wilhelm 2 yacht

1 Decisions for War
2 The Kaiser as Supreme War Lord
3 German War Aims
4 Revolution

Selected Bibliography

Version 1.0
Last updated 10th March 2016

Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Decisions for War

Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859-1941) acceded to the Prusso-German throne on 15 June 1888. He established a system of personal monarchy in which he, his courtiers and military entourage determined policy and he alone held responsibility for the appointment and dismissal of civilian statesmen. 1 He abandoned Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) policy of “satiation” in favour of Weltmachtpolitik and he supported Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930) battlefleet building programme , placing Germany on a collision course with Britain . On 8 December 1912, in the aftermath to the First Balkan War , when Austria-Hungary secured Germany’s support to attack Serbia , he summoned a “war-council” of his top generals and admirals to discuss how Germany should respond were this to lead to war not just against France and Russia , as seemed likely, but against Britain as well. The meeting, to which the Reich Chancellor was not invited, decided to avoid war for at least one to two years, by which time Germany would have a larger army and further naval preparations would be completed. By spring 1914 the Kaiser was urging the Austrians to subjugate Serbia or eliminate it altogether. After the assassination of his friend Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este (1863-1914) in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, Wilhelm scribbled on a diplomatic report from Vienna: “now or never! The Serbs must be swept away and that right soon !” 2

Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856-1921) took this as a signal to set in motion the steps that led to war. On 5 July 1914 Wilhelm assured the Austrian ambassador Count Ladislaus von Szögyény (1841-1916) that Germany would fully support Austria should Russia come to the aid of Serbia. On 6 July he left for his annual cruise to avert suspicion of German war planning . At this juncture Wilhelm II seemed ready to support a major war with the aim of establishing German control over the European continent. He knew that Germany had only one military plan – the revised Schlieffen plan – and he understood that its realisation would result in a two front war. Therefore, his support for Austria in a war against Russia also implied his readiness for a war against both of Germany’s neighbours. This must have been his expectation if not indeed his hope.

Instead of sailing into the Arctic Circle as usual, the imperial yacht Hohenzollern anchored just north of Bergen, from where it could return to Germany within a day or two to allow the Kaiser to sign the mobilisation order. In Norway he engaged in feverish activity to secure the support of Italy , Greece , Romania , Bulgaria , Sweden , and – most important of all – the Ottoman Empire . On leaving for home on 25 July, Wilhelm ordered the bombardment of the Russian naval bases of Reval (Tallinn) and Libau (Liepaja) together with a blockade of the eastern Baltic Sea. His orders were ignored – an early sign of his marginalisation during the war. 3

On 28 July, after his return to Potsdam, Wilhelm was suddenly alarmed at the prospect that Britain would enter the war in support of France and Russia. Briefly, he tried to avert the wider conflict by proposing a halt to the Austrian invasion of Serbia at Belgrade. His, albeit momentary, change of heart was scorned by the Prussian War Minister General Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) and ignored by the Chancellor. He was reassured that Britain would stay neutral following a meeting between his brother Heinrich, Prince of Prussia (1862-1929) and their cousin George V, King of Great Britain (1865-1936) at Buckingham Palace on 26 July. Immediately after the hoped-for news of Russian mobilisation reached Berlin, Wilhelm, his brother, and his six sons left Potsdam for Berlin, where he signed the orders initiating the attack on France through Luxembourg and Belgium . Once war had been declared he appeared on the balcony of the royal palace in Berlin, where on 1 August he declared that he saw “no more parties…only Germans.” 4 Furious at Britain’s declaration of war on 4 August, in one of his most notorious marginal comments he railed against his mother’s homeland, accusing the English of hypocrisy and demanding that German agents and consuls “in Turkey and India…fire the whole Mohammedan world to fierce rebellion against this hated, lying, conscienceless nation of shop-keepers; for if we are to be bled to death, England shall at least lose India.” 5

The Kaiser as Supreme War Lord

With few exceptions, from August 1914 to November 1918, the Kaiser was present at the German Supreme Headquarters. However, even though he was nominally titled the “Supreme War Lord” he played virtually no part in determining military operations and was deliberately kept inadequately informed. He was subject to extreme mood swings, needed distraction, stayed away from Berlin and made little attempt to show, at least symbolically, that he shared the sufferings of his people. In this way the Hohenzollern monarchy came to seem irrelevant the longer the war continued. Nevertheless, his role should not be underestimated. 6 Until the appointment of the third Supreme Army Command under Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) and Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) in August 1916, he had a decisive influence both on appointments and on the conduct of the war at sea. He chose Falkenhayn in September 1914 to replace Helmuth von Moltke (1848-1916) as chief of the General Staff and, much to the fury of Tirpitz, refused to allow the High Seas Fleet to risk engagement with the Royal Navy except at Jutland in 1916. In January 1917, after months of uncertainty, the Kaiser finally decided in favour of unrestricted submarine warfare , provoking the USA to declare war on Germany a few weeks later as Bethmann Hollweg had warned.

German War Aims

Real power may have passed to the generals at the outbreak of the war, but Wilhelm II remained convinced that the peace terms would be negotiated by himself and the other crowned heads of Europe as of old. His ambitions for what he called the “German God-given peace” that would follow victory were in line with the annexationist aims of the military and far exceeded the war aims listed in Bethmann Hollweg’s notorious memorandum of 9 September 1914. He proposed that deserving non-commissioned officers and men be rewarded with land grants in those parts of Belgium and France along the Channel coast that were to be annexed to Germany. Wilhelm designated the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ostend, Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne as “the objective of my Navy,” to serve as a base for the future invasion of England and the domination of the seas. In addition, as early as July 1914 he declared it to be his goal to found a Polish state at Russia’s expense that would be nominally independent but in reality aligned with Germany – he personally would hold the supreme command of the Polish military forces, and Poland’s foreign policy and economic affairs would be directed by Germany. In April 1917 he demanded the capture of Malta, the Azores, Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands as naval bases for his fleet, the acquisition of the Belgian Congo, all of the French colonies, and the French ore field of Longwy-Briey together with the annexation of Poland, Lithuania, and Courland (southern Latvia) to the Reich. Furthermore, Ukraine , Livonia (northern Latvia), and Estonia were to become German satellite states. Reparations in terms of billions were to be demanded from Britain, the USA, France, and Italy. Such demands were not the Kaiser’s alone; a few days later at a conference in Bad Kreuznach they were formally adopted as Germany’s war aims. All of these measures were part of a broader programme that would have reduced Britain to an insignificant island under constant threat from the German navy. 7

