Proclamation of the German Empire (1871)
In his mission to unify Germany, Bismarck purposely provoked France to declare war on Prussia. The southern German states, which distrusted Prussia and shared France's liberal politics, nevertheless succumbed to nationalist sentiment and sided with Prussia in the conflict. When France was decisively defeated, the victors decreed a united Germany, with the Prussian king as emperor (or "Kaiser") of the new nation. The proclamation took place in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, adding to France's humiliation.
Whereas, The German Princes and the Free Cities have called unanimously upon us to revive and assume, with the restoration of the German Empire, the German imperial office, which has not been occupied for more than sixty years; and
Whereas, Adequate arrangements have been made for this purpose in the Constitution of the German Confederation;
Therefore, we, William, by the grace of God, King of Prussia, do hereby proclaim that we have considered it to be a duty to our common Fatherland to respond to the summons of the unified German Princes and cities and to accept the German imperial title. As a result, we and those who succeed us on the throne of Prussia, henceforth, shall bear the imperial title in all our relations and in all the activities of the German Empire, and we trust to God that the German nation will be granted the ability to construct a propitious future for the Fatherland under the symbol of its ancient glory. We assume the imperial title, aware of the duty of protecting, with German loyalty, the rights of the Empire and of its members, of maintaining the peace, and of protecting the independent rulers of Germany, which, in turn, is dependent upon the united power of the people.
We assume the title in the hope that the German people will be granted the ability to enjoy the fruits of its zealous and self-sacrificing wars in eternal peace, inside boundaries that give the Fatherland a security against renewed French aggression which has been lost for centuries. May God grant that we and our successors on the imperial throne may at all times enhance the wealth of the German Empire, not through military conquests, but by the blessings and the gifts of peace, within the realm of national prosperity, freedom, and morality.
Issued at General Headquarters, Versailles, January 18, 1871.
William
From: Robinson, James Harvey. Readings in European History. 2 vols. Boston: Gibb and Co., 1904-6. Vol. II, 594.