10. After enduring calamitous defeat in the First World War the German monarchy was abolished and the Kaiser forced to flee
Instituted after the creation of the German Empire in 1871, following the proclamation by the King of Prussia, William I, combining Prussia and the North German Confederation into a single entity, the House of Hohenzollern reigned as the foremost dynastic monarchs of a new nation consisting of twenty-six constituent states, many possessing their own royal families. Becoming involved in colonialism, claiming leftover territories overlooked during the Scramble for Africa, the German Empire successfully grew to the third-largest colonial empire. However, in so doing, especially via its dramatic acquisition of a powerful navy, the fledgling empire rapidly became perceived as an enemy by other powerful nations.
Joining the Triple Alliance and entering into World War One, Germany ultimately suffered an unconditional and humiliating defeat in the four-year conflict. Inflicting immeasurable hardships upon its populace, a series of mutinies – notably the Kiel – in October 1918 finally triggered an inevitable uprising against the throne. Spreading throughout the nation, on November 9, 1918, a republic was proclaimed, with Emperor Wilhelm II forced to flee the country. Transitioning in August 1919 into the Weimar Republic under a democratic constitution, the political experiment would last less than fifteen years before the rise of Adolf Hitler and the transformation of the nation into a de facto monarchy until 1945.