Differences Between Bismarck And Wilhelm

Deep Desai
Christopher LeRoy
Honors History 2A
10-18-15

1. Compare and contrast the foreign policies of Bismarck vs. Kaiser Wilhelm. How were their decisions significant to WWI? (At least three paragraphs). (9 PTS) Kaiser Wihelm’s foreign policy was called “Weltolitik”. It stood for “world policy”. It’s main goal was imperialism and its driving force was Social Darwinism. Wilhelm wanted global power through diplomacy. It also wanted oversea colonies and a large navy. Bismarck’s foreign policy was “Realpolitik”. It stood for “real politics”. Bismarck didn’t care about ideologies, he used whatever means to achieve his goals. He found ways to arrange the balance of powers to his benefit.
There were obvious differences between Wilhelm and Bismarck’s policies. First, Wilhelm disagreed with a treaty with Russia. He believed Russia was a serious threat to Germany. Wilhelm believed an alliance between England and Germany would be more powerful. Bismarck wanted to keep France politically isolated. But when Wilhelm didn’t renew Russia’s reinsurance policy, it turned to France for an ally. This ended France’s isolation. Second, Bismarck wanted to make Germany a European power. Wilhelm wanted world power and didn’t care about European policies. When Wilhelm focused on colonization, it caused tension

Napoleon III wanted to overtake London in the leading financial center of the world. But it did not come to fruition after the surrender of Napoleon III at Sedan in 1870. The conditions in France were not good after this defeat. A war with Prussia in 1870 to 1871 was also a major blow to the banks. They struggled to pay the money owed to Germany. After this, A Third Republic was set up. This new government wanted to protect themselves against the Germans. The siege of Paris was not good. Over 40,000 people died due to food shortages. The burden from the Franco-German war was overcome by 1890 as France had a rapid industrial