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Abdication of the Kaiser

In the autumn of 1918, Germany's prospects were looking exceedingly bleak. Running out of supplies, with morale at an all-time low and hundreds of thousands dead, the German government finally started looking for a way out. Eventually, unrest amongst the military pushed the government to take drastic measures to reform the country, with the first step being the abdication of the Kaiser.

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Abdication of the Kaiser

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In the autumn of 1918, Germany's prospects were looking exceedingly bleak. Running out of supplies, with morale at an all-time low and hundreds of thousands dead, the German government finally started looking for a way out. Eventually, unrest amongst the military pushed the government to take drastic measures to reform the country, with the first step being the abdication of the Kaiser.

Abdication of the Kaiser 1918

Let's first look at a timeline for Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication with the events in Germany in 1918.

DateEvent
21 March 1918The German Spring Offensive, the last big German push during WWI, occurred. Although the Germans regained land, they did so with heavy casualties and great cost.
29 October 1918Soldiers in the Imperial Navy were told of Operation Plan 19 - one last big naval battle with the Allies. Recognising that this was a suicide mission, the soldiers refused to comply.
3 November 1918A full naval mutiny broke out at the port of Kiel, where a large part of the Imperial Navy was stationed. The mutiny spread quickly and provoked further unrest throughout the country.
9 November 1918In order to quell the rising unrest, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was announced and Germany was declared a Republic.
11 November 1918The Armistice was signed and the First World War officially ended.

Causes of the Abdication

The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was an event brought about by the growing pressure on the German government to end the war. Germany and its people were suffering from the effects of a war that had lasted too long.

Abdication

When a monarch gives up their claim to the throne.

Background: Germany in 1918

By 1918, Germany's position in the First World War was becoming weaker by the day. Here is an overview of where Germany found itself by the summer of 1918, just a few months before the end of the war.

  • The German Spring Offensive in March 1918 had come at great cost to Germany. Many lives had been lost, food and weapons supplies had been exhausted, and it was a struggle to resupply the front line. As a result, many soldiers lost faith in the cause and deserted the army.
  • The Allies, in particular the British, had changed their tactics in order to make their attacks more efficient - as displayed at the Battle of Amiens in August 1918.
  • The USA joined the war in 1917, meaning the Allies had an extra 2 million soldiers on the Western Front. Not only did they make a difference militarily, but their presence boosted morale of the Allies.
  • Germany's allies had begun to surrender, dropping out of the war and lessening Germany's power. Bulgaria surrendered in September 1918, Turkey in October 1918, and Austria-Hungary, their main ally, on 4 November 1918.

Naval Mutinies and Popular Unrest

As the autumn of 1918 approached, it became increasingly clear that Germany would not be able to win the war. In October 1918, it was decided that the Imperial Navy would have one last battle against the Allies - not to gain anything, but to end the war with honour - to go down fighting.

When the soldiers stationed at Kiel were told this, they immediately recognised that this would be a suicide mission. They refused to return to their ships after shore leave in protest of the plan. Their discontent quickly spread, and by 3 November 1918, they had set up councils to fight for their rights against the government.

Abdication of the Kaiser Kiel Mutiny StudySmarterFig. 1 - A postcard advocating the Kiel Mutiny and the desire for revolution

Other groups across the country were inspired by the way the soldiers resisted their orders, and more councils began to form across the country to fight for political reform. They asked the government to put the German people first for once and to deal with the man who had got Germany into the war in the first place - Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II

Unsurprisingly, the Kaiser was not willing to abdicate voluntarily. The German Chancellor, Max von Baden, met the Kaiser on 7 November 1918. He tried to persuade him to resign and even considered some names to succeed him as regent. But the real blow for the Kaiser came when his top military generals confessed that they no longer had confidence in him as the leader of the country.

By 9 November 1918, time had run out. What had begun as popular unrest was now on the verge of becoming a fully-fledged revolution in Berlin, and the government recognised that something had to be done to stop that from happening. Concerns that a communist revolution would break out were very high, especially considering the 1917 Russian Revolution had occurred a year before.

Russian Revolution (October 1917)

This was the event in which the Russian monarchy (the Tsar) was overthrown and replaced by the communist Soviet Union. The Revolution scared Germany; like Russia, Germany had been ruled by an autocratic monarchy for centuries. If a communist revolution could break out in Russia, it raised the real possibility that the same thing could happen in Germany.

Abdication of the Kaiser Date

At noon on 9 November 1918, before the Kaiser had actually agreed to abdicate, Chancellor Max von Baden announced the Kaiser's abdication to the masses gathered in Berlin. Later in the day, Philip Scheidemann announced the beginning of the German Republic, which was greeted with excitement by the waiting crowds.

