Cousins on the Brink: The Correspondence of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II on the Eve of the First World War – Between History and Historiography

Abstract

This article analyses the correspondence between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II during the final days of the July Crisis in 1914, from historical and historiographical perspectives. It first reviews older historiography, particularly the Fischer Kontroverse, which highlighted the manipulation of the telegrams by Wilhelm’s court and their role in debates over German war responsibility. The article then reassesses the correspondence in light of contemporary scholarship on the origins of the First World War, situating the exchanges within the broader diplomatic and political context of late July 1914. Finally, it surveys recent historiographical perspectives, which interpret the telegrams not as decisive factors but as one episode in a broader web of interactions during the July Crisis. In this view, the correspondence illuminates the interaction between personal monarchy and bureaucratic statecraft at the twilight of Europe’s dynastic age.