04503nam a22006015i 4500 978-3-031-74205-7 DE-He213 20251030114926.0 cr nn 008mamaa 250117s2024 sz | s |||| 0|eng d 9783031742057 978-3-031-74205-7 10.1007/978-3-031-74205-7 doi DAW1001-1051 HBJD bicssc 1DF bicssc HIS010000 bisacsh NHD 1DF thema Sterkenburgh, Frederik Frank. author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut 90330 Wilhelm I as German Emperor [electronic resource] : Staging the Kaiser / by Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh. 1st ed. 2024. Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2024. XIV, 343 p. 15 illus. online resource. text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier text file PDF rda Palgrave Studies in Modern Monarchy, 2947-5872 Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: I just returned from the battlefield in order to chase the spoils of victory: Wilhelm as Military Monarch -- Chapter 3: The Emperor was not content with simply receiving presentations and proposals: Wilhelm and Political Decision-making -- Chapter 4: It is a monument to honour and not just decoration of the building: Wilhelm’s Politics of History -- Chapter 5: As long as the princes of Germany are sovereign, there can only be a federal state: Wilhelm as German Emperor -- Chapter 6: The remarkable old man must have outsized human strengths to endure these physical efforts and emotions: Wilhelm in Berlin -- Chapter 7: As if the heartbeat of time came to a halt: Wilhelm in German Cultural Memory -- Chapter 8: Conclusion. This book offers the first-ever scholarly study of Wilhelm I as Germany’s first Kaiser. For decades, Wilhelm has been dismissed by historians as a political nullity and an unwilling imperial figurehead, who was perpetually overruled by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. As a result, scholars concluded that the imperial role did not reach maturity until the accession of Wilhelm II. This book challenges this assumption by analysing how Wilhelm used self-staging to effectuate his role as German emperor and set the precedent for his successors, Friedrich III and Wilhelm II. It explores how he oversaw and intervened in the political and military decision-making processes, his use of politics of history, his understanding and practicing of the imperial role towards other German states and dynasties, his self-presentation in the new German capital, and how his public persona was distorted in German cultural memory after his death in 1888. The book draws on a wealth of previously unexplored sources, including material from Wilhelm’s personal archive, the archives of the Hohenzollern monarchy, the Prussian state, and local archives. It offers a much-needed reassessment of Wilhelm I and makes an important contribution to debates on the role of the Kaiser in German politics, the political system, and culture of the early German nation state, and how the Hohenzollern monarchy adapted to the demands of generating popular support for its new German imperial role. Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh is Assistant Professor of Political History at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Europe, Central History. 77403 Imperialism. 45663 Military history. World politics. 58105 Civilization History. 66788 History of Germany and Central Europe. 77404 Imperialism and Colonialism. 71228 Military History. Political History. 67817 Cultural History. 66790 SpringerLink (Online service) Springer Nature eBook Printed edition: 9783031742040 Printed edition: 9783031742064 Printed edition: 9783031742071 Palgrave Studies in Modern Monarchy, 2947-5872 90331 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74205-7 ZDB-2-HTY ZDB-2-SXH 66444 66444