I was born near Doorn, the place where kaiser Wilhelm lived since 1919. My grandma (born in 1930) told me that Wilhelm was a kind of a mysterious man, almost legendary. They were told something like: "In that house there lives a man who was once very powerful, but he wanted to have more power. So he tried to conquer Russia, France and Belgium. But he failed. And now he's living here, with us." So the children became obsessed by these stories of course. So they came by his house often, to look from a distance. But all they ever saw was an old man, chopping wood all day long.
As a Dutch person who likes history, I've visited his old home in Doorn and recommend anyone that travels through the Netherlands to visit it, it's a museum now.
Im from the Netherlands, he actualy managed to chop down 25% of the local forest down around his house on his own with 1 arm, this was a very known fact in the Netherlands but not to mutch elsewhere.
** "More than a year after the overthrow of the Nazi regime, Wilhelm of House Hohenzollern, Second of His Name, has returned from his exile in the Netherlands and retook his mantle as Kaiser of the German Empire starting yesterday. His welcome was spearheaded by none other than Field Marshal and Acting Regent August von Mackensen, who deemed the Kaiser's return as his last official act as Germany's Head of State. The Kaiser expressed his gratitude to the Netherlands for his safety during his exile. He then assured the German people that he would lead the country to glory and renewed confidence, especially in light of the civil war that reforged the Empire. Meanwhile, reports from Berlin residents now indicate a steady loss of trees around the Kaiser's residence.
@@duxxoo He didn't write it, or at least most of it. It's from Hearts of Iron 4, a WW2 game that has an alternate history choice where the player can oppose Hitler and restore the monarchy.
*Some Conversation in the 1930s* Mailman: here's your mail 'Mr. Hohenzollen'? Like the Kaiser? Wilhelm II: Yes, like the Kaiser. Mailman: Oh, I wonder what he's up to these days
"No swastikas at my funeral, they're gross" (the English one, not German one) :D So Kaiser Willy Two was really looking forward to play the "Oppose Hitler" Focus.
Fun fact: He gratulated Hitler for the conquest of France by ecentirally saying: "Nice work all thanks to MY army" He also got "famous" as a woodcutter in the area because he made chopping trees his hobby.
He was known as the Woodchopper of Doorn, basically deforesting the entire estate. He must've been really bored, lol. He did plant saplings and the estate was eventually reforested.
@@Jim-lg8sf he had a weird mutated arm probably because of being inbred. Queen victoria would like get people to experiment on it and stuff and so he disliked her for that.
Funny anecdote: after living in Amerongen Kaiser Wilhelm lived on the island of Wieringen. A female cousin of my grandfather lived there at the same time when she was a little girl. She fell into the water once and was saved by Wilhelm who was just passing by.
I went to Doorn last week, and you can not only see his grave there, you can even see his closed casket with a german imperial flag on it. It’s really weird to see someone who was once one of the most powerful people on the planet just lying there for everyone to see, and the owners of the property don’t even have any signs that you can see him there. Most people there don’t even know they’re less then 100 meters away from Wilhelm’s casket.
Fun fact: actually during the invasion of the Netherlands, the Wehrmacht sent a small security guard to the former Kaiser's residence - much to the annoyance of Hitler.
I live close to Doorn, and when I bike through the neighbourhood you can clearly see that there are less trees there. This is because Wilhelm spend a very large amount of his time in the Netherlands woodcutting and to this day you can still see the effects in some places
There was this great quote you missed from Wilhelm The Second about the nazi regime in Germany that I always like to go back to. "There is a man, alone, without family, without children, without God. Why should he be human? Oh, without doubt he is sincere, but this very excessive sincerity keeps him apart and out of touch with men and realities. He builds legions but he doesn’t build a nation. A nation is created by families, a religion, and tradition: it is made up out of the hearts of mothers, the wisdom of fathers, the joy and the exuberance of children. Over there (pointing to Germany) an all-swallowing State, disdainful of human dignities and the ancient structure of our race, sets itself up in place of everything else. And the man, who, alone, incorporates in himself this whole State, has neither a God to honor nor a dynasty to conserve, nor a past to consult. For a few months I was inclined to believe in National Socialism. I thought of it as a necessary fever. And I was gratified to see that there were, associated with it for a time, some of the wisest and most outstanding Germans. But these, one by one, he has got rid of or even killed. Papen, Schleicher, Neurath - and even Blomberg, have gone. He has left nothing but a bunch of shirted gangsters. This man could bring home victories to our people each year without bringing them glory. But of our Germany, which was a nation of poets and musicians, of artists and soldiers, he has made a nation of hysterics and hermits, engulfed in a mob and led by a thousand lairs or fanatics."
Wilhelm the second might be a bad leader and he made some bad political decisions. But he was a man of Honor and glory with respect for others and respect for his Own people. He was Germany and Germany was him. The Kaiser shall remain.
Yeah but mistake me if i'm incorrect but wasn't this quote in response to kristalnacht and then after the nazis started invading and controlling most of Europe he started congratulating them and saying that they were proper germans
@TeutonenKrieger09 Yeah I vaguely remember hearing that Wilhelm sent a letter to Hitler congratulating him for defeating France with his (Wilhelm's) armies. I'm not sure if this is apocryphal but wasn't Hitler have said to have called him an idiot when he read the letter?
@BANISZKI ANIMATIONEN I will never accept this insult, but the german people saw what happend to germany without me. And still they don't like me so it's not my fault the german people are ungrateful and unappreciative!
I live 15 minutes away from Doorn with a bicycle. I went to his house and grave when I was 12 with a school excursion. Never really thought that much of it. But now I realise how interesting his life was.
small correction here: Kaiser Wilhelm never referred to himself as "ICH". He always used "WIR". He is a monarch after all and used the pluralis majestatis.
A relative of mine grew up in depression-era Germany, and she - among a number of other children - was invited to live with a Dutch family on the Kaiser‘s estate to get away from the grinding poverty back home. I do not know how many children actually participated in this program, or under what terms children were selected, but I thought it was an interesting historical footnote.
@@lolfunacount Nope, that's "Flavourtown", a business located in Amsterdam, partly restaurent and partly renting of halls(not sure wether it is correct english word for it, but basically you can rent big rooms to have a party in/eat with a selected company etc.). Though it is relatively close to the province Flevoland.
wasnt that actually considered? (not after WWII, but during the formation of the Weimar Republic) I think his son wasnt much better than him so they dropped that idea, though his grandson went on to become a historian with a focus on the role of former royals during the rise of the Nazis.
Just a question, why though? What strategic reason would the allies have to put a Kaiser in West Germany, what would that accomplish? The only thing you would get from it is even more unrest as the germans themselves didn't want a Kaiser. Therefore the Allies would need to enforce his rule with force which would once again make the Germans extremely upset which would make them support radical ideologies, this time the communists, which is completely the opposite of what the allies wanted.
well he didn´t force him into reritement . Bismarck threathend wilhelm to resign if he didn´t get his way and so the kaiser just told him that he can fuck off if he wants
Sounds like the Kaiser had that weird experience where he hated his team for betraying him, but they turned it around kept winning without him, so he supported them anyways.
