Editing History of Germany (section)

==German Empire, 1871–1918==
{{Main|German Empire}}

===Overview===
[[File:Flag of the German Empire.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[North German Confederation]] (1866–1871) and the [[German Empire]] (1871–1918)]]
[[File:Deutsches Reich1.svg|thumb|Imperial Germany 1871–1918]]

Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] determined the political course of the German Empire until 1890. He fostered alliances in Europe to contain France on the one hand and aspired to consolidate Germany's influence in Europe on the other. His principal domestic policies focused on the suppression of socialism and the reduction of the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church on its adherents. He issued a series of anti-socialist laws in accord with a set of social laws, that included universal health care, pension plans and other social security programs. His [[Kulturkampf]] policies were vehemently resisted by Catholics, who organized political opposition in the Center Party (Zentrum). German industrial and economic power had grown to match Britain by 1900.

In 1888, the young and ambitious Kaiser [[Wilhelm II of Germany|Wilhelm II]] became emperor. He rejected advice from experienced politicians and ordered Bismarck's resignation in 1890. He opposed Bismarck's carefully considered foreign policy and was determined to pursue colonialist policies, as Britain and France had been doing for centuries. The Kaiser promoted the active colonization of Africa and Asia for the lands that were not already colonies of other European powers. The Kaiser took a mostly unilateral approach in Europe only allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and embarked on a dangerous naval arms race with Britain. His aggressive and ill-considered policies greatly contributed to the situation in which the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian crown prince would spark [[World War I]].

===Bismarck era===
Bismarck was the dominant personality not just in Germany but in all of Europe and indeed the entire diplomatic world 1870–1890. Historians continue to debate his goals. [[Lothar Gall]] and [[Ernst Engelberg]] consider Bismarck was a future-oriented modernizer. In sharp contrast, [[Jonathan Steinberg (historian)|Jonathan Steinberg]] decided he was basically a traditional Prussian whose highest priorities were to reinforce the monarchy, the Army, and the social and economic dominance of his own Junker class, thereby being responsible for a tragic history after his removal in 1890.<ref>Jonathan Sperber, "Review," ''Journal of Modern History'' 85#3 (2012), pp. 768–769.</ref>

====The new empire====
[[File:Wernerprokla.jpg|thumb|On 18 January 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the [[Hall of Mirrors]] of the [[Palace of Versailles]]. Bismarck in the center in white.]]
In 1868, the Spanish queen [[Isabella II]] was deposed in the [[Glorious Revolution (Spain)|Glorious Revolution]], leaving the country's throne vacant. When Prussia suggested the Hohenzollern candidate, [[Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen|Prince Leopold]] as successor, France vehemently objected. The matter evolved into a [[Ems Dispatch|diplomatic scandal]] and in July 1870, France resolved to end it in a [[Franco-Prussian War|full-scale war]]. The conflict was quickly decided as Prussia, joined by forces of a pan-German alliance never gave up the tactical initiative. A series of victories in north-eastern France followed and another French army group was simultaneously encircled at Metz. A few weeks later, the French army contingent under Emperor [[Napoleon III]]'s personal command was finally forced to capitulate in the [[Battle of Sedan|fortress of Sedan]].<ref name="Rüstow1872">{{Cite book |first=Wilhelm |last=Rüstow |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cBVAAAAYAAJ |title=The War for the Rhine Frontier, 1870: Its Political and Military History |publisher=Blackwood |date=1872}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=James D. |last=McCabe |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=miun.acj5737.0001.001;view=1up;seq=11 |title=History of the war between Germany and France |publisher=HathiTrust Digital Library |date=1871 |access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref> Napoleon was taken prisoner and a [[Government of National Defence|provisional government]] hastily proclaimed in Paris. The new government resolved to fight on and tried to reorganize the remaining armies while the Germans settled down to besiege Paris. The starving city surrendered in January 1871 and Jules Favre signed the surrender at Versailles. France was forced to pay indemnities of 5&nbsp;billion francs and cede [[Alsace-Lorraine]] to Germany. This conclusion left the French national psyche deeply humiliated and further aggravated the [[French–German enmity]].

During the [[Siege of Paris (1870–1871)|Siege of Paris]], the German princes assembled in the [[Hall of Mirrors]] of the [[Palace of Versailles]] on 18 January 1871 and announced the establishment of the [[German Empire]] and proclaimed the Prussian King [[Wilhelm I of Germany|Wilhelm I]] as [[German Emperor]]. The act [[Unification of Germany|unified all ethnic German states]] with the exception of Austria in the [[Lesser Germany|Little German solution]] of a federal economic, political and administrative unit. Bismarck, was appointed to serve as Chancellor.
[[File:AHW Bau Voelkerschlachtdenkmal Leipzig 1912.jpg|thumb|upright|The {{Convert|91 |m|ft|abbr=on}} high [[Monument to the Battle of the Nations]] under construction, [[Leipzig]], 1912]]

====A federal empire====
[[File:Berlin Nationaldenkmal Kaiser Wilhelm mit Schloss 1900.jpg|thumb|right|[[Berlin Palace]], the main residence of the House of Hohenzollern]]
The new empire was a [[Federation|federal]] union of 25 states that varied considerably in size, demography, constitution, economy, culture, religion and socio-political development. However, even Prussia itself, which accounted for two-thirds of the territory as well as of the population, had emerged from the empire's periphery as a newcomer. It also faced colossal cultural and economic internal divisions. The Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the Rhineland for example had been under French control [[Confederation of the Rhine|during the previous decades]]. The local people, who had benefited from the liberal, civil reforms, that were derived from the ideas of the French Revolution, had only little in common with predominantly rural communities in authoritarian and disjointed [[Junker]] estates of [[Pommerania]].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Stephen |last=Tonge |date=11 November 2013 |title=Bismarck's Domestic Polices 1871 -1890 |url=http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/bisdom.htm |access-date=22 March 2019 |publisher=History Home}}</ref>
The inhabitants of the smaller territorial lands, especially in central and southern Germany greatly rejected the Prussianized concept of the nation and preferred to associate such terms with their individual home state. The Hanseatic port cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck ranked among the most ferocious opponents of the ''so-called contract with Prussia''. As advocates of free trade, they objected to Prussian ideas of economic integration and refused to sign the renewed [[Zollverein]] (Custom Union) treaties until 1888.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keller |first1=Wolfgang |last2=Shiue |first2=Carol H. |title=Endogenous Formation of Free Trade Agreements: Evidence from the Zollverein's Impact on Market Integration |journal=The Journal of Economic History |date=December 2014 |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=1168–1204 |doi=10.1017/S0022050714000898 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |s2cid=154596279 }}</ref> The [[Hanseatic (class)|Hanseatic]] merchants' overseas economic success corresponded with their globalist mindset. The citizen of Hamburg, whom Bismark characterized as ''extremely irritating'' and the German ambassador in London as ''the worst Germans we have'', were particularly appalled by Prussian militarism and its unopposed growing influence.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Guenther |first1=Jack Harrold |title='Gateway to the World': Hamburg and the Global German Empire, 1881-1914 |date=2018 |doi=10.14418/wes01.1.1723 |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2022}}

