Questions tagged [imperial-germany]
Questions about the German empire from 18 January 1871, to 1918.
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During the time of the German Empire, were Polish or Jewish people permitted to join the Social Democratic Party?
According to Wikipedia, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany was founded in 1890. The German empire was founded in 1871:
Inside of this territory, there were many people who were ethnically ...
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What was the standard time in the Principality of Lippe?
Before the German Reich introduced the Middle European Time as standard time for the whole of Germany in 1893, which time was used in the Principality of Lippe (Fürstentum Lippe)?
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German influence in Strasbourg [closed]
I recently visited Strasbourg and I was impressed by the fact that many place names were German.
I knew that Strasbourg was under German occupation. But, the years it was in German rule , in my ...
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What is some of the equipment and uniform of the German Empire officer and some places I could get it? [closed]
I want to go for an infantry officer from Prussia and this is the best image I can find. I don't know how this is basic but it cant be solved with Wikipedia other wise I would have found my answer ...
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What is the uniform in this photo of my Great Grandmother’s father?
My Great Great Grandfather - Assuming late 1800s. Possibly Germany? Looking to identify the uniform or badge on the hat.
I have no other background information. Any thoughts are appreciated.
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Was it widely known during his reign that Kaiser Wilhelm II had a deformed arm?
During Kaiser Wilhelm II's rule, was it widely known that he had a deformed arm?
I remember watching a movie released in 1941 that depicted the Kaiser always using his right arm instead of his left ...
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Why did Germany decide not to restore the Hohenzollern dynasty to the throne of a German Empire after the defeat of Hitler in World War Two?
During World War Two, Hitler removed the Hohenzollern princes from serving in the German Army after he saw the outpouring of grief and sympathy from the German public upon the death of one of the ...
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How did 19th century Germany pull so far ahead of its contemporaries? [closed]
I'm not well-read, but I got the impression that Europeans (e.g. Gilbert and Sullivan, Bizet, Smetena) rejected German art while they pulled ahead in engineering and mathematics. Stephenson may have ...
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Was jealousy the cause of Ernst Winter's death?
I was on Wikipedia and I came across the Konitz Affair. I am guessing that Wikipedia took it from the Jewish Encyclopedia.com, which appears to have copied the entry from a 1925 book, 'The Jewish ...
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Why didn't the early chancellors of the German Empire belong to any political party?
I was checking the political party affiliations of the chancellors of the 2nd Reich, and it appears that until the later years of World War 1, all of them were politically independent. This is in ...
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What was in those documents Victoria snuck away from Wilhelm II to London in 1888?
Victoria, Princess Royal, and German Empress for less than a hundred days in 1888, saw the signs of death for her husband, Emperor Friedrich III, and apparently both did not trust either Bismarck or ...
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In 1914 why didn't Germany simply mobilize its army without declaring war?
I can't understand why members of the the Triple Entente and also members of the Triple Alliance were so offended by the mere mobilization of their enemies' armies, so that they demanded a cessation ...
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Why did the Schlieffen Plan prioritize invading France?
AFAIK, the consensus is that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, which led to Russia coming to Serbia's defense. The fact that this would lead ...
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Can anybody identify this 1900-1933 uniform (possibly German)
I believe this image to be taken around 1900-1933. I also believe it to be a German uniform but I'm not certain. Any help would be appreciated!
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How culturally different were the small German states within the late HRE? [closed]
I was reading online about the formation of the German Empire and encountered the phrases:
At [the time the HRE came to an end] German identity only existed in a somewhat basic and symbolic form.
...
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Is the term Kaiser seen as offensive? [closed]
Is the term Kaiser seen as offensive? Because I know the term means German Emperor, but according to Wikipedia it says that "During the First World War, anti-German sentiment was at its zenith; ...
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What did the Germans believe were the causes of WWI during the war and after?
Did the Germans en masse believe they were waging a defensive war or a war for colonies, or a war for living space, or preventive war or a war in support of allies?