You can find monarchists nearly everywhere to be honest, but there numbers are usually limited, with smaller ones being in the thousands and the large ones numbering in tens of thousands tops. There is one exception to this however, and that is in Russia where their monarchist party has over a million members (Still less than 1% of Russia's population, but quite large compared to other countries).
The Dutch were also grateful to Wilhelm for having not invaded them the way he did Belgium. The Netherlands was a neutral country throughout World War One which is why it was a safe haven for Wilhelm, the way Switzerland or Sweden might have been.
@@wingslider Every European monarchy had close ties to every other European monarchy. Wilhelm was the first cousin of the King of England (George V) and of Alexandra (wife of the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia) ... and was a third cousin of Nicholas himself. The King of Romania (an Allied nation and an enemy to Germany and Austria) was a Hohenzollern (the same dynasty that ruled Germany), albeit from a Catholic branch of the family.
@@thetrist333 The thing is that in germany there is some kinda of law which forbids to change certain laws. And a law you cannot change is the law regarding the Stateform. So there wont be a monarchie ever again in germany under legal ways. To bring back the monarchy you would have to start a coup d'État.
True Hitler ignored this request in order to spite him and make it seem like the German monarchs are in support of the Nazi regime which they were not actually in support of at all.
Waffel Reitter one guy controlled all the power like a king. And eliminated his opponents like kings did Edit: and everyone probably hated the kaisers guts and didn't want to be the guy known for spitting in a kings grave
22fordfx4 haha would be amazing. I would play jokes on him all the time. Me:”He wat hangt er aan de waslijn?” (Whats hanging on the washingline?” Ex-Kaiser: “WAS!?” (What?!) it’s funnier when you are Dutch or german. Was in dutch means loundry but in german it means what. Germans always fall dor this shit
Well, peraps it was his karma for the fact he ignored the will of his mother (who was, interestingly, British Queen Victoria's daughter) and he buried her in different place than she wanted to rest. Likewise, his burial wish was ignored.
@@dylan2478 't zou wel prachtig zijn hé, Groot-Nederland😏 Dat jullie Vlamingen die rot Wallonen niet uit kunnen staan en de regering kapot vinden door dat rare systeem snap ik absoluut, dus dat jullie uit elkaar willen ook, maar ik ken geen Belgische partij die reuinificatie wilt en zelfs Geert Wilders heeft dat idee laten vallen...
The house in Doorn where Wilhelm lived, is now a museum. Everything is left as much as in the time when he lived there. There are lots of things to see like his grave and the gifts he was given by his grandmother the British Queen Victoria whom he deeply loved (he hated his mother who was also called Victoria) and the saddle that he used as his deskchair. Best wishes from the Netherlands.
@@Toten1316 Well technically he did "invade" Austria, since German troops crossed the border(12 march) before Austria had really/formally agreed to the Anschluss(13-15 march). However it was a peaceful invasion with many Austrians throwing flowers to the German soldiers, this is perhaps why it's not really remembered as an invasion.
I once heard a story from one of my friends grandmother who is from the Netherlands that once when she was a little girl living in the Netherlands playing with friends there was this house that was completely surrounded by wall and you could only see threw the gate and when you would look threw sometimes you could see a man wearing a dark coat and a mustache just like the Kaiser’s chopping wood and only sometimes you could actually see this but they never saw him leave his house ever.
By 1916 the german high command insisted on invading the netherlands as well to control all the coast from Ostend to Cuxhaven but the Kaiser said no way. Wilhelmina returned him the favour, an act still very controversial in Belgium.
Fun fact: He spent almost every morning chopping wood to better his health. He would use the wood to help the poor locals of the town he lived by. He would also take daily walks.
There is actually an interesting story about the „Doorn Society“ Wilhelm founded in exile. Their badge is that of a gorgon statue which he unearthed himself on the Greek island of Korfu. He regularly invited scientists from Germany to talk about his interests in history, theology and archaeology.
3:35 i find it kind of adorable when they become average citizens. "Ah, there goes old man Mr Hohenzollern rambling on about the glory and prestige of monarchy to the milk man again *sigh* poor guy".
David Lloyd-George remained a figure in British politics until his death in early 1945, including being prime minister from 1918-22. Importantly, his speech during the Parliamentary "Norway Debate" in 1940 helped ensure Winston Churchill became Prime Minister
I think this story skips over the fact that the dutch actually liked the guy. And he was known to be very helpful to people after his abdication, it was like he became a different person after losing his crown.
@@pokemaster123ismTo family (not his extended, he was hated on his extended but wife and children) he was known to be a pretty decent guy without the flair of his public persona. Maybe he decided to show a little bit of that side when he was exiled
Actually her name was Hermine. She was born Princess of Reuss Grieze and her first husband was Prince of Schoenath Carolath. She died of complications of influenza in 1947 having been a prisoner of the Russians.
US Senator at the door: We are here to kidnap you Kaiser: No, you can't come in US Senator: Sorry to disturb you sir, have a nice day US Senator with companion as they depart: Well, we tried Companion: Yes. Yes we sure tried
Imagine having to wake up every day in your twilight years knowing you have ruined your family's legacy, killed off more than 10% of your own countrymen, and have to watch your homeland morph into something unrecognizable. I kinda feel bad for the guy :/
Don't see how Kaiser Wilhelm is responsible for a Serbian shooting the Arch Duke and then the Serbian government denying the Austro-Hungarians their right to an investigation. The only thing you can blame him for was declaring war on Belgium.
@@makarin741 Giving Austria an unconditional blank check to cash in military assistance, knowing full well that Russia would attack them to defend Serbia, also not the best of diplomatic moves.
@@Gstrangeman96 I believe the Kaiser actually did attempt to prevent the war, you should watch extra history's series on it. Seminal tragedy I think it's called.
Please use the correct map of the Netherlands for the period. You're using a post-1968 map, with both Flevo-polders and the Noordoostpolder. The Netherlands looked a lot different in 1918.
@@williamvongooneriusghovt9940 Waddayaknow 😁you're right, google only has the current map. But when you use duckduckgo, type in the netherlands 1918 map you get the right map in the picture search
lol I love the distinction of the word, gross at 3:14 There's a very big and significant difference between English and German in this particular context lol 🤣
ブランドン I know it kinda is a running joke between the Dutch and the Germans. So even if you are not German (just a guess deduced from the seemingly Japanese? Letters) i still wanted to take a poke at all the Germans who are gonna read you comment :)
The Kaiser didn't start the war, the French declared war on Germany after it declared war on Russia cuz Russia declared war on Austria cuz Austria attacked Serbia cuz they funded terrorists in Bosnia......yeah lovely war
@Vandole yeah, he gave them that blank cheque on the understanding that Austria-Hungary would act fast, with the sympathy and support of Europe behind them. Of course, the Austro-Hungarians dithered and delayed for months and then horribly bungled their response, dragging the whole world i to war behind them
@@jessesinclair3861 The Brits and French wanted war? Didn't both of them just let Germany annexing territories? They annexed Austria, illegal but i don't care. They annexed Czechoslovakia and Slovakia becomes a puppet state, we'll allow it as long as you are not violent. They want to annex parts of Poland and Poland says no, Britain says to respect it and guarantees Poland from Germany. Hitler declared war, Brits and France declared way because they had enough. That's how it worked. The Brits and French were not warmongers it was actually the Nazis who are aggressively annexing territories. The Nazis were the warmongers. The allies didn't care about the Soviet Union because they only guaranteed Poland on German aggression and not the Soviets. To be fair, the Soviets weren't annexing territories prior to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The Brits guaranteed Poland waaay before the Nazis and the Soviets even thought of becoming friends. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was only accomplished just days before the invasion of Poland so Britain really didn't have the time to negotiate with the Soviets. So in short, Britain and France didn't declare war on Germany for the sake of pride. The US didn't want war with Germany, the Germans DECLARED war on the US. The US was preparing for war with the Japanese not the Germans. Read your history.