The Prusso-German authorities were aware of necessary integration concepts as the results and the 52% [[voter turnout]] of the [[1871 German federal election|first imperial elections]] had clearly demonstrated. Historians increasingly argue, that the nation-state was ''forged through empire''.<ref name=build/> National identity was expressed in bombastic imperial [[Emperor William monuments|stone iconography]] and was to be achieved as an imperial people, with ''an emperor as head of state and it was to develop imperial ambitions'' – domestic, European and global.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Patrick |last=Wright |date=9 September 2006 |title=A fistful of Fredericks – He considers the "invention of tradition" in Prussia, and the importance of memorials and ceremonies of remembrance in shaping patriotic identity. |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/sep/09/featuresreviews.guardianreview10 |access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="build">{{cite book |doi=10.1515/9789633860175-007 |chapter=Building the Nation Among Visions of German Empire |title=Nationalizing Empires |date=2015 |last1=Berger |first1=Stefan |pages=247–308 |isbn=978-963-386-017-5 }}</ref>

Bismarck's domestic policies as Chancellor of Germany were based on his effort to universally adopt the idea of the Protestant Prussian state and achieve the clear separation of church and state in all imperial principalities. In the [[Kulturkampf]] (lit.: culture struggle) from 1871 to 1878, he tried to minimize the influence of the Roman Catholic Church and its political arm, the [[Catholic Centre Party]], via secularization of all education and introduction of civil marriage, but without success. The Kulturkampf antagonised many Protestants as well as Catholics and was eventually abandoned. The millions of non-German imperial subjects, like the Polish, Danish and French minorities, were left with no choice but to endure discrimination or accept<ref>{{Cite web |title=A German Voice of Opposition to Germanization (1914) |url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=772 |access-date=18 May 2019 |website=German History in Documents and Images |publisher=German Historical Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Germanization Policy: Speech by Ludwik Jazdzewski in a Session of the Prussian House of Representatives (January 15, 1901) |url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=771 |access-date=18 May 2019 |website=German History in Documents and Images |publisher=German Historical Institute}}</ref> the policies of [[Germanisation]].

==== A three-class system: Aristocracy, middle class, and working class ====

The new Empire provided attractive top level career opportunities for the national nobility in the various branches of the consular and civil services and the army. As a consequence the aristocratic near total control of the civil sector guaranteed a dominant voice in the decision making in the universities and the churches. The 1914 German diplomatic corps consisted of 8 princes, 29 counts, 20 barons, 54 representants of the lower nobility and a mere 11 commoners. These commoners were indiscriminately recruited from elite industrialist and banking families. The consular corps employed numerous commoners, that however, occupied positions of little to no executive power.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=J. C. G. |last=Röhl |date=1967 |title=Higher Civil Servants in Germany, 1890–1900 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-contemporary-history_1967-07_2_3/page/101 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |publisher=Sage Publications, Ltd. |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=101–121 |doi=10.1177/002200946700200306 |jstor=259809 |s2cid=160827181}}</ref> The Prussian tradition to reserve the highest military ranks for young aristocrats was adopted and the new [[Constitution of the German Empire|constitution]] put all military affairs under the direct control of the Emperor and beyond control of the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]].{{Sfn|Clark|2006|pp=158, 603–623}} With its large corps of reserve officers across Germany, the military strengthened its role as ''"The estate which upheld the nation"'', and historian [[Hans-Ulrich Wehler]] added: ''"it became an almost separate, self-perpetuating caste".''<ref>{{Cite web |first=Hans-Ulrich |last=Wehler |title=Hans Ulrich Wehler-The German Empire 1871-1918-Berg (1985) |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/371706306/Hans-Ulrich-Wehler-The-German-Empire-1871-1918-Berg-1985 |access-date=31 March 2019 |via=Scribd |page=157}}</ref>

Power increasingly was centralized among the 7000 aristocrats, who resided in the national capital of [[Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region|Berlin and neighboring Potsdam]]. Berlin's rapidly increasing rich middle-class copied the aristocracy and tried to marry into it. A peerage could permanently boost a rich industrial family into the upper reaches of the establishment.{{Sfn|Richie|1998|p=207}} However, the process tended to work in the other direction as the nobility became industrialists. For example, 221 of the 243 mines in Silesia were owned by nobles or by the King of Prussia himself.{{Sfn|Blackbourn|1998|p=32}}

The [[middle class]] in the cities grew exponentially, although it never acquired the powerful parliamentary representation and legislative rights as in France, Britain or the United States. The [[Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine|Association of German Women's Organizations]] or BDF was established in 1894 to encompass the proliferating women's organizations that had emerged since the 1860s. From the beginning the BDF was a [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] organization, its members working toward equality with men in such areas as education, financial opportunities, and political life. Working-class women were not welcome and were organized by the Socialists.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Mazón |first=Patricia M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SKPLZtwulQC&pg=PA53 |title=Gender and the Modern Research University: The Admission of Women to German Higher Education, 1865–1914 |publisher=Stanford U.P. |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-8047-4641-0 |page=53}}</ref>

The rise of the Socialist Workers' Party (later known as the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]], SPD), aimed to peacefully establish a socialist order through the transformation of the existing political and social conditions. From 1878, Bismarck tried to oppose the growing social democratic movement by [[Anti-Socialist Laws|outlawing the party's organisation]], its assemblies and most of its newspapers. Nonetheless, the Social Democrats grew stronger and Bismarck initiated his [[State Socialism (Germany)|social welfare program]] in 1883 in order to appease the working class.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moses |first=John Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yy6oSv2N_iIC&pg=PA149 |title=Trade Unionism in Germany from Bismarck to Hitler, 1869–1933 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |date=1982 |isbn=978-0-8604-3450-4 |page=149}}</ref>

Bismarck built on a tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as the 1840s. In the 1880s he introduced old age pensions, accident insurance, medical care, and unemployment insurance that formed the basis of the modern [[European welfare state]]. His paternalistic programs won the support of German industry because its goals were to win the support of the working classes for the Empire and reduce the outflow of immigrants to America, where wages were higher but welfare did not exist.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hennock |first=E. P. |title=The Origin of the Welfare State in England and Germany, 1850–1914: Social Policies Compared |date=2007}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Beck |first=Hermann |title=Origins of the Authoritarian Welfare State in Prussia, 1815–1870 |date=1995}}</ref> Bismarck further won the support of both industry and skilled workers by his high tariff policies, which protected profits and wages from American competition, although they alienated the liberal intellectuals who wanted free trade.<ref>{{Citation |last=Spencer |first=Elaine Glovka |title=Rules of the Ruhr: Leadership and Authority in German Big Business Before 1914 |date=Spring 1979 |journal=Business History Review |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=40–64 |publisher=[President and Fellows of Harvard College, Cambridge University Press] |doi=10.2307/3114686 |jstor=3114686 |s2cid=154458964}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Lambi |first=Ivo N. |title=The Protectionist Interests of the German Iron and Steel Industry, 1873–1879 |date=March 1962 |journal=Journal of Economic History |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=59–70 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/S0022050700102347 |jstor=2114256|s2cid=154067344 }}</ref>

====Kulturkampf====
{{Main|Kulturkampf}}
[[File:Kladderadatsch 1875 - Zwischen Berlin und Rom.png|thumb|''Between Berlin and Rome'', Bismarck (left) confronts Pope Pius IX, 1875.]]

Bismarck would not tolerate any power outside Germany—as in Rome—having a say in domestic affairs. He launched the [[Kulturkampf]] ("culture war") against the power of the pope and the Catholic Church in 1873, but only in the state of Prussia. This gained strong support from German liberals, who saw the Catholic Church as the bastion of reaction and their greatest enemy. The Catholic element, in turn, saw in the [[National Liberal Party (Germany)|National-Liberals]] the worst enemy and formed the [[Centre Party (Germany)|Center Party]].<ref>Douglas W. Hatfield, "Kulturkampf: The Relationship of Church and State and the Failure of German Political Reform", ''Journal of Church and State'' (1981) 23#3 pp. 465–484 {{JSTOR|23916757}}</ref>

Catholics, although nearly a third of the national population, were seldom allowed to hold major positions in the Imperial government, or the Prussian government. After 1871, there was a systematic purge of the remaining Catholics; in the powerful interior ministry, which handled all police affairs, the only Catholic was a messenger boy. Jews were likewise heavily discriminated against.<ref>John C.G. Roehl, "Higher civil servants in Germany, 1890–1900" in James J. Sheehan, ed., ''Imperial Germany'' (1976) pp. 128–151</ref><ref>Margaret Lavinia Anderson, and Kenneth Barkin. "The myth of the Puttkamer purge and the reality of the Kulturkampf: Some reflections on the historiography of Imperial Germany". ''Journal of Modern History'' (1982): 647–686. esp. pp. 657–662 {{JSTOR|1906016}}</ref>

Most of the Kulturkampf was fought out in Prussia, but Imperial Germany passed the [[Pulpit Law]] which made it a crime for any cleric to discuss public issues in a way that displeased the government. Nearly all Catholic bishops, clergy, and laymen rejected the legality of the new laws and defiantly faced the increasingly heavy penalties and imprisonments imposed by Bismarck's government. Historian Anthony Steinhoff reports the casualty totals:

<blockquote>As of 1878, only three of eight Prussian dioceses still had bishops, some 1,125 of 4,600 parishes were vacant, and nearly 1,800 priests ended up in jail or in exile&nbsp;... Finally, between 1872 and 1878, numerous Catholic newspapers were confiscated, Catholic associations and assemblies were dissolved, and Catholic civil servants were dismissed merely on the pretence of having Ultramontane sympathies.<ref>Anthony J. Steinhoff, "Christianity and the creation of Germany", in Sheridan Gilley and Brian Stanley, eds., ''Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 8: 1814–1914'' (2008) p. 295</ref></blockquote>

Bismarck underestimated the resolve of the Catholic Church and did not foresee the extremes that this struggle would attain.<ref>John K. Zeender in ''The Catholic Historical Review'', Vol. 43, No. 3 (Oct. 1957), pp. 328–330.</ref><ref>Rebecca Ayako Bennette, ''Fighting for the Soul of Germany: The Catholic Struggle for Inclusion after Unification'' (Harvard U.P. 2012)</ref> The Catholic Church denounced the harsh new laws as anti-Catholic and mustered the support of its rank and file voters across Germany. In the following elections, the Center Party won a quarter of the seats in the Imperial Diet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blackbourn |first=David |date=Dec 1975 |title=The Political Alignment of the Centre Party in Wilhelmine Germany: A Study of the Party's Emergence in Nineteenth-Century Württemberg |url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3629315/blackbourn_polalignment.pdf?sequence=1 |journal=Historical Journal |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=821–850 |doi=10.1017/s0018246x00008906 |jstor=2638516 |s2cid=39447688}}</ref> The conflict ended after 1879 because Pope Pius IX died in 1878 and Bismarck broke with the Liberals to put his main emphasis on tariffs, foreign policy, and [[Anti-Socialist Laws|attacking socialists]]. Bismarck negotiated with the conciliatory new pope [[Pope Leo XIII|Leo XIII]].{{Sfn|Clark|2006|pp=568–576}} Peace was restored, the bishops returned and the jailed clerics were released. Laws were toned down or taken back, but the laws concerning education, civil registry of marriages and religious disaffiliation remained in place. The Center Party gained strength and became an ally of Bismarck, especially when he attacked socialism.<ref>Ronald J. Ross, ''The failure of Bismarck's Kulturkampf: Catholicism and state power in imperial Germany, 1871–1887'' (1998).</ref>

