Wilhelminism

The Wilhelmine period covers the period from 1890 to 1918 in the history of the German Empire, which includes the reign of William II years and the First World War. The Wilhelminism not go back to a society draft of this German Emperor. Rather, the term refers to William's appearance and präpotente attitude, a hubris that was already noticed his grandfather Wilhelm I.. The policy of Wilhelm II, was conditionally directed by his ambitions in the heyday of imperialism, even on an establishment of Germany as a world power after Germany had acquired the mid-1880s the majority of its colonial possessions in Africa and the South Pacific.

Even if there was the Pickelhaube before, it is a symbol of the German military and militarism that time, but also for the era as a whole. Distinctive expression of Wilhelminism were finally pompous military parades. In various sign languages ​​is specified on the forehead extended index finger to indicate the Pickelhaube, until today the sign for " German " and " German ".

Wilhelm was fascinated by the Navy. His aim was, thereby reinforcing them and the German sea power massively. For this was his sentence: "Our future lies on the water. " This was also reflected in the everyday life of the people. Until the mid-twentieth century into boys were put in sailor costumes and so already made early familiar with the value date of the Navy.

The dismissal of Otto von Bismarck as chancellor in 1890 is considered the beginning of this period. The end of the Wilhelmine coincided with the end of the First World War in 1918 and the abdication of the Kaiser.

The term Wilhelminism also identifies the socio- cultural climate of the reign of William II, which found its expression in rigid patriarchal and conservative orientations. Socialism and social democracy were seen as the main domestic risk. At the same time the time was marked by an extraordinary faith in progress, which favored the enormous prosperity of the empire strong, but was also in tension with the social conservatism.

Similarly, the term is applied to the prevailing at that time styles in the visual arts and architecture. Below is a style to understand which is substantially aligned with neo-baroque and extremely prestigious, should express the imperial claim to power of the German Empire. In particular, the pompous and the Berlin population as a puppet Avenue mocked Siegesallee underlined this style, which got an official status with the so-called " Rinnsteinrede " William the opening of the magnificent boulevard on 18 December 1901. - In the field of literature flourished at this time, " folk art ," a term that was coined by Adolf Bartels.