June 1913 - Chronicles of the Year Before The Great War

Postcard for Kaiser Wilhelm II Silver Jubilee

Peace advocate Norman Angell is on a tour, coinciding with the republication of his book The Great Illusion, and which prompts the President of Stanford University, David Starr Jordan, to state "The Great War in Europe, that eternal threat, will never come. The bankers won't come up with the money needed for such a war, and industry won't support it, so the statesmen simply won't be able to do it. There will be no Great War."

In fact, after 25 years of rule, Wilhelm II wishes to be called the Emperor of Peace at his silver jubilee. Yet, a few days later, the Reichstag passes a military bill "approving the increase of peacetime troops by 117,267 men to 661,478."

Perhaps not quite that peaceful...

Source: Florian Illies's 1913 - The Year Before The Storm