Historians have cited the campaign against the Catholic church, as well as a similar campaign against the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]], as leaving a lasting influence on the German consciousness, whereby national unity can be encouraged by excluding or persecuting a minority. This strategy, later referred to as "negative integration", set a tone of either being loyal to the government or an enemy of the state, which directly influenced German nationalist sentiment and the later Nazi movement.<ref name="Childers negative integration">{{Cite episode |title=The First World War and Its Legacy |url=https://www.wondrium.com/a-history-of-hitlers-empire-2nd-edition |access-date=27 March 2023 |series=A History of Hitler's Empire, 2nd Edition |last=Childers |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Childers |date=2001 |number=2 |time=06:37-11:02 |language=English |publisher=[[The Great Courses]]}}</ref>

====Foreign policies and relations====
[[Image:Triple Alliance.png|thumb|The [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] of Germany, Austria and Italy in 1913]]
Chancellor Bismarck's imperial foreign policy basically aimed at security and the prevention of a Franco-Russian alliance, in order to avoid a likely [[Two-front war]]. The [[League of Three Emperors]] was signed in 1873 by Russia, Austria, and Germany. It stated that [[republicanism]] and [[socialism]] were common enemies and that the three powers would discuss any matters concerning foreign policy. Bismarck needed good relations with Russia in order to keep France isolated. Russia fought a victorious [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|war against the Ottoman Empire]] from 1877 to 1878 and attempted to [[Treaty of San Stefano|establish]] the [[Principality of Bulgaria]], that was strongly opposed by France and Britain in particular, as they were long concerned with the preservation of the [[Ottoman Empire]] and Russian containment at the [[Bosphorus Strait]] and the Black Sea. Germany hosted the [[Congress of Berlin]] in 1878, where a more moderate peace settlement was agreed upon.

In 1879, Germany formed the [[Dual Alliance (1879)|Dual Alliance]] with Austria-Hungary, an agreement of mutual military assistance in the case of an attack from Russia, which was not satisfied with the agreement of the Congress of Berlin. The establishment of the Dual Alliance led Russia to take a more conciliatory stance and in 1887, the so-called [[Reinsurance Treaty]] was signed between Germany and Russia. In it, the two powers agreed on mutual military support in the case that France attacked Germany or an Austrian attack on Russia. Russia turned its attention eastward to Asia and remained largely inactive in European politics for the next 25 years. In 1882, Italy, seeking supporters for its interests in [[North Africa]] against France's colonial policy, joined the Dual Alliance, which became the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]]. In return for German and Austrian support, Italy committed itself to assisting Germany in the case of a French attack.<ref>{{Citation |last=Weitsman |first=Patricia A. |title=Dangerous alliances: proponents of peace, weapons of war |page=79 |date=2004}}</ref>

Bismarck had always argued that the acquisition of overseas colonies was impractical and the burden of administration and maintenance would outweigh the benefits. Eventually, Bismarck gave way, and a number of colonies were established in Africa ([[Togo]], the [[Kamerun|Cameroons]], [[German South-West Africa]], and [[German East Africa]]) and in [[Oceania]] ([[German New Guinea]], the [[Bismarck Archipelago]], and the [[Marshall Islands]]). Consequently, Bismarck initiated the [[Berlin Conference]] of 1885, a formal meeting of the European colonial powers, who sought to "established international guidelines for the acquisition of African territory" (see [[Colonisation of Africa]]). Its outcome, the ''General Act of the Berlin Conference'', can be seen as the formalisation of the "Scramble for Africa" and "[[New Imperialism]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Belgum |first=Kirsten |title=Popularizing the Nation: Audience, Representation, and the Production of Identity in "Die Gartenlaube", 1853–1900 |date=1998 |page=149}}</ref>

===Wilhelminian Era (1888–1918)===

====Wilhelm II====
[[File:1890 Bismarcks Ruecktritt.jpg|thumb|upright|"[[Dropping the Pilot]]" – British editorial cartoon depicting Bismarck's dismissal by Wilhelm II in 1890]]
Emperor William I died in 1888. His son [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]], open for a more liberal political course, reigned only for ninety-nine days, as he was stricken with throat cancer and died three months after his coronation. His son [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] followed him on the throne at the age of 29. Wilhelm rejected the liberal ideas of his parents and embarked on a conservative autocratic rule. He early on decided to replace the political elite and in March 1890 he forced chancellor Bismarck into retirement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neugebauer |first=Wolfgang |title=Die Hohenzollern. Band 2 – Dynastie im säkularen Wandel |date=2003 |publisher=[[Kohlhammer Verlag]] |isbn=978-3-1701-2097-6 |location=Stuttgart |pages=174–175 |language=de}}</ref> Following his principle of "Personal Regiment", Wilhelm was determined to exercise maximum influence on all government affairs.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kroll |first=Franz-Lothar |title=Preussens Herrscher. Von den ersten Hohenzollern bis Wilhelm II. |pages=290 |date=2000 |editor-last=Kroll |editor-first=Franz-Lothar |contribution=Wilhelm II. (1888–1918) |place=Munich |publisher=C. H. Beck |language=de}}</ref><ref>Christopher Clark, ''Kaiser Wilhelm II'' (2000) pp. 35–47</ref><ref>John C. G. ''Wilhelm II: the Kaiser's personal monarchy, 1888–1900'' (2004).</ref>

