Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow

“ Bernhard von Bülow, after serving in the Franco-Prussian War, entered the Prussian civil service, and was then transferred to the diplomatic service. In 1876 he was appointed attaché to the German embassy in Paris, and after returning for a while to the foreign office at Berlin, became second secretary to the embassy in Paris in 1880. From 1884 he was first secretary to the embassy at St Petersburg, and acted as chargé d'affaires; in 1888 he was appointed envoy at Bucharest, and in 1893 to the post of German ambassador at Rome. ”

“ Bülow did not even trouble to look at the music, and wrote in a strain which implied that he took Gast to be one of the imitatores out of the servum pecus Wagneri. The letter began: "R. W. is a phenomenon, and phenomena don't create schools." Gast thanked him for the information, and returned his letter, saying that he could not show his respect for Bülow more aptly than by regarding his letter as unwritten. Nietzsche agreed with this treatment of the matter.—Translator.↑ The Conductor.↑ "I have written for myself."—Translator.↑ "To die or to live as I do."—Translator.↑ Rudolf von Delbrück. ”

“ The grandmother, sixty-nine years of age, might die at any moment. They waited till the strict season of mourning dictated both by their hearts and by custom had elapsed, and at the end of six months they were married.
Three days after the birth of his first child, a boy, the Baron Frederic von Bülow received his commission as major. On this occasion the protection of the king was so obvious and so kindly intentioned that the baron resolved to make a second journey to Berlin, not on this occasion to ask for favours, but to return thanks for them. ”

“ A cautious and versatile diplomatist like Bernhard von Bülow appears to be best adapted to the personal and political necessities of the present situation.” Count Bülow, indeed, though, like Bismarck, a “realist,” utilitarian and opportunist in his policy, made no effort to emulate the masterful independence of the great chancellor. He was accused, indeed, of being little more than the complacent executor of the emperor’s will, and defended himself in the Reichstag against the charge. ”

“ Prince von Bülow is careful to insist upon the purely defensive rôle that the Imperial fleet has marked out for itself, and, in order to reassure us as to the peaceful aims of the new statesmanship, he quotes the following passage from a speech made by him in the Reichstag on 6th November 1906: “It is the duty of our generation to uphold our position on the Continent, which is the basis of our international position ”

“ This inspired the greatest enthusiasm in Prussia, as being won by purely Prussian forces, and rendered Bülow’s popularity almost equal to that of Blücher. Bülow’s corps played a conspicuous part in the final overthrow of Napoleon at Leipzig, and he was then entrusted with the task of evicting the French from Holland and Belgium. In an almost uniformly successful campaign he won a signal victory at Hoogstraaten, and in the campaign of 1814 he invaded France from the north-west, joined Blücher, and took part in the brilliant victory of Laon in March. ”

“ A dying man's wishes are sacred, and Frederic von Bülow's wish was that one of us—either you or I—should disappear from this world. I deliver it to you the more readily because I know you, sir, to be brave, skilful in all bodily exercises, and a first-rate swordsman and shot. I am not an officer in the Prussian army; you are in no sense my chief. I am a Frenchman, you are a Prussian; we have Jena behind us and you have Leipzig; we are therefore enemies. ”

“ German political science had tried every remedy against the Socialist taint and found it wanting, from the repressive system of Bismarck to the social reform policy of Posadowsky. In reality,155 however, the microbe of Social Democracy was perfectly harmless. Prince von Bülow, in his book, comes to the conclusion that the danger would become serious if Socialism, after making havoc among the proletariate, wormed its way into the middle classes, those steadfast bulwarks against all change. ”

“ For years before the war the Bavarian Comic papers cartooned the Prussians, common and royal, but like every other movement nothing will result.
There is much underground work for the resumption of reckless submarine war going on, all part of a campaign to upset the Chancellor. Von Bülow, Ex-Chancellor, is working hard. He, however, since his row with the Emperor over the "Telegraph" interview, which he passed as correct, will never be accepted by His Majesty. Nevertheless, he is becoming a focal point for opposition.
The Chancellor and his party are very timid about attacks. ”