The Kaiser opposed all of Bethmann Hollweg’s proposals for the reform of the antiquated Prussian-German constitution, preferring instead to rely upon the authority of the generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff. On 13 July 1917, he finally gave in to the relentless insubordination of the generals and dismissed the Reich Chancellor. At the end of September 1918, following the failure of his summer offensives, and under the influence of heavy German losses during the subsequent allied counter-offensives of August and September, Ludendorff told the Kaiser that the war was lost and that power must be transferred to civilian statesmen. Wilhelm accepted Ludendorff’s demands and appointed Prince Max von Baden (1867-1929) as Chancellor. 8 On 3 October 1918 Prince Max sent a peace note to American President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) . Once the German public sensed that they would obtain a better peace if they sacrificed the Kaiser, Wilhelm’s days on the German throne were numbered. On 1 November 1918 the Prussian Interior Minister Bill Drews (1870-1938) was sent to Supreme Headquarters in Spa to urge the Kaiser to abdicate in the hope of saving at least the institution of monarchy, but Wilhelm refused with fury. On 3 November 1918, as revolution broke out in Kiel , he remained determined to answer the revolutionaries “with machine guns in the streets” and said he would not dream of quitting his throne “on account of a few hundred Jews or 1,000 workers”. 9

At Spa, a poll of commanders revealed that the soldiers would be unwilling to march on their homeland to keep the Kaiser on his throne. Alternative proposals, such as allowing Wilhelm to relinquish the imperial crown but remain as King of Prussia were dismissed. Faced with revolution across Germany, close to midday on 9 November 1918, Prince Max announced Wilhelm’s abdication as Kaiser and King in a desperate attempt to keep control. A few hours later the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann (1865-1939) proclaimed the German Republic to pre-empt a Communist coup. On 9-10 November 1918 Wilhelm fled to neutral Holland and on 28 November abdicated both as German Kaiser and King of Prussia. Despite a British electoral campaign promising to “hang the Kaiser,” Wilhelm managed to avoid extradition and trial as a war criminal. He failed in his bid to be restored to the throne by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and died in exile at Huis Doorn, his home in the province of Utrecht, on 4 June 1941. 10

John C. G. Röhl, University of Sussex

Röhl, John C. G.: Wilhelm II. The Kaiser’s Personal Monarchy, 1888-1900, Cambridge 2004. ↑
Röhl, John C. G.: Wilhelm II. Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900-1941, Cambridge 2014, pp. 874-1028. ↑
Ibid., pp. 1029-1045. ↑
Ibid., pp. 1109-1112; Obst, Michael A. (ed.): Die politischen Reden Kaiser Wilhelms II. Paderborn 2011, pp. 362-366. ↑
Kaiser Wilhelm II, marginal note to Pourtalès’ report from St. Petersburg of 30 July 1914, in Kautsky, Karl (ed.): Die deutschen Dokumente zum Kriegsausbruch, 4 vols., Charlottenburg 1919, No. 401, English translation in Mombauer, Annika (ed.): The Origins of the First World War. Diplomatic and military documents, Manchester 2013, p. 457f. ↑
For Wilhelm’s role during the war see the papers of his Adjutant General Hans von Plessen (1841-1929) and the head of his Military Cabinet Moritz von Lyncker (1853-1932) in Afflerbach, Holger (ed.): Kaiser Wilhelm II. als Oberster Kriegsherr. Quellen aus der militärischen Umgebung des Kaisers 1914-1918, Munich 2005. Also Holger Afflerbach, Wilhelm II as supreme warlord in the First World War, in Mombauer, Annika and Deist, Wilhelm (eds.): The Kaiser. New Research on Wilhelm II’s role in Imperial Germany, Cambridge 2003, pp. 195-216. ↑
Röhl, Abyss 2014, pp. 1135-1163. ↑
Machtan, Lothar: Prinz Max von Baden. Der letzte Kanzler des Kaisers. Eine Biographie, Berlin 2013, pp. 400-469. ↑
Bill Drews, report of his reception by Kaiser Wilhelm II in Spa on 1 November 1918, Matthias, Erich & Morsey, Rudolf (eds.): Die Regierung des Prinzen Max von Baden. Düsseldorf 1962, No. 115. ↑
Röhl, Abyss 2014, pp. 1188-1267. ↑
Afflerbach, Holger (ed.): Kaiser Wilhelm II. als Oberster Kriegsherr im Ersten Weltkrieg. Quellen aus der militärischen Umgebung des Kaisers 1914-1918 , Munich, 2005: R. Oldenbourg.
Afflerbach, Holger: Wilhelm II as supreme warlord in the First World War , in: Mombauer, Annika / Deist, Wilhelm (eds.): The Kaiser. New research on Wilhelm II's role in imperial Germany, Cambridge; New York 2003 Cambridge University Press, pp. 195-216.
Hopman, Albert, Epkenhans, Michael (ed.): Das ereignisreiche Leben eines 'Wilhelminers'. Tagebücher, Briefe, Aufzeichnungen 1901 bis 1920 , Munich, 2004: R. Oldenbourg.
Müller, Georg Alexander von, Görlitz, Walter (ed.): Regierte der Kaiser? Kriegstagebücher, Aufzeichnungen und Briefe des Chefs des Marine-Kabinetts Admiral Georg Alexander von Müller, 1914-1918 , Göttingen, 1959: Musterschmidt.
Röhl, John C. G.: Wilhelm II. Into the abyss of war and exile, 1900-1941 , Cambridge, 2014: Cambridge University Press.

This text is licensed under: CC by-NC-ND 3.0 Germany - Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivative Works.

Bad Kreuznach

German Emperor Wilhelm II crosses the Dutch border before his abdication, November 1918 Wilhelm II, German Emperor, left Supreme Headquarters in Spa, southern Belgium, for the Dutch border to go into exile in the Netherlands 18 days before officially abdicating his throne. Major van Dyle of the Dutch Army receives the Kaiser and his party at the frontier near Eysden, 10 November 1918. Unknown photographer, 10 November 1918, photograph, Eysden, Netherlands. IWM (Q 47933), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205022532 .

Wilhelm II inspecting German troops, 1917/1918 Emperor Wilhelm II, the nominal Commander-in-Chief of the German armed forces, is inspecting German troops at an unknown location in 1917 or 1918. Parker, Charles V.: Views of Kaiser Bill, black-and-white photograph, 1919, n.p.; source: British Library, HS85/10/35800-3, via Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Views_of_Kaiser_Bill_%28HS85-10-35800-3%29.jpg . Courtesy of the British Library.

“A merry X mas and a happy new year 1910/11”, postcard Kaiser Wilhelm II sent this Christmas card and handwritten personal greeting to Hugh, 5th Earl of Lonsdale in 1910. The photograph features the Kaiser holding his grandson Wilhelm, eldest son of Crown Prince Wilhelm. German official court photographer, 1910, Germany. IWM (HU 68361), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205124133 .

German propaganda postcard with Wilhelm II A central lynchpin of German war propaganda was the perception that the conflict had been forced upon the nation. The perception of unity, which defined the mythical “spirit of 1914”, could only be sustained if Germany could portray the nation as an innocent victim of Allied aggression. Official and inofficial war propaganda, like this postcard from 1915, thus reinforced this notion: The image of Wilhelm II is presented with the words: “My conscience is clear before god and history – I did not want war.” Schmidt, Carl: “Vor Gott und der Geschichte ist mein Gewissen rein – Ich habe den Krieg nicht gewollt”, postcard, Munich, 7 November 1915; source: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Do 2004/281, http://www.dhm.de/datenbank/dhm.php?seite=5&fld_0=20042864 . © DHM (Do 2004/281), Berlin.

