10 February 1861

Cheerless Childhood

In 1859 the German Kaiser Wilhelm II was delivered by forceps. As a result, his left arm was twisted. His tutors tried to remedy this in a very harsh way: they forced the child into a corset and packed his arm in surgical braces and splints.
In this picture, titled 'a real life photograph made in February 1861', the arm is apparently in good shape. Wilhelm's mother tried everything to conceal the defect by keeping her own son from public view. But Wilhelm's private teacher was even worse. Kaiser Wilhelm wrote about him: 'This stiff pedant was essentially cheerless and so was his manner of teaching.'

See also:

•  Search IISH collections and databases for 'Wilhelm II, Kaiser von Deutschland'

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