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“It was the growing influence and confidence of the working classes since 1890 that ultimately brought about the overthrow of the Kaiser in 1918” - Exam Structured Essay£4.49
“It was the growing influence and confidence of the working classes since 1890 that ultimately brought about the overthrow of the Kaiser in 1918” - Exam Structured Essay
An exam structured essay following the PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link) structure. A* graded. Extremely useful for revision purposes and can be used to both aid your revision or be used to develop your own essay plan. I used this when revising for my A Level exam and found it incredibly us...
“It was the growing influence and confidence of the working classes since 1890 that
ultimately brought about the overthrow of the Kaiser in 1918”
In Germany, the Kaiser held overall power in an authoritarian monarchy system of
government. In this essay I will discuss a number of elements that ultimately brought
about the overthrow of the Kaiser in 1918 such as: Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen
Points, the actions of Hindenburg and Ludendorff as well as the influence and
confidence of the working class. I believe that the working class did have a role to
play in the overthrowing of the Kaiser in 1918 however, I feel strongly that there were
other factors that had a much more significant role to play in this eventuality.
I feel that the actions of Woodrow Wilson in coming to an agreement over an
Armistice with Germany was the most influential factor in the overthrowing of the
Kaiser. After Hindenburg and Ludendorff had announced to Wilhelm on 29 th
September 1918 that the war had been lost, a parliamentary government was re-
installed and Prince Max von Baden was selected by Wilhelm as Chancellor. On 1 st
October 1918, Prince Max approached Woodrow Wilson, President of the United
States of America, for an Armistice based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. However,
Wilson was only willing to come to an agreement on the terms of the Armistice if the
Kaiser was removed from his position, in an attempt to install democracy in
Germany. The German people’s desire for an armistice had become strong and
Germany’s economic position meant that the country was no longer able to continue
through further war years. As a result of this desire for an Armistice significant
support grew in Germany for the Kaiser’s abdication, culminating in his overthrowing
in 1918. It is for this reason that I feel it was the action of Woodrow Wilson that was
the most influential factor in the Kaisers abdication in 1918.
Furthermore, I believe that events including the Daily Telegraph Affair (1908) and the
Eulenburg affair (1907) also had a very significant influence on Wilhelm’s abdication.
Both of these events led to a significant fall in both support and credibility for the
Kaiser. Wilhelm’s actions in the Daily Telegraph Affair were ill-considered and out of
line, resulting in many German’s calling for Wilhelm’s abdication as they did not feel
he was the right man to lead their country and was not politically aware.
Furthermore, the exposure of Eulenburg to be a homosexual resulted in Wilhelm
losing much of his credibility due to the fact that homosexuality was, at the time,
illegal in Germany. Many people questioned how Wilhelm had been so close to
Eulenburg and wasn’t aware that he was a homosexual whilst others felt that the fact
Wilhelm had such strong views against homosexuality but had become such a close
friend to a gay was incredibly hypocritical. It is for this reason that I feel that there
were events in Germany that had a significant influence on the abdication of the
Kaiser.
However, it can be said that it was in fact the growing influence of the working class
that resulted in the abdication of the Kaiser. Since 1890, the support for the SPD had
grown significantly, rising from 35 seats in 1890 to 110 seats in 1914, holding a
majority in the Reichstag. This majority meant that the SPD played a very significant
role in German politics and thus resulted in the working class having a far greater
influence in Germany. It was this growth of the SPD that enabled both Bauer and
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