“ At any rate his policy, or that of his Government, changed, and instead of following up his encouraging words with mediation or intervention, he assumed an attitude of neutrality towards the war which soon after began. Subsequently, in the Reichstag, Chancellor von Bülow described the course the German Government pursued immediately before and during the war; and there seems no reason to discredit his account. The speech was made apropos of the projected visit of President Kruger to Berlin, when on his tour of despair to the capitals of Europe while the war was still in progress. ”

“ No minister has ever been so successful in winning the ear of the Reichstag, while managing to retain the confidence of the Emperor.
But why did Germany need so large a navy? Prince von Bülow says in his book, Imperial Germany: “The sea has become a more important factor in our national life than at any previous period, not excepting the great days of the Hanseatic League; it has become a vital nerve, which we must never lose, if the young German nation, which is still growing vigorously, is to be kept from suddenly lapsing into a decrepit old age. ”

“ To Wilhelm's mind, male humanity is "nude" when unaccoutred with knapsack and bayonet, or else unshrouded in evening dress at nine a.m. Bülow had flatly refused to array himself en frac in daytime, and in his hussars' breeches he always fidgeted "in a nerve-racking way." So he must be allowed a Prince Albert coat—Chancellor's exclusive privilege, of course! Bismarck used to ride to the old Kaiser's palace in a fatigue cap, but at the door donned the steel helmet. ”

“ His energetic fishing in troubled waters caused much alarm; but it is improbable that he desired war with Great Britain until his new navy was ready for sea. The German Chancellor, Prince von Bülow, has since written as follows: "We gave England no cause to thwart us in the building of our fleet: . . . we never came into actual conflict with the Dual Alliance, which would have hindered us in the gradual acquisition of a navy [499] ." ”

“ On the next day, rumors of the intended resignation of Prince Bülow were checked by the publication of the following semi-official statement: "Prince von Bülow will remain as chancellor of the empire. The Reichstag will not be dissolved. The chancellor holds that his duty is to be in accord with the conviction of the Federal Council of the necessity to bring about the passage of a taxation measure, but with the exclusion therefrom of duties on stock transfers, the output of the grain mills, and the exports of coal. Financial reform must now come into operation. ”

“ The Emperor noticed it too, for his first words were: "Dear gentlemen, to-night the beer costs nothing."
Throughout the reign Germany has made it her constant policy to cultivate friendly relations with the United States. Chancellor von Bülow, in 1899, apropos of Samoa, said in the Reichstag: "We can confidently say that in no other country has America during the last hundred years found better understanding and more just recognition than in Germany." ”

“ But she miscalculated the strength of British feeling and the character of His Majesty’s Ministers. An Anglo-French coalition in arms against her was not in her forecast, and she could not face the possible danger of it. It is now known that Herr von Holstein, and, on his persuasion, Prince Bülow, practically staked their reputation on the prophecy that no British Government sufficiently bullied and frightened would stand by France, who had for centuries been England’s ubiquitous opponent, and was still the ally of Russia England’s “hereditary foe.” ”

“ Von Bohlen looked puzzled. He had imbibed enough of the Krupp spirit to encourage him in the belief that he might rival an earthquake as a destroyer of life and property, but his ambition had never extended to interference with other people's digestion.
"Explain, Bülow," ordered the War Lord, considering it beneath his dignity to give information on so trifling a subject.
"His Majesty refers, of course, to the disturbance of England's food supplies. Unlike Germany, Great Britain cannot feed herself, being dependent for the sustenance of the inner man on imports. ”

“ After a skirmish the German hussars were driven off with the loss of a few killed and wounded. But the raid evidently came out of the gap as a surprise to the French. The citizens were promptly ordered to their homes. Barricades were raised in the streets, and mitrailleuses were placed in sweeping positions. An artillery engagement began at Jemappe, nine miles above Namur on the left bank of the Sambre, between Von Bülow's vanguard and the main French right. Later in the day Von Bülow's vanguard artillery had advanced to open fire on Charleroi and Thuin, seven miles beyond. ”

