Editing Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (section)

=== Prussian minister of the interior ===
On 21 March 1905 Bethmann Hollweg was appointed Prussian minister of the interior. He accepted the task only reluctantly,<ref>{{Cite book |last=von Spitzemberg |first=Hildegard |title=Das Tagebuch der Baronin Spitzemberg, geb. Freiin v. Varnbüler. Aufzeichnungen aus der Hofgesellschaft des Hohenzollernreiches   |publisher=Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht |year=1960 |isbn=9783525358115     |editor-last=Vierhaus  |editor-first=Rudolf |location=Göttingen |pages=446 |trans-title=The Diary of Baroness Spitzemberg, née Freiin v. Varnbüler. Records from the Court Society of the Hohenzollern Empire  }}</ref> as he held views that "did not fit into Prussian schematism". Noting early on the slow drifting apart of Wilhelmine society into an increasingly nationalistic, militaristic right and an increasingly radical republican left, he tried to steer a conciliatory course in domestic policy. He wanted, as he himself often said, to find a "policy of the diagonal" between Germany's conservative and liberal-radical currents.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stern  |first=Fritz |title= Bethmann Hollweg und der Krieg. Die Grenzen der Verantwortung  |publisher=Mohr Siebeck   |year=1968 |isbn=978-3166288314 |location=Tübingen |pages=10 |language=de |trans-title=Bethmann Hollweg and the War. The Limits of Responsibility  }}</ref> To the newly appointed Chief of the Reich Chancellery he wrote:<blockquote>The elements to be reconciled no longer have any inner relationship on which to base mutual political views. They stand with respect to each other like members of different worlds. Hopefully you will succeed in having a balancing effect, for without gradual assimilation we will arrive at conditions that are quite untenable.</blockquote>His focus early on was directed at the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party's]] commitment to the existing state structure. In his inaugural speech in the [[Prussian House of Representatives]] on 6 April 1905, on the subject of the left's proposal for the creation of a people's welfare office, he described public welfare as "the most important and serious task of the present day". Bethmann Hollweg promised to consider the application thoroughly and sympathetically, pointing out that "liberation from bureaucratic fetters is only possible with the free participation of all circles of the people".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Stenographische Berichte des Deutschen Reichstags und des Preußischen Hauses der Abgeordneten. 1905, I. Session 1904/1905 |year=1905 |volume=8 |pages=1253 ff |language=de |trans-title=Stenographic Reports of the German Reichstag and the Prussian House of Representatives. 1905, First Session 1904/1905}}</ref> When the House dealt with the question of [[Prussian three-class franchise|Prussia's three-class franchise]] that weighted votes by amount of taxes paid, Bethmann Hollweg opposed Prussia's adoption of the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|national Reichstag's]] universal manhood suffrage. He warned against "democratic egalitarianism" but praised the "tremendous aspirations of our working class".

In the same year, Polish-speaking schoolchildren in the [[Province of Posen]], supported by the Catholic clergy, went on strike demanding that religion lessons be given in Polish again.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Korth |first=Rudolf |title=Die preußische Schulpolitik und die polnischen Schulstreiks. Ein Beitrag zur preußischen Polenpolitik der Ära Bülow |publisher=Holzner |year=1963 |location=Würzburg |pages=145 |language=de |trans-title=Prussian School Policy and the Polish School Strikes. A Contribution to Prussian Polish Policy in the Bülow Era}}</ref> The conservatives wanted to increase military presence in the province but Bethmann Hollweg rejected the idea. Instead he authorized that in the future religious instruction be given in Polish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kötschke |first=Hermann |title=Unser Reichskanzler. Sein Leben und Wirken |publisher=Augustin |year=1916 |location=Berlin |page=32 |language=de |trans-title=Our Chancellor. His Life and Work}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Otto |first=Grete |date=1 August 2019 |title=Was geschah im August 1909? |trans-title=What happened in August 1909? |url=https://www.buergerleben.com/was-geschah-vor-110-jahren-im-august09/ |access-date=8 November 2024 |website=Bürgerleben |language=de}}</ref>