 days of arrest by a military court in the first trial, and in the appellate trial, the verdict was reversed completely. Although he had been accompanied by five armed soldiers and Blank was unarmed, as well as paralyzed on one side, the judge interpreted his actions as self-defense, since the shoemaker had been guilty of insulting the crown. Within military circles, Forstner received encouragement, since he had defended the honor of the army with his act of violence.

• What impact did the Zabern Affair have on the Reichstag and the public?

• What were the consequences of the Zabern Affair?

• What do they show you about the distribution of power in the Second Reich?

• Did the Zabern affair ‘crystalise divisions in German politics’?

• What does the Zabern affair suggest about the distribution of power in Wilhemine Germany?

Foreign Policy• Initially Bethmann-Hollweg tried to keep the peace in Europe, why

do you think this was?• Then, he changed his mind to this, why do you think this was? • While Sir Edward Grey was suggesting a mediation between the

Austrians and the Serbs, Bethmann-Hollweg is known to have been manipulating the British message—in order to forestall any chance that the Austrians would refrain from attacking Serbia—by deleting the last line of the letter, which read:

• "Also, the whole world here is convinced, and I hear from my colleagues that the key to the situation lies in Berlin, and that if Berlin seriously wants peace, it will prevent Vienna from following a foolhardy policy."

Homework – due Monday 13th October

• Add historical examples and facts to your three historiography sheets.

• http://skkolar.skku.edu/academy/lecture/view/0/690 8 mins 20s