why did kaiser wilhelm II abdicate ?

Question

History of Germany 1914-1918

Answer 1

Well, it was sort of forced upon him - by Woodrow Wilson, among others:

"
A major potential stumbling block to peace was Wilson's insistence upon the abdication of the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. This was overcome by German Chancellor Max von Baden's exasperated decision to announce the reluctant Wilhelm's abdication to the public on 9 November 1918 (subsequently made official by the Kaiser's abdication proclamation on 28 November)."


"William was at the Imperial Army headquarters in Spa, Belgium, when the uprisings in Berlin and other centres took him by surprise in late 1918. Mutiny among the ranks of his beloved Kaiserliche Marine, the imperial navy, profoundly shocked him. After the outbreak of the German Revolution, William could not make up his mind whether or not to abdicate. Up to that point, he was confident that even if he were obliged to vacate the German throne, he would still retain the Prussian kingship. The unreality of this claim was revealed when, for the sake of preserving some form of government in the face of anarchy, William's abdication both as German Emperor and King of Prussia was abruptly announced by the Chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, on November 9, 1918. (Prince Max himself was forced to resign later the same day, when it became clear that only Friedrich Ebert, leader of the SPD could effectively exert control).
William consented to the abdication only after Ludendorff's replacement, General Wilhelm Groener, had informed him that the officers and men of the army would march back in good order under Paul von Hindenburg's command, but would certainly not fight for William's throne on the home front. The monarchy's last and strongest support had been broken, and finally even Hindenburg, himself a lifelong royalist, was obliged, with some embarrassment, to advise the Emperor to give up the crown."

Answer 2

Kaiser Wilhelm Abdication

Answer 3

The German army commander Ludendorff advised the Kaiser to abdicate and hand power over to a civilian government. Recognizing that the war was unwinnable, the German population suffering from mass starvation and the country on the brink of revolution, Ludendorff pointed out 3 things to the Kaiser: It was better to end the war before the Allied armies actually reached German soil (at the time of the Armistice,the German army was still entrenched on enemy soil along the entire front line). This would prevent destruction of German property. By abdicating and handing over power to a civilian government, it was this government that would be in charge when the war ended, and could thus be blamed for the surrender rather than the Kaiser. Abdication and handover to a civilian government would mean a quick end to the war.This would reduce the chance of an army mutiny (the navy had already mutinied, disobeying direct orders from the Kaiser to sail out and fight the Royal navy in a last,desperate attempt to lift the naval blockade). An army mutiny would lead to internal chaos, open up an easy invasion of Germany by the Allies, and lead to a possible Communist uprising in Germany. The Kaiser took Ludendorff's advice, abdicating and handing power over to the SPD Socialist Party (the largest Party in the Reichstag) and going into exile in neutral Holland. Btw, the German aristocracy wasn't abolished until after WW2.

Answer 4

He was a distant cousin to the King of England and would not be a party to waging war on his family.

Answer 5

It was part of the surrender agreement to end World War I.