Abdication of the Kaiser Phillip Scheidemann StudySmarterFig. 2 - Phillip Scheidemann annnouncing the creation of he Weimar Republic from the balcony of the Reichstag

After this, the Kaiser really had no choice but to abdicate. He agreed to the abdication only a few hours after von Baden's announcement, and the next day left the country via train for Holland, where he lived out the rest of his life.

The Kaiser in Exile

Though exiled in Holland, the ex-Kaiser was not totally uninvolved in German politics. Though largely disregarded by the Weimar Republic, when the Nazis were on the rise, the ex-Kaiser was rather enamoured with their movement.

Wilhelm's II son ended up joining the SA, and his second wife reportedly admired Hitler. Hermann Goering and his wife were invited to stay with the ex-Kaiser in his home in the Netherlands in 1931. However, Wilhelm did so under the impression that the Nazis would restore him back to the throne.

Of course, this was not the case - Hitler never had the intention of restoring the monarchy. As the ex-Kaiser realised this and watched the Nazi dictatorship unfold, his opinion soon changed. He became alarmed by the Nazi's tactics and the direction they were leading Germany in.

For the first time, I am ashamed to be German.1

- Kaiser Wilhelm II, upon hearing of Kristallnacht.

Abdication of the Kaiser Outcome

The abdication of the Kaiser was only one part of the events that ended the First World War. After the abdication had taken place, the German army and government had no obstacles to signing an armistice with the Allies.

Armistice

An agreement made between opponents in a war to stop fighting for a certain period of time.

Abdication of the Kaiser Signing of the Armistice

On 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed, agreeing that Germany would retreat and give up all land that it had taken during the First World War and remove all its troops from occupied territory.

Abdication of the Kaiser Friedrich Ebert StudySmarterFig. 3 - Friedrich Ebert, first President of the Weimar Republic, in 1918

Yet then there was the question of what lay in store for post-WWI Germany? The monarchy could not be brought back, and the overwhelming calls for political reform from the German people could not be ignored. Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, had taken over from Max von Baden as Chancellor following the abdication. He chaired a temporary coalition government while politicians worked to set up the constitution of the new Weimar Republic.

Did you know? The Weimar Republic had to deal with a lot of the fallout from the end of the First World War. Uprisings and opposition came at them from both sides of the political spectrum, and how they handled these incidents is key to understanding the course of the Republic. In particular, their causes and effects give us crucial clues as to why the Nazis came to power in the 1930s.

Abdication of the Kaiser - Key takeaways

  • The Abdication of the Kaiser marked the end stage of the First World War in Europe.
  • It came after naval mutinies and popular unrest spread like wildfire throughout Germany. Civilian politicians and eventually military Generals realised that they needed an armistice and that the Kaiser should abdicate.
  • Initially, the Kaiser did not want to abdicate, but at noon on 9 November 1918, his abdication was announced to the German people, meaning he was forced to do it.
  • The abdication marked the end of the rule of autocratic monarchy in Germany and the beginning of the Weimar Republic.

References

  1. Kaiser Wilhelm quoted in 'Our German Cousins: Anglo-German Relations in the 19th and 20th Centuries' by John Mander, (1974), p. 219
  2. Fig 2. Bundesarchiv Bild 175-01448, Berlin, Reichskanzlei, Philipp Scheidemann (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_175-01448,_Berlin,_Reichskanzlei,_Philipp_Scheidemann.jpg) by German Federal Archives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:German_Federal_Archives) licensed under CC BY SA 3.0 DE (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)

Frequently Asked Questions about Abdication of the Kaiser

Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated because Germany was losing the war and there were numerous outbreaks of unrest amongst the military and civilians, who were calling for his abdication.

The abdication of the Kaiser was a very significant event, as it led to the creation of the Weimar Republic - Germany's first ever democratic government,

After the abdication, the process of setting up the Weimar Republic was started, and the uprisings that led to the abdication were quelled - though they were hardly the last Germany would see.

After his abdication, Kaiser Wilhelm II and his family fled to Holland, where he lived out the remainder of his life before dying in 1941.

No-one ruled after the Kaiser abdicated - instead the Weimar Republic, a democratic government headed by a Chancellor and a President, was set up. Friedrich Ebert was the first President of the Weimar Republic.

Test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards

True or False: The soldiers at Kiel mutinied because they were ordered to go on a suicide mission.

Which of these events meant that Germany was losing the war by summer 1918?

True or False: The abdication of the Kaiser was announced before the Kaiser had actually abdicated.

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