@@jessesinclair3861 Oh yes they did. They even threatened them with war. The Anschluss was okay but Czechoslovakia and Lithuania were threatened with invasion. How was Czechia part of Germany? The reason Germany wanted to annex territories is because of their ideology. It was said that all Germans should be unified in one country. They annexed Sudetenland because they were full of Germans, fine. But then they annexed the whole Czechia and puppeted Slovakia, that doesn't make any sense considering they are full of slavs, and you know the Nazis don't like slavs. Also the fact that Slovakia was never under Imperial Rule from the Holy Roman Empire. Lithuania went throught the same thing and was forced to return Memel. That's called Aggressive Expansion, and many countries don't like that. The US supplied them with weapons because they are allies. The US has been supplying weapons to their allies for decades. Does that mean when the Isrealis had a war with the Arabs, the US also went to war? Russia supplies Syria against rebels which are then supplied by the US, are the two countries at war? It's called proxy warfare and it's not an act of war under any law. An act of war is when two countries are at war directly or formally declared war under a casus belli. Also, Britain has many commercial rivals at the time, the US, China, Japan (threatening the British naval hegemony), and France. Like i said, the US supplies the Brits because they are allies but nothing more. The US is only keen on the Japanese because they have territories there and the Philippines. Germany to the US was no threat and they know it. The US can just focus on the Japanese and the allies still would've won. You don't declare war on countries that have more men, money and resources than you. Yes Germany did nothing wrong in WW1, get over it.
A few years ago some historians found out that the coming of Kaiser Wilhelm to the Netherlands was arranged earlier than the night he fled. This was arranged with Queen Wilhelmina during the war, both because she offered to help work out a peace between all parties and because she had a personal friendship with the Kaiser. To save face she kept telling everyone she was shocked that the Kaiser showed up at the border 'out of the blue', but in reality she knew he could be there anytime...
Even in exile the guy still lived in a giant mansion with its own grounds and everything. Probably safe to say he didn't go out to the shops himself. If you want to read about a "riches to rags" story go look up the last Qing emperor of China, Puyi. He became an actual street sweeper after WW2.
@@Gstrangeman96 I know, he didn't become a normal person from one day to another but it's still something I want to imagine possible. Don't prove me wrong lol. And I know some of Puyi's life, and is absolutely facinating, although he was 6 when he was at the height of his power, unlike the former kaiser who was solo carrying his entire faction in a world war.
FYI, Spa is a tiny village deep in the cold, rainy Ardennes mountains. Yes, there is a spa there and a very nice brand of natural spring water but that's basically it. Spa is isolated and the only things to do there are enjoy the hostels, food and beer as well as watch the occasional auto race at the Spa Grand Prix track...which winds through said mountains. It all gets really old really fast.
I visited his estate in Doorn a while back, it's now a museum. His grave also remains the grounds there, in a small mausoleum, his coffin covered by either a Prussian or German Imperial flag. I've never felt closer to history.
I just rewatched this video (and whole bunch of your other videos) and something just dawned on me. In your cute animations of the Kaiser holding signs, he couldn't hold them in his left hand because of the injury he suffered at birth. Also, the comments about him chopping wood during his "retirement" is even more impressive because he could only do it one handed (right-handed).
If I'm not mistaken, he eventually wrote a letter to Hitler telling him he would take up the crown again if offered. Upon getting the letter Hitler promptly threw it away and said, "What an idiot!"
Wilhelm 2 actually knew the Dutch queen Wilhelmina quite well and new historical evidence shows that she was actually involved in getting the Kaiser to the Netherlands cause she was worried for his safety after the murder of the Romanovs.
It was also because just before the end of the war the Americans confiscated a large part of the Dutch merchant fleet. This totally pissed off most politicians in The Hague. Queen Wilhelmina was boycotted for at least 10-15 years after Wilhelm II was granted asylum.
His little castle palace (slot) in Doorn can still be visited and is a museum now. It is surrounded by a beautiful park where he famously spent lots of time chopping wood.
This reminds me of Star Wars Rogue One scene when Krennic(SS General) finds Galen Erso(Wilhelm) farming. SS General: your a hard man to find. But farming? Really? A man of your talents. Wilhelm: what do you want? SS General: I need you to come back. We were on the verge of greatness. We were this close(WW1) to providing peace and prosperity to the galaxy Wilhelm: you confuse peace with terror. SS General: you have to start somewhere(Nazi party)
I lived in the town of Doorn, which any house is like 5 minutes walk away from 'Huis Doorn', beautiful place but the museum exhibits about WW1 or WW2 and such are some of the nicest parts of it, besides the massive estate. Also they have had a WW1 reenactment, was pretty sick
I know I'm a year late on this, but no one is going to talk about the commander who tried to kidnap the kaiser was named 'Luke Lea?' There has got to be a star wars joke here.
He made out pretty well for most monarchs who lost their thrones I'd say.
@An unimpressed Rooster You don't say lol xD
@An unimpressed Rooster I wasn't laughing about the Tsar.
@An unimpressed Rooster karma...
@@xunqianbaidu6917
But I take Tsar Nicky than Stalin anyday
@An unimpressed Rooster The fate of the Tsar is fucking hilarious.
I was born near Doorn, the place where kaiser Wilhelm lived since 1919. My grandma (born in 1930) told me that Wilhelm was a kind of a mysterious man, almost legendary. They were told something like: "In that house there lives a man who was once very powerful, but he wanted to have more power. So he tried to conquer Russia, France and Belgium. But he failed. And now he's living here, with us." So the children became obsessed by these stories of course. So they came by his house often, to look from a distance. But all they ever saw was an old man, chopping wood all day long.
Has she ever met Mr. Hohenzollern?
Sounds like Rasputin, but on a larger scale with a less bloody ending
@@Superrichy261985 No, I don't think so. Only from afar
O damn, that sounds like a good fantasy-fiction plot
How does an old man with one arm chop wood?
As a Dutch person who likes history, I've visited his old home in Doorn and recommend anyone that travels through the Netherlands to visit it, it's a museum now.
Mijn opa en oma wonen in maarn en ben daar dus 300x langsgereden zonder dat ik het ooit heb geweten
Im from the Netherlands, he actualy managed to chop down 25% of the local forest down around his house on his own with 1 arm, this was a very known fact in the Netherlands but not to mutch elsewhere.
Wow,he must be really bored
Math nah, he was working to help germany, you see tanks dont work well in woods (except in ardennes)
I think he used trees to get rid of stress.
