Talk:Wilhelm II

It is not discussed here that the German Empire was a constitutional monarchy and the influence of the Emperor on domestic and foreign policy was very limited. According to the constitution, the head of politics was the Chancellor and not the Emperor (Bismarck had made sure of this).

The section about the Kruger Telegram and the description of the visit to Tangier in 1905 fail to mention that in both cases Wilhelm was forced to take these actions by the Imperial government against his will and against his better judgment. As far as Tangier is concerned, the then Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow described in detail in his memoirs how much Wilhelm resisted this action. In the case of the Kruger Telegram, too, many sources have testified that the initiative came from Foreign Minister von Marschall and that Chancellor Hohenlohe urged Wilhelm to give his conset.

As far as the construction of the fleet is concerned, Wilhelm was in favour of it from his accession to the throne in 1888, but it was not until 10 years later, in 1898, that the Reichstag gave up its opposition to the funding (It did this only in view of the constantly deteriorating relations with England). The Reichstag was the most representative parliament of all due to the progressive electoral law (every German man over 25 had the right to vote). Without its approval, the imperial government could not spend a cent or pass any laws. Although it could not directly force Wilhelm to appoint a specific person as Chancellor, in the long term an imperial government could not rule against the majority in the Reichstag. In the last years of his reign, the Kaiser could no longer appoint a government at all without prior extensive negotiations with the Reichstag. XeniaBW (talk) 08:26, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

This section is very weak and should be urgently revised. Both Hohenlohe and Bülow were the best diplomats Germany had at the time and for this reason were natural candidates for the post of chancellor (just as Lord Salisbury laid the foundation for his career alongside Disraeli at the Berlin Congress in 1878, so did Hohenlohe at the side of Bismarck). Caprivi was also a highly intelligent, highly educated man. He had previously been head of the Imperial Admiralty and was considered by many to be the most capable military man Germany had at the time. To claim that Wilhelm only appointed second-rate people as chancellors is therefore completely unfounded. XeniaBW (talk) 08:43, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

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Kaiser Wilhelm II was Germany's first rapper. This is because he was the first to publicly produce a popular song that mentions his name in the lyrics. Most of which are gloating about him. Lines such as, "Heil Kaiser Dir." Rap is required to be fast in the tempo. The term, "fast" is subjective. Therefore, we can thus say the song, "Heil Dir im Siegerkranz." (A song produced by Kaiser Wilhelm II) is a rap song. Furthermore, it became popular enough to become a recognizable country anthem. The melody was even used to make popular songs such as, "My country 'tis of thee." 174.110.34.201 (talk) 22:14, 12 November 2024 (UTC)

:File:Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Shadow311 (talk) 01:46, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

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I noticed a blatant grammatical error in the section about the Herero and Nama genocide, and I just hoped that it could be corrected. Here is the sentence I'm referring to: "In South West Africa (now Namibia), a native revolt against German rule led to the Herero and Namaqua genocide, although Wilhelm eventually ordered it to be stopped and recalled its mastermind General Lothar von Trotha." Namaqua is an outdated term for the Nama, literally meaning "the place of the Nama". Thus, I suggest changing the bolded link to "Herero and Nama genocide". Babelball (talk) 14:00, 27 February 2025 (UTC)

{{done}} PianoDan (talk) 22:57, 27 February 2025 (UTC)