Kaiser Wilhelm II., Opening Special Session of the Reichstag in White
Room of the Royal Palace, Berlin, Aug. 4.
Honored Sirs: It is in an hour fraught with fate that I have
assembled about me all the representatives of the German people.
For almost half a century we have been able to keep to the path of
peace. The attempts to attribute a warlike temperament to Germany
and to circumscribe its position in the world have often put to
severe tests the patience of our people. With unswerving honesty,
my Government, even in provoking circumstances, has pursued as its
highest aim the development of all moral, spiritual, and economic
powers. The world has been witness how tirelessly we strove in the
first rank during the pressure and confusion of the last few years
to spare the nations of Europe a war between the great powers.
The very grave dangers which had arisen owing to the events in the
Balkans appeared to have been overcome, but then the murder of my
friend, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, opened up a great abyss. My
high ally, the Emperor and King Francis Joseph, was compelled to
take up arms to defend the security of his empire against dangerous
intrigues from a neighboring State. In the pursuit of her proper
interests the Dual Monarchy has found her path obstructed by the
Russian Empire. Not only our duty as an ally calls us to the side
of Austria-Hungary, but on us falls also the mighty task of
defending the ancient community of culture of the two kingdoms and
our own position in the world against the attack of hostile powers.
With a heavy heart I have been compelled to mobilize my army
against a neighbor with whom it has fought side by side on so many
fields of battle. With sincere sorrow I saw a friendship broken of
which Germany had given faithful proofs. The Imperial Russian
Government, yielding to the pressure of an insatiable nationalism,
has taken sides with a State which by encouraging criminal attacks
has brought on the evil of this war. That France, also, placed
herself on the side of our enemies could not surprise us. Too often
have our efforts to arrive at friendlier relations with the French
Republic come in collision with old hopes and ancient malice.
Honored Sirs: What human insight and power could do to arm a people
against the last extremities has been done with your patriotic
help. The hostility which has been smouldering for a long time in
the East and in the West has now burst into bright flames. The
present situation did not proceed from transient conflicts of
interest or diplomatic entanglements, it is the result of an ill
will which has for many years been active against the strength and
the prosperity of the German Empire. We are not incited by lust for
conquest, we are inspired by the unyielding determination to keep
for ourselves and all future generations the place which God has
given us.
From the proofs which have been given you, you will see how my
Government, and especially my Chancellor, strove up to the last
moment to avert the worst. We grasp the sword in compulsory
self-defense, with clean hands and a clean conscience.
To the peoples and races of the German Empire my call goes forth to
defend with all their strength and in brotherly co-operation with
our ally that which we have created by peaceful labor. After the
example of our fathers, firmly and faithfully, sincerely and with
chivalry, humbly before God and battling joyfully before the enemy,
let us place our trust in the eternal Omnipotence, and may He
strengthen our defense and bring it to a good end!
To you, honored sirs, the whole German people, assembled about its
Princes and its leaders, look this day. Make your decision
unanimously and quickly. That is my heartfelt wish.
Gentlemen (addressing the Deputies directly): You have read what I
said to my people the other day from the balcony of my castle. I
repeat now that I no longer know any parties. I know only Germans.
And in order to testify that you are firmly resolved without
distinction of party to stand by my side through danger and death,
I call upon the leaders of the different parties in this House to
come forward and lay their hands in mine as a pledge.
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