@@math3000 I heard he did it for exercise. With one crippled arm what else can you do?
@@Edmonton-of2ec s
The "congratulation" for defeating france actually read something like 'Congratulations, you have won using my troops'
haha I wonder what Hitlers response to that was!!
@@Blake4014 "shut up boomer"
@@areulsois8411 Time to annex your country
Blufor 4014 I think it was something like “What an idiot!”
OzDuker Hitler told his valet that.
**
"More than a year after the overthrow of the Nazi regime, Wilhelm of House Hohenzollern, Second of His Name, has returned from his exile in the Netherlands and retook his mantle as Kaiser of the German Empire starting yesterday. His welcome was spearheaded by none other than Field Marshal and Acting Regent August von Mackensen, who deemed the Kaiser's return as his last official act as Germany's Head of State. The Kaiser expressed his gratitude to the Netherlands for his safety during his exile. He then assured the German people that he would lead the country to glory and renewed confidence, especially in light of the civil war that reforged the Empire.
Meanwhile, reports from Berlin residents now indicate a steady loss of trees around the Kaiser's residence.
You should write that as a fan-fic
This is a really good dnd scenario
@@duxxoo He didn't write it, or at least most of it. It's from Hearts of Iron 4, a WW2 game that has an alternate history choice where the player can oppose Hitler and restore the monarchy.
@@Jack29245 Oh i didn't knew that, thanks for replying Vicky : )
"Es tut mir leid,force of habit."
Imagine being in the Netherlands and seeing Mr. Hohenzollern just walking around in the local grocery store wearing normal people clothes
Well yes but they still were extremely rich.
@@redswift31 yeah but how and how much did he have?
@@michaelr3583 enough to buy a villa
@@michaelr3583 How idk and it's not stated how much he was worth. I assume he was rich and comfortable but not ungodly rich.
Lucky for him that he didn't invade the Netherlands in WW1.
*Some Conversation in the 1930s*
Mailman: here's your mail 'Mr. Hohenzollen'? Like the Kaiser?
Wilhelm II: Yes, like the Kaiser.
Mailman: Oh, I wonder what he's up to these days
Xelocon Nice way to ruin the joke.
Der_Dominik didn’t know it was Star Wars but ok.
@@WebertNelson well now you know
"This."
@momo the EnderKitty
*akward silence intensifies
"No swastikas at my funeral, they're gross" (the English one, not German one) :D
So Kaiser Willy Two was really looking forward to play the "Oppose Hitler" Focus.
Indeed however the player didn't have that focus unlocked
Historical AI Focuses was on, unfortunately for him
@@firstconsul7286 Ironman Mode, sadly
Imagine not playing that focus.
@@paulvonlettow-vorbeck4302 Why hello, Your Majesty.
Fun fact: He gratulated Hitler for the conquest of France by ecentirally saying: "Nice work all thanks to MY army"
He also got "famous" as a woodcutter in the area because he made chopping trees his hobby.
He was known as the Woodchopper of Doorn, basically deforesting the entire estate. He must've been really bored, lol.
He did plant saplings and the estate was eventually reforested.
Germany had conquered not a little country, but France - a pretty good one as big as Germany. It was a real nice work.
A king and an lumberjack ;)
@@patrickohooliganpl a KAISER and lumberjack, Mister!
Noobster
And he did all that woodcutting with just one arm!
I don't think Wilhelm was able to hold a sign that easily with his left hand...
Savage
Cold, man....cold.
too soon.
Hoenir i don’t get it
@@Jim-lg8sf he had a weird mutated arm probably because of being inbred. Queen victoria would like get people to experiment on it and stuff and so he disliked her for that.
Funny anecdote: after living in Amerongen Kaiser Wilhelm lived on the island of Wieringen. A female cousin of my grandfather lived there at the same time when she was a little girl. She fell into the water once and was saved by Wilhelm who was just passing by.
Imagine getting to say "I was saved by the former German Kaiser today"!
Any proof to back this up?
@@vincentmalasawmkimajongte7489 ask the grandfather’s cousin lmao
That was probably Crown Prince Wilhelm, Wilhelm II's son. The Crown Prince was exiled on Wieringen for some time. The Kaiser never lived there.
random kid; "is it just me or does that guy in that house look like the guy from the German money?"
Kaiser: "yea I get that alot"
Bruh
Hoàng Nguyên some people even used monoy as wallpaper
@@jiofreed13131 I knew it was bad but I didnt know it was that bad
Kaiser: Of course I know him, he's me
Better than "is it just me or that old dude looks like the guy from the hitler documentary?~he says in argentinian spanish~"
I went to Doorn last week, and you can not only see his grave there, you can even see his closed casket with a german imperial flag on it. It’s really weird to see someone who was once one of the most powerful people on the planet just lying there for everyone to see, and the owners of the property don’t even have any signs that you can see him there.
Most people there don’t even know they’re less then 100 meters away from Wilhelm’s casket.
That sound like an easter egg in an open world video game.
@@TheFiresloth You mean, 'life'?
@@zhouwu Lol!!! Fucking nerds
@@TBAYMenace Yup, we're party poopers every single time. You're welcome. :)
@@zhouwu :)
Fun fact: actually during the invasion of the Netherlands, the Wehrmacht sent a small security guard to the former Kaiser's residence - much to the annoyance of Hitler.
I enjoy the irony of people not wanting the kaiser back but the military being very fond of him
“Which was quite a surprise for the sole Dutch Soldier”....MUM YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TODAY!
ROFL! 🤣 😂 😅
Moeder u gelooft nooit wat er vandaag is gebeurt!
Niels Vantilburg “ik kwam die ene baas man van Duitsland tegen!”
I have this impression that the Dutch are basically the Canadians of Europe: nice, warm, peaceful people.
@@josephleonard6695 why has that thought struck you just now? The Netherlands send thousands of tulips (atleast I think they were) to Canada for WW2.
Me: May I kidnap you
Kaiser Wilhelm: No.
Me: okay, sorry to bother you
thats how legendary he was
when your speech level is at 100
understandable, have a nice day
Sounds more like a Canadian than an American
speach level 9999
I live close to Doorn, and when I bike through the neighbourhood you can clearly see that there are less trees there.
This is because Wilhelm spend a very large amount of his time in the Netherlands woodcutting and to this day you can still see the effects in some places
Did he heat his home with the wood? Sell it?
@@everettduncan7543 I saw somewhere else that he gave away the extra wood to the poor for heating and cooking.
There was this great quote you missed from Wilhelm The Second about the nazi regime in Germany that I always like to go back to.
"There is a man, alone, without family, without children, without God. Why should he be human? Oh, without doubt he is sincere, but this very excessive sincerity keeps him apart and out of touch with men and realities. He builds legions but he doesn’t build a nation. A nation is created by families, a religion, and tradition: it is made up out of the hearts of mothers, the wisdom of fathers, the joy and the exuberance of children. Over there (pointing to Germany) an all-swallowing State, disdainful of human dignities and the ancient structure of our race, sets itself up in place of everything else. And the man, who, alone, incorporates in himself this whole State, has neither a God to honor nor a dynasty to conserve, nor a past to consult.
