Refined and Wilhelm II and the German Government

Kaiser Wilhelm II, the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria, took over the powerful German Reich from Bismarck and within a couple of decades led it into world war and collapse. This book analyzes the crucial questions of how the Kaiser came to have so much power and why there was no one to help him steer a less disastrous course, drawing upon a wealth of new archival sources.

The book begins with a character-sketch of the Kaiser, providing new and alarming insights into his personality. It then examines the Kaiser's friends and favorites, the neo-absolutist culture of the court and Berlin court society, and the nature of his relationship with the court on one hand and the administrative 'pyramid' in Prussia and the Reich on the other.

The book makes clear that the bureaucrats and diplomats had neither the means nor the will to oppose the overwhelming determination of the Kaiser and his close friends and advisers in directing the policies of the most dynamic and volatile state in Europe. This dangerous situation led to the brink of world war as early as December 1912.

Finally, the book reveals for the first time the appalling extent and nature of the exiled Kaiser's anti-semitism.

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