Wilhelm II

1859 – 1941

Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, reigning from 1888 until his abdication in November 1918 at the close of the First World War. His mercurial personal diplomacy, his support for an enormous naval-arms race against Britain, and his unconditional 1914 "blank check" guarantee to Austria-Hungary against Serbia were among the principal proximate causes of the war that killed an estimated 20 million people. After the war he lived in comfortable exile at Huis Doorn in the Netherlands, where he repeatedly expressed his enthusiasm for the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM