AHC: The Kaiser of 1930

Well, the title pretty much says it. How hard is it to keep Kaiser Wilhelm, or at least, his successor, in power after WWI? Could the Kaiserreich survive the Great War even while the communists rise in the east and democracy's power grows more powerful? What happens to the rest of the world with the Kaiser somehow still standing?
 
Well, the title pretty much says it. How hard is it to keep Kaiser Wilhelm, or at least, his successor, in power after WWI? Could the Kaiserreich survive the Great War even while the communists rise in the east and democracy's power grows more powerful? What happens to the rest of the world with the Kaiser somehow still standing?

The moment it's clear the war is won, the Russian Bolsheviks die a quick death.
 
Well, the title pretty much says it. How hard is it to keep Kaiser Wilhelm, or at least, his successor, in power after WWI? Could the Kaiserreich survive the Great War even while the communists rise in the east and democracy's power grows more powerful? What happens to the rest of the world with the Kaiser somehow still standing?
Depends on how the war ends.
 
Suppose there is no Hitler--something as simple as he is killed in the Great War. Along comes the crises of the 1930s, but there is no one to take Hitler's place as an organizer of a right wring party that can simultaneously appeal to working-class, middle class, and upper class supporters.

As I understand it Hindenburg favored the restoration of the Kaisers. Might he go so far, in a worsening early 1930s crisis where he can't just put Hitler in charge, to restore the monarchy by inviting in a different royal house than Hohenzollern? Perhaps the Wittelsbachs, or even a Hapsburg? A Catholic dynasty would certainly make absorbing Austria easier and I'd think any lingering anti-Papsim among northern elites would be offset by the desire to bring in a bunch of conservative southerners.

I've little enthusiasm for seeing either Silly Willy or his Nazi son ascend the throne.
 

CaliGuy

Banned
Well, the title pretty much says it. How hard is it to keep Kaiser Wilhelm, or at least, his successor, in power after WWI? Could the Kaiserreich survive the Great War even while the communists rise in the east and democracy's power grows more powerful? What happens to the rest of the world with the Kaiser somehow still standing?
For one, you could have WWI end earlier than it did in our TL.
 
Simply don't have give up his crown and flee into exile in the first place. Ebert and a good part of the social democrats originally wanted to keep the Kaiser as a stabilizing figure and were pretty pissed off when Wilhelm decided to go into exile. You would have some more backlash from the socialists, but that happened our time line anyway. With the Kaiser still in place as a figurehead monarch there probably won't be a Kapp putsch and a good part of the Freikorps will actually listen to the government.
 

CaliGuy

Banned
Simply don't have give up his crown and flee into exile in the first place. Ebert and a good part of the social democrats originally wanted to keep the Kaiser as a stabilizing figure and were pretty pissed off when Wilhelm decided to go into exile. You would have some more backlash from the socialists, but that happened our time line anyway. With the Kaiser still in place as a figurehead monarch there probably won't be a Kapp putsch and a good part of the Freikorps will actually listen to the government.
Didn't the German people themselves want the Kaiser to go, though?
 
Didn't the German people themselves want the Kaiser to go, though?

Not really. The right wing, the conservatives and a good part of the the social democrats were all in favor of a constitutional monarchy with limited monarch powers. It was Wilhelm some had a grudge with.

The biggest opposition to the monarchy came from the socialists and communists.

Wilhelm was paranoid that his fate would be the same as the Czars and had a knee jerk reaction.

Considering that there was a socialist uprising even after the Kaiser had fled this only proves Ebert was right. Keeping the Kaiser wouldn't have made a difference for the socialists in the end, but at least would have guaranteed the loyalty of the military and the far right.
 
In October 1918 a new constitution was proposed that was designed to satisfy Wilson's 14 points, it basically made Germany a constitutional monarchy. So that would be the basis of any postwar kaiser Reich.
 

Deleted member 94680

"... the Treaty of Versailles,... Article 227 expressly provided for the prosecution of Wilhelm "for a supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties", but the Dutch government refused to extradite him, despite appeals from the Allies. King George V wrote that he looked on his cousin as "the greatest criminal in history", but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". President Woodrow Wilson of the United States rejected extradition, arguing that prosecuting Wilhelm would destabilize international order and lose the peace." Wikipedia page on KWII and the section on his abdication.

Seems if he had held his nerve, there's every chance (especially with the Communist uprisings) the WAllies would look to deal with him and 'normalise' relations.
 
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