Mühldorf,[30] where the Hohenzoller won the battle for Emperor Ludwig
of Bavaria. Just as at that time the houses of Wittelsbach and of
Hohenzollern fought side by side for the good of the empire, so now,
too, and in the future they will work together.
[30] Battle fought in 1322 between two competitors for the empire,
Louis V and Frederick the Fair.
Your Royal Highness has had the opportunity to be present during these
days when we came to weighty conclusions and to be the witness of
historical moments which mark a new point in the history of our people.
Your Royal Highness has been able to convince himself how powerfully
the wave beat of the ocean knocks at the door of our people and forces
it to demand its place in the world as a great nation; drives it on, in
short, to world politics.
Germany's greatness makes it impossible for her to do without the
ocean--but the ocean also proves that even in the distance, and on its
farther side, without Germany and the German Emperor no great decision
dare henceforth be taken.[31]
[31] See the introduction to chapter IV, "The Beginning of World
Politics."
I do not believe that thirty years ago our German people, under the
leadership of their princes, bled and conquered in order that they
might be shoved aside when great decisions are to be made in foreign
politics. If that could happen the idea that the German people are to
be considered as a world-power would be dead and done for, and it is
not my will that this should happen. To this end it is only my duty
and my finest privilege to use the proper and, if need be, the most
drastic means without fear of consequences. I am convinced that in this
course I have the German princes and the German people firmly behind me.
It is of great significance that precisely at this time, when Bavarians
and Würtembergers, Saxons and Prussians are going into the far East in
order to re-establish the honor of the German flag, your Royal Highness
should have accepted the honor of the _à la suite_ position to the
naval battalion. Just as the house of Wittelsbach took up arms in 1870
to fight for Germany's honor, for her union, and her imperial dignity,
so I hope that the empire may always be assured of the support of this
noble race.
As a representative of this noble house I greet your Royal Highness
with the wish that the close connection which the _à la suite_ position
to my navy now gives you will always maintain your Royal Highness's
interest for our fleet.
I drink to the health of his Royal Highness, Prince Rupprecht of
Bavaria. Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
OPEN THE WAY FOR CULTURE
BREMEN, JULY 27, 1900
Events in China touched upon in the speech delivered on December
15, 1897, had finally brought about the Pekin crisis. Baron von
Ketteler, the German Minister, had been shot down in the streets on
June 20.
The following is one of five speeches which the Emperor delivered
on the occasion of the departure of the German troops for China.
This particular one was delivered to the troops at Bremen in the
presence of the Empress, Princes Eitel Friedrich and Adelbert,
Chancellor Hohenlohe, Secretary of State von Bülow, Minister
of War von Gossler, and Lieutenant-General von Bessel. Various
versions of this speech exist and in many of them the harshness of
the Emperor's expression has been toned down. We give first the
version which was printed in the _Reichsanzeiger_, the official
journal, and which seems to have been somewhat edited. In order
that the reader may realize more fully the impression conveyed by
the Emperor's farewell address to his troops, we print under it
the account which a volunteer of the 1st East Asiatic Regiment of
infantry sent home to his family.
Great tasks oversea have fallen to the lot of the newly arisen German
Empire, tasks far greater than many of my countrymen have expected. The
character of the German Empire makes it a duty for it to protect its
citizens no matter how far they may have penetrated into foreign lands.
The new German Empire is in a position to discharge the task which
the old Roman Empire of the German Nation could not discharge. The
instrument which makes this possible for us is our army.
In thirty years of faithful and peaceful labor it has been developed
according to the principles of my late grandfather. You too have
received your training according to these principles, and are now
called upon to give proof before the enemy whether or not you have
observed them well. Your comrades of the navy have undergone this
trial; they have shown you that the principles of our training are
good, and I am proud of the praise which has come from the mouths of
foreign leaders, in recognition of the service which your comrades out
there have given. It is now for you to do likewise.
