Bismarck – Wilhelm – Hitler: Continuity or Break with Tradition?

Abstract

The article examines the problem of similarities and major contradictions between the periods of 1871–1890 (Bismarckian Reich) and 1890–1918 (Wilhelmine Reich) in German history. Although anti-democratic tendencies were a common feature of both, ideology and practice in the field of foreign policy differed sharply. The Bismarckian notion of a “saturated state”, which implied a commitment to the status quo, was superseded by the expansionist “Griff nach der Weltmacht” (the push towards a “world power” equal to the British and French colonial empires). However, the expansionism of the Wilhelmine Empire was not unlimited, unlike the Third Reich's quest for world domination. The hostility of the Wilhelmine Germany towards Russia, which represented a clear departure from the Bismarckian traditions, also had some limits, and therefore cannot be equated with an inexorable programme of extermination of the Hitler regime. Having critically assessed the concepts of some German historians, the author concludes that no line of continuity could be drawn between the Bismarck Empire and the Third Reich, a line that exists between the latter and the Wilhelmine Empire, although one should not overestimate the commonalities between the two regimes.