Emperors Wilhelm II and Charles I Emperors Wilhelm II (left) and Charles I inspecting troops, ca. 1917. Unknown photographer: Kaiser Wilhelm II. und Kaiser Karl I. bei einem Frontbesuch, black-and-white photograph, n.p., ca. 1917; source: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv Austria, S 104/209, http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Pages/ImageDetail.aspx?p_iBildID=1137261 . Courtesy of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

Mobilisation orders The order for mobilisation of the German Army and Navy was signed in Berlin on 1st August 1914 by Kaiser Wilhelm II and German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, 1 August 1914, Berlin, Germany. IWM (Q 42095), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205276563 .

External Links 4

Bild- und Filmamt (BuFa): Der deutsche Kaiser in Venetien, Venetia 1917 (filmportal.de) (Primary Source)
Kaiser Wilhelm II., Ansprachen zum Ausbruch des I. Weltkrieges (Balkonreden), 31. Juli und 1. August 1914 (100(0) Schlüsseldokumente) (Article)
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Aufruf an das deutsche Volk, 6 August 1914 (Internet Archive) (Audio)
Wilhelm II's "Easter Message", 7 April 1917 (German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)) (Primary Source)

External Links

Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859-1941) Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859-1941) in naval uniform. The inscription reads “Unser Kaiser” (“Our Emperor”). Wilhelm ruled from 1888 to 1918, when he abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands. Bain News Service: Kaiser Wilhelm, black-and-white photograph, n.p., ca. 1910-1915; source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-B2- 2598-2 [P&P], http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/ggbain/item/ggb2005011958/. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

John C. G. Röhl: Wilhelm II, German Emperor, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2016-03-10. DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.10857

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Our future lies on the seas. Meteors last Kaiser

Our future lies on the seas! William II at the dedication of the port of Stettin, 23 Sep 1898

The last Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II, aka William the Furious – a person is equally extraordinary and contradictory. The heir to the Prussian military traditions, because, perhaps, of English roots on my mother’s side – the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, was distinguished by a passion for the sea, sea travel and yachting sports.

Most clearly this side has become manifest since the accession of the Emperor to the throne. Since 1889 Wilhelm regularly come in long cruises, dubbed “Northern expeditions” (“Nordlandia”), attended the regatta and the marine week in the British port city of Cowes, the German cities of Cuxhaven and Kiel. In the same year he made the first step towards the creation of a large German Navy, the establishment of the Main naval command, or “Reichsmarine”.

For six years, until 1895, Wilhelm personally on your own yacht took part in international races. From 1889 until the outbreak of the First world war sports yacht of the Kaiser, each of which their achievements have received worldwide recognition, with great success has performed in all prestigious competitions of Europe and the United States.

The very first of the Imperial yacht “meteor I” was purchased by Wilhelm in 1891 for 90,000 gold marks – in General a small amount was fully paid for by the German government. It was a cutter 108-foot (33 m) tender, initially bearing the name “Thistle” was built in 1887 in the Scottish shipyard of D & W Henderson in Glasgow. It was created in great secrecy in order to participate in the America’s Cup, which eventually took second place.

However, it is “meteor I” brought fame to the Kaiser as a yachtsman. For several years the yacht under his command performed successfully in many European regattas, and in 1895 the race of the Royal Cup great Britain beat the favorite yacht of the Prince of Wales (later king Edward VII) “Britain”.

The rapid development of the yachting industry was threatened by the emergence of rivals new, more modern yachts. Warning the slightest hint of possible defeat in the future races, prudently Wilhelm in 1895, placed in the shipyard of D & W Henderson new order.

The crew of the “Meteor II”, half of which, by the way, was composed of English sailors who suffered the insult stoically and took it as a challenge. A few days later, the yacht won the English race Nore to Dover, ahead of “Britain” by 9.5 minutes, and in June 1896 in a race in Southampton her break with “Britain” was as much as 25 minutes. For several years, the “meteor II” was the winner of many international regattas. No doubt, it was the best sport boat at the time, a sample of the skill of British shipbuilders and the pride of Wilhelm II.

In 1902 the Imperial watch favorite took schooner “meteor III”. It was designed for William American designers H. G. Barbey & A. Carey Smith, built at the shipyard Townsend & Downey Shipbuilding Co. became an improved version of an ocean cruiser “Iduna” (formerly “Jampa”) built in America in 1887 and owned by the wife of William Don.

25 Feb 1902 “meteor III” dubbed Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Alice. The Grand launching was held in the presence of Roosevelt, brother of the Kaiser, Prince Henry, and the many hundreds of American spectators. The event was captured on camera in March of the same year was assembled documentary film “the Meteor III Afloat” (IMDb tt0367447). It was a great occasion “warm up” German-American relations, and it was a really luxurious yacht.

During the service of the “Meteor III” the interest in yachting sport has reached unprecedented heights. On regatta gathered presented different classes and social groups and, of course, honorable representatives of other countries. “Arrive at this time in Kiel yard, and assembled there the entire German fleet. The race was followed by the court celebrations, the city was filled with plenty of visitors…” – writes about the Kiel week in 1907 by M. P. Bock, daughter of P. A. Stolypin.

And again: “Yachts participating in the races of the first class, was struck by its majestic beauty. After all, it was a real large two-masted ships of 350 tons displacement, with a team of seventy people, a huge sail area and very spacious, due to the lack of machinery, the premises. They were only three: the personal yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm, “meteor”, Krupp — “Germany” owned by the city of Hamburg “Hamburg”.

Great schooner “meteor III” properly served Wilhelm II for seven years, until 1909, when she began to give way to the latest yacht rivals. One of its main competitors, as noted in his memoirs, and M. P. Side, was a yacht “Germania”, built by the family Krupp for recently bought in Kiel shipyard Germaniawerft Fr Krupp. The obvious reaction Wilhelm became new order – “meteor IV”.

As to no longer meet the needs of the Emperor “Meteor III”, in 1909 it was sold to a famous German chemist Karl Dietrich Harris and his wife, Frau Hertha, the youngest daughter Werner von Siemens – founder of the transnational concern Siemens. Change of owners, the yacht received a new name “Northern star” and a new life: she has several times participated in the Kiel weeks and regularly went to sea to float freely.

During the service, “meteor IV” was involved in almost all well-known European regattas. Within four years, it was called a formidable rival in the Maritime weeks in Cowes and Kiel, in regattas in Campbeltown (Kintyre, Scotland), the race of the Royal yacht club of St. George Kingston (Ireland), the race the Royal London yacht club on the Thames and in the big regattas of the Royal yacht clubs of London.

In early 1914, he was drafted into the “meteor V”. New schooner with a length of 156 ft (47.6 m) was also designed by max Ertem (Max Oertz) and built at the shipyard “Germany” (Germaniawerft Fr Krupp). Rapidly developing events on the world stage is not allowed “Meteor V” to build the same long and successful career as his predecessors. However, his sporting life was as short as it is bright in a matter of months before the outbreak of the First world war “meteor V” managed to participate and win the regatta Elbregatta.

