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Wilhelm II, German Emperor Quotes

1859–1941 Germany

Wilhelm II of Germany (27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941), born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Preußen, was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia, ruling from 1888 to 1918. He abdicated during the November Revolution, and fled to exile in the Netherlands.

Germany
Monarchs

Also known as: Wilhelm II, Wilhelm II of Germany

Random Wilhelm II, German Emperor quote

111 quotes

Our future lies upon the water. To the sea our thoughts are turned—the sea, which is the symbol of eternity. Seas do not separate; they unite.

The Great Elector is the one among my ancestors whom I have regarded with the most enthusiastic admiration, and from my youth up have set before my eyes as my model.

Imagine a monarch, holding personal command of his army, disbanding his regiments, sacred with a hundred years of history—and handing his towns over to Anarchists and Democracy.

I like to read the Bible, and I read it every day. I always have it beside my bed, and I cannot understand how there can be so many people who take such little heed of the Word of God.

Either Germanic ideals or Anglo-Saxon ones must prevail. Justice, freedom, honor, and virtue will triumph, or the worship of money. There can be only one victor in this struggle. German ideals are at stake!

Among the many eminent qualities which the Americans possess, it is, above all, their spirit of enterprise, their sense of order, and their inventive capacity, which attract the attention of the whole world.

The poor French...They have not read their Mahan!

On France's diplomatic retreat from war with Britain during the Fashoda Incident (1898)

Our wives can learn from Queen Louise that the principal task of a woman does not lie in the domain of political meetings and propaganda, but in the quiet duties of the hearth and of family.

Agreed, reject...This is the end of negotiations with America, once and for all! If Wilson wants war, let him provoke it and then have it.

If you are good soldiers, you must also be good Christians and religious at heart. He who is no good Christian is no good man and also no Prussian soldier, and can under no circumstances perform what is required of a soldier in the Prussian Army.

I see that we must strike a balance. We have nearly reached the limit of our powers of resistance. The war must be ended.

The fleet is necessary to show that Germany is as well-born as Britain.

The Growth of Nationalism (1918)

I shan't give this up again, I swear to you.

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.

The feats of our brave troops are wonderful, God gave them success. — May He continue to help them to peace with honour, & the victory over Juda & Antichrist in British garb.

Let me assure the Sultan and the three hundred million Moslems... That the German Emperor will ever be their friend.

The Growth of Nationalism (1918)

The shotgun is the most immoral and reprehensible weapon to ever be deployed. We fight this war with the hopes of vanquishing these weapons from the continent.

My House has always cared for the working classes. The welfare of the working men lies near to my heart. Every subject who prefers a wish or petition has, as a matter of course, the ear of his Emperor.

An exemplary Christian life, charitable love of our neighbour, and our weak or suffering brethren, the fear of God, loyalty to king and love of country—these are virtues to be practised, and these are the arms to which God will give the victory.

I do not disguise from myself the fact that I can never make all the members of our nation equally happy and contented. But I have good hope that I shall succeed in bringing about a state of things with which all can be content who have the will to be so.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Wilhelm II, German Emperor (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.