I have read about some opinions of ...
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What was the "Favorable result" that the German admiralty was expecting from the naval attack on the Royal Navy in 1918?
The infamous order from 24th October 1918 was planning to slam the German High Seas Fleet against the British Royal Navy. If I recall correctly, this was the second time Germany tried to even the odds ...
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Were there attempts to rename the French language Prussian order Pour le Mérite, why was it never Germanised?
Were there any attempts to rename the French language but Prussian order Pour le Mèrite, why was it never Germanised? If there were attempts, how did the opponents argue?
The Prussian's highest order ...
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Did Germans refuse to take Cossacks prisoners in WWI? If so, why?
The Russian Wikipedia's page about Kozma Kryuchkov, the first awardee of Russia's Cross of Saint George in the First World War, says:
После этого случая, освещённого почти во всей тогдашней ...
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What percentage of the German population worked on gathering the harvest in 1917?
It is a well-known fact that Germany suffered from food shortage during World War I, and that there were several causes of this, including in no particular order:
The blockade restricting food ...
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Why wasn't England/Britain officially an empire (as a form of monarchy)?
An overwhelming article does not answer my question: Why perhaps since Elizabeth I was England not officially an empire and its head of state an emperor/empress?
I mean, it is said that the British ...
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Why was Hesse south of the Main left out of the North German Confederation?
When the North German Confederation was founded after the Austro-Prussian war, it included all German states north of the Main, including the part of Hesse that was north of the Main. However the ...
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Where does the Kurrent letter-form for E come from?
The old German cursives, both Suetterlin and Kurrent, have several peculiar features compared to modern German cursive handwriting. One is a double-stroke letter-shape for E. Most introductory ...
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How was the Karwendel railway important to Germany's plans for WW1?
While reading Max Hastings' book "Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes To War", I was surprised by the following paragraph (emphasis added):
In 1912-13 Germany had declined to support a tough Austrian ...
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Where did Otto von Bismarck say "lying awake all night, hating"?
I am trying to identify a reference for a quote attributed to Otto von Bismarck.
From tagesspiegel.de: "Politik braucht mehr Prosa und weniger Poesie": "Wie enorm der Druck der Widerstände auf ihm [...
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What is the original German version of Bismarck's phrase about intentions and capabilities?
Update: It turns out that even Russia's president Vladimir Putin himself quoted Bismarck as saying that phrase! (Source1, Source2).
It thus seems unlikely to be a made-up quotation, because it is ...
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Why did the Party "Deutschkonservative" vote against renewing the "Sozialistengesetze" in 1890?
The German conservative Party "Deutschkonservative" voted in 1890 against the annual renewal of the "Sozialistengesetze" ("Laws against the revolutionary machinations of social democracy"). This ...
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Besides Mexico, who was considered as a potential ally of the Central Powers?
The Zimmermann telegram to the embassy in Mexico outright suggests that German Empire is trying to court Mexico as an ally in the Great War:
We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted ...
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When was the first usage of the slogan "Wer hat uns verraten..."?
Inspired by this question on Movie&TV.SE, I am looking for the origin of the phrase/slogan
Wer hat uns verraten? Sozialdemokraten!
Who betrayed us? Social democrats!
It is still used ...
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The WWI Christmas truce of 1914 resulted in no consequences, in spite of clear warnings against such beforehand - why were there no courts-martial?
British and German Soldiers photographed together during 1914 Christmas Truce. Source: The Daily Mirror, Friday January 8, 1915.
Question
What factors led to no courts-martial charges being pursued ...
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Did anyone face consequences (charges / court-martial) for the 1914 Christmas truce in WWI?
A copy of the Daily Mail from Dec. 31, 1914 reports on the Christmas truce. Source: The Star
As a follow-up to this question about impromptu football / soccer games between troops from opposite ...
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In the "Christmas truce" of 1914 were there any football (soccer) matches between British and German troops?
