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Leo XIII and Bismarck: The Kaiser's Vatican Visit of 1888

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2009

James E. Ward
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Extract

The visit to the Vatican made by Kaiser William II on October 12, 1888, remains a memorable and somewhat curious event in the pontificate of Leo XIII. One version of this meeting has been given by Count Eduardo Soderini, a personal friend of Leo XIII, who thus far has been the only historian given access to the Vatican archives for this period. But the private papers of the pope's protégé and advisor, Cardinal Galimberti, particularly letters from the cardinal's German friend and informant, Monsignor Montel, suggest that Soderini's account is rather reticent and incomplete. This impression is confirmed by some documents in the papers of Friedrich von Holstein, a key figure in the German Foreign Ministry. A full account of this extraordinary meeting and a better appreciation of its significance is obtainable from unpublished documents in the French, German, and Austrian diplomatic archives, especially from a report made to Prince Bismarck by his son Herbert, a report approved and dictated in part by the kaiser himself.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Review of Politics , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , July 1962 , pp. 392 - 414
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1962

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References

1 Soderini, Eduardo, Il pontificato di Leone XIII (Rome, 1933), III, 393–394Google Scholar; letters of Montel to Galimberti, Rome, Oct. 26, 1888, and Jan. 6, 1889, in Crispolti, Crispolto and Aureli, Guido, La politica di Leone XIII da Luigi Galimberti a Mariano Rampolla: su documenti inediti (Rome, 1912), 466–473Google Scholar; Holstein diary entry of Oct. 22, 1888, in Rich, Norman and Fisher, M.H. (editors), The Holstein Papers (Cambridge, 1955–1957), II, 378, 379Google Scholar.

2 Béhaine to Ferry, Dépêche 46, Rome, April 9, 1884, Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Paris, cited hereafter as AMAE-Paris.

3 Galimberti notes (undated) in Crispolti, and Aureli, , La politica di Leone XIII, p. 357Google Scholar.

4 H. Bismarck to Reuss, Nummer 168 (Abschrift), Berlin, March 26, 1887, (filed in Pärpstlicher Stuhl, Nummer 7, Band 1), Auswäriges Amt, Bonn, cited hereafter as AA-Bonn.

5 Paar to Kálnoky, Bericht 2C, Rome, Jan. 28, 1888, Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv, Vienna, cited hereafter as HHSA-Vienna.

6 Galimberti to Rampolla, Berlin, March 26, 1889 (sic. The year should obviously be 1888), in Crispolti, and Aureli, , La politico di Leone XIII, p. 444Google Scholar.

7 Okalicsáanyi to Kálnoky: Teleg., Rome, July 22, 1888, Teleg., Rome, Aug. 2, 1888 (filed in dossier of 1888 Hübner mission), Privatbrief, Rome, Aug. 2, 1888, Ber. 25B, Rome, Aug. 24, 1888, HHSA-Vienna. See also Leo's statement to H. Bismarck on the chancellor's July letter.

8 Hübner to Kálnoky, four letters dated Rome, Aug. 7, 1888, in Salata, Francesco, Per la storia diplomatica della Questione Romana (Milan, 1929), I, 206–226. See particularly pp. 214, 226Google Scholar.

9 Okalicsányi to Kálnoky, Privatschreiben, Rome, July 27, 1888, HHSA-Vienna; Salata, , Questione Romana, I, 219, 224–226Google Scholar; Béhaine to Goblet, Dép. 161, Rome, Aug. 30, 1888, AMAE-Paris; Reuss to O. Bismarck, Nr. 457, Vienna, Oct. 31, 1888, also Nr. 461, Vienna, Nov. 6, 1888, AA-Bonn.

10 Rantzau to H. Bismarck, Friedrichsruh, Aug. 26, 1888; H. Bismarck to Goltz, Nr. 389, Berlin, Aug. 28, 1888, AA-Bonn.

11 Goltz to O. Bismarck, Nr. 298, Rome, Aug. 29, 1888, AA-Bonn.

12 Béhaine to Goblet, Dép. 166, Rome, Sept. 10, 1888, AMAE-Paris.

13 Reichenau to O. Bismarck, Nr. 113, Rome, Sept. 15, 1888; Rantzau to H. Bismarck, Friedrichsruh, Sept. 19, 1888; H. Bismarck to Reichenau, Nr. 156, Berlin, Sept. 22, 1888, AA-Bonn.