====Alliances and diplomacy====
{{Main|Triple Alliance (1882)}}

The young [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm]] set out to apply his imperialist ideas of ''Weltpolitik'' ({{IPA|de|ˈvɛltpoliˌtiːk|lang}}, "world politics"), as he envisaged a gratuitously aggressive political course to increase the empire's influence in and control over the world. After the removal of Bismarck, foreign policies were tackled with by the Kaiser and the Federal Foreign Office under [[Friedrich von Holstein]]. Wilhelm's increasingly erratic and reckless conduct was unmistakably related to character deficits and the lack of diplomatic skills.<ref>On the Kaiser's "histrionic personality disorder", see Tipton (2003), pp. 243–245</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Röhl |first=J. C. G. |date=Sep 1966 |title=Friedrich von Holstein |journal=Historical Journal |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=379–388 |doi=10.1017/s0018246x00026716 |s2cid=163767674}}</ref> The foreign office's rather sketchy assessment of the current situation and its recommendations for the empire's most suitable course of action were:
<blockquote>First a long-term coalition between France and Russia had to fall apart, secondly, Russia and Britain would never get together, and finally, Britain would eventually seek an alliance with Russia.</blockquote>
Subsequently, Wilhelm refused to renew the [[Reinsurance Treaty]] with Russia. Russia promptly formed a closer relationship with France in the [[Franco-Russian Alliance|Dual Alliance of 1894]], as both countries were concerned about the novel disagreeability of Germany. Furthermore, Anglo–German relations provided, from a British point of view, no basis for any consensus as the Kaiser refused to divert from his, although somewhat peculiarly desperate and anachronistic, aggressive imperial engagement and the [[Anglo-German naval arms race|naval arms race]] in particular. Holstein's analysis proved to be mistaken on every point and Wilhelm failed too, as he did not adopt a nuanced political dialogue. Germany was left gradually isolated and dependent on the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]], with Austria-Hungary and Italy. This agreement was hampered by differences between Austria and Italy and in 1915 Italy left the alliance.<ref name="raff">{{Citation |last=Raff |first=Diethher |title=History of Germany from the Medieval Empire to the Present |pages=34–55, 202–206 |date=1988}}</ref>

In 1897, Admiral [[Alfred von Tirpitz]], state secretary of the [[German Imperial Naval Office]] devised his initially rather practical, yet nonetheless [[Tirpitz Plan|ambitious plan]] to build a sizeable naval force. Although basically posing only an indirect threat as a [[Fleet in being]], Tirpitz theorized, that its mere existence would force Great Britain, dependent on unrestricted movement on the seas, to agree to diplomatic compromises.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Woodward |first=David |date=July 1963 |title=Admiral Tirpitz, Secretary of State for the Navy, 1897–1916 |journal=History Today |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=548–555}}</ref> Tirpitz started the program of warship construction in 1898 and enjoyed the full support of Kaiser Wilhelm. Wilhelm entertained less rational ideas on the fleet, that circled around his romantic childhood dream to have a "fleet of {{Interp|his|orig=my}} own some day" and his obsessive adherence to direct his policies along the line of [[Alfred Thayer Mahan]]'s work [[The Influence of Sea Power upon History]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=John B. |last=Hattendorf |url=https://www.academia.edu/661532 |title=he Influence of History on Mahan: Proceedings of a Conference Marking the Centenary of Alfred Thayer Mahan's Influence of Sea Power Upon History |date=January 1991 |publisher=Academia |access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref> In exchange for the eastern African island of [[Zanzibar]], Germany had bargained the island of [[Heligoland]] in the [[German Bight]] with Britain in 1890, and converted the island into a naval base and installed immense coastal defense batteries. Britain considered the imperial German endeavours to be a dangerous infringement on the century-old delicate balance of global affairs and trade on the seas under British control. The British, however, resolved to keep up the [[Anglo-German naval arms race|naval arms race]] and introduced the highly advanced new ''[[Dreadnought]]'' battleship concept in 1907. Germany quickly adopted the concept and by 1910 the arms race again escalated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herwig |first=Holger |title=Luxury Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918 |date=1980}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Alfred Thayer |last=Mahan |url=https://archive.org/details/seanpowerinf00maha/page/n6 |title=The Influence of Sea Power Upon History |publisher=Archive Org |date=1890 |access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref>

In the [[First Moroccan Crisis]] of 1905, Germany nearly clashed with Britain and France when the latter attempted to establish a protectorate over Morocco. Kaiser Wilhelm II was upset at having not been informed about French intentions, and declared their support for Moroccan independence. William II made a highly provocative speech regarding this. The following year, a conference was held in which all of the European powers except Austria-Hungary (by now little more than a German satellite) sided with France. A compromise was brokered by the United States where the French relinquished some, but not all, control over Morocco.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Esthus |first=Raymond A. |title=Theodore Roosevelt and the International Rivalries |date=1970 |pages=66–111}}</ref>

The [[Agadir Crisis|Second Moroccan Crisis]] of 1911 saw another dispute over Morocco erupt when France tried to suppress a revolt there. Germany, still smarting from the previous quarrel, agreed to a settlement whereby the French ceded some territory in central Africa in exchange for Germany's renouncing any right to intervene in Moroccan affairs. This confirmed French control over Morocco, which became a full protectorate of that country in 1912.<ref name="PageSonnenburg2003">{{Cite book |first1=Melvin Eugene |last1=Page |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFTHBoRvQbsC&pg=PA8 |title=Colonialism: An International, Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia |last2=Penny M. Sonnenburg |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2003 |isbn=978-1-5760-7335-3 |page=8}}</ref>

====Economy====
[[File:BASF Werk Ludwigshafen 1881.JPG|thumb|The [[BASF]] chemical factories in [[Ludwigshafen]], 1881]]
By 1890, the economy continued to industrialize and grow on an even higher rate than during the previous two decades and increased dramatically in the years leading up to World War I. Growth rates for the individual branches and sectors often varied considerably, and periodical figures provided by the ''Kaiserliches Statistisches Amt'' ("Imperial Statistical Bureau) are often disputed or just assessments. Classification and naming of internationally traded commodities and exported goods was still in progress and the structure of production and export had changed during four decades. Published documents provide numbers such as: The proportion of goods manufactured by the modern industry was approximately 25% in 1900, while the proportion of consumer related products in manufactured exports stood at 40%.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Christoph |last=Buchheim |title=German Yearbook on Business History 1985 |publisher=Springer |date=1986 |isbn=978-3-6427-1198-5 |pages=41–55 |chapter=Germany on the World Market at the End of the 19th Century |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-71196-1_3}}</ref> Reasonably exact are the figures for the entire industrial production between 1870 and 1914, which increased about 500%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Industrial Growth (1870–1914) |url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=638 |access-date=4 April 2019 |publisher=German History Docs}}</ref>