It is known that all the “Meteors” after “write-off” for some time remained in the fleet of Wilhelm II as a training or pleasure yachts. The only exception was the “meteor III”, which, as mentioned above, immediately found a buyer.

In 1921 the yacht again replaced the owner – now it was Maurice Buno-Varilla, owner of the Paris newspaper Le Matin. In 1924 it was acquired by the Italian Baron Alberto Fassini. In 1932, Fassini sold the yacht to a man named Gillett, who soon passed it to the British brokers Campbel & Nicholsons. After several months of inactivity it was bought by an American named Francis Taylor and served him until 1940. Taylor sold the boat to Gerald S. Foley, who, in turn, sold it to David Feinberg, who is Nicholas Allen. In 1941, the boat was requisitioned in the Second world war was used for the needs of the Navy.

Ironically, in 1946, after long wanderings Imperial “meteor III”, under the name “Aldebaran”, found its last resting place on the dock for debriefing ships John Witt on the island of Shooters in the Bay of Newark – where from 1900 to 1910 was located Builder, Townsend & Downey Shipbuilding Co. and where he in 1902 solemnly came off the stocks.

With the beginning of the First world war traces of the other “Meteors” are completely lost. Some sources claim that all yachts were sunk in the fighting. Others say that they were later requisitioned by the government of the new Weimar Republic. There is also a view that the yacht, as the more movable of the Imperial estate, were sold in 1919 by Wilhelm II, who really needed a lot of money for the purchase of the castle in Dorne – a place six kilometers from Amerongen in the Netherlands, where the last Kaiser of Germany will spend the rest of my life.

In the article used a variety of materials, including: Giles McDonough. The last Kaiser. William Frantic, Moscow, AST, 2004 Side M. P. P. A. Stolypin. Memories of my father. 1884— 1911. / Moscow, ZAO tsentrpoligraf, 2007 Materials from the archives of Klaus Kramer. New American Yacht – The Sydney Morning Herald, London, Aug. 10, 1910 John Leather. Sailing with the Kaiser 2 – Classic Boat Journal, 2011 Lillian Ross. The Kaiser’s Yacht – The New Yorker, June 22, 1946 The official website of The Telegraph.

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Our future lies on the seas. Meteors last Kaiser

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THE KAISER'S YACHT

The New Yorker , June 22, 1946 P. 66

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? about Kaiser' Wilhelm's yacht, Meteor III, & its successive owners, 12 in number. In 1901, the Kaiser ordered the schooner yacht to be built for him by the firm of Townsend & Downey Shipbuilding Co., on Shooter Island. The designers were H. G. Barbey & A. Carey Smith, the launching took place Feb. 25, 1902, & the yeach was christened by Alice Roosevelt. The Meteor's racing record was not impressive & in 1909, she was sold to a Dr. Carl Dietrich Harries, who rechristened her to Nordstern. In 1921, she was sold to Maurice Bunau-Varilla, owner of the Paris newspaper Le Matin. In 1924, she was bought b yan Italian Baron, named Alberto Fassini. In 1932, Fassini sold the yacht to a man named Gillet, who shortly turned her ov to Campbel & Nicholsons, British yacht brokers. After a few months of idleness she was bought by an American named Francis Taylor. Taylor sailed her for several years and then sold her to Sterling Hayden who returned her to her former owner. In 1940, Taylor sold her to Gerald S. Foley who in turn sold her to a David Feinburg. Feinburg sold her to Nicholas Allen. That year the Navy requisitioned her. Today, the Meteor III, whose name was changed to Aldebaran, lies in the yard of a shipsbreaker by the name of John Witte, only a few miles from where she was built.

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H.I.M. Wilhelm II

H.m. king edward vii, h.m. king alfonso xiii.

H. I. M. The German Emperor.

Since the early nineties down to the present time there has been no more prominent figure in European yachting than H.I.M. the German Emperor. He was elected a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1889, and for many years after that he made it a custom to be present at the annual regatta. Those years are still numbered amongst the most important in the history of the sport. Big-class racing was never more flourishing than in the early nineties, and the brilliance of the social functions at Cowes, during that period, has never been surpassed.

Having taken up the sport seriously, His Majesty was quite naturally desirous of instilling a love of it amongst his own subjects. In 1891 he purchased the old America Cup challenger Thistle, and renamed her the Meteor, and in 1893 won

Meteor. H. I. M. The German Emperor.

the Queen’s Cup at the Squadron Regatta. He raced this vessel until 1895, one of her last races being a private match with Mr. Jameson’s cutter Iverna, at a time when both vessels were outclassed by new yachts such as Britannia, Valkyrie, Satanita, etc. In the autumn of the last-named year an order was placed for a new yacht, and Meteor II. was built on the Clyde from G. L. Watson’s designs, and came out in the following year. There are still some yachtsmen who profess the belief that this cutter was Watson’s masterpiece. She was undoubtedly a magnificent craft, and when in 1899 she came out in yawl rig she proved almost invincible. The first Meteor (ex Thistle) had been turned over to the Imperial Navy for the use of the naval cadets, and in 1902 Meteor II. was handed over for the same purpose, His Majesty having placed an order for another new craft, this time a schooner, which was built in America.

Meteor III. was launched in the early spring of that year with great ceremony. H.I.H. Prince Henry journeyed to America to be present at the launch as representative of the Emperor, and the christening ceremony was performed by Miss Alice Roosevelt, daughter of the President of the United States. This vessel is 361 tons. She races regularly at the Kiel regattas, and also pays a visit to Cowes every year. She has a great turn of speed in reaching, but is not intended purely for racing. In 1895 V ineta was built at Kiel for the Emperor from G. L. Watson’s designs, and three years later the American schooner Tampa was purchased by His Majesty and renamed Iduna, and now sails under the Empress’s flag. Vineta was afterwards presented to the Grand Duke Ferdinand of Schleswig-Holstein.

In 1892 the Kaiserlicher Yacht Club was formed, upon the dissolution of the Navy Regatta Society, and His Majesty accepted the post of Commodore, while Prince Henry became Vice-Commodore. With the incentive thus provided by His Majesty, the sport has flourished in Germany, and the membership of the club, which had been under 500 in the year of its foundation, rose to more than three times that number in ten years.

In his desire to develop the sport thoroughly, the Emperor fosters every branch of it. He is not content simply to take an active part in the big-class racing, but does all in his power to encourage the smaller classes, which now form quite a feature of the annual regatta at Kiel. A series of international races for the Sonderklasse—boats manned by amateur crews of three—has been in institution in the Baltic for some years, and does much to promote Corinthian sport.

In 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the Emperor gave a prize for a race for British yachts from Dover to Heligoland, and since then, with the exception of one year, the race for the ‘Heligoland Cup’ has been an annual fixture, and has been the means of attracting many English vessels to the Baltic regattas.

The development of yachting in German waters has been so remarkable that the Kiel Week has been recognised for many years as one of the principal events in the yachting calendar. Only at Cowes will a greater gathering of yachts be seen, while in regard to the number of competing vessels the Baltic port surpasses Cowes.