For a few months I was inclined to believe in National Socialism. I thought of it as a necessary fever. And I was gratified to see that there were, associated with it for a time, some of the wisest and most outstanding Germans. But these, one by one, he has got rid of or even killed. Papen, Schleicher, Neurath - and even Blomberg, have gone. He has left nothing but a bunch of shirted gangsters. This man could bring home victories to our people each year without bringing them glory. But of our Germany, which was a nation of poets and musicians, of artists and soldiers, he has made a nation of hysterics and hermits, engulfed in a mob and led by a thousand lairs or fanatics."
Wilhelm the second might be a bad leader and he made some bad political decisions. But he was a man of Honor and glory with respect for others and respect for his Own people. He was Germany and Germany was him. The Kaiser shall remain.
Yeah but mistake me if i'm incorrect but wasn't this quote in response to kristalnacht and then after the nazis started invading and controlling most of Europe he started congratulating them and saying that they were proper germans
It's interesting to see criticism of fascism from a monarchist perspective.
@TeutonenKrieger09 Yeah I vaguely remember hearing that Wilhelm sent a letter to Hitler congratulating him for defeating France with his (Wilhelm's) armies. I'm not sure if this is apocryphal but wasn't Hitler have said to have called him an idiot when he read the letter?
That's an extraordinary quote
Wasn't the worse time tho
Atleast it was better than dealing with angry german people who were criticizing you for losing the war
You are gay
@BANISZKI ANIMATIONEN I will never accept this insult, but the german people saw what happend to germany without me. And still they don't like me so it's not my fault the german people are ungrateful and unappreciative!
HAIL DE KAISER!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@tsarnicholasii4710 And you are dead cousin
I live 15 minutes away from Doorn with a bicycle. I went to his house and grave when I was 12 with a school excursion. Never really thought that much of it. But now I realise how interesting his life was.
Allies: Give us the Kaiser
The Dutch: *WE ARE THE KNIGHTS WHO SAY....NEEE*
Neen nederland
lang leve belgie
@@jensfingerhat5078 *zuid nederland
So it was us who told him to cut down those trees.
But he cheated. He didn't use a herring.
Neee
Hahaha month python but for making such a reference you must get me a shubber
small correction here: Kaiser Wilhelm never referred to himself as "ICH". He always used "WIR". He is a monarch after all and used the pluralis majestatis.
But at the time the letter was written he was just a normal person,not a monarch for 20+ years.
@@thechosenone1533 he never accepted that he was dethroned. So it can be assumed that he would have just continued to use this formula.
@@Osterochse He would have had to accept it, especially after Hitler refused to restore the monarchy.
@@thechosenone1533 well he had to accept it one way or the other, but that never came to terms with it.
even if he don´t is an great politican/kaiser as otto von bismarck,he sure was clever in leading his nation (i think)
A relative of mine grew up in depression-era Germany, and she - among a number of other children - was invited to live with a Dutch family on the Kaiser‘s estate to get away from the grinding poverty back home. I do not know how many children actually participated in this program, or under what terms children were selected, but I thought it was an interesting historical footnote.
Just as a note: Your map of the netherlands displayed the province of Flevoland, which did not yet exist during Wilhelm's time in the Netherlands.
Is this the place where Flavourtown is located in ? (srsly, fun name)
@@lolfunacount Nope, that's "Flavourtown", a business located in Amsterdam, partly restaurent and partly renting of halls(not sure wether it is correct english word for it, but basically you can rent big rooms to have a party in/eat with a selected company etc.). Though it is relatively close to the province Flevoland.
Correct, this was before the dutch government declared war on the Zuiderzee
As well as that tiny part of North Holland
@@lolfunacount Flevoland is the newest province of the Netherlands. It was invaded and annexed in the ongoing war against the ocean.
Alt History time: What if after WW2 the Allies put Wilhelm’s Son as a figure head leader for West Germany?
i can't sleep now
Hmm.....
Seems interesting.........
wasnt that actually considered? (not after WWII, but during the formation of the Weimar Republic) I think his son wasnt much better than him so they dropped that idea, though his grandson went on to become a historian with a focus on the role of former royals during the rise of the Nazis.
@@jonas1015119 not likely, he had the shadows of the Great War on him, perhaps his nephew
Just a question, why though? What strategic reason would the allies have to put a Kaiser in West Germany, what would that accomplish? The only thing you would get from it is even more unrest as the germans themselves didn't want a Kaiser. Therefore the Allies would need to enforce his rule with force which would once again make the Germans extremely upset which would make them support radical ideologies, this time the communists, which is completely the opposite of what the allies wanted.
Everyone else: "I hate Hitler, that asshole took six million lives!"
Wilhelm Hohenzollern: "I hate Hitler, that asshole took my job!"
Keep in mind that Hitler hadn't done the thing yet
@@Cyberbully34 he never did
*11 million. Jews were not the only victims.
@@NikolasForsbergHe meant the holocaust bro
@@NikolasForsberg he did. Very much so. Maybe not that many, but he did.
History Matters: "Zuid-Nederland" 0:48
Me a Dutchman: Ah, I see a man of culture
If anything, this "Belgium" is just a buffer state invented by the british to keep the weed away from the French
Sky Are we sure Belgium is even real?
@@michaelzheng5250 well yes but actually no
Shrasian ik gaf meteen een like 🇳🇱🇳🇱
Belgium. A country that is always not quite on the verge of collapsing.
Do you like Hitler’s Regime?
Wilhelm: Well yes, but actually no.
More like: "No... Yes... I don't know... It's classified."
It's complicated.
@@vladutcornel lmfao
Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know. Can you repeat the question?
"Yes, but the mustache guy is a bit of a pill."
Wilhelm II: All the generals and ministers are guilty of the empire's decline
Also Wilhelm: *forces Bismarck into retirement*
that's his BIGGEST MISTAKE KICKING THE IRON CHANCELLOR!
well he didn´t force him into reritement . Bismarck threathend wilhelm to resign if he didn´t get his way and so the kaiser just told him that he can fuck off if he wants
the porblem with bismarck was he was getting old so he would have had to resign or face death
Wilhelm II. was a retard ngl
I mean he was gonna die eventually anyway so who bloody knows
Sounds like the Kaiser had that weird experience where he hated his team for betraying him, but they turned it around kept winning without him, so he supported them anyways.
He just liked germany because they humiliated france and britain and he interpreted that as revange
well he did beat Russia
Everyone talks about the nazis in Argentina but no one ever talks about the monarchist in the Netherlands 😢
You can find monarchists nearly everywhere to be honest, but there numbers are usually limited, with smaller ones being in the thousands and the large ones numbering in tens of thousands tops. There is one exception to this however, and that is in Russia where their monarchist party has over a million members (Still less than 1% of Russia's population, but quite large compared to other countries).
As if a monarchist and a national socialist are one and the same..
@@conveyor2 In the eyes of communists, they are both in the category of "subhuman".
Most Dutch are monarchists in 2021... most British are also monarchists in 2021... shocking right?
@@clavichord well there's a diffrence between a Monarchist and somone who is fine with the Monarchy being there isn't there?
The Dutch were also grateful to Wilhelm for having not invaded them the way he did Belgium. The Netherlands was a neutral country throughout World War One which is why it was a safe haven for Wilhelm, the way Switzerland or Sweden might have been.
