Prussia
5 Mark 1903
Av.: Emperor Wilhelm II.
Rs.: Eagle
Mint: Berlin
Minted from 1891-1908
Historical:
Wilhelm II, whose full name was Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Viktor of Prussia (1859-1941), from the House of Hohenzollern was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 to 1918. He succeeded his father Friedrich III, who reigned for only 99 days, and his grandfather Wilhelm I to the throne of Prussia and the German Empire in 1888 in the so-called Three Emperors' Year. On his mother's side, he was related to the British royal family as the grandson of Queen Victoria. Since his birth, Wilhelm II suffered from left arm plexus paralysis, which caused his left arm to lag behind in development and later to be significantly shorter.
Wilhelm II possessed a very traditional view of rule and therefore had little understanding of the concept of constitutional monarchy. Thus, the emperor insisted on taking over day-to-day affairs personally and caused several domestic and foreign policy crises during his reign. The hallmark of the Wilhelmine era, named after him, was the strong expansion of the Imperial Navy as well as the related world politics, which eventually culminated in the First World War. Wilhelm II did not agree to the parliamentarization of the empire until 1918, when Germany's defeat became inevitable. After these October reforms, the Chancellor was now responsible to the Reichstag and not to him as before.
During World War I, the emperor was largely excluded from the Supreme Army Command, performing mainly representative duties. As a result, Wilhelm II lost more and more prestige and his position as emperor became untenable in the face of impending defeat. In addition, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson demanded that the emperor abdicate the throne even before an armistice was established. When the November Revolution finally reached Berlin, Max von Baden announced the emperor's abdication without having previously discussed it with Wilhelm. Only a few hours later, a republic was proclaimed in Germany and the deposed monarch fled from Spa in Belgium into exile in the Netherlands. Only there did he formally abdicate. Throughout his life, the Dutch royal family and government granted Wilhelm II asylum and rejected all extradition requests from the Entente powers. The deposed emperor of the German Empire and king of Prussia died in the Netherlands in 1941 without ever having set foot on German soil again. His hope of restoring the monarchy in Germany was not fulfilled.