While the Emperor has devoted himself so energetically to the development of yachting in his own country, he has also exerted an influence for good on the sport in English waters. As already stated, those years in which he visited Cowes were amongst the most brilliant the sport has known. From 1893 to 1897 the Emperor’s Challenge Shield was raced for at the Royal Squadron Regatta by all the principal yachts, and was won four times in that period by the Britannia. Since 1895 the race for the Emperor’s Cup and other prizes has been one of the principal events of the ‘Week.’

Meteor II. H. I. M. the German Emperor.

Amongst important prizes won in this country by the Emperor are—a Queen’s Cup at the Squadron Regatta in 1893, won by the first Meteor ; Queen’s Cups at the Royal Northern and the Royal Ulster Regattas in 1896 and 1897 respectively, won by Meteor II. as a cutter; and the Queen’s Cup at the Squadron in 1899, won by Meteor II. in yawl rig. In the last-named instance Meteor had been heavily handicapped, but she sailed superbly, and in the evening, after the race, a telegram was received from the Emperor expressing his delight at winning the trophy in the face of such a heavy penalty. In 1903 Meteor III. won the King’s Cup at Cowes.

The memorable race from Sandy Hook to the Lizard in 1905 was for a cup and prizes presented by His Majesty.

Yachting in this country, as well as in Germany, is under a deep obligation to H.I.M. Wilhelm II.

Yachts: Thistle/Meteor; Meteor II; Meteor III; Vineta; Iduna

Category : Hohenzollern (ship, 1892)

Stapellauf 1892 (launched),
in Dienst gestellt 1893 (commissioned),
Modernisierung 6. Mai 1906 - 15. April 1907 (Kesselanlage erneuert, Randkappen der Schornsteine entfielen),
außer Dienst 31. Juli 1914 (Decommissioned)

Instance of

Operator

Manufacturer

Location of creation

Country of registry

Beam

Draft

Length

Authority file

Auslandsreisen http://www.reichskolonialamt.de/sonstiges/auslandsreisen/auslandsreisen.htm

Source: Miramar Ship Index

Subcategories

This category has only the following subcategory.

SMY Hohenzollern on stamps (10 C, 2 F)

Pages in category "Hohenzollern (ship, 1892)"

This category contains only the following page.

SMY Hohenzollern

Media in category "Hohenzollern (ship, 1892)"

The following 75 files are in this category, out of 75 total.

Dedications to the House of Hohenzollern
Royal yachts of Germany
Ships built in 1892
Ships built at Stettiner Maschinenbau AG "Vulcan", Bredow
Ships of the Imperial German Navy
Ships named Hohenzollern
Steam yachts of Germany
Uses of Wikidata Infobox
Ships by name (flat list)

Sailing with the Kaiser 2

By JOHN LEATHER from CB211

During the summer of 1895 it was obvious that the eight-year-old Meteor was well outclassed by the new-style large racers Britannia, Satanita and Ailsa, just as she had been by Valkyrie II, sunk the year before. A new large-class racer was needed but would probably cost £20,000 or more. The German royal yachts were almost totally paid for with government money, which was often difficult to vote through parliament. However, somehow it was managed and, after negotiations, an order was placed with GL Watson & Co to design the fastest possible large racing cutter capable of beating her English opponents.

The result was Meteor II, 128ft (39m) LOA, one of the finest cutters ever built. Her plain sail area was 12,000sqft (1,115m2), 2,000sqft (186m2) more than Britannia, which was perceived as perhaps her principal opponent, though the newer Ailsa ran her close and on a reach she had Satanita to reckon with.

Meteor II was built under an open-sided, roofed berth in the shipyard of D & W Henderson at Partick, Glasgow, the firm that had built Britannia, Valkyrie II and III and many other large sailing yachts, without fuss and as speedily as they constructed many steel merchant ships.

Captain Gomes again had his Gosport and Portsmouth men, with others from elsewhere in the Solent and a few from Essex, making up her 35 total. Also on board was Kapitan-Lieutenant Arenhold of the Imperial German Navy, seconded by order of the Kaiser via the Imperial Yacht Club to learn as much as possible of large yacht racing Ð as had Lieutenant Begas the previous season. Captain Gomes coached Arenhold in steering a big racer, under supervision and to take decisions while racing. He was an apt pupil who would continue his connections with the Kaiser’s racers in the future, as would Lieutenant Begas.

A beat up-Channel

The new Meteor II sailed from Gourock on a Saturday afternoon under trysail, foresail and jib, bound south, arriving at Plymouth Sound three days later to await a favourable slant to go up-Channel for the opening matches on the Thames. She was to be towed up-Channel by the tug Belle but the strong east wind and rough sea decided Captain Gomes to get sail on her and she beat all the way to Cowes, where Lord Lonsdale, a friend of the Kaiser, joined her as owner’s representative.

She first raced at the Royal London Yacht Club Thames matches, opening the 1896 racing season around the coast. Meteor II, Britannia, Ailsa, Satanita and the smaller cutter Hester started from the Lower Hope reach of the lower Thames to race out around the Mouse light vessel in the Thames estuary and back to finish at Gravesend, a very old established course. Captain Gomes got Meteor II away to a good start in light wind but Britannia got the first of the sea breeze and took the lead for a time. After a duel Meteor II gained the weather berth and led out to the Mouse and back upriver to finish at Gravesend more than 13 minutes ahead of Britannia.

As the mighty Meteor II approached the line, hundreds of spectators on shore and afloat watched in absolute silence as the finishing gun banged and Meteor II’s foresail came down. The German yacht had won and the crowd was not pleased. Shortly after, Britannia crossed in second place to roars of cheering, almost drowning the blasts of steam whistles and sirens of steamships and steam yachts, as though she were the winner. Captain Gomes, his crew and Lord Lonsdale were upset by this misplaced display for, though Meteor II carried her owner’s Prussian eagle racing colours, she was designed, built, manned and raced by Britons. Members of Britannia’s crew that day told me years later that they could not understand their reception as second boat, nor that of the winner.

Meteor II won the Nore-to-Dover race a few days later, beating Britannia by 9 minutes 5 seconds, such was the closeness of their rivalry. Racing at Southampton in June, Meteor II beat Britannia by 25 minutes without calling on time allowance. Her large sail area and 18ft (5.5m) draught contributed much to performance, with Captain Gomes and crew sailing her to perfection. As the season progressed her dominance grew, with pleasing telegrams reaching the Kaiser. She was undoubtedly the best racing cutter then built.

A large racing yacht, such as Meteor II, needed a crew of around 35 to race her successfully. They had to live on board throughout the yachting season, from May until early September, and the fo’c’s’le of the yacht could not berth all of them in the canvas-bottomed, iron-framed ‘cots’, which were slung up against the sides when not lowered for sleeping. So a small number of the hands had to be accommodated elsewhere on board. The saloon and the owner’s and guests’ cabins could not be used so these men were often given makeshift berthing aft, in the counter, which was intended to store light-weather sails and stores such as spare ropes, paints, etc.

To ease congestion on board when the owner and his party were not sailing in the yacht, spare sails were often temporarily stowed in the saloon where clean canvas sheets were used to cover the floor, settees and other furniture and to keep the sails clean. This freed the counter space for limited dormitory use.