14 Béhaine to Goblet, Dép. 174, Rome, Sept 30, 1888, AMAE-Paris.

15 Okalicsányi to Kálnoky, Ber. 32B, Rome, Oct. 5, 1888, HHSA-Vienna.

16 Lichtervelde to Chimay, Rome, Oct. 13, 1888, in Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Belgium, cited hereafter as AMAE-Brussels.

17 Béhaine to Goblet, Teleg. 58, Rome, Oct. 12, 1888, AMAE-Paris.

18 Lichtervelde to Chimay, Rome, Oct. 13, 1888, AMAE-Brussels; Okalicsányi to Kálnoky, Teleg. 35, Rome, Oct. 13, 1888, HHSA-Vienna, notes: “Cardinal Rampolla given gift but no decoration.” Rich, and Fisher, (editors), Holstein Papers, II, 381Google Scholar.

19 Soderini, , Il pontificato di Leone XIII, III, 398–400Google Scholar.

20 Ybarra, Thomas R. (translator), The Kaiser's Memoirs (New York, 1922), pp. 209, 210Google Scholar.

21 H. Bismarck to [O. Bismarck], Rome, Oct. 15, 1888; H. Bismarck to O. Bismarck, Naples, Oct. 16, 1888, AA-Bonn.

* Prince Bismarck has underscored a number of words in his son's report and emphasized several passages by pencil strokes in the margin. To indicate these I have italicized words underscored by the chancellor; passages emphasized by the chancellor are enclosed in brackets and introduced by a “#”.

I am inserting the chancellor's numerous marginal notes in the appropriate place in the text with the aid of brackets and the rubric “Bismarck's note,” e.g., [Bismarck's note: ‘nothing’].

22 Revertera to Kálnoky, Ber. 40C, Rome, Nov. 16, 1888, HHSA-Vienna. Schlözer's statement to Revertera would seem to leave no doubt of German responsibility for the interruption; and there is ample evidence of papal resentment at the time. Curiously enough, in 1890 Leo communicated to the kaiser through Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna and the local German embassy an oral expression of regret over the unfortunate incident which he indicated was the fault of his chamberlain. William II's marginal comments on this report read: “Naturlich! Das wissen wir schon lange. [Er] hat sich gut heraus geredet.” Reuss to O. Bismarck, Nr. 73, Vienna, March 4, 1890, AA-Bonn.

23 Soderini, , Il pontificato di Leone XIII, III, 403Google Scholar.

24 Okalicsányi to Kálnoky, Ber. 34, Oct. 14, 1888, HHSA-Vienna.

25 Rottenburg to H. Bismarck, Friendrichsruh, Oct. 21, 1888; H. Bismarck to Schlözer, Fricdrichsruh, Oct. 23, 1888, AA-Bonn.

26 Schlözer to O. Bismarck, Teleg. 23, Rome, Oct. 20, 1888; Poitet report, No. 40, Rome, Oct. 22, 1888; Rottenburg to H. Bismarck, Friedrichsruh, Oct. 26, 1888, AA-Bonn.

27 Okalicsányi to Kálnoky, Ber. 37A, Rome, Nov. 2, 1888, HHSA-Vienna.

28 Béhaine to Goblet, Teleg. 66, Rome, Oct. 21, 1888; Monbel to Goblet, Dép. 191, Rome, Oct. 30, 1888, AMAE-Paris.

29 Revertera to Kálnoky, Ber. 39A, Rome, Nov. 14, 1888, HHSA-Vienna.

30 Palamenghi-Crispi, Thomas (editor) and Prichard-Agnetti, Mary (translator), The Memoirs of Francesco Crispi (New York and London, 1912), II, 341Google Scholar.

31 Osservatore Romano, Nov. 17, 1888, p. 1, col. 5.

32 Monbel to Goblet, Dép. 225, Rome, Dec. 31, 1888. See also Monbel to Goblet, Dép. 219, Rome, Dec. 20, 1888, AMAE-Paris.

33 Monbel to Goblet, Teleg. 1, Rome, Jan. 1, 1889, AMAE-Paris.

34 O. Bismarck to Reuss, Nr. 596, Berlin, Dec. 31, 1881, in Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, A., Lipsius, I. and Thimme, F. (editors), Die grosse Politik der europäischen Kabinette (Berlin, 1922–1926), III, 195–198Google Scholar.