Plus the Dutch monarchy had close ties to the German one
@@wingslider Every European monarchy had close ties to every other European monarchy. Wilhelm was the first cousin of the King of England (George V) and of Alexandra (wife of the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia) ... and was a third cousin of Nicholas himself. The King of Romania (an Allied nation and an enemy to Germany and Austria) was a Hohenzollern (the same dynasty that ruled Germany), albeit from a Catholic branch of the family.
He isn't buried in Doorn, I've been there. He's waiting in his coffin to be returned to Germany when the monarchy is restored.
Lol really ?
@@thetrist333 yes you can even see his coffin through the window.
@@gorkbushk8193 lol well i guess he's going to stay there for a moment since monariches aren't as popular as before lmao
@@thetrist333 The thing is that in germany there is some kinda of law which forbids to change certain laws. And a law you cannot change is the law regarding the Stateform. So there wont be a monarchie ever again in germany under legal ways. To bring back the monarchy you would have to start a coup d'État.
Looking how things are going right now, soon there won't be any Germany left to return
Last time I was this early Bismarck was still Chancellor
Top ten most overused unfunny jokes
And I was Kaiser
And I was the emperor
Last time I was this early the fucking dinosaurs died
And I was dictator
3:21 I Was Honestly Expecting A "Just Kidding" There 💀
0:49
You got a lot of guts calling Belgium the southern Netherlands, I couldn't agree more though
Black Templar because Belgium is south nether lands just like Austria is south German
@@GTAandApplechannel
Austria is East Swiss, Switzerland is South German, the Dutch are Swamp Germans, and the Belgians are southern Dutch.
@@superkamiguru6856 that means it's all German
@@IndianaJonesTDH BASED 😎👍
Fun fact, Wilhelm did not wanted his funeral to be filled with nazi symbolism. It happened anyways
:(
True Hitler ignored this request in order to spite him and make it seem like the German monarchs are in support of the Nazi regime which they were not actually in support of at all.
Waffel Reitter it was probably just one last F you at the Kaiser
@@enderpup9289
I don't know why people think the German monarchy was in lieg with the Nazi's
Waffel Reitter one guy controlled all the power like a king. And eliminated his opponents like kings did
Edit: and everyone probably hated the kaisers guts and didn't want to be the guy known for spitting in a kings grave
He met one of the better fates, compared to most other abdicated monarchs. lived peacefully in the netherlands in a nice villa, and died of old age
Could you imagine being neighbors with an old monarch?
22fordfx4 haha would be amazing. I would play jokes on him all the time. Me:”He wat hangt er aan de waslijn?” (Whats hanging on the washingline?” Ex-Kaiser: “WAS!?” (What?!) it’s funnier when you are Dutch or german. Was in dutch means loundry but in german it means what. Germans always fall dor this shit
@@SienjorQueso lol raus!
Normal Dutchman: Good morning sir!
Wilhelm II: y'now i was kaiser once
Normal Dutchman: Damn
We love Dutch town names like Voorhoud, which is equivocal with „Vorhaut“ (preputium).
8=====D
@@SienjorQueso Lol epic
He also requested no Nazi imagery at his funeral but Hitler ignored that
Well, peraps it was his karma for the fact he ignored the will of his mother (who was, interestingly, British Queen Victoria's daughter) and he buried her in different place than she wanted to rest. Likewise, his burial wish was ignored.
Bruh Moment
I like how you covered up the Kaiser’s left arm in the thumbnail. He would have appreciated that.
Love these videos, you’re making loads of great ones at a great rate atm. Well done
0:48 'Zuid Nederland', exactly how god had intended it.
*Je maintiendrai*
This man should be honoured citizen of the Netherlands
Yes
@nikolai bahtin south Netherlands
@Baldur Also Wallonia. Wallonians can just be deported to France, would greatly help with the housing crisis
Visiting his old home in the Netherlands is honestly so bizarre. Here’s one of Europe’s most famous Monarchs, in state in a random Dutch town.
Customer: "Can I get a Reuben on a Kaiser roll?
Weimar Deli: "GTFO"
Not calling Belgium Belgium, but calling it "South Netherlands" makes my Dutch heart getting filled with satisfaction 0:48
@@dylan2478 GTFO, ya vlaamse traitor, either Vlaanderen independant or still in the Kingdom of Belgium
@@dylan2478 DIETSLAND BINNENKORT VRIEND :DD
@@dylan2478 Unexpected... But let's team up then!
@@dylan2478 't zou wel prachtig zijn hé, Groot-Nederland😏 Dat jullie Vlamingen die rot Wallonen niet uit kunnen staan en de regering kapot vinden door dat rare systeem snap ik absoluut, dus dat jullie uit elkaar willen ook, maar ik ken geen Belgische partij die reuinificatie wilt en zelfs Geert Wilders heeft dat idee laten vallen...
Tijd voor de terugkomst van Het Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden!
Time for the return of The United Kingdom of The Netherlands!
The house in Doorn where Wilhelm lived, is now a museum. Everything is left as much as in the time when he lived there. There are lots of things to see like his grave and the gifts he was given by his grandmother the British Queen Victoria whom he deeply loved (he hated his mother who was also called Victoria) and the saddle that he used as his deskchair. Best wishes from the Netherlands.
"Mr. Hohenzollern"
Ouch...
I'd watch it
@@kaizartwo8023 of course you would
Wilhem: "hitler sucks"
HItler: *invades Austria and France*
Wilhelm: "maybe he's not that bad of a guy"
Annexed* Austria.
jabber1990 Austria willing joined Germany
@@Toten1316 Well technically he did "invade" Austria, since German troops crossed the border(12 march) before Austria had really/formally agreed to the Anschluss(13-15 march). However it was a peaceful invasion with many Austrians throwing flowers to the German soldiers, this is perhaps why it's not really remembered as an invasion.
Hitler invaded the Netherlands before France so he had to change his tune
Nick A. Unified with*
I once heard a story from one of my friends grandmother who is from the Netherlands that once when she was a little girl living in the Netherlands playing with friends there was this house that was completely surrounded by wall and you could only see threw the gate and when you would look threw sometimes you could see a man wearing a dark coat and a mustache just like the Kaiser’s chopping wood and only sometimes you could actually see this but they never saw him leave his house ever.
Me:Sees Zuid Nederland
Also me: Huzzah! A man of quality!
It's worth mentioning that the Netherlands managed to stay Neutral during WW1, unlike belgium. That's why they considered not handing him over
By 1916 the german high command insisted on invading the netherlands as well to control all the coast from Ostend to Cuxhaven but the Kaiser said no way. Wilhelmina returned him the favour, an act still very controversial in Belgium.
Fun fact: He spent almost every morning chopping wood to better his health.
He would use the wood to help the poor locals of the town he lived by.
He would also take daily walks.
He wasn't allowed far from his estate. The Dutch government made sure he stayed put.
You just work on so interesting topics that it is imposible to avoid watching.
There is actually an interesting story about the „Doorn Society“ Wilhelm founded in exile. Their badge is that of a gorgon statue which he unearthed himself on the Greek island of Korfu. He regularly invited scientists from Germany to talk about his interests in history, theology and archaeology.