In mid June Meteor II left Gosport in tow of a German destroyer, bound for Kiel, where she raced with no comparable opposition but enjoyed sailing against a mixed bag of German yachts. These included the old Meteor, renamed Comet; the ex-British 40 Rating class Lais; Varuna, owned by Prince George, and another named Mucke, while Prince Henry was on board his ex-British fast cruiser L’Esperance sailed by Captain George Hoskins of Southampton, bought from the Earl of Dunraven. She is now a houseboat at West Mersea, Essex.

German crews

The Kiel races also gave further opportunity for Captain Gomes and his English mates and hands to improve the racing capabilities of the German sailors he had to have in his crew, by the Kaiser’s order.

The men who appeared best suited to serving as hands on board the nascent German yachting fleet were from the waterside villages and small towns of the Kiel area, particularly from Eckernfšrde. They were usually engaged for the months of May, June, July and August. They were fishermen and coasting sailors accustomed to sailing small cutter and sprit-rigged fishing craft and cargo carrying sloops and ketches working in local waters and the wider Baltic Sea.

These were good and obedient sailors but Captain Gomes and the mate had to work hard to get them to act quickly when racing. This was a major part of their training, as was teaching them to follow all the manoeuvres during a race, observing what the captain and mate did and ordered in the varying circumstances, so they, like the experienced English hands, could anticipate and be ready for the orders when they came, speeding sail handling and gaining precious seconds in a race. The Germans seemed to get on well with the English sailors, all sharing the cramped orderliness of a racing yacht’s fo’c’s’le and each learning a little of the others’ language Ð the language barrier was one of the problems on deck while racing until the German ‘Matrosen’ had a reasonable knowledge of basic English.

By early July Meteor II was docked at Glasgow and then raced at the Royal Largs Yacht Club regatta over a 48-mile course in a light wind, which freshened to give splendid duel between the two royal cutters, with their two captains equally matched. Britannia won by 32 seconds but Meteor II beat her for the Queen’s Cup at the Royal Northern Yacht Club a few days later.

At Campbeltown regatta Meteor II raced against Britannia, Satanita, Ailsa and the 40 Rater Caress. In perfect weather the yachts fetched every mark without tacking and in the quickest race ever sailed on the Clyde, Meteor II beat Satanita by 51 seconds, to win. On the way south to Cowes Week the big class raced at the Royal St George Yacht Club at Kingstown, Ireland, where Meteor II won again, twice. By then she had raced 14 times that season, won 10 and was second in three, winning £705 in prize money, a silver medal and a Queen’s Cup, with the south coast racing yet to come.

The straining of her bowsprit prevented Meteor II from starting on the first day of Cowes Week and in the Royal Yacht Squadron racing next day she broke her bowsprit, topmast and topsail yard, and retired. She won at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club regatta off Ryde a few days later and the Emperor’s cutter, her captain and crew seemed on top of the yachting world as they prepared to race in the big class of the Royal Albert Yacht Club regatta at Spithead Ð but their fortunes were about to be shattered.

Meteor II, Ailsa, Satanita and Britannia sailed a course taking them eastward to round the NAB light vessel while the 52ft Linear Rating class course was round the Warner. The course of both classes had to round the committee mark boat anchored near the Spit Fort, off Southsea. About noon the leaders of the two classes of yachts were, by chance, approaching the committee boat with the breeze over their starboard sides, on a broad reach. Britannia was leading with Meteor II astern and closing.

To weather and abreast of Britannia’s bow, the Herreshoff-built, German 52ft Rating class cutter Isolde had the British 52-footer The Saint between her and the stern of Britannia and the American 52-footer Niagra, sailed by John Barr, astern of her. Britannia, sailed by Captain John Carter, was moving at about 10-11 knots; Meteor II, slightly faster, with Captain Gomes at her tiller lines, was closing astern of Britannia. Isolde was sailed by her captain, William Miles of Woolston, and her owner, young Baron von Zedtwitz, was at his side.

Slewed round, out of control

As these yachts moved rapidly towards the anchored committee mark boat, all in normal racing trim and positions, The Saint luffed out on to the weather quarter of Isolde to take her wind but could not quite clear Isolde’s boom and, catching it with her rigging, suddenly slewed Isolde round to port, bow towards Britannia and out of control. Captain Miles instantly struggled to turn Isolde back on course to avoid striking Britannia but saw the bow of Meteor II rushing at him 6ft away as she had luffed out on to Britannia’s weather quarter Ð all normal racing manoeuvres.

Isolde’s bow hit Britannia at the time Meteor II’s bowsprit tore through her mainsail. The impacts sent Isolde’s mast, boom, gaff, topsail yards, sails and rigging crashing down on the weather side of her deck. Her hands and the Baron ran forward but Captain Miles could not because of gear falling around him. He jumped overboard to avoid injury just as the 52-footer Penitent surged past with yacht designer Arthur Payne at her tiller, who threw him a lifebelt.

Meanwhile, the Baron had run aft from the foredeck to clear wreckage but the hands shouted and he started to return, getting struck on the head by a spar. Captain Miles scrambled back on board as two hands were trying to drag the Baron from the wreckage. The captain got him out, apparently unconscious. Meteor II had Isolde fast under her lee bow. Britannia had surged on but, with The Saint, rounded up and lay-to.

All this had happened in seconds. On board Meteor II Captain Gomes had carefully planned the luff out on Britannia’s weather side, expecting to pass clear between her and The Saint and Isolde.

This would have happened had not Isolde been fouled and so suddenly slewed round across his course. He had no time to alter course and, had he borne away slightly and run into Britannia in an attempt to ease the blow on Isolde, more would probably have been killed.

As Britannia drew clear John Carter ordered the dinghy overboard with the mate and four hands to help Isolde. As the 52-footers and Ailsa and Satanita came up, they abandoned the race and boats were lowered from nearby yachts. Dr W Dawson on board the steam yacht White Lady went to attend the Baron, but found he was dead from internal injuries.

The committee naturally cancelled the rest of the day’s racing and that to follow. All flags afloat and ashore were at half-mast and a sense of shock and deep sadness prevailed. On board Britannia Captain Carter was angry that Robert Gomes should have tried to pass on his weather in the circumstances but Captain Gomes rightly regarded his actions as blameless; he had been powerless to prevent the totally unexpected collision. This view was later confirmed by inquiry and inquest.

This sad accident led to immediate withdrawal of Meteor II and Britannia from the remainder of the season’s races. Captain Gomes was ordered to sail Meteor II to the Clyde for repairs and laying-up, and Britannia went into Southampton for repairs. With the crew paid off, Captain Gomes returned home to Gosport to await inevitable further questioning by the Kaiser’s yachting advisers, for the Baron was not only a diplomat but also a well-liked friend of the Kaiser and his court.

As both Meteor II and Isolde were registered at the port of Kiel, an inquiry was later also held at Flensburg by the Local Marine Board. They heard detailed evidence on the part The Saint had played in the accident by fouling Isolde’s boom when luffing Ð the cause of Isolde suddenly slewing into the course of Meteor II.