A great task is waiting for you. You are to right the grievous wrong
which has been done. The Chinese have overthrown the law of nations;
in a way which has never been heard of in the history of the world,
they have scorned the duties of hospitality and the sanctity of the
Ambassador. This is the more revolutionary, as this crime was committed
by a nation which is proud of its very ancient culture. Preserve the
old Prussian thoroughness; show yourselves as Christians in joyfully
bearing your trials; may honor and glory follow your flags and weapons!
Give the world an example of manliness and discipline.
You know very well that you are to fight against a cunning, brave,
well-armed, and terrible enemy. If you come to grips with him, be
assured quarter will not be given, no prisoners will be taken. Use your
weapons in such a way that for a thousand years no Chinese shall dare
to look upon a German askance. Show your manliness.
The blessing of God be with you! The prayers of an entire people and my
wishes accompany you, every one. Open the way for culture once for all!
And now take up your journey! Adieu, comrades!
We here subjoin the account of this speech as given in the letter
of a volunteer in the 1st East Asiatic Regiment of infantry:
After the Emperor had gone down the front and had greeted separately
every battalion, every division or squadron, he pictured the present
situation in eloquent words and called attention to the fact that no
crime which so cried to Heaven had been recorded in the history of the
world, but he also set in their proper light the difficulties of the
task which we had set for ourselves and emphasized the fact that we
had before us an opponent equal in equipment and fame but ten times
superior in numbers. But, and his words ran about as follows, "you will
and must defeat him with the help of God and, indeed, in such a way
that the Chinese in thousands of years will not presume to raise his
hand against a German"; and his voice became deeply moved and powerful
as he spoke the following words: "On the strength of the oath to the
flag which you have sworn to me I demand that you give no pardon, that
no prisoners be taken, for you shall be the avengers of the abomination
which has been committed in this present time." Then followed certain
words of farewell, and the speech of the Emperor which for me and for
many others will be unforgettably closed with the phrase, "Adieu,
comrades."
[Illustration: THE EMPEROR IN 1900]
CIVIS ROMANUS SUM
IMPERIAL LIMES MUSEUM, SAALBURG, OCTOBER 11, 1900
_Limes_ was the Latin name for the boundary wall extending for
about 300 miles from the Rhine to the Danube and separating the
Roman Empire from the free Germanic peoples. At Saalburg, in the
Taunus Mountains, there stood on the _Limes_ an old Roman citadel
which was excavated and restored. The Romanized ceremony at the
laying of the corner-stone of the Imperial Limes Museum struck
certain German critics as somewhat theatrical. The guards had been
drilled to clash their swords on their shields after the manner of
the Pretorian guards, the rector of the school offered his homage
in Latin verses, and boys whose hair had been dressed in Roman
fashion swung their censers. The Emperor's historical references
here about the relation of Germany to Rome are somewhat one-sided.
It may be recalled, in connection with the Emperor's remarks about
Augustus and his salutary influence on Germany, that in the Forest
of Teutoburg there is a great monument to commemorate the fact that
the united German tribes, struggling victoriously against this
"Roman culture which fell so fruitfully upon Germany especially,"
there annihilated the forces of the general of Augustus, Quintilius
Varus.
My first thought to-day goes back in solemn gratitude to my father of
everlasting memory, Emperor Frederick III. It is to his creative will
and to his activity that Saalburg owes its restoration.
Just as in the far east of the monarchy at his bidding the powerful
stronghold, which once had implanted German culture into the east,
rearose and is now nearing completion, so, too, here in the beautiful
Taunus Mountains the old Roman citadel has arisen again like a phoenix
from its ashes. It is a testimony to the Roman power, a link in the
great chain which the legions of Rome built about the powerful empire
which, at the bidding of the Roman Emperor Cæsar Augustus alone, forced
its way upon the world and opened the whole world to that Roman
culture which fell so fruitfully upon Germany especially.