“ That confounded Este is too much of a blackleg to be trusted."
"Too deeply steeped in clericalism," suggested Bülow.
"That and Jesuitism, Romanism, Papism and every other sableism. Found him out in our first confab, and to-day's meeting with Haeseler confirmed it. He will never consent to a Roman Empire of German nationality. Wants all Italy for himself and Rome for his Church. Intolerable!" cried the War Lord, as he strode up and down. "Twenty marks if Otto were in his place."
The War Lord's joke drew tears of appreciative hilarity from the obsequious eyes of the two courtier-politicians. ”

“ It will easily be understood that nobody in the town talked of any other subject. Astonishment and curiosity were even more aroused owing to the occurrence of two mysterious deaths at the same time. People wondered how it happened that Frederic von Bülow, after having been insulted by his superior officer, should before he shot himself have charged his wife with her pious errand to Berlin, seeing that he was no citizen of Frankfort, but belonged, body and soul, to the Prussian army. ”

“ The German cavalry, attacked by the French and British, was cut up with [Pg 71] heavy loss. More than 60,000 horsemen were engaged in this gigantic combat.
September 7.—To assist the retreat, the centre divisions of von Kluck's army opposing the British made a stand upon the Petit Morin, and the army of von Bülow a stand from Montmirail to Le Petit Sompius. Along that line the 5th French army was all day heavily engaged against the left wing of von Kluck's army and the right of von Bülow's. ”

“ The second element in this plan was, contrary to Germany's usual tactics, the determination to attack the center of the French line and break through. Almost three-quarters of a million men were concentrated on this point. The armies of General von Bülow, General Hausen and the Duke of Württemberg were massed in the center of the line. There, however, General Foch's new Ninth Army was prepared to meet the attack. It will be remembered that, in the disposition of the troops, these respective armies were facing each other across the great desolate plain, the ancient battle ground. ”

“ On the 5th of April 1906, while attending a debate in the Reichstag, Prince Bülow was seized with illness, the result of overwork and an attack of influenza, and was carried unconscious from the hall. At first it was thought that the attack would be fatal, and Lord Fitzmaurice in the House of Lords compared the incident with that of the death of Chatham, a compliment much appreciated in Germany. The illness, however, quickly took a favourable turn, and after a month's rest the chancellor was able to resume his duties. ”

“ He and his alter ego are meanwhile very much afraid that our enemies might remain obdurate, since they are under the impression, or are trying to spread the impression, that the President, in opening the peace negotiations, is acting for Germany. Certainly England continually drags this idea into the discussion. At one time it is said that Prince Bülow is coming here to submit the German peace conditions to Mr. Wilson; at another, that Germany is on the brink of starvation and must therefore sue for peace. We ought as far as possible to counteract this propaganda of our enemies. ”

“ Von Lippe is not an American citizen as so many of the agents are. With no visible means of support, he received expenses from a total stranger—oddly enough, Count von Bülow whose home overlooked the naval base in San Diego and who was constantly in conferences with Nazi agents. It was to Count von Bülow, you recall, that Hermann Schwinn brought Schneeberger as soon as he arrived on his way to Japan, and von Bülow took him around while Schneeberger photographed areas in the military and naval zone. ”

“ Prince von Bülow, in his Imperial Germany, asserts that the German race, although richly endowed with great qualities, has no talent for politics. This charge is quite unfair, the real motive for it being the dread with which a Prussian statesman views the prospect of a parliamentary system. The Germans are late-comers in the field of political life. Those of the South entered it much earlier than the Prussians; Bavaria received a written constitution from its ruler in 1818, Baden in the same year, Würtemberg in 1819, and Hesse-Darmstadt in 1820. ”