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CHAPTER III. Birth and Background

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The German Diplomatic Service, 1871-1914
This chapter is in the book The German Diplomatic Service, 1871-1914
CHAPTER III Birth and Background The Foreign Office prized no quality so much as noble line­age. The Wilhelmstrasse, as one of Germany's leading bour­geois businessmen observed, was a "club into which one had to be admitted by and through birth."1 It was reluctant, however, to admit that familial descent played a role in the selection of diplomats, and Bismarck and his successors often denied charges of aristocratic favoritism.2 Under the Iron Chancellor, the prejudice in behalf of the well-born resided less in Bismarck than in some of his assistants. Ar­thur von Brauer, who knew Bismarck well and who had been admitted into the diplomatic service before his father's ennoblement by the Grand Duke of Baden, attributed the preference given to noble candidates to the inclination of the counselors in the Political Division.3 Two counselors who played important roles in personnel matters between 1891 and 1904, Count Friedrich von Pourtales and Prince Karl Max von Lichnowsky, both had a clear predilection for noble applicants.4 The Political Division was notable for its aristocratic, Prussian composition, one which it apparently hoped to perpetuate by choosing young diplomats with care 1 Lamar Cecil, Albert Battin: Business and Politics in Imperial Germany, 1888-1918 (Princeton, 1967), p. 123. 2GW, XV, 15; Reichstag, Mar. 31, 1909, pp. 7914-16 (Schoen), and Mar. 16, 1910, pp. 2168-69 (Schoen). 3 Brauer, "Die deutsche Diplomatie unter Bismarck," Deutsche Revue, XXXI, no. 2 (1906), 71—72. See also Wilhelm Ohnesseit, Unter der Fahne schwarz-weiss-rot: Erinnerungen eines kaiserlichen Generalkonsuls (Berlin, 1926), pp. 11-12. 4 MiquelN, 00186; Lichnowsky, Heading for the Abyss: Reminis­cences (New York, 1928), p. 87.

CHAPTER III Birth and Background The Foreign Office prized no quality so much as noble line­age. The Wilhelmstrasse, as one of Germany's leading bour­geois businessmen observed, was a "club into which one had to be admitted by and through birth."1 It was reluctant, however, to admit that familial descent played a role in the selection of diplomats, and Bismarck and his successors often denied charges of aristocratic favoritism.2 Under the Iron Chancellor, the prejudice in behalf of the well-born resided less in Bismarck than in some of his assistants. Ar­thur von Brauer, who knew Bismarck well and who had been admitted into the diplomatic service before his father's ennoblement by the Grand Duke of Baden, attributed the preference given to noble candidates to the inclination of the counselors in the Political Division.3 Two counselors who played important roles in personnel matters between 1891 and 1904, Count Friedrich von Pourtales and Prince Karl Max von Lichnowsky, both had a clear predilection for noble applicants.4 The Political Division was notable for its aristocratic, Prussian composition, one which it apparently hoped to perpetuate by choosing young diplomats with care 1 Lamar Cecil, Albert Battin: Business and Politics in Imperial Germany, 1888-1918 (Princeton, 1967), p. 123. 2GW, XV, 15; Reichstag, Mar. 31, 1909, pp. 7914-16 (Schoen), and Mar. 16, 1910, pp. 2168-69 (Schoen). 3 Brauer, "Die deutsche Diplomatie unter Bismarck," Deutsche Revue, XXXI, no. 2 (1906), 71—72. See also Wilhelm Ohnesseit, Unter der Fahne schwarz-weiss-rot: Erinnerungen eines kaiserlichen Generalkonsuls (Berlin, 1926), pp. 11-12. 4 MiquelN, 00186; Lichnowsky, Heading for the Abyss: Reminis­cences (New York, 1928), p. 87.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter iii
  2. Contents vii
  3. List of Tables viii
  4. Preface ix
  5. Acknowledgment xi
  6. Abbreviations xiii
  7. CHAPTER I. The Organization of the Foreign Office 1
  8. CHAPTER II. Intelligence and Income 21
  9. CHAPTER III. Birth and Background 58
  10. CHAPTER IV. Diplomats and Soldiers 104
  11. CHAPTER V. Careers 147
  12. CHAPTER VI. The Crown 190
  13. CHAPTER VII. Bismarck, the Succession, and the Foreign Office 226
  14. CHAPTER VIII. Caprivi and Hohenlohe 257
  15. CHAPTER IX. Bulow and Bethmann Hollweg 289
  16. CHAPTER X. Diplomats and Deputies 320
  17. Bibliography of Manuscript Sources 329
  18. Index 337
  19. Backmatter 353
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400867707-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter iii
  2. Contents vii
  3. List of Tables viii
  4. Preface ix
  5. Acknowledgment xi
  6. Abbreviations xiii
  7. CHAPTER I. The Organization of the Foreign Office 1
  8. CHAPTER II. Intelligence and Income 21
  9. CHAPTER III. Birth and Background 58
  10. CHAPTER IV. Diplomats and Soldiers 104
  11. CHAPTER V. Careers 147
  12. CHAPTER VI. The Crown 190
  13. CHAPTER VII. Bismarck, the Succession, and the Foreign Office 226
  14. CHAPTER VIII. Caprivi and Hohenlohe 257
  15. CHAPTER IX. Bulow and Bethmann Hollweg 289
  16. CHAPTER X. Diplomats and Deputies 320
  17. Bibliography of Manuscript Sources 329
  18. Index 337
  19. Backmatter 353
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