Caprivi, Hohenlohe, Bülow and Bethmann-Hollweg (1890-1914)

Caprivi's New Course/Deal:

• Taking a more consultative approach to government and a conilitary attitude to previously hostile forces
• In his first few weeks of power Caprivi went our of his way to make concessions to the Poles, Socialists and Catholics/Centralists
• He lowered tariffs to improve export trade
• He gave ministers more influence over policy making

Social Reforms:

• July 1890, Industrial courts set up to adjudicate in wage disputes and restrict women to working only 11 hours a day
• Workers were given the right to form comittees
• Welcomen by the SPD, working class and Zentrum
• Opposed by the Conservatives

Tariff Reform:

• Caprivi lowered the duties on imported wheat and rye
• This reduced the protection of agriculture
• Also reduced the tariffs on imported German manufactured goods
• Grain producers were angry so formed the Agrarian League in 1893, by 1894 membership was at 250,000
• The League also formed the basis of a Conservative movement

Prussian School BIll 1892:

• A bill to restore some of the Church's privileges taken away by the Kulturkampf
• Would have given them more say in education and more funds
• Was never passed 
• Faced large opposition from the NLs, many Conservatives and some Socialists
• Caprivi had alienated most political allies via this so depite backing down was forced to resign as Prussian PM

Army Bill 1892-93:

• Caprivi was worried France and Russia would encircle the Empire so planned to increase the army budget to strengthen it by up to 84,000 men
• He planned to bargain with a reduce in conscription from 3 years to 2 and let the Reichstag review the budget every 5 years
• Became law in 1893
• Upset the national right including the Camerilla (Kaiser's upper class)

Resignation 1894:

• Caprivi found the Kaiser difficult to work with
• Kaiser interfered with Caprivi's policy on the Church and the Socialists
• Caprivi resigned in 1894

Anti-Subversive Bill:

• Meant to curb Socialism by introducing higher penalties for socialist activities
• 1895 it was thrown out by the Reichstag
• SPD and NLs opposed the bill

Navy Law and Flottenpolitik 1898:

• Flottenpolitik= the thought that Germany had to build a navy to rival that of Britains if they were to gain world power status
• Navy Law set out plans for the expansion of the Navy to match Britains
• Would give them 19 battleships and 42 cruisers
• Public sentiment was in line with the navy law
• Supported by the Reichstag majority (inc. Zentrum)
• Supported by the Kaiser

Sammlungspolitik (Concentration):

• The rallying together of the population to raise nationalism and bring together landowners and industrialists to fight socialism
• Tried to unite landowners and industrialists through an "alliance of steel and rye"
• His Minister of Interior also tried to introduce an 1899 bill that would impose prison sentences for strike action, which was rejected by the Reichstag
• Supported by right wing nationalists
• Polarised Germnay into two hostile groups- forces of law, order and respectability and of radicalism and socialism

Weltpolitik:

• Imperial expansion and global military dominance to ensure world status
• Policy was dominated by the Kaiser and influenced by Admiral von Tirpitz. who was Navy Secretary from 1897
• Supported by right wing nationalists

Resignation:

• Resigned in 1900 over colonial policy with the Kaiser
• The Kaiser called him a "straw doll"
• Kaiser also removed his key ministers in 1896 and 97

Why He Was Appointed:

• He was groomed for office by the Kaiser's inner circle
• He was an aristocratic Junker, civil servant and diplomat
• In 1887 he advocated for the ethnic cleansing of all Poles in Germany
• He was the Foreign Minister from 1897 to 1900 and favoured an adventurous foreign policy and wanted colonial expansion
• He went out of his way to flatter the Emperor, visiting him every morning, and earning the nickname "the eel"
• He was the first Chancellor that Kaiser Wilhelm II trusted

Weltpolitk and Navy Law 1900:

• Weltpolitik= colonial expansion, developing the German fleet and promoting the Kaiser as the Emperor throughout the colonies
• Navy Law 1900= funded a 17 year building programme for a sea fleet

1892 Tariff Reform:

• Reversal of Caprivi's tariff reduction
• Reinstatement of the previous tariffs (1892) on agricultural products, including Russian grain, as well as the reinstatement on some manufacturers
• Created an "alliance of steel and rye" with the Junkers 
• Was unpopular with the SPD who preferred cheap Russian grain
• Led to a growth in SPD voted from 2-3million in 1903

Social Reforms:

• 1900= the length of time in which workers could clain accident insurance was increased
• 1901= industrial arbitration courts became compulsory in towns of more than 20,000
• 1903= health insurance was extended and rules on child labour tightened

Germanisation:

• Germany became the only teaching language in Prussian schools
• 1908= an expropriation law made it possible for Polish property could be given to German workers in Prussia

Start of His Chancellorship:

• Tariff reform inroduced to please Conservatives
• Reforms highly unpopular as belived they would increase the price of food
• 1903 SPD won 25 more seats in the Reichstag
• 1903 onwards Bülow struggled to keep together a coalition of Conservatives, National Liberals and Zentrum
• Active foreign policy (Weltpolitik and Navy Law) stretched gov finances, but attempts at tax reform were blocked by agrarian interests
• 1905 Centre joined with the SPD to vote against increased expenditure on the cavalry, to fund military operations and stop an uprising in German South-West Africa

1907 Reichstag Election:

• Bülow used the criticisms of the SPD and Catholics to increase his majority
• He painted his opponents as unpatriotic, as they did not support Weltpolitik
• Bülow Bloc= a coalition of the Progressives to join the Conservatives and National Liberals based on supporting Weltpolitik 
• Bülow Bloc won 216 seats
• Centre Party won 105 seats
• SPD won only 36 seats

