When it comes to the recent history of Germany, it is necessary to mention Kaiser Wilhelm II. As the main planner of the First World War, Wilhelm II had a great influence on the pattern of Germany and the world.
So, how was Wilhelm II treated after Hitler came to power?
William II was the grandson of William I and the son of Frederick III and Princess Victoria. Soon after his birth, William I, with the help of the iron-blooded chancellor Bimes, finally completed the unification of Germany by launching several major wars in a row.
In 1888, William I died of illness and Frederick III succeeded him as emperor. However, just 99 days later, Frederick III died of throat cancer. The 29-year-old Wilhelm II succeeded him as Emperor of Germany.
After succeeding to the throne, Wilhelm II conducted a close investigation into the cause of his father's death, and it was eventually discovered that it was a quack doctor's misdiagnosis that led to his death. Since the doctor was British, Wilhelm II was paranoid that the English had killed his father.
William II has always had mixed feelings about Britain. His mother, Princess Victoria, was the daughter of Queen Victoria, known as the "grandmother of Europe". This also means that he has a constant blood relationship with the British royal family. At the funeral of Edward VII's death, William II was the first to attend, and he did the etiquette that a family member should perform.
But Wilhelm II had many unspeakable resentments against England. For example, for his cousins King George V of England, William II was somewhat unconvinced. Although England was no longer the mighty empire of the sun, George V, after succeeding to the throne, enjoyed the resources of many colonies around the world, which made Wilhelm II very unconvinced.
After succeeding to the throne, William II was determined to do something big. He first dismissed the meritorious chancellor Bismarck, and tried to change Bismarck's policy of "isolating France" and trying to repair relations with France. But it ended in failure.
Later, in 1905, Wilhelm II met with Tsar Nicholas II, who wanted to form a German-Russian super alliance. And he thought he had the support of Nicholas II.
Wilhelm II worked hard to develop a navy and wanted to win more colonies around the world.
However, due to the late rise of Germany, most of the colonies had fallen into the hands of Britain and France. So William II began to instigate a world war, he wanted to crush England and France and seize the colonies in their hands.
Driven by this idea, Wilhelm II successfully triggered the First World War. But in the end Germany ended in defeat, and Wilhelm II was forced to step down in the bourgeois revolution in Germany. Since the Treaty of Versailles explicitly listed Wilhelm II as a war criminal, Wilhelm II had to flee to the Netherlands to seek refuge.
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was a relative of Wilhelm II. She strongly refused the Allies' request, always refusing to extradite Wilhelm II. Under the patronage of Queen Wilhelmina, Wilhelm II was able to enjoy a quiet life in the Manor of Doron.
However, this man who aspires to the world has never given up his ambition to restore the dynasty. He has been closely watching European affairs, quietly waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback.
In 1932, Hitler's Nazi Party began to gain momentum. William II, who was far away in the Netherlands, thought he had waited for the opportunity, and he sponsored the Nazi Party with 2 million marks, hoping that Hitler would help him restore the dynasty.
The position of the Nazi Party, which had just come to power, was not stable, so Hitler used Wilhelm II's influence to often shout at Wilhelm II in the newspapers, but privately he was ambiguous about the restoration of the dynasty.
As a man whose ambitions were not lost to Wilhelm II, Hitler certainly could not have helped him restore the dynasty. Wilhelm II gradually became aware of his use, and his attitude toward Hitler began to harden.
However, Wilhelm II was quite appreciative of Hitler's ability to solve Germany's economic problems in a short period of time. After the outbreak of World War II, the German army was overwhelming and occupied Poland and other countries along the way. Wilhelm II also publicly sent a telegram to Hitler congratulating him.
In May 1940, Germany began to invade the Netherlands. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill invited William II to take refuge in England. But Wilhelm II said he would rather die in the Netherlands than accept British asylum.
In fact, the German army, under Hitler's orders, not only did not embarrass Wilhelm II, but even did not disturb his purity at all.
In June 1941, William II died in a state of reluctance and regret. He left behind two last wishes: the first was that he did not want the Nazi symbol to appear at his funeral, but this wish did not come true. The second wish was that if the dynasty was not restored, his body would not be transported back to Germany for burial. Hitler did not reject this wish. He canceled plans to prepare for a state funeral in Berlin and held a small funeral for Wilhelm II in the Netherlands.
The feelings of Wilhelm II at the time of his death must have been very complicated. After all, the Britain and France he had tried to defeat all his life were almost inadvertently completed by Hitler. Should he be sad or happy?
(Reference: History of the Second World War, etc.)