3:35 i find it kind of adorable when they become average citizens. "Ah, there goes old man Mr Hohenzollern rambling on about the glory and prestige of monarchy to the milk man again *sigh* poor guy".
Videoidea:
What did all the other ex-WWI-Leader do after the Great War?
Most retired or died
In the case of the Tsar, nothing because he was murdered.
Karl tried to get back the throne of Hungary twice but didn't succeed and died after the second attempt.
Or what was the life of Napoleon in his exile on St. Helena's island.
David Lloyd-George remained a figure in British politics until his death in early 1945, including being prime minister from 1918-22. Importantly, his speech during the Parliamentary "Norway Debate" in 1940 helped ensure Winston Churchill became Prime Minister
Guten morgen Herr Hohenzollern! Wonderful weather we’re having.
Schönes Wetter heute!
ES IST KAISER- ...o-oh wait yes thats right I'm Herr Hohenzollern serh great weather indeed
I think this story skips over the fact that the dutch actually liked the guy. And he was known to be very helpful to people after his abdication, it was like he became a different person after losing his crown.
Losing the war probably humbled the hell out of him, and made him self reflect on why everyone hates him
his sympathy with the working class actually resulted in his (the empires) downfall. look it up@@pokemaster123ism
@@pokemaster123ismTo family (not his extended, he was hated on his extended but wife and children) he was known to be a pretty decent guy without the flair of his public persona. Maybe he decided to show a little bit of that side when he was exiled
Advisors: "Herr Kaiser, you need to leave Spa, and go live in the Netherlands"
Kaiser: "But here they have a wunderbar sauna, Jacuzzi, and massage"
Well a spa is indeed named after the belgian city of spa that was famous in the 19th Century for relaxation of english nobility. (I am from Belgium)
Bailey De Bruyne spa francorchamps is great
@JerseyMark Lmao
@@bailey03 Belgium? or...Zuud Nederlands
“Zuid Netherlands” You’re Dutch, ain’t you?
it's the truth thought
*N O*
@@abdallatifalafandi2522 yes
As a Flemmish person, I'd get triggered at this by seeing it, but honestly it's good humour,
bc I respect the man behind this channel
a Big Weed same
Hitler: Invades the Netherlands
Wilhelm living there: Dies from cringe.
He actually congratulated Hitler for his conquest of western Europe
Wilhelms second wife Caroline von Reuß was from my hometown.
You should start an auto company there called Rolls Reuß
@@aaronmarks9366 why not a bakery ?
@@Marcusjnmc Oooo, that's awesome. Ok, a bakery too.
Actually her name was Hermine. She was born Princess of Reuss Grieze and her first husband was Prince of Schoenath Carolath. She died of complications of influenza in 1947 having been a prisoner of the Russians.
US Senator at the door: We are here to kidnap you
Kaiser: No, you can't come in
US Senator: Sorry to disturb you sir, have a nice day
US Senator with companion as they depart: Well, we tried
Companion: Yes. Yes we sure tried
And yet they were still much more effective and competent than most current US Senators. 😒
Imagine having to wake up every day in your twilight years knowing you have ruined your family's legacy, killed off more than 10% of your own countrymen, and have to watch your homeland morph into something unrecognizable. I kinda feel bad for the guy :/
and the final disappoinment in 1933-34 when it was clear Hitler was not going to restore the monarchy
"killed off 10%..."? ALL of Europe was chomping at the bit to enlist in 1914. Few were sent against their will.
Don't see how Kaiser Wilhelm is responsible for a Serbian shooting the Arch Duke and then the Serbian government denying the Austro-Hungarians their right to an investigation. The only thing you can blame him for was declaring war on Belgium.
@@makarin741 Giving Austria an unconditional blank check to cash in military assistance, knowing full well that Russia would attack them to defend Serbia, also not the best of diplomatic moves.
@@Gstrangeman96 I believe the Kaiser actually did attempt to prevent the war, you should watch extra history's series on it. Seminal tragedy I think it's called.
0:48 'Zuid-Nederland' Oh yes, Belgium is indeed South Netherlands *nationalist noices*
Get back into our Kingdom, Maastricht is our city de jure, ya hollander
@@Valandix oh haha, Ik verzeker je, Ich bin geboren en getogen in Mestreech.
Are you sure it is Zuid-Nederland and not France du Nord?
@@michaelzheng5250 let's split it!
Revanchist. Not nationalist. Big difference.
Please use the correct map of the Netherlands for the period.
You're using a post-1968 map, with both Flevo-polders and the Noordoostpolder. The Netherlands looked a lot different in 1918.
Do you have a map of 1918 Netherlands?
@@williamvongooneriusghovt9940 just google it
@@fisherking7798 thats exacly it, according to google everything looked the same 100 years ago
@@williamvongooneriusghovt9940 Waddayaknow 😁you're right, google only has the current map. But when you use duckduckgo, type in the netherlands 1918 map you get the right map in the picture search
How could you not mention that he spent his time chopping wood one handed, resulting in his bonecrushing superhuman strength in his right arm?
lol I love the distinction of the word, gross at 3:14
There's a very big and significant difference between English and German in this particular context lol 🤣
Good thing Wilhelm decided to live with the swamp Germans.
ブランドン we swamp Germans have a far superior language and culture. So it must have been the best choice of his live ;)
@@SienjorQueso
Actually, I just badly wanted to call the dutch swamp Germans.
ブランドン I know it kinda is a running joke between the Dutch and the Germans. So even if you are not German (just a guess deduced from the seemingly Japanese? Letters) i still wanted to take a poke at all the Germans who are gonna read you comment :)
@@SienjorQueso
American
@@SienjorQueso
And yes, those are Japanese letters.
The Kaiser didn't start the war, the French declared war on Germany after it declared war on Russia cuz Russia declared war on Austria cuz Austria attacked Serbia cuz they funded terrorists in Bosnia......yeah lovely war
@Vandole yeah, he gave them that blank cheque on the understanding that Austria-Hungary would act fast, with the sympathy and support of Europe behind them. Of course, the Austro-Hungarians dithered and delayed for months and then horribly bungled their response, dragging the whole world i to war behind them
@@jessesinclair3861 no, I'm pretty sure Germany started the second one with the invasion of Poland; that was what kicked it into a global conflict.
@@jessesinclair3861 The Brits and French wanted war? Didn't both of them just let Germany annexing territories? They annexed Austria, illegal but i don't care. They annexed Czechoslovakia and Slovakia becomes a puppet state, we'll allow it as long as you are not violent. They want to annex parts of Poland and Poland says no, Britain says to respect it and guarantees Poland from Germany. Hitler declared war, Brits and France declared way because they had enough. That's how it worked. The Brits and French were not warmongers it was actually the Nazis who are aggressively annexing territories. The Nazis were the warmongers. The allies didn't care about the Soviet Union because they only guaranteed Poland on German aggression and not the Soviets. To be fair, the Soviets weren't annexing territories prior to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The Brits guaranteed Poland waaay before the Nazis and the Soviets even thought of becoming friends. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was only accomplished just days before the invasion of Poland so Britain really didn't have the time to negotiate with the Soviets. So in short, Britain and France didn't declare war on Germany for the sake of pride. The US didn't want war with Germany, the Germans DECLARED war on the US. The US was preparing for war with the Japanese not the Germans. Read your history.
