Video: The luxurious castle of Kaiser Wilhelm II: How the man who unleashed the First World War lived in exile
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
It is generally accepted that it was the German Kaiser Wilhelm II who took a direct part in inciting the First World War. On November 10, 1918, he left for the Netherlands, and on November 28, he abdicated the throne. The Kaiser spent the rest of his life at the Dorn estate. 59 wagons and carts were needed in order to deliver his property to the castle. Today, everything has been preserved in Dorn as it was under the exiled monarch.
The Hohenzollern dynasty, which ruled for almost 400 years, ended on Kaiser Wilhelm II. Shelter of the disgraced monarch was provided by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. On this occasion, Wilhelm wrote a letter of gratitude: “Events forced me to come to your country as a private person and seek protection from your government. The hope you gave me, given the difficult situation, did not disappoint me. I sincerely thank you and your government for their kind hospitality."
Although Article 227 of the Treaty of Versailles calls for the persecution of William II for "the supreme affront to international morality and the sacred power of treaties," the neutral Dutch government refused to extradite the exile.
Initially, Wilhelm II settled in Amerongen, and then on August 16, 1919, he bought the castle in Dorn. The government of the Weimar Republic allowed the former Kaiser to take his personal belongings and transport them to Dorn. There were as many as 59 wagons and carriages.
While in exile, Wilhelm II felt pretty good. Thanks to profitable monetary possessions, his fortune in 1933 was 18 million marks, and in 1941 - already 37 million marks. The Kaiser was not shy in expressions and continued to openly speak unflatteringly about all the heads of European states.
When the Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis in 1940, all of Wilhelm II's property was nationalized by Hitler's order, and he himself was put under house arrest. William II was allowed to move away from the castle no further than 10 km. On June 4, 1941, Germany's last Kaiser died at the age of 82.
Wilhelm II was considered to be a rather selfish nature. Along with the the Kaiser had a lot of oddities and complexes. All his life he fought not only with ill-wishers, but also with himself.
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