Kaiser Wilhelm's Reich

How democratic was Germany in the prelude to the First World War and what were the tensions in politics and society that ensured so much trust was placed in militarism? In this episode of Black's History Week, Professor Jeremy Black talks to The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart about Kaiser Wilhelm II, his chancellors and the mood of a modernising country racing towards catastrophe.

Picture: German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (1859 - 1941) in military uniform, circa 1900. (Photo by Estate of Emil Bieber/Klaus Niermann/Getty Images)