Historian J. A. Perkins argued that more important than Bismarck's new tariff on imported grain was the introduction of the sugar beet as a main crop. Farmers quickly abandoned traditional, inefficient practices in favor of modern methods, including the use of artificial fertilizers and mechanical tools. Intensive methodical farming of sugar and other root crops made Germany the most efficient agricultural producer in Europe by 1914. Even so, farms were usually small in size and women did much of the field work. An unintended consequence was the increased dependence on migratory, especially foreign, labor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perkins |first=J. A. |date=Spring 1981 |title=The Agricultural Revolution in Germany 1850–1914 |journal=Journal of European Economic History |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=71–119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Leslie |last=Page Moch |title=Internal migration before and during the Industrial Revolution: the case of France and Germany |url=https://d-nb.info/1031444017/34 |access-date=4 April 2019 |publisher=EGO}}</ref>

[[File:Paul Hoeniger Spittelmarkt 1912.jpg|thumb|left|Berlin in 1912]]
The basics of the modern chemical research laboratory layout and the introduction of essential equipment and instruments such as [[Bunsen burner]]s, the [[Petri dish]], the [[Erlenmeyer flask]], task-oriented working principles and team research originated in 19th-century Germany and France. The organisation of knowledge acquisition was further refined by laboratory integration in research institutes of the universities and the industries. Germany acquired the leading role in the world's [[chemical industry]] by the late 19th century through strictly organized methodology. In 1913, the German chemical industry produced almost 90 per cent of the global supply of [[dye]]stuffs and sold about 80 per cent of its production abroad.<ref>{{Citation |first=Fred |last=Aftalion, Otto Theodor Benfey |title=A History of the International Chemical Industry |date=1991 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Haber |first=Ludwig Fritz |title=The chemical industry during the nineteenth century |date=1958}}</ref>

Germany became Europe's leading steel-producing nation in the 1890s, thanks in large part to the protection from American and British competition afforded by tariffs and cartels.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Webb |first=Steven B. |date=June 1980 |title=Tariffs, Cartels, Technology, and Growth in the German Steel Industry, 1879 to 1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-economic-history_1980-06_40_2/page/309 |journal=Journal of Economic History |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=309–330 |doi=10.1017/s0022050700108228 |jstor=2120181 |s2cid=154281603}}</ref> The leading firm was "Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp", run by the [[Krupp|Krupp family]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=James |first=Harold |title=Krupp: A History of the Legendary German Firm |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=2012}}</ref> The merger of several major firms into the ''Vereinigte Stahlwerke'' (United Steel Works) in 1926 was modeled on the [[U.S. Steel]] corporation in the United States. The new company emphasized rationalization of management structures and modernization of the technology; it employed a multi-divisional structure and used return on investment as its measure of success. By 1913, American and German exports dominated the world steel market, as Britain slipped to third place.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Robert C. |date=Dec 1979 |title=International Competition in Iron and Steel, 1850–1913 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-economic-history_1979-12_39_4/page/911 |journal=Journal of Economic History |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=911–937 |doi=10.1017/s0022050700098673 |jstor=2120336 |s2cid=154582825}}</ref>

In machinery, iron and steel, and other industries, German firms avoided cut-throat competition and instead relied on trade associations. Germany was a world leader because of its prevailing "corporatist mentality", its strong bureaucratic tradition, and the encouragement of the government. These associations regulate competition and allowed small firms to function in the shadow of much larger companies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Feldman |first1=Gerald D. |last2=Nocken |first2=Ulrich |date=Winter 1975 |title=Trade Associations and Economic Power: Interest Group Development in the German Iron and Steel and Machine Building Industries, 1900–1933 |journal=Business History Review |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=413–445 |doi=10.2307/3113169 |jstor=3113169 |s2cid=153420481}}</ref>

====Colonies====
{{Main|German colonial empire}}
[[File:GermanColonialEmpire(UPT3).jpg|thumb|413x413px|[[German colonial empire|German colonies and protectorates]] in 1914]]
[[File:German colonial lord.jpg|thumb|A colonial lord in the German colony [[Togoland]]]]
By the 1890s, German colonial expansion in Asia and the Pacific ([[Jiaozhou Bay|Kiauchau]] in China, the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]], the [[Caroline Islands]], [[Samoa]]) led to frictions with Britain, Russia, Japan and the United States.<ref>John Anthony Moses and Paul M. Kennedy, ''Germany in the Pacific and Far East, 1870–1914'' (1977).</ref> The construction of the [[Baghdad Railway]], financed by German banks, was designed to eventually connect Germany with the Turkish Empire and the [[Persian Gulf]], but it also collided with British and Russian geopolitical interests.<ref>sean McMeekin, ''The Berlin-Baghdad express: the Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for world power, 1898–1918'' (Penguin, 2011)</ref>

The largest colonial enterprises were in Africa.<ref>Gann, L., and Peter Duignan, ''The Rulers of German Africa, 1884–1914'' (1977) focuses on political and economic history; Perraudin, Michael, and Jürgen Zimmerer, eds. ''German Colonialism and National Identity'' (2010) focuses on cultural impact in Africa and Germany.</ref> The harsh treatment of the [[Nama people|Nama]] and [[Herero people|Herero]] in what is now [[Namibia]] in Africa in 1906–1907 led to charges of genocide against the Germans. Historians are examining the links and precedents between the [[Herero and Namaqua Genocide]] and the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]] of the 1940s.<ref>Tilman Dedering, "The German-Herero war of 1904: revisionism of genocide or imaginary historiography?". ''Journal of Southern African Studies'' (1993) 19#1 pp: 80–88.</ref><ref>Jeremy Sarkin, ''Germany's Genocide of the Herero: Kaiser Wilhelm II, His General, His Settlers, His Soldier'' (2011)</ref><ref>Kirsten Dyck, "Situating the Herero Genocide and the Holocaust among European Colonial Genocides". ''Przegląd Zachodni'' (2014) No. 1 pp: 153–172. [http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=cab65bd2-ba20-4947-b2d7-1ea0c9275be6&articleId=2d260385-975f-4228-ad57-3e589a7da544 abstract]</ref>

