Wilhelm II, German Emperor: First

“Shoot down, behead and eliminate the Socialists first, if need be, by a blood-bath, then war abroad. But not before, and not à tempo.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Letter to German Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow (1 January 1906), quoted in Fritz Fischer, Germany's Aims in the First World War (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1967), p. 22
1900s

War

“The victory of the Germans over Russia was the pre-condition for the revolution, which was the pre-condition for Lenin, who was the pre-condition for Brest! The same applies in the west! First victory in the west and collapse of the Entente, then we shall make conditions which they have to accept! And they will be framed purely in accordance with our interests.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Marginal note written in early 1918 before the Spring Offensive, quoted in Fritz Fischer, Germany's Aims in the First World War (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1967), p. 610
1910s

Victory

“For the first time, I am ashamed to be a German.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

In regard to Adolf Hitler's Kristallnacht (November 1938); as quoted in Our German Cousins: Anglo-German Relations in the 19th and 20th Centuries (1974) by John Mander, p. 219
1930s

Time

“Krupp cannon have thundered over the battlefields where German unity was fought for and won, and Krupp cannon are the energy of the German army and navy today. The ships constructed in the Krupp yards carry the German flag into every sea. Krupp steel protects our vessels and our forts…But the Krupp works has not only been an exploiter in this sense. It has also been the first in Germany to recognize the new social problems and to seek to solve them, thus leading to social legislation.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Speech at the Krupp Centenary in Essen (8 August 1912), quoted in William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp 1587-1968 (London: Michael Joseph, 1968), p. 303
1910s

Problem , Sense , Sea

“[The war is] a succession of miracles! The old Prussian spirit of Frd. Rex, of Clausewitz, Blücher, York, Gneisenau etc. has again manifested itself, as in 1870-71…The brilliant leading Generals in this war came from My school, they fought under my command in the [First] World War as lieutenants, captains or young majors. Educated by Schlieffen they put the plans he had worked out under me into practice along the same lines as we did in 1914.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Letter to Poultney Bigelow (14 September 1940), quoted in John C. G. Röhl, The Kaiser and his Court: Wilhelm II and the Government of Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 211
1940s

War , World , Education , School

“I am just now not reading but devouring Captain Mahan's book and am trying to learn it by heart. It is a first-class book and classical on all points.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Letter to an American friend (1893), quoted in John Rohl, Wilhelm II: The Kaiser's Personal Monarchy 1888-1900 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 1003
1890s

Books , Learning , Reading , Heart

“The Engl[ish], French and German Jews were all in cahoots with one another. Their sole aim was to establish the Jewish domination of the world. Therefore they first had to enslave the German people completely. The Engl[ish] Prime Minister [David Lloyd George] was completely in the hands of the Jews…When a new era dawned once more in Germany the Jews would meet their fate in no uncertain terms. They had syphoned off some 80 billions out of the country. They would have to repay all of this, the government must start by demanding 15 billions immediately. They would have to forfeit everything, their art collections, their houses, all their property. They would have to be removed once and for all from all their public offices, they must be thrown completely to the ground.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Remarks to his doctor, Dr Haehner (8 March 1921), quoted in John C. G. Röhl, Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile 1900-1941 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), pp. 1234-1235
1920s

Fate , People , World , Art

“If a British parliamentarian comes to sue for peace, he must first kneel before the imperial standard, for this is a victory of monarchy over democracy.”

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Remarks made after the first German successes of the Spring Offensive (26 March 1918), quoted in Fritz Fischer, Germany's Aims in the First World War (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1967), p. 618
1910s

Peace , Democracy , Victory