Kaiser William II of Germany was perhaps one of the worst war criminals the world had ever seen. While he killed millions of people, he did not have the courage to do it himself. Instead, he relied on his soldiers, revolutionaries, and one of the most deadly weapons the world has ever seen- the lethal gas mustard gas. It was atrocities such as the killing of Belgian people, and the provoking of other neutral countries all make the Kaiser an infamous war hero.
The first example of the Kaiser being a war criminal is when his troops slaughtered the Belgian people when they invaded the neutral country in 1914. Belgium had been guaranteed neutrality by a treaty by France, Prussia, and Great Britain in 1839 and invading it broke this treaty. Also, the conduct of the German soldiers also is considered a war crime. A diary entry by a German stated,
–We crossed the Belgian frontier on 15th August 1914 at 11:50 in the forenoon, and we went steadily along the main road till we got into Belgium. Hardly were we there when we had a horrible sight. Houses were burnt down, the inhabitants chases away and some of them shot. Not one of the hundreds of houses were spared. Everything was plundered and burnt. Hardly had we passed through this large village before the next village was burnt, and so it went on continuously. On the 16th August 1914 the large village of Barchon was burnt down. On the same day we crossed the bridge over the Meuse at 11:50 in the morning. We then arrived in the town of Wandre. Here the houses were spared, but everything was examined. At last we were out of the town and everything was in ruins. In one house a whole collection of weapons was found. The inhabitants without exception were brought out and shot. The shooting was heart-breaking as they all knelt down and prayed but that was no ground for mercy. A few shots rang out and they fell back into the green grass and slept forever.”
This in itself is a war crime for , –The shooting and killing of a civilian by a soldier is forbidden.” Many of the conditions depicted above were also present in France such as the bayoneting of babies and the killing of innocent citizens. Secondly, violating the treaty made in 1839 is also forbidden since, –Countries may not obstruct the rights or become belligerent towards neutral nations and their citizens.”
Another example of the Kaiser violating the condition that –Countries may not obstruct the rights or become belligerent towards neutral nations and their citizens,” is the method that he lured Great Britain, and the United States.
First, he provoked Great Britain to join by building up his naval fleet. By building up his naval fleet, he threatened Great Britainęs fleet, and therefore provoked them to take action. Despite the provocation Great Britain did not act. Britainęs prime minister stated, –We wish for no aggression, no increase of the empire, we are ready for any treaties of civilization or arbitration.” It was ready to take no action when Germany declared war on Great Britain a day after declaring war on France and Russia.
The second provocation was toward another neutral country- the United States of America. The first provocation was the sinking of the passenger ship the Lusitania. The sinking of the Lusitania accounted for the loss of hundreds of American lives. This alone provoked the United States to join, yet, they did nothing. Finally, Germany provoked America for the last time. The Zimmerman was an outrage for the Americans. It was a telegram for Germanyęs foreign minister to Mexico at the request of the Kaiser. It stated that if Mexico joined the war on the side of Germany and attacked the United States, that Germany would help Mexico reconquer or land in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. This was a war crime since the United States was provoked and that is the belligerence of neutral nations.
Another way the Kaiser committed a war crime, was the fact the deposed the Czar in Russia. The Kaiser, once again not having the guts to do the deed himself, sent Lenin back to Russia for the sole purpose of deposing the Czar and the provisional government, and ending the war with Germany. Lenin did all these thing and then killed the Czar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and all their five children, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia, and the Czarevich Alexis. In that account, Kaiser William II is an accomplice to the death of the his cousins.
Finally, the Kaiser is guilty of war crimes because of the horrible death he had soldiers go through with his invention of mustard gas. The Kaiser used this in battle and made soldiers go through terrible deaths which burned their lungs and killed them. This was a death that no man needs to go through. It is just plain cruel.
Now, many people use the excuse that the Kaiser was the leader of Germany and just guilty of bad diplomatic relations and he wasnęt controlling the army. The fact is he was. If you look to the Kaiseręs abdication speech it states that he was in control of the army as well as the leader of the nation. In conclusion, Kaiser William II is a war criminal of the worst sort, a man who has his soldiers do it for him and take the blame.