The End of the German Monarchy: The Decline and Fall of the Hohenzollerns Hardcover – December 5, 2017 by John Van der Kiste (Fonthill Media)

I enjoyed reading this book about the decline and fall of the Imperial House of Hohenzollern. The book is relatively brief at about 161 pages. However, the author manages to cram in a lot of relevant information about the reign of three German emperors, William 1, Frederick III and William II. There have been many books on this topic. I cannot say that there was much in the book that was new to me. Indeed, I always wonder why it is necessary to keep publishing books on an already exhaustively covered topic unless new information emerges from Royal archives or other sources. However, the book is very well written and would constitute an excellent introduction to the three reigns and the Bismarck period that played such an important role in the events leading to the First World War.

The book is dominated by William II. This bizarre figure who had a love-hate relationship with England and his English relatives did not as the author points out actually precipitate the Great War. However, his bellicosity and encouragement of the military in Germany created the atmosphere in which a major European war could be precipitated by any incident. So it took the assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, at Sarajevo to provide an excuse for war since Austria and Germany were allies.

The author also provides a brief account of the somewhat tragic figures of Emperor Frederick III and his wife the Empress Victoria, who was Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter. This couple with their liberal leanings waited i n the wings for years but Frederick’s father, William I, lived on into his nineties and died only a few months before his son. Frederick, who was a heavy smoker, had fatal laryngeal carcinoma that led to his premature death a few months after he assumed the throne.

The author traces Emperor William II into his exile at Huis Doorn in Holland after the German Revolution at the end of the Great War. “Kaiser Bill” did a lot better than most of the other European monarchs who lost their thrones and in some cases even their lives after the war. He had a pleasant if somewhat embittered existence in Holland for many years after his abdication. He and his sons flirted with the Nazis. I did not think I would ever agree with Hitler on any subject, but I do share Hitler’s contempt for William II and his wayward sons.

The author also describes the children of William II – six sons and one daughter. The sons were a mediocre group indeed and it is difficult to distinguish them from one another in this book since they all undistinguished in every way. The lack of a genealogical table in this book is a serious deficiency and makes it difficult to identify the Emperor’s sons and their wives as well as the members of the minor German Grand Ducal and Royal houses that are often mentioned. However, the author does provide some interesting details about the William II’s first wife, the Empress Augusta. The illustrations are profuse and excellent.

In conclusion, this is an easy book to read and provides a good introduction to the three German emperors who reigned after German unification. However, it is somewhat lacking in detail and adds little new information on this already well-covered topic.