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

Introduction; 1. The creation of the German Empire; 2. Bismarck¿s rule at home; 3. Bismarck¿s foreign policy; 4. The imperial regime at home 1888¿1914; 5. German foreign policy 1890¿1914; 6. Germany and the First World War.