Other claimed territories of the German Colonial Empire are: [[Bear Island (Norway)|Bear Island]] (occupied in 1899),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gradén |first=Lizette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbooDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT223 |title=Performing Nordic Heritage: Everyday Practices and Institutional Culture |date=13 May 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-3170-8235-4 |page=223 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Togo-Hinterlands,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Akinwumi |first=Olayemi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOK8FYenMiEC&pg=PA97 |title=The Colonial Contest for the Nigerian Region, 1884-1900: A History of the German Participation |date=2002 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-6197-1 |page=97 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> [[German attempts to colonise the Somali Coast|German Somali Coast]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bückendorf |first=Jutta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oc7CgiWH-asC&pg=PA232 |title="Schwarz-weiss-rot über Ostafrika !": deutsche Kolonialpläne und afrikanische Realität |date=1997 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-2755-7 |page=232 |language=de |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Katanga Territories, [[Pondoland]] (failed attempt by {{Ill|Emil Nagel|de}}),<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Makiwane |first1=Monde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8GhHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |title=Reflections from the Margins: Complexities, Transitions and Developmental Challenges: The Case of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa |last2=Gumede |first2=Ntombizonke A. |last3=Zembe-Mkabile |first3=Wanga |date=11 October 2021 |publisher=African Sun Media |isbn=978-1-9912-0113-3 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Nyassaland ([[Mozambique]]), Southwestern Madagascar,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tetzlaff |first=Rainer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zsDAAAAMAAJ |title=Koloniale Entwicklung und Ausbeutung: Wirtschaftsu. Sozialgeschichte Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1885-1914 |date=1970 |publisher=Duncker u. Humblot |page=27 |isbn=978-3-428-02209-0 |language=de |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Santa Lucia Bay ([[South Africa]]) (failed attempt in 1884),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Office |first=Great Britain Foreign |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQpmnM_G7xAC&pg=PA322 |title=The end of British isolation |date=1927 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |page=32 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> and the Farasan Islands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bönker |first=Dirk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_2tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123 |title=Militarism in a Global Age: Naval Ambitions in Germany and the United States before World War I |date=15 March 2012 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-6388-4 |page=123 |language=en |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref>

===World War I===
{{Main|World War I|History of Germany during World War I|German Revolution of 1918–1919}}
[[File:German soldiers in a railroad car on the way to the front during early World War I, taken in 1914. Taken from greatwar.nl site.jpg|thumb|alt=Men waving from the door and window of a rail goods van|German soldiers on the way to the front in 1914. Awaiting a short war, a message on the car spells out "Trip to Paris".]]

====Causes====
Ethnic demands for nation states upset the balance between the empires that dominated Europe, [[causes of World War I|leading to World War I]], which started in August 1914. Germany stood behind its ally Austria in a confrontation with Serbia, but Serbia was under the protection of Russia, which was allied to France. Germany was the leader of the Central Powers, which included Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and later Bulgaria; arrayed against them were the Allies, consisting chiefly of Russia, France, Britain, and in 1915 Italy.

In explaining why neutral Britain went to war with Germany, author Paul M. Kennedy recognized it was critical for war that Germany become economically more powerful than Britain, but he downplays the disputes over economic trade imperialism, the Baghdad Railway, confrontations in Central and Eastern Europe, high-charged political rhetoric and domestic pressure-groups. Germany's reliance time and again on sheer power, while Britain increasingly appealed to moral sensibilities, played a role, especially in seeing the invasion of Belgium as a necessary military tactic or a profound moral crime. The German invasion of Belgium was not important because the British decision had already been made and the British were more concerned with the fate of France. Kennedy argues that by far the main reason was London's fear that a repeat of 1870&nbsp;– when Prussia and the German states smashed France&nbsp;– would mean that Germany, with a powerful army and navy, would control the English Channel and northwest France. British policy makers insisted that would be a catastrophe for British security.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Paul M. |url=https://archive.org/details/riseofanglogerma0000kenn |title=The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism, 1860–1914 |date=1980 |isbn=978-0-0494-0060-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/riseofanglogerma0000kenn/page/464 464]–470|publisher=Allen & Unwin }}</ref>

====Western Front====
[[File:German trench WW1 French attack.gif|thumb|Entrenched German troops fighting off a French attack]]
In the west, Germany sought a quick victory by encircling Paris using the [[Schlieffen Plan]]. But it failed due to Belgian resistance, Berlin's diversion of troops, and very stiff French resistance on the [[Marne (river)|Marne]], north of Paris. The [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] became an extremely bloody battleground of [[trench warfare]]. The stalemate lasted from 1914 until early 1918, with ferocious battles that moved forces a few hundred yards at best along a line that stretched from the [[North Sea]] to the Swiss border. The British imposed a tight naval blockade in the North Sea which lasted until 1919, sharply reducing Germany's overseas access to raw materials and foodstuffs. Food scarcity became a serious problem by 1917.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winter |first=J.M. |title=Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin, 1914–1919 |date=1999}}</ref> The United States joined with the Allies in April 1917. The entry of the United States into the war – following Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare – marked a decisive turning-point against Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strachan |first=Hew |title=The First World War |date=2004}}</ref>

Total casualties on the Western Front were 3,528,610 killed and 7,745,920 wounded.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clodfelter |first=Micheal |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7470-7 |page=407}}</ref>

====Eastern Front====
More wide open was the fighting on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]. In the east, there were decisive victories against the Russian army, the trapping and defeat of large parts of the Russian contingent at the [[Battle of Tannenberg (1914)|Battle of Tannenberg]], followed by huge Austrian and German successes. The breakdown of Russian forces – exacerbated by internal turmoil caused by the 1917 [[Russian Revolution]] – led to the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] the Bolsheviks were forced to sign on 3 March 1918 as Russia withdrew from the war. It gave Germany control of Eastern Europe. Spencer Tucker says, "The German General Staff had formulated extraordinarily harsh terms that shocked even the German negotiator."<ref>{{Cite book |first=Spencer C. |last=Tucker |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA225 |title=World War One |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2005 |isbn=978-1-8510-9420-2 |page=225}}</ref> When Germany later complained that the [[Treaty of Versailles]] of 1919 was too harsh on them, the Allies responded that it was more benign than Brest-Litovsk.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Zara S. |last=Steiner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V00vGP4TobwC&pg=PA68 |title=The Lights that Failed: European International History, 1919–1933 |publisher=Oxford U.P. |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-1982-2114-2 |page=68}}</ref>