With the first blow of my hammer I therefore dedicate this stone to
the memory of Emperor Frederick III; with the second I dedicate it to
German youth, to the generations now growing up who may learn here
in this restored museum what a world-empire means; with the third
I dedicate it to our German Fatherland, to which I hope it will be
granted, through the harmonious co-operation of princes and peoples, of
its armies and its citizens, to become in the future as closely united,
as powerful, and as authoritative as once the Roman world-empire was,
and that, just as in old times they said, "_Civis romanus sum_,"
hereafter, at some time in the future, they will say: "I am a German
citizen."
CABINET ORDER TO THE PRUSSIAN ARMY
JANUARY, 1901
The relationship of the army to the Prussian Kings here referred to
is treated in chapter I.
TO MY ARMY:
To-day, at the celebration which commemorates the two-hundredth
anniversary of our taking over of the royal power of Prussia, my
thoughts are directed first of all to my army. In Prussia the King and
the army belong indissolubly together. This close personal relationship
between me and every single one of my officers and soldiers rests upon
a tradition that dates back 200 years. The spirit which from the time
of Frederick the Great has been fostered in the army by all the Kings,
the spirit of honor, of fidelity to duty, of obedience, of courage,
of chivalry has made the army what it is and what it ought to be, the
sharp, reliable weapon in the hand of her Kings for the protection and
the blessing of the Fatherland's greatness.
To serve the Fatherland at the head of the army, that is my will and
that also was the foremost wish of all my predecessors. It is to their
care that the army owes its power and the consideration which it
enjoys. For 200 years she has proven true the sentence of the great
King: "The world does not rest upon the shoulders of Atlas any more
securely than the Prussian state upon the shoulders of the army!" It
has sealed with its blood its love and gratitude for its Kings!
For all this I thank the army deeply. I thank it for the devotion which
it has unselfishly shown me and my house year in and year out, in its
unceasing service for the Fatherland. So long as this spirit binds the
army to its Kings, so long we need fear no storms; and Prussia's eagle
will proudly pursue its lofty and undeflected flight for the good of
Prussia, for the good of Germany! May God grant us this!
WILLIAM, I. R.
BERLIN ROYAL PALACE.
DEDICATION OF THE BARRACKS OF THE ALEXANDER REGIMENT
MARCH 28, 1901
On the 6th of March the Emperor had been struck in the face by a
piece of iron hurled at him by an irresponsible youth, Weiland, in
the streets of Bremen. It was doubtless this incident coupled with
the increasing strength of the Social Democrats that made him think
of the possibility of an uprising and deliver the following address
to the population of Berlin. The Social Democrats and many others
resented his suggesting the possibility of turning the troops
upon the citizens. We give first Penzler's more or less official
account of the speech as it appeared in the _Kreuzzeitung_. If the
extract which we quote from Doctor Liman's work "Der Kaiser" may be
considered at all authentic, the speech seems to have been somewhat
edited before publication.
MEMBERS OF THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER REGIMENT:
To-day a new period in your history begins. May the spirit of the
memories which you leave behind you in the old barracks live on in
your new home. They are memories of beautiful days of peace and of
fierce days of conflict. Like a firm bulwark, your new barracks stand
in the neighborhood of the palace, which it is primarily your duty to
be ever ready to defend. The Emperor Alexander Regiment is called upon
in a sense to stand ready as body-guard by night and by day and, if
necessary, to risk its life and its blood for the King and his house;
and if ever again (the Emperor here called to mind the faithful bearing
of the Alexander Regiment at the time of the revolts against the King
in 1848) a time like this should reappear in this city, a time of
uprising against the King, then I am convinced the Alexander Regiment
will be able energetically to force back into bounds any impertinence
and rebelliousness against its royal master.[32]
[32] This last sentence reads as follows in Doctor Liman's work:
"But if the city should ever again presume to rise up against
its master then will the regiment repress with the bayonet the
impertinence of the people toward their King." Doctor Liman states
that it was currently reported that this sentiment had been
expressed in phrases which were even more objectionable to the
citizens who were standing outside the circle of soldiers.