Effects of the Bülow Bloc:

• Did not give Bülow security
• Centre Party deeply resented its treatment and was determined to oppose everything Bülow did
• Progressives (part of the Bloc) demanded electoral reform
• By 1908 the Navy and Army were costing 1200 million RM a year, and the Tories (who would be hit the hardest by taxes) and Agrarian League opposed tax increase, with the Zentrum supporting the opposition as well
• The Progressives thought it was necessary to increase property tax 

The Eulenburg Affair:

• A series of court martials and 5 trials regarding accusations of homosexuality and the following libel trials, which surrounded prominent members of Wilhelm II's cabinet from 1907 to 1909
• The Kaiser's friend, Prince Philipp of Eulenburg-Hetefield was blackmailed into retiring from his ambassadorship in Vienna in 1902 by political enemy Holstein and journalist Harden
• Holstein then challenged Eulenburg to a duel-to-the-death, which Eulenburg declined, so Harden outed him as homosexual on April 27th 1907
• Between 1906 and 1907, 6 military officers committed suicide after being blackmailed regarding their sexuality
• 1907-1910, around 20 officers were convicted via court-martials for homosexual activity, including an elite officer who was commanded by a relative to the Kaiser
• Wilhelm II ordered the resignation of 3 out of 15 prominent aristocrats- Hohenau, Lynar and Moltke, who were all listed as homosexual by the Berlin police, despite the actual list, which was not shown to the Kaiser, containing several hundred names
• Bülow was also accused as homosexual, and on November 6th 1907, Adolf Brand, printed a pamphlet which described the Chancellor as having been blackmailed for his homosexuality and kissing and embracing Scheefer at a gathering hosted by Eulenburg

The Daily Telegraph Affair:

• Kaiser visited England in 1907 and stayed with Stuart-Wortley
• S-W wrote about Wilhelm's stay, where the Kaiser suggested that German opinion was against the British, and this article was sent to Bülow to check by the Kaiser
• Bülow did not check the article and it was published in October 1908
• The British saw Wilhelm II as arrogant and the Germans demanded constitutional reform in order to limit the Kaisers "meddling"
• Bülow joined in on the attacks on the Kaisers "personal government"
• In 1909 Bülow had lost the confidence of the Kaiser and resigned

Prussian Parliamentary Reform 1910:

• B-H tried to reform the Prussian Parliament
• This is because whilst it gave everyone a vote, Junkers' votes were worth more than the middle/lower class'
• 1908= SPD got 25% of the vote but only 7 seats
• 1908= Conservatives had 16% of the vote but 212 seats
• He introduced the Bill in 1910, and it would have increased the importance of votes from those with educational or vocational qualifications
• The bill was dropped due to hostility
• It was too radical for the Conservatives and Zentrum
• Not radical enough for the Progressives or SPD

The 1912 Election:

• 1 in 3 voted for the SPD
• 34.8% voted for the SPD
• SPD and Progressive Liberals had a left wing majority
• Majority increased indirect taxes, brought in higher tariffs and lowered the cost of living

Effect the Rise of the SPD Had On German Politics:

• Chancellor could not win a majority for his policies and was essentially useless
• B-H was forced to lobby with parties on a case-by-case basis rather than relying on a fixed alliance in the Reichstag

Erfurt Programme 1891:

• The SPD manifesto that they would implement if they won a Reichstag majority and constitutional reform
• Would fight for the abolishment of class rule and of the classes themselves and for equal rights for all
• Demanded the vote for all men and women over 21
• New laws and the appointment of high officials (inc. Chancellor) to be controlled by the people
• Decisions for war and peace to be made by representatives of the people rather than the Kaiser
• All taxes on goods to be abolished as they are an unfair burden on the poor
• The cost of govt. to be paid by income tax, property tax and inheritance tax to ensure the rich pay the most
• 8 hour max working day

Military Spending under Bethmann-Hollweg:

• Had to balance a budget deficit whilst facing increasing demands to build up the military
• 1912 there were increased international tensions that made these demands worsen, as every country was increasing their military as it became apparent that war would break out
• July 1913 Reichstag increased the army which cost an extra 435million RM
• This faced opposition from the SPD
• To fund this increase B-H introduced a "defence tax" based on the value of property
• This was supported by the left but opposed by Conservatives and the Junker who would be hit the hardest
• 1913 Army Bill led to national debt reaching 490billion RM and B-H alienating both the left and the right (increasing the army and defence tax)

The Zabern Affair 1913:

• Zabern was a town in Alsace which was garrisoned by German soldiers with the help of local Alsatian recruits
• 1913, a 20yr old German soldier called Alsation recruites "Wackes" aka Square-heads, after they teased him
• Officer admitted to this and was punished with several days confinement in a military prison
• A report of the incident was published in a local newspaper
• 29th November a group of locals assembled in front of the barracks to demonstrate against German arrogance
• German soldiers ordered to disperse the demonstration and they charged wildly at the crowds
• 15 people were arrested, including the President, two judges and the State Attorney of the Zabern Supreme Court who were caught up in the chaos
• Outrage from the liberal press at the police brutality, especially when Wilhelm II condoned the military action
• There was also outrage against militarism
• Army said it was only answerable to the Kaiser and not the Reichsta
• B-H backed the army and made the Reichstag furious
• Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence against B-H, who lost 293 to 54 votes
• This was then ignored by B-H and the Kaiser