Domestic reforms, Weltpolitik and the Naval Laws
How did the Kaiser respond to demands for social reform?
The Kaiser needed to deal with the growing threat from trade unions and socialism. A third of Germans were voting for the SPD, which made his relationship with the Reichstag difficult. He used a mix of two approaches:
- Reform - making changes to improve people’s lives
- Repression - getting rid of opposition using force
| Reform | Repression |
|---|---|
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The reforms did not stop the growth of socialism: by 1912 the SPD was the largest party in the Reichstag.
What was Weltpolitik?
Weltpolitik ("world policy") was the name for Kaiser Wilhelm’s foreign policy. It had three main aims:
- Improve the German economy so it was the most powerful in Europe
- Increase the size of the German navy
- Acquire more land to gain resources and power to rival Britain and France
Imperialism - when countries extend their power by taking over other countries and building an empire.
Why was the navy so important?
The Kaiser wanted a large navy to help him take over more countries and protect those already in the German Empire. This therefore links to the idea of Weltpolitik.
Britain always kept a navy more powerful than the next two biggest navies combined (the Two-Power Standard). The Kaiser wanted to challenge Britain’s naval power.
What were the Naval Laws?
Between 1898 and 1912 a series of Naval Laws were introduced. As a result, a huge amount of money was spent to rapidly increase the size of the Navy. The army expanded in size too.
- First Naval Law (1898) - 19 battleships, 8 armoured cruisers, 12 large and 30 light cruisers, all completed by 1904
- Initial opposition - both the right-wing Conservatives and left-wing SPD opposed it, saying it cost too much and still didn’t rival Britain and France
- Second Naval Law (1900) - doubled the number of battleships to 38, to be built over 17 years. The Reichstag didn’t oppose it this time as they felt threatened. The German navy was now a threat to the British navy.
The naval race: dreadnoughts built
| Year | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britain | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 29 |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
Germany never caught up with Britain.
The domestic importance of the Naval Laws
Taxes were increased and money was borrowed to pay for this. Germany would remain in debt for a very long time. This caused domestic problems (problems in Germany) as the national debt grew to 490 million marks by 1913.
They increased support for the Kaiser by increasing patriotism, so were therefore a domestic success.
Question tip
How the Kaiser’s style of leadership enhanced personal power:
- Personal loyalty of Prussia - the most powerful German state
- The military swore an oath of loyalty to him personally
- He could overrule any decision made by the government and implement his own will
- Built up the military in order to expand the German Empire
The problems the Kaiser faced in ruling Germany:
- Socialism - challenged his power and authority
- Trade Unions - threatened the growing industrial power of Germany
- Naval Laws - increase in taxes and increase in debt
Exam focus: interpretation questions
The Germany paper has three interpretation questions:
| How do the interpretations differ? [4 marks] | Two short paragraphs, one per interpretation: what does it suggest, which detail shows this, and what does that detail tell you? Then say how the other one is different. |
|---|---|
| Why might the interpretations differ? [4 marks] | Look at the provenance using NOP: Nature (what is it?), Origin (who made it and when?), Purpose (why?). e.g. a portrait made by the Prussian military in 1900 would show the Kaiser positively; a cartoon made by the Socialist Party in 1913 would show him negatively. |
| Which do you find more convincing? [8 marks] | A paragraph on each interpretation, using your own knowledge to support or challenge it, then an overall judgement. |