I hope that a brilliant and beautiful existence may be in store for
the regiment in its new home, and that such an existence will be
reserved for it in the future. May it cherish above all things its
memories of its earlier leaders and its enduring relationships to
them. These memories can only be fostered through courage, fidelity,
and unconditional obedience. And if this old spirit lives on in the
regiment then must its acts always win for it the satisfaction of its
royal master.
(After the banquet in the officers' mess the Emperor turned over to
them a large painting of the Alexander Regiment on the evening of
the battle of St. Privat. The official report gives the Emperor's
speech partly in his own words and partly in summary.)
He was convinced that the officers had brought the old spirit into
their new quarters, and that they would continue to foster it. He, too,
on his side, wished to contribute something to the decoration of their
new home, and to this end had chosen an episode out of the victorious
history of the regiment, and in doing so he wished to carry out a wish
of the officers.
"In most of the pictures based upon the martial history of Prussia the
Prussian troops are represented in victorious advance when, under their
powerful shock, they are overthrowing the enemy. I thought it fitting
for once to have the Prussian toughness and endurance on the defensive
represented in the battle of a smaller body against an overwhelmingly
superior force. The picture represents how a small number from the
Alexander Regiment defended themselves with heroic spirit against an
entire brigade and finally victoriously repulsed it. My grandfather
expressed to the body-guard as a whole his gratitude for its brave
conduct in the face of the enemy and for all its heroic deeds. I am
firmly convinced that the officers of the Alexander Regiment will
always be mindful of its task, seeing that it educates soldiers for
the one moment when it is a question of sealing with their life-blood
their fidelity toward King and Fatherland. This consciousness gives
me the certainty that we shall conquer everywhere, even though we be
surrounded by enemies on all sides; for there lives a powerful ally,
the old, good God[33] in heaven, who, ever since the time of the Great
Elector and of the great King, has always been on our side."
[33] _Der alte, gute Gott._
TO THE STUDENTS AT BONN
APRIL 24, 1901
Emperor William had himself been a student at Bonn. On this day the
Crown Prince was matriculated at that university and in the evening
the students held a _Festkommers_, a kind of banquet of the student
societies, at which the Emperor appeared with the Crown Prince
and his brother-inlay, Prince Adolph von Schaumburg-Lippe. After
singing two student songs, the student leader of the _Kommers_,
"Studiosus" von Alvensleben, greeted the Emperor with a speech
of welcome. In this friendly gathering the Emperor took occasion
to discuss the history of the empire and especially the reasons
for the failure of the older empire because of its cosmopolitan
character. The new empire must be based upon a recognition of the
characteristic German traits and will be possible only through the
whole-hearted support of the constituent states of the realm.
I do not need to emphasize or even to mention to you, my dear young
comrades, what emotions thrill my heart at finding myself again among
students in beautiful Bonn. There unrolls before my mind's eye the
glimmering picture of sunshine and happy contentment with which the
period of my own sojourn here was filled. It was the joy of living, joy
in people old and young, and, above all things, joy in the development
of the young German Empire!
It is therefore my wish at this moment, when I place my dear son among
you, that he, too, may have as happy a time as a student as was once
vouchsafed to me. And, indeed, how could it be otherwise? For Bonn,
the lovely city, is so accustomed to the presence of young men full of
life and seems by nature to have been designed to no other end. Here
the Crown Prince will find memories of his glorious grandfather who
could not forget Bonn--his kindly eyes brightened whenever the name of
the city which had become so dear to him was mentioned--memories of
his great-grandfather, the noble prince consort, the companion of that
now sanctified royal lady,[34] who always strove to maintain a peaceful
and friendly relationship between her people and ours, which are both
of German stock--memories of many another noble German prince who here
prepared himself for his later career.
[34] Queen Victoria.
