The Holstein Papers

Friedrich von Holstein (1837-1909) was Bismarck's subