What experience did William II have in his life?

William II was fascinated by the book "The Foundation of the Nineteenth Century" by the British writer Houston Stewart Chamberlain. The more he read, the more excited he became, and he even wrote his thoughts and comments on some chapters. On the red line. "Originally, such a masterpiece should have been written by the Germans. The British helped us complete a theory that conforms to the laws of national development. I admire Mr. Chamberlain's genius!" William II told the Minister of the Navy with interest Tirpitz said.

The book "Basics of the Nineteenth Century" starts from the rise of the Holy Roman Empire across the European continent for nine centuries. It uses the Germanic nation as a dominant force for nine centuries as a clue to show The achievements and influence of the German nation in military, science and technology, economy and culture have led to a very absurd conclusion: the German nation is the "excellent race" among human beings. The German Empire was a country dominated by the Germanic nation. What stimulated William II was obviously the arrogant chauvinism sentiment of "the great Germanic nation is sacred". In his speech to the Imperial Parliament, Wilhelm II said with great enthusiasm: "Bismarck's continental European policy was very narrow. Now I am pursuing a world policy. Berlin should be 'World City Berlin', and German trade should be 'German World'." Trade', Germany and the world have the same meaning, for German policy should be reflected everywhere in the world..."

Thunderous applause broke out in the Reichstag. Not only Waldersee, Tirpitz, Holstein and others enthusiastically supported it, but a large number of bourgeois industrial giants represented by Sturm were even more ecstatic, and they were eyeing the overseas market with salivation.

At a rally celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the German Empire, the German Reich Radio in Berlin broadcast an impassioned congratulatory message from Wilhelm II: "The German Empire will become a world empire. In distant places on the earth, everywhere should be inhabited For our compatriots. German goods, German knowledge, and German diligence will cross the ocean..."

The whole world, especially the United Kingdom, France, and Russia in Europe, listened to this in horror. Declaring to dominate the world, I feel that a huge powder keg is next to me, which may explode at any time and harm myself.

After the end of Bismarck's generation as a German, in 1914 during the Wilhelm II period, European relations had a confrontational pattern between the original three Allies and the rising three Allied Powers. Although the United States and Japan are the world's first and third most powerful countries, they cannot cross the Atlantic and cross the Eurasian continent to intervene in European affairs. As the strongest country in Europe, Germany is directly faced with the obstruction of the world's largest colonial power, Britain. If it wants to expand, Germany's opponents are in Europe. The core of the "world policy" is world domination, and Germany began to compete with Britain for supremacy. Britain tried its best to use force to annex South Africa and seize the two independent republics of Orange and Transvaal from the Boers, because the diamonds and gold here were extremely tempting to Britain. Germany had long coveted this region. While William II encouraged Germany to import goods to this region and conduct economic penetration into the Transvaal, he also used money and arms to support the Boers against the British.

Germany will not take it lightly when it comes to Britain's self-proclaimed status as the world's largest naval power. The German Tirpitz had long ago pointed out sternly: "Without a strong navy, Germany's role in the world would be like a mollusk without a shell." Therefore, Germany passed a huge 20-year naval plan in 1898. The second The year was doubled again, with the aim of competing with Britain on the sea. By 1914, Germany had 232 warships of various types...

Faced with this coercion, Britain quickly found allies to fight against Germany. In 1920, Britain formed an alliance with Japan and then with France. France is Germany's "blood feud". France is bent on regaining the Alsace and Lorraine areas lost in the Prussian-French war. At the same time, it competes with Germany in Morocco. In 1903, King Edward VII of England visited France. On April 8, 1904, the two countries signed the "Anglo-French Agreement", declaring that the two countries had united to resist Germany. Germany colluded with Austria-Hungary and not only built railways in the Balkans and the Black Sea Strait, but also provoked wars and plundered countries in the region, all of which seriously harmed Russia's interests. Once the Black Sea Strait falls into the hands of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia's door to the south will be blocked. At the same time, Russia has always been financially dependent on Britain and France. On August 31, 1907, Britain and Russia signed the "British-Russian Agreement". After adjusting their mutual interests, they joined forces to fight against Germany. France and Russia had signed a "Draft Military Agreement" as early as 1892, which stipulated that no matter which side suffered When Germany attacks, the other side mobilizes the whole country to attack Germany...Invisibly, the Triple Entente represented by Britain, France, and Russia formed a military group to jointly counter the original Triple Alliance military group of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

William II's hand of expansion extended all the way to China in East Asia: In 1897, he sent troops to occupy Qingdao and forcibly "leased" Jiaozhou Bay for 99 years. On June 20, 1900, Germany arranged a The conspiracy of "the minister to China was killed in Beijing" created an excuse for Germany to directly send troops to invade China.

In order to gain domestic support for the "world policy" he designed, William II attached great importance to poisoning the German people. For this reason, Wilhelm II started a war to expand public opinion in the country. He took the lead in calling for the establishment of a "Pan-German Alliance."

The "Pan-German League" widely attracted well-known writers, scholars, industrial capitalists and influential local parliamentarians across the country to participate. In order to make the "Pan-German League" more dynamic, William II personally went to the association to give a speech, instructing the big monopoly capitalists such as Stinnas and Krupp to directly participate in the organization and provided a large amount of funds for the organization. It was precisely because of the strong support of the ruling group represented by Wilhelm II that various civil organizations in Germany were established with strong political overtones: the Colonial Association, the Naval Association, the Army Association, the German Youth Association, and the Farmers' Union established by farmers. , the League of Industrialists, the Hanseatic League, the Federation of the Middle Class, etc. established by industrial capitalists. These civil political organizations served the "world policy" of William II. Wilhelm II publicly declared: "The world can only be saved by relying on Germany" and "We are the salt of the earth"...

The organization headed by the "Pan-German League" immediately created war publicity across the country: "If Germany does not rule the world, it will disappear from the face of the earth. One of the two will definitely exist." "We must expand. It is urgent for us to acquire new territories because our country's economic interests require us to make this move." A choice!"

In 1904, a Berlin newspaper published an article entitled "Pan-German Deutschland", which stated in the most blatant and shameless tone: "We must build a The German Empire of the German nation, a world empire of the German nation under German hegemony!”

Some German dignitaries also used various occasions to promote the rationality that “the world belongs to Germany.” It is the responsibility of the German government to lead the German nation in the general progress of the world.” Even General Moltke, the German Chief of Staff, plausibly said on the eve of the First World War: "War will develop and reveal the best brilliance of mankind..."

William II's "World Policy" The diplomatic policy took Germany in a three-dimensional manner and led it to the inevitable path of world war. As Lenin pointed out, “The expansion of armaments, the extreme intensification of the struggle for markets among advanced countries in the latest stage of capitalist development, the imperialist stage, and the dynastic interests of the most backward Eastern European monarchies have all inevitably contributed to and have contributed to this war. War."

Yes, the world has smelled the gunpowder in Europe.