British and German troops meeting in no man's land during the unofficial truce. Source: Wikipedia
As the holiday season is upon us again this year, I am reminded of the 1914 Christmas truce (German: ...
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What were the typical arguments against women's higher education in XIX century Germany?
I have been reading about the life of Emmy Noether. A problem that she was faced with in her youth was that, at that time in Germany, women were not allowed to study at universities.
At that time, ...
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Why was Germany not broken up at the end of WW1
At the end of WW1 both Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman empire were broken up, but Germany was left intact, apart from some bits of territory given to Denmark, France and Poland. Why did this happen? ...
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Was Erich Ludendorff any form of nobility?
Erich Ludendorff was the most powerful German general at the end of the First World War, achieving practically dictator status from 1916 on.
A very common mistake is to posthumously nobilitate Erich ...
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Where could I find a map of the communes for Bavaria region before 1930?
I am looking into data for an article and I am missing a pretty important map. The map relates to this question. I need a map of Bavaria communes, the so called Gemeinden divisions (~municipalities ...
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How did Belgium manage to maintain control over their colonies while they were occupied? [closed]
Belgium was occupied during both the first and second world wars. I know that the Belgian Congo gained land after WW1. And I guess the Belgian Congo had some sort of independence, but I'm not sure ...
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Why didn't the linguistic split overlap with the religion split in Prussian Silesia?
The Prussian province of Silesia was split in two "halves", the northwest, centered around Breslau (Wrocław), was mostly Protestant, German-speaking, and was akin to other regions of the kingdom of ...
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Did the Germans occupy Kiev or Odessa in WW I?
A small portion of a historical novel I'm writing concerns a German Reichswehr officer meeting and falling in love with a Ukrainian girl during the First World War. I just need to know a few "everyday ...
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Is there any good reason to call the German Emperor "the Kaiser", implying something uniquely German about him?
It is common, in History-Channel-Grade English language documentaries at least, to refer to German emperors, and William II in particular, as "the Kaiser".
This is just the German term for emperor ...
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Can anyone identify this uniform?
Copied from OP's comment:
I believe he stayed in the Aachen area.
It is a photo of my G.G.Grandfather who was born in Aachen, Germany in 1841 and died 13 Nov 1890. Thanks in advance.
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Why didn't the British Grand Fleet force an engagement with the German Imperial Navy in WW1?
I'm watching the channel The Great War on YouTube, which documents the goings on of the First World War week by week (careful, it's addictive and there are literally hundreds of episodes).
It is my ...
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Before the Great War, was the word "Poland" typically used to refer only to the Russian partition of Poland?
Before World War 1, Poland was partitionned between Prussia, Austria-Hungary and Russia. However I have strong reasons to suspect that the word "Poland" was at that time referring specifically to the ...
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Were there any long-term benefits from sending Lenin back to Russia [closed]
Sending Lenin back to Russia to start a revolution is usually touted as a good idea by the Germans, since it helped to knock Russia out of the war. But the Great War was still lost for Germany, the ...
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The link between Kaiser Wilhelm I. and the city of Bonn
To be more specific, I need to know the link between Kaiser Wilhelm I. and Bonn. Why was the monument placed there? Was it because of his glory or where other factors taking place?
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How long would it take a Victorian to travel from central Germany to the UK?
Specifically from Lauscha in 1862, does anyone know how extensive railways were then?
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What was the outcome of the first tank battle?
Today, April 24th, is the anniversary of the first tank battle. As noted on this Wikipedia page, it was three British tanks against three German tanks, but there is no mention of the outcome in ...
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How did Hindenburg and Ludendorff lose WWI?
In his 2015 book "Towards The Flame - Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia", Dominic Lieven claims:
In Germany, William II was largely replaced by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg as regards ...
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Was communism a weaponized idea deployed against Imperial Russia? [closed]
I remember a lecture by a historian praising Imperial Germany for defeating Imperial Russia by both political (financing and "deploying" Lenin) and military means, a feat that both Napoleon and Hitler ...
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