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Biography of Theobald von Bethmann HollwegName: Theobald von Bethmann HollwegBirth Date: 1856 Death Date: 1921 Place of Birth: Germany Nationality: German Gender: Male Occupations: chancellor, statesman Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg The German statesman and chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1856-1921) led Germany during the first 3 years of World War I.Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg was the son of a prominent commercial and agrarian family. After a rather routine rise in German political life, he became Prussian minister of the interior in 1905 and the imperial secretary of state for the interior in 1907. In 1909, after the fall of Bernhard von Bülow, he became imperial chancellor.As a conservative of open mind and modern outlook, Bethmann Hollweg seemed a likely choice to heal divisions, such as the conflict between civilian and military, that were developing in Germany at that time. But in spite of some early achievements--such as the comprehensive social insurance law and liberal constitution for Alsace-Lorraine (both 1911)--he did not live not live up to expectations. His attempt to extend the franchise failed, and when Germany entered the war …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…with his "blank check" to Austria and his "scrap of paper" remark concerning Belgian neutrality--was partly responsible for the developing crisis. His wartime leadership was equally indecisive. He alienated the socialists and liberals by his apparent subservience to the military on questions of negotiated peace, annexations, and submarine warfare, and he alienated the right wing and the high command with his efforts in behalf of reform and civilian control of the military. In July 1917 Bethmann Hollweg was easily removed from office, and the establishment of a military dictatorship in Germany was virtually complete. He died in 1921. Further Reading Bethmann Hollweg's wartime memoirs, Reflections on the World War (2 vols., 1919-1921; trans., 1 vol., 1920), are well known. There is a good deal of information on him in Fritz Fischer's monumental Germany's Aims in the First World War (1961; rev. ed. 1967; trans. 1967). See also J. W. Headlam, The German Chancellor and the Outbreak of War (1917). |