Wilhelmian Germany Research Articles

Radical Social Democracy and School Reform in Wilhelmian Germany

THE German Social Democratic Party, the most influential socialist party in Europe and the largest single political movement in Germany on the eve of World War I, was a major force promoting educational reform in the Wilhelmian period. The party's reform activities centered on the Volksschule, the common elementary school maintained by the German states to inculcate piety, patriotism, and the work ethic in the children of factory workers, artisans, peasants, and small tradesmen. Traditionally the German working-class movement demanded state support for a secularized and expanded school program. Through the 1890's, the Social Democrats perpetuated this demand. As the twentieth century opened, the party's radical faction, committed to class struggle and revolution, articulated a new position. The radicals suggested specific curricular reforms to instill values compatible with the tenets of socialism. Moreover, they specified ways in which the party might achieve a greater voice in school affairs. Lastly, they promoted educational alternatives to the Volksschule: socialist training in the home, a youth movement, and adult education. The purpose of the radical program was to prepare the child to participate in the class struggle. By broadening the Social Democrats' traditional position on school reform, the radicals made education part of a comprehensive program for political action.

German militarism and expansionism, 1914–1918: Gerhard Ritter and the First World War

With the publication of volumes III and IV the complete text of Gerhard Ritter's monumental study of the problem of militarism in modern Germany is now available in a reliable English language translation.* These last two volumes, like the two that preceded them,1 are models of historical scholarship. Written with remarkable care and sensitivity, both volumes combine the merits of monographic persistence with the virtues of a systematic synthesis of works already published on related themes or associated problems. While the first two volumes of Ritter's study cover a far greater period of time and development (1740-1914), these concluding volumes devote over a thousand pages to the final and most fateful period of civilian-military rivalry in Wilhelmian Germany. As in his other works, Ritter's immense erudition is ably served by a gracious and natural style of writing. Cogently and persuasively he leads his reader through the labyrinth of eventsoften depressing but usually fascinatingwhich ultimately led to the wartime dictatorship of the military. Having already noted in the later chapters of Volume II the growing political influence of Kaiser William II's senior military officials, Ritter goes on to describe in Volume III the tragic inability of William's senior civilian official, Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg, to limit the impact of that influence upon the formulation of German wartime policy. In Volume IV he examines the consequences of that failure, *Gerhard Ritter, The Sword and the Scepter. The Problem of Militarism in Germany. Volume III: The Tragedy of StatesmanshipBethmann Hollweg as War Chancellor (1914-1917). Translated by Heinz Norden. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami Press, 1972. Pp. vii, 611. $18.00.

Defender of Minorities: Germany in the League of Nations, 1926–1933

Germany under the Weimar Republic played the role of champion of minorities in Europe. A combination of revisionist hopes, völkisch arrogance, and humanitarian concern for the fate of lost kin motivated the Minderheitenpolitik of the Reich. Most historians have interpreted this episode as a link between the imperialism of Wilhelmian Germany and that of the Third Reich, a refinement—dictated by weakness—of Berlin's continuing efforts to dominate Eastern Europe.

The Attempt to Form a Jewish Bloc: Jewish Notables and Politics in Wilhelmian Germany

One of the ironical facts in the history of the Jews in Germany is that it was not until after Hitler came to power that they united and formed for the first time a central organization to represent their interests in politics. Before 1933 German Jews made several attempts to create a separate political platform or pressure group. The first venture had perhaps the best prospects of success. It started around 1900, a time when the ideological divisions that later polarized the German Jews into liberal, Orthodox, and Zionist camps were not yet strongly felt, and when cooperation between liberal and Zionist leaders was possible. Despite what appeared to be an opportune moment, all efforts came to naught. Historians can argue at length over whether or not German Jews committed a grave error in failing to form an independent political front, and whether or not it was possible in Germany for Jews to follow the example of Russian Jews and form an autonomous party. A more fruitful discussion will begin only when historians consider why Jewish leaders, who had stood within the existing party framework since 1848, decided in the late 1890's to organize independently of the liberals to whom they felt indebted for emancipation, and why they never achieved their goal. This essay attempts to answer these questions and to shed light on the political behavior of Jewish notables in Wilhelmian Germany.

Friedrich Naumann: A Mirror of Wilhelmian Germany

Friedrich Naumann (1860–1919) was born into that generation of Germans whoseWeltanschauunghad begun to accommodate an emerging world of science, technology, nationalism, and power politics. When he entered upon university studies in 1879 the Reich had been established, the German industrial revolution was well under way, and the scientific-historical outlook had begun to replace philosophy as the prevailing national temper. These historical currents were presently gathered into his powerful intellect, bent upon understanding itself and the times. This quest mirrored in an extraordinary way the political tendencies and intellectual moods of Wilhelmian Germany. All of its foibles and conceits, its doubts and ambition were freely exhibited in Naumann's writing. A prose style outstanding in modern German letters for its clarity and easy grace facilitated Naumann's task. Few works in German on political subjects share the literary qualities of Naumann's prose; his personal archive of Wilhelmian times can yield pleasure as well as secrets to the historian.