The board found that no blame could be attached to Meteor II, which would otherwise have had sufficient clear water to pass between Britannia and Isolde, as intended.

However, Captain Gomes faced a future in which he might not again be in charge of a first-class racing yacht, which would be a great loss to the sport for he was a brilliant helmsman and tactician, besides being an able commander of his mixed crews and a mentor to the young German yacht sailors in training on board.

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Kaiser Wilhelm II

By: History.com Editors

Updated: July 18, 2024 | Original: April 14, 2010

Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia, late 19th-early 20th century. Wilhelm (1859-1941), was the last German emperor and king of Prussia.

Wilhelm II (1859-1941), the German kaiser (emperor) and king of Prussia from 1888 to 1918, was one of the most recognizable public figures of World War I (1914-18). He gained a reputation as a swaggering militarist through his speeches and ill-advised newspaper interviews. While Wilhelm did not actively seek war, and tried to hold back his generals from mobilizing the German army in the summer of 1914, his verbal outbursts and his open enjoyment of the title of Supreme War Lord helped bolster the case of those who blamed him for the conflict. His role in the conduct of the war as well as his responsibility for its outbreak is still controversial.

Some historians maintain that Wilhelm was controlled by his generals, while others argue that he retained considerable political power. In late 1918, he was forced to abdicate. He spent the rest of his life in exile in the Netherlands, where he died at age 82.

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Early Years

Kaiser Wilhelm II was born in Potsdam, Germany, on January 27, 1859, the son of Prince Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia (1831-88) and Princess Victoria (1840-1901), the oldest daughter of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). The future monarch was the queen’s firstborn grandchild and was genuinely fond of her; in fact, he was holding her in his arms when she died. His ties to Britain through its royal family would play an important part in his later political maneuvering.

Did you know? Kaiser Wilhelm II was reportedly amused when he heard his cousin King George V (1865-1936) had changed the name of the British royal family from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917 as a result of anti-German sentiment in Britain during World War I.

Wilhelm’s childhood was shaped by two events, one medical and one political. His birth had been traumatic; in the course of a complicated delivery, the doctor permanently damaged Wilhelm’s left arm. In addition to its smaller size, the arm was useless for such ordinary tasks as cutting certain foods with a knife at mealtime.

The political event that shaped Wilhelm was the formation of the German Empire under the leadership of Prussia in 1871. Wilhelm was now second in line after his father to become an emperor as well as king of Prussia. Twelve years old at the time, Wilhelm was filled with nationalistic enthusiasm. His later determination to win a “place in the sun” for Germany had its roots in his childhood.

An intelligent young man who possessed a lifelong interest in science and technology, Wilhelm was educated at the University of Bonn. His quick mind, however, was combined with an even quicker temper and an impulsive, high-strung personality. He had dysfunctional relationships with both parents, particularly his English mother. Historians still debate the effects of the kaiser’s complicated psychological makeup on his political decisions.

In 1881, Wilhelm married Princess Augusta Victoria (1858-1921) of Schleswig-Holstein. The couple would go on to have seven children.

8 Events that Led to World War I

Imperialism, nationalistic pride and mutual alliances all played a part in building tensions that would erupt into war.

Why Kaiser Wilhelm Was Never Tried for Starting World War I

Under the Treaty of Versailles, the German emperor was supposed to be tried as a war criminal. Why wasn't he?

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For centuries—and especially since World War II—countries have attempted to define the rules of war and determine punishment for violators.

Emperor and King: 1888

Wilhelm’s father became Kaiser Frederick III of Germany in March 1888. Already ill with terminal throat cancer, he died after a reign of only several months. Wilhelm succeeded his father on June 15, 1888, at the age of 29. Within two years of his coronation, Wilhelm broke with Otto von Bismarck (1815-98), the “Iron Chancellor” who had dominated German politics since the 1860s. The kaiser embarked on his so-called New Course, a period of personal rule in which he appointed chancellors who were upper-level civil servants rather than statesmen. Bismarck bitterly predicted that Wilhelm would lead Germany to ruin.

Wilhelm damaged his political position in a number of ways. He meddled in German foreign policy on the basis of his emotions, resulting in incoherence and inconsistency in German relations with other nations. He also made a number of public blunders, the worst of which was The Daily Telegraph affair of 1908. Wilhelm gave an interview to the London-based newspaper in which he offended the British by saying such things as: “You English are mad, mad, mad as March hares.” The kaiser had already been hurt politically in 1907 by the Eulenburg-Harden affair, in which members of his circle of friends were accused of being homosexuals. Although there is no evidence that Wilhelm was gay–in addition to his seven children with his first wife, he was rumored to have several illegitimate offspring–the scandal was used by his political opponents to weaken his influence.

Wilhelm’s most important contribution to Germany’s prewar military expansion was his commitment to creating a navy to rival Britain’s. His childhood visits to his British cousins had given him a love for the sea–sailing was one of his favorite recreations–and his envy of the power of the British navy convinced him that Germany must build a large fleet of its own in order to fulfill its destiny. The kaiser supported the plans of Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930), his chief admiral, who maintained that Germany could gain diplomatic power over Britain by stationing a fleet of warships in the North Sea. By 1914, however, the naval buildup had caused severe financial problems for Wilhelm’s government.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and World War I

Wilhelm’s behavior during the crisis that led to war in August 1914 is still controversial. There is little doubt that he had been broken psychologically by the criticism that followed the Eulenburg-Harden and Daily Telegraph scandals; he suffered an episode of depression in 1908. In addition, the kaiser was out of touch with the realities of international politics in 1914; he thought that his blood relationships to other European monarchs were sufficient to manage the crisis that followed the June 1914 assassination of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Although Wilhelm signed the order for German mobilization following pressure from his generals–Germany declared war against Russia and France during the first week of August 1914– he is reported to have said, “You will regret this, gentlemen.”

With World War I under way, the kaiser, as commander in chief of the German armed forces, retained the power to make upper-level changes in military command. Nonetheless, he was largely a shadow monarch during the war, useful to his generals as a public-relations figure who toured the front lines and handed out medals. After 1916, Germany was, in effect, a military dictatorship dominated by two generals, Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) and Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937).

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Years of Exile

In late 1918, popular unrest in Germany (which had suffered greatly during the war) combined with a naval mutiny convinced civilian political leaders that the kaiser had to abdicate to preserve order. In fact, Wilhelm’s abdication was announced on November 9, 1918, before he had actually consented to it. He agreed to leave when the leaders of the army told him he had lost their support as well. On November 10, the former emperor took a train across the border into the Netherlands, which had remained neutral throughout the war. He eventually bought a manor house in the town of Doorn, and remained there for the remainder of his life.

Although the Allies wanted to punish Wilhelm as a war criminal, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880-1962) refused to extradite him. His last years were darkened by the death of his first wife and the suicide of his youngest son in 1920. He did, however, make a happy second marriage in 1922. His new wife, Hermine Reuss (1887-1947), actively petitioned German leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) in the early 1930s to restore the monarchy, but nothing ever came of her negotiations. Hitler despised the man he held responsible for Germany’s defeat in World War I, and Wilhelm was shocked by the Nazis’ thuggish tactics. In 1938, Wilhelm remarked that for the first time he was ashamed to be a German. After two decades in exile, he died in the Netherlands on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82.

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IMAGES

SMY Hohenzollern
Emperor wilhelm ii his yacht hohenzollern hi-res stock photography and
Kaiser Wilhelm II's steam yacht, the 'Hohenzollern'. News Photo
Schiff kaiser wilhelm ii hi-res stock photography and images
The bedroom of Emperor Wilhelm II on his yacht, the "Hohenzollern Stock
Emperor wilhelm ii his yacht hohenzollern Black and White Stock Photos

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COMMENTS

SMY Hohenzollern
Length. 120 m (393 ft 8 in) Beam. 14 m (45 ft 11 in) Propulsion. Triple-expansion steam engine. Notes. The ship became property of the Weimar Republic. SMY Hohenzollern (German: Seiner Majestät Yacht Hohenzollern) was the name of several yachts used by the German Emperors between 1878 and 1918, named after their House of Hohenzollern.
Meteor
Meteor were the names of five German royal racing sailing yachts owned by Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Wilhelm II (in English: William II) governed the German Empire from 1888 to 1918 and was also the King of Prussia and belonged to the House of Hohenzollern. His grandmother was Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II [b] (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 - 4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty's 300-year rule of Prussia.. Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick ...
SMY Hohenzollern
SMY Hohenzollern (de:Seiner Majestät Yacht Hohenzollern) was the name of several Yachts used by Wilhelm I., Deutscher Kaiser and Wilhelm II., Deutscher Kaiser between 1878 and 1918, named after their House of Hohenzollern ... The second SMY Hohenzollern in use as Imperial Yacht from 1893 to July 1914. Hohenzollern II, leaving Venice. c. 1900 ...
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859-1941) acceded to the Prusso-German throne on 15 June 1888. ... Instead of sailing into the Arctic Circle as usual, the imperial yacht Hohenzollern anchored just north of Bergen, from where it could return to Germany within a day or two to allow the Kaiser to sign the mobilisation order.
SMY Hohenzollern
SMY Hohenzollern, das zweite Schiff mit dieser Bezeichnung, diente von 1893 bis 1918 dem deutschen Kaiser Wilhelm II. als Staatsyacht für repräsentative Zwec...
Meteor
Meteor were the names of five German royal racing sailing yachts owned by Wilhelm II, German Emperor. Wilhelm II (in English: William II) governed the German Empire from 1888 to 1918 and was also the King of Prussia and belonged to the House of Hohenzollern. ... she lost 0-2 against Volunteer from the New York Yacht Club. However, she was very ...
Our future lies on the seas. Meteors last Kaiser
23 Sep 1898. The last Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II, aka William the Furious - a person is equally extraordinary and contradictory. The heir to the Prussian military traditions, because, perhaps, of English roots on my mother's side - the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, was distinguished by a passion for the sea, sea travel and ...
Hohenzollern History
Also named Hohenzollern, the new yacht was put into service in 1893. Until World War I, the ship had sailed over 1600 days under the imperial flag, making various voyages with the Emperor Wilhelm II on board. On all voyages, the ship was always escorted by a warship, in most cases, this was either a small or an armored cruiser. During the War ...
SMY Hohenzollern II, Staatsyacht von Wilhelm II, 1893 bis 1918
OP • 3 yr. ago. The Hohenzollern II was the second Imperial Yacht of the German Empire, replacing the SMY Hohenzollern I - which was renamed Kaiseradler after the introduction of HII. She was designed for long voyages, and was often the place that HM Wilhelm II would be seen given his love for the ocean. From 1894 to 1914, Wilhelm would use ...
Emperor wilhelm ii his yacht hohenzollern Stock Photos and Images
RM C464PW - Emperor Wilhelm II on his yacht 'Hohenzollern', 1913. RM 2M3T4JK - Wilhelm II (1859 - 1941), last German Emperor (German: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Photograph showing Wilhelm II (Kaiser) on board the 'Hohenzollern' as a guest to Britain at the annual Cowes ...
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II was a Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) Kaiser-class ocean liner.She was launched in 1902 in Stettin, Germany.In the First World War she was laid up in New York from 1914 until 1917, when the US Government seized her and renamed her USS Agamemnon.In 1919 she was decommissioned from the Navy and laid up. In 1927 she was transferred to the United States Army, who renamed her USAT ...
THE KAISER'S YACHT
The New Yorker, June 22, 1946 P. 66. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? about Kaiser' Wilhelm's yacht, Meteor III, & its successive owners, 12 in number. In 1901, the Kaiser ordered the schooner yacht to be ...
Christening and launching Kaiser Wilhelm's yacht "Meteor"
The film shows a long dock in what appears to be a shipyard. Approaching the camera position are people in formal attire, both military and civilian, followed by men in formation dressed in German naval enlisted personnel uniforms. The next scene shows the launching platform; the dignitaries attending the ceremonies can be seen over the heads of the spectators. Among the dignitaries are Prince ...
H.I.M. Wilhelm II
the Queen's Cup at the Squadron Regatta. He raced this vessel until 1895, one of her last races being a private match with Mr. Jameson's cutter Iverna, at a time when both vessels were outclassed by new yachts such as Britannia, Valkyrie, Satanita, etc. In the autumn of the last-named year an order was placed for a new yacht, and Meteor II.
Category : Hohenzollern (ship, 1892)
Media in category "Hohenzollern (ship, 1892)" The following 74 files are in this category, out of 74 total. Germany 1890 - 1914 HU68382.jpg 800 × 574; 174 KB. SMY Hohenzollern 2.jpg 1,666 × 1,091; 384 KB. Flickr - …trialsanderrors - The Royal Yacht Hohenzollern in Venice, Italy, ca. 1896.jpg 3,545 × 2,611; 2.77 MB.
Sailing with the Kaiser 2
March 22, 2011. By JOHN LEATHER from CB211. During the summer of 1895 it was obvious that the eight-year-old Meteor was well outclassed by the new-style large racers Britannia, Satanita and Ailsa, just as she had been by Valkyrie II, sunk the year before. A new large-class racer was needed but would probably cost £20,000 or more.
The Kaiser Whilhelm II
Souvenir Plate Commemorating the Launching of the Kaiser's Yacht Meteor (Item WILHELM 9-1). DESCRIPTION: The Kaiser of Prussia and Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm Hohenzollern II, had two yachts built for himself, Meteor and Germania.The Kaiser played an important part in the creation of prestigious yacht clubs and the launching of international regattas.
Kaiser Wilhelm II ‑ WWI, Abdication & Death
Wilhelm II (1859‑1941) was the last German kaiser (emperor) and king of Prussia from 1888 to 1918, and one of the most recognizable public figures of World War I (1914‑18). He gained a ...
WILHELM BEIER • Net Worth $3 Billion • House • Yacht
With annual sales exceeding $700 million and a workforce of over 1,800, Dermapharm is a major player in the pharmaceutical industry. Wilhelm Beier's net worth is estimated at $3 billion, underlining his successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. He was owner of the Metis Yacht, now named Artisan.


	Last modified: 24.07.2005