The Second Reich

Uses a range of primary sources to examine the possible reasons leading to the humiliating end of the Second Reich in 1918.

The Second Reich is part of the Cambridge Topics in History series which looks at key A-level topics through a stimulating selection of original documents and other sources. William Simpson examines the possible reasons why the Second Reich, established with such high hopes in 1871, came to a humiliating end in 1918.William Simpson examines the nature and characteristics of the German empire, and the policies pursued by its governments, from the foundation of the empire in 1871 until its collapse in 1918. Two areas are given particular attention: the failure of Imperial Germany to develop into a stable parliamentary democracy; and the increasingly aggressive foreign policy pursued by Germany after 1890.