But even more than that--Bonn is situated on the Rhine; it is here
that our grapes are gathered; our legends cluster about it, and every
castle, every city, speaks to us of our past. The magic of Father Rhine
will certainly exercise its power upon the Crown Prince likewise. And
when you joyfully pass the cup and sing a new song, then I hope that
your spirits may rise and enjoy the beautiful moments as becomes happy
German youths! But may the source from which you draw your joys be as
clear and pure as the golden juice of the grape, may it be deep and
constant as Father Rhine! If we look about us in the joyous Rhineland,
our history rises up before us in very palpable form. You may well
rejoice that you are young Germans, as you travel through the stretch
from Aix to Mainz, that is, from Charlemagne to the time of Germany's
splendor under Barbarossa.
But why did all this glory come to naught? Why did the German Empire
dwindle away? Because the old empire was not founded upon a strictly
national basis. The universality idea of the old Roman Empire of the
German Nation did not admit of any development in the spirit of German
nationality. The life of a nation depends upon its frontiers, upon
the personality of its people, and upon its racial traits. And so the
glory of Barbarossa had to fail, and the old imperial structure had to
fall, because through its idea of universality it hindered the process
of crystallization which might have made it a rounded and completed
nation; for the smaller units crystallized into the form of powerful
principalities and laid the foundation for new states. But through
this process their rulers unfortunately came into conflict with the
empire and the Emperor, who dreamed of universal dominion, and internal
peace was lost to the ever weakening empire. Unfortunately, at the
head of this chapter in the development of our German people we must
write the telling words of Tacitus, that great student of Germany:
"_Propter invidiam_." The princes were envious of the power of the
Emperors, just as once they were envious of the power of Arminius in
spite of his victory. The nobility was envious of the cities which had
become wealthy, and the peasant was envious of the noble. What unhappy
consequences and what grievous woes our dear and beautiful Germany had
to suffer "_propter invidiam_"! The shores of Father Rhine can tell you
long stories about this. But finally God allowed one to accomplish what
before had been impossible. Aix and Mainz are for us historic memories;
the longing to be brought together into a single nation remained in
the German breast, and Emperor William the Great, in union with his
faithful servants, achieved it. So cast your eyes from Coblentz to the
German Eck and from Rüdesheim to the Niederwald! The pictures teach and
prove to you that you are now Germans in a German land, citizens of a
definitely bounded German nation. You are here to prepare yourselves to
contribute to her future welfare and development. In its proud flower
the empire stands before you. May you be filled with joy and grateful
happiness, and may you be thrilled with the firm and manly resolve, as
Germans, to give your service to Germany, to support, strengthen, and
elevate her! The future waits for you and will need your strength;
it does not expect that you will waste it in idle cosmopolitan dreams
or enlist it in the service of selfish party tendencies, but that you
will devote it to strengthening the national idea and our own ideals.
Powerful, indeed, are the intellectual heroes which the Germanic stock,
through the grace of God, has produced, from the time of Boniface
and Walter von der Vogelweide to Goethe and Schiller; and they have
become a light and blessing to all humanity. Their influence was
exerted universally, and yet they were strictly Germans, set apart by
themselves; that is, personalities, men. We need them to-day more than
ever. May you strive to become such as they were!
But how is this to be possible, and who is to help you? Only one, our
Lord and Saviour, whose name we all bear and who has borne our sins and
redeemed us, has provided us with an example, and labored as we are to
labor. He has implanted moral earnestness in you so that the springs of
your activity may remain pure and that your aims may be lofty! The love
of father and mother, of the ancestral home and Fatherland, is rooted
in the love for Him. Then will you be provided with a charm against
temptations of every sort, above all against pride and envy, and you
can sing and say: "We Germans fear God, nothing else in this world."
Then will we stand firm and spread culture through the world, and I
shall close my eyes in peace if I see such generations growing up and
gathered about my son. Then "_Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles!_"
With this prospect in mind I call out: Long live the University of Bonn!
A PLACE IN THE SUN
HAMBURG, JUNE 18, 1901