====1918====
By defeating Russia in 1917, Germany was able to bring hundreds of thousands of combat troops from the east to the Western Front, giving it a numerical advantage over the Allies. By retraining the soldiers in new storm-trooper tactics, the Germans expected to unfreeze the Battlefield and win a decisive victory before the American army arrived in strength.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herwig |first=Holger H. |title=The First World War: Germany and Austria–Hungary 1914–1918 |date=1996}}</ref> However, the spring offensives all failed, as the Allies fell back and regrouped, and the Germans lacked the reserves necessary to consolidate their gains. In the summer, with the Americans arriving at 10,000 a day, and the German reserves exhausted, it was only a matter of time before multiple Allied offenses destroyed the German army.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paschall |first=Rod |url=https://archive.org/details/defeatofimperial0000pasc |title=The defeat of imperial Germany, 1917–1918 |date=1994 |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-0-3068-0585-1}}</ref>

====Homefront====
Although war was not expected in 1914, Germany rapidly mobilized its civilian economy for the war effort, the economy was handicapped by the British blockade that cut off food supplies.<ref>Feldman, Gerald D. "The Political and Social Foundations of Germany's Economic Mobilization, 1914–1916", ''Armed Forces & Society'' (1976) 3#1 pp 121–145. [http://afs.sagepub.com/content/3/1/121 online]</ref>

Steadily conditions deteriorated rapidly on the home front, with severe food shortages reported in all urban areas. Causes involved the transfer of many farmers and food workers into the military, an overburdened railroad system, shortages of coal, and especially the British blockade that cut off imports from abroad. The winter of 1916–1917 was known as the "turnip winter", because that vegetable, usually fed to livestock, was used by people as a substitute for potatoes and meat, which were increasingly scarce. Thousands of soup kitchens were opened to feed the hungry people, who grumbled that the farmers were keeping the food for themselves. Even the army had to cut the rations for soldiers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chickering |first=Roger |title=Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914–1918 |date=2004 |pages=141–142}}</ref> Morale of both civilians and soldiers continued to sink. According to historian [[William H. McNeill (historian)|William H. MacNeil]]:
:By 1917, after three years of war, the various groups and bureaucratic hierarchies which had been operating more or less independently of one another in peacetime (and not infrequently had worked at cross purposes) were subordinated to one (and perhaps the most effective) of their number: the General Staff. Military officers controlled civilian government officials, the staffs of banks, cartels, firms, and factories, engineers and scientists, workingmen, farmers-indeed almost every element in German society; and all efforts were directed in theory and in large degree also in practice to forwarding the war effort.<ref>William H. McNeill, ''The Rise of the West'' (1991 edition) p. 742.</ref>

1918 was the year of the deadly [[1918 flu pandemic|1918 Spanish Flu pandemic]] which struck hard at a population weakened by years of malnutrition.

===Revolution 1918–1919===
{{Main|German revolution of 1918–1919}}[[File:Waffenstillstand gr.jpg|thumb|Painting depicting the [[Armistice with Germany]] in Compiègne, 11 November 1918]]

In October 1918, [[General Ludendorff]], who wanted to protect the reputation of the Imperial Army by placing responsibility for the capitulation on the democratic parties and the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Imperial Reichstag]], pushed for the government to be democratised. A new [[Chancellor of Germany|chancellor]] was appointed, members of the Reichstag's majority parties were brought into the cabinet for the first time and the [[German constitutional reforms of October 1918|constitution modified]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sturm |first=Reinhard |date=23 December 2011 |title=Vom Kaiserreich zur Republik 1918/19 |trans-title=From Empire to Republic 1918/19 |url=https://www.bpb.de/themen/nationalsozialismus-zweiter-weltkrieg/dossier-nationalsozialismus/168748/vom-kaiserreich-zur-republik-1918-19/ |access-date=26 November 2024 |website=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |language=de}}</ref> The moves did not, however, satisfy either the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] or the majority of German citizens.

The [[German revolution of 1918–1919]] began on 3 November with a [[Kiel mutiny|sailor's mutiny at Kiel]] which spread rapidly and all but bloodlessly across Germany. Within a week, [[German workers' and soldiers' councils 1918–1919|workers' and soldiers' councils]] were in control of government and military institutions across most of the Reich.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mutiny of German Sailors in Kiel |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/before-1933/mutiny-of-german-sailors-in-kiel |access-date=26 November 2024 |website=Holocaust Encyclopedia}}</ref> On 9 November, Germany was [[Proclamation of the republic in Germany|declared a republic]]. The following day, the [[Council of the People's Deputies]], formed from members of Germany's two main socialist parties, began acting as the provisional government. By the end of the month, all of Germany's [[List of German monarchs in 1918|ruling monarchs]], including Emperor Wilhelm II, who had fled to exile in the Netherlands, had been forced to abdicate.{{Sfn|Mommsen|1996|p=22}}

In early January 1919, the [[Spartacist uprising]] led by the newly founded [[Communist Party of Germany]] attempted to take power in Berlin, but it was quashed by government and [[Freikorps]] troops. Into the spring there were additional violently suppressed efforts to push the revolution further in the direction of a [[Soviet republic|council republic]], such as the short-lived local soviet republics, notably in [[People's State of Bavaria|Bavaria]] ([[Munich Soviet Republic|Munich]]). They too were put down with considerable loss of life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Second World War. Interbellum 1918–1936 |url=https://www.thesecondworldwar.org/interbellum-1918-1936/1918/the-weimar-republic/german-revolution/spartacist-uprising |access-date=1 December 2024 |website=The Second World War}}</ref>

The revolution's end is generally set at 11 August 1919, the day the [[Weimar Constitution]] was signed following its adoption by the popularly elected [[Weimar National Assembly]], Even though the widespread violence largely ended in 1919, the revolution remained in many ways incomplete. A large number of its opponents had been left in positions of power in the military and the Reich administration, and it failed to resolve the fracture in the Left between moderate socialists and communists. The Weimar Republic as a result was beset from the beginning by opponents from both the Left and – to a greater degree – the Right.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sturm |first=Reinhard |date=November 2011 |title=Weimarer Republik |journal=Informationen zur Politischen Bildung |language=de |volume=261 |pages=12, 25}}</ref>