KAISER WILHELM II

The last emperor of Germany and among the most controversial royals of the 20th century

Become an expert on Germany’s last emperor

My Memoirs: 1878 – 1918 Ex- Kaiser Wilhelm II

In the aftermath of his nation’s defeat, and while living in exile, the ‘Ex Emperor’ Wilhelm penned his own account of his life up until the end of World War I. The result provides a valuable insight into the highest levels of German government prior to and during the war, as well as the Kaiser’s own take on key decisions during that time.

The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II Giles Macdonogh

Historian and biographer Giles Macdonogh here provides worthy context to a figure which, at least in Britain, is still very much associated with villainous, and mostly fanciful, wartime propaganda. Macdonogh addresses much of the mythology surrounding Wilhelm, as well as his familial relationships and role in World War I.

Kaiser Wilhelm II: A Life in Power Christopher Clark

Former winner of the Wolfson Prize for History for his work on Prussia, Iron Kingdom, here Christopher Clark investigates Wilhelm’s rise to power over Germany and interrogates exactly how far that power extended in reality. From his early years in the royal court to the latter years leading a defeated people, Clark also sheds light on the Kaiser’s lasting impact on Germany.

The Kaiser’s Holocaust David Olusoga and Casper W Erichsen

This harrowing but essential book recounts the history of Germany’s colonial expansion, and massacres of indigenous populations, in south-west Africa, prior to the outbreak of World War I. Perhaps controversially, the authors make a connection between the ideological aims of the Kaiser’s empire and the Third Reich – though readers will be left to draw their own conclusions as to their success in this endeavour.