@@jessesinclair3861 Oh yes they did. They even threatened them with war. The Anschluss was okay but Czechoslovakia and Lithuania were threatened with invasion. How was Czechia part of Germany? The reason Germany wanted to annex territories is because of their ideology. It was said that all Germans should be unified in one country. They annexed Sudetenland because they were full of Germans, fine. But then they annexed the whole Czechia and puppeted Slovakia, that doesn't make any sense considering they are full of slavs, and you know the Nazis don't like slavs. Also the fact that Slovakia was never under Imperial Rule from the Holy Roman Empire. Lithuania went throught the same thing and was forced to return Memel. That's called Aggressive Expansion, and many countries don't like that. The US supplied them with weapons because they are allies. The US has been supplying weapons to their allies for decades. Does that mean when the Isrealis had a war with the Arabs, the US also went to war? Russia supplies Syria against rebels which are then supplied by the US, are the two countries at war? It's called proxy warfare and it's not an act of war under any law. An act of war is when two countries are at war directly or formally declared war under a casus belli. Also, Britain has many commercial rivals at the time, the US, China, Japan (threatening the British naval hegemony), and France. Like i said, the US supplies the Brits because they are allies but nothing more. The US is only keen on the Japanese because they have territories there and the Philippines. Germany to the US was no threat and they know it. The US can just focus on the Japanese and the allies still would've won. You don't declare war on countries that have more men, money and resources than you. Yes Germany did nothing wrong in WW1, get over it.
I heard the Ottoman almost declared war on itself. Is it true?
A few years ago some historians found out that the coming of Kaiser Wilhelm to the Netherlands was arranged earlier than the night he fled. This was arranged with Queen Wilhelmina during the war, both because she offered to help work out a peace between all parties and because she had a personal friendship with the Kaiser. To save face she kept telling everyone she was shocked that the Kaiser showed up at the border 'out of the blue', but in reality she knew he could be there anytime...
Some of the townsfolk actually continued calling him “your excellency” or “majesty” because it made him feel good and the Dutch are just that nice
For some reason now I wanna see a family comedy movie about Mr Hohenzoller just chilling in the Netherlands while doing his routine stuff.
Lets not forget that, in the netherlands, he became known as the 'Lumberjack of Doorn' for his obsession of cutting down trees.
Imagine living in Dorn and seeing the once most powerful man in the world and you buying bread in the same store.
"Aw,buying bread is boring."
few minutes later
*"MOOOM YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE THIS-"*
Even in exile the guy still lived in a giant mansion with its own grounds and everything. Probably safe to say he didn't go out to the shops himself.
If you want to read about a "riches to rags" story go look up the last Qing emperor of China, Puyi. He became an actual street sweeper after WW2.
@@Gstrangeman96 I know, he didn't become a normal person from one day to another but it's still something I want to imagine possible. Don't prove me wrong lol.
And I know some of Puyi's life, and is absolutely facinating, although he was 6 when he was at the height of his power, unlike the former kaiser who was solo carrying his entire faction in a world war.
While funny to think about, he wasn't allowed very far from his estate which was under Dutch guard.
FYI, Spa is a tiny village deep in the cold, rainy Ardennes mountains. Yes, there is a spa there and a very nice brand of natural spring water but that's basically it. Spa is isolated and the only things to do there are enjoy the hostels, food and beer as well as watch the occasional auto race at the Spa Grand Prix track...which winds through said mountains. It all gets really old really fast.
I imagine he spent the remainder of his days playing eu4 and vicky2 reliving the glory days
Nah, He definitely played the hoi4 Kaiserreich mod
He played crusader kings and invaded Jerusalem as Germany.
Apperently he was actually greatly loved by the people who lived around his villa.
I visited his estate in Doorn a while back, it's now a museum. His grave also remains the grounds there, in a small mausoleum, his coffin covered by either a Prussian or German Imperial flag. I've never felt closer to history.
Today in "Things I never wondered about but History Matters somehow made interesting".
0:54 your bust of Queen Wilhelmina is surprisingly accurate to the woman herself
I just rewatched this video (and whole bunch of your other videos) and something just dawned on me. In your cute animations of the Kaiser holding signs, he couldn't hold them in his left hand because of the injury he suffered at birth. Also, the comments about him chopping wood during his "retirement" is even more impressive because he could only do it one handed (right-handed).
If I'm not mistaken, he eventually wrote a letter to Hitler telling him he would take up the crown again if offered. Upon getting the letter Hitler promptly threw it away and said, "What an idiot!"
1:15 Fun fact: the mother of Audrey Hepburn grew up in that villa
Fantastic upload, as always
It is interesting that he may have been given refuge in UK when the Tsar (another cousin) was not allowed exile
Wilhelm 2 actually knew the Dutch queen Wilhelmina quite well and new historical evidence shows that she was actually involved in getting the Kaiser to the Netherlands cause she was worried for his safety after the murder of the Romanovs.
It was also because just before the end of the war the Americans confiscated a large part of the Dutch merchant fleet. This totally pissed off most politicians in The Hague. Queen Wilhelmina was boycotted for at least 10-15 years after Wilhelm II was granted asylum.
bc he was the cousinst of wilhelmina that why she alowed him to getin
He will always be the Kaiser in my heart.
0:48 .. as a fleming (southern dutchman) I approve this roast. Time to unite the Netherlands once again!!
Belg VERENIGD KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN (die wel bijna helemaal heel is) intensifies
Laten we dan een keertje samen tegen de spanjaarden vechten, maar dan in de vorm van voetbal wk ofzo xD zou wel mooie burn zijn tegen hen
Don't forget us.
Boer Republican we won’t forget you a second time, I promise
History matters : *Publish a video on UA-cam*
The comment section : *This format*
His little castle palace (slot) in Doorn can still be visited and is a museum now. It is surrounded by a beautiful park where he famously spent lots of time chopping wood.
This reminds me of Star Wars Rogue One scene when Krennic(SS General) finds Galen Erso(Wilhelm) farming.
SS General: your a hard man to find. But farming? Really? A man of your talents.
Wilhelm: what do you want?
SS General: I need you to come back. We were on the verge of greatness. We were this close(WW1) to providing peace and prosperity to the galaxy
Wilhelm: you confuse peace with terror.
SS General: you have to start somewhere(Nazi party)
I think it’s kinda cool he just turned into another old man and decided to accept his fate once the Netherlands fell
This channel has the best depiction of Herman Goering I've ever seen.
0:50 saying "south Netherlands" to Belgium XD
a question no one has ever asked, but it’s to interesting hahaha
I lived in the town of Doorn, which any house is like 5 minutes walk away from 'Huis Doorn', beautiful place but the museum exhibits about WW1 or WW2 and such are some of the nicest parts of it, besides the massive estate. Also they have had a WW1 reenactment, was pretty sick
I know I'm a year late on this, but no one is going to talk about the commander who tried to kidnap the kaiser was named 'Luke Lea?' There has got to be a star wars joke here.