The Bizarre Creator of Germany, Who Predicted Major Historical Events to Their Exact Timelines
This is the story of Otto Von Bismarck, a brilliant-minded politician, and a foreteller in disguise. Some people believe that it was his dismissal by German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II that led to World
What if someone tells you that before the major wars happened, and turning points in history arrived, there was a man, of great significance, who predicted them all, right to their exact timelines?
You might think it’s a coincidence or you might think it's a piece of fiction.
But there existed a man, who was the Prince of Bismarck, the Duke of Lauenburg, the Prime Minister of Prussia, and the founder and first chancellor of the German Empire.
He was none other than — Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), a German duke who made some strong statements about the world’s future, and all of his statements apparently came true.
Bismarck was no ordinary man, no ordinary Duke, and no ordinary Prince. He was weird and insanely lucky. For years and years, he played Europe like a game of chess.
He’s the man who created Germany and also created the French Republic accidentally.
He is cited as one of the most brilliant political minds in history, and a man who had radical views.
He stated that the forces of change must be confined only to the propertied and educated middle classes. A majority of the population of Prussians were artisans and peasants, who were only loyal monarchists, as per Bismarck. The economic policies of urban middle-class radical populations were rooted purely in self-interest, he said.
These radicals would bring industrial growth at the expense of the lower middle class and farmers, and ultimately even the middle class can be won over by tactical discounts and concessions.
Such a faraway and opportunist mindset distanced Bismarck from ideological conservatives, who were only used to exploiting traditional concepts of authority.
Bismarck’s vision of an authoritative and manipulative state was to reward obedient groups, and that remained with him throughout his career as a politician. Apart from his differing political views, he was quite a character and an insanely lucky guy.
Otto von Bismarck was a fortunate guy when it came to the matter of life and death. While he was rising to power, there was an assassination attempt on him. A man shot him almost six times before being disarmed by the guards.
Bismarck shocked everyone when he walked home saying that he was fine. Hours later, the royal doctor decided to visit him despite the protest from Bismarck’s side, but he found that none of the six bullets did any major damage to the man, even though all bullets did hit him! Bismarck didn’t pay attention to the whole thing. He was just unconcerned and unmoved.
Another event that might be shocking to you and me was that the guy drank two bottles of champagne and smoked two cigars for his breakfast. It might be a sin today to have such a meal, and definitely abysmal for our bodies. But Bismarck was unaffected by this.
You might think, this was enough, but hold on.
He used to get into duels every odd month and never lost. Not once. So, what’s the big deal?
Well, a duel is a fight with swords between two people, and there is only one way to win that fight — to kill your opponent. Bismarck was the one who never lost. So, you can imagine how many opponents he might’ve killed.
While working for the government in his first job, he randomly disappeared and resigned from his job, only to come back a couple of weeks later with the daughter of an English gentleman.
Bismarck married her and converted his religion, to provide himself with some security and strength. As per some critics, Bismarck believed in a God who inarguably agreed with him on all the different issues.
From 1839 to 1847, he lived the ordinary life of being a country squire in Prussia. He was the lord of an estate with some peasants and farmers working for him, and he would announce his entrance into their homes by shooting a gun in the air.
There was a time when some rebels took the Prussian King hostage. Prussian King was Bismarck’s king, to be specific. And Bismarck, at that time, was still a lord in the countryside, managing his land and minding his business.
Being a man of honor, he decided to train his peasants as military men to free the king. As the time arrived to leave for the battle, a local guy asked him to stop beating his peasants and go home, to which Bismarck said ‘You know me as a kind man, but if you try to stop me, I will kill you…’
Ouch. A kind man won’t say that!
Now, let’s look at some of his statements, that indeed came true
In the year 1888, Bismarck stated that:
“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans”
In less than 30 years, he was proved prescient, and in 1914 the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian Archduke in Serbia (in the Balkans) became the event that led to the beginning of World War I, and chaos across the globe.
During his final days, he said:
Jena came twenty years after the death of Frederick the Great; the crash will come twenty years after my departure if things go on like this.
Exactly 20 years after Bismarck’s death Germany lost World War I and nearly collapsed.
In late 1897, in his final meeting with the German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II, where he was insulting Bismarck and mocking him when he tried to give him some advice, Bismarck said to him:
“Your Majesty, so long as you have this present officer corps, you can do as you please. But when this is no longer the case, it will be very different for you”
Undoubtedly, when the present officer corps moved on and got replaced by the following generation Wilhelm-II was forced from power and exiled from the country in shame, and he then moved to The Netherlands.
Wilhelm II was regarded as one of the worst people to have ruled Germany, and some people even believed that if Bismarck hadn’t been fired by Wilhelm II, world-war I and World War II could have been avoided, for a long, long time!
Three of his most important statements did come true. He was indeed a genius who knew where the world was going and even tried to warn people around him about it. Alas, no one took him that seriously after all!
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References:
Opinion: Photos from World War I should make us remember, and think
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The war to end all war
" One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans. " - Otto von Bismarck…www.irishtimes.com
Otto von Bismarck | Biography, Significance, & Facts
Otto von Bismarck, prime minister of Prussia (1862-73, 1873-90) and founder and first chancellor (1871-90) of the…www.britannica.com
Otto von Bismarck
( Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (born von Bismarck-Schönhausen; German: Otto Eduard…en.wikipedia.org
Otto von Bismarck | Biography, Significance, & Facts
Otto von Bismarck, prime minister of Prussia (1862-73, 1873-90) and founder and first chancellor (1871-90) of the…www.britannica.com
WDF THINKS: Wilhelm II and life in abdication - WDFpodcast.com
"Your Majesty, so long as you have this present officer corps, you can do as you please. But when this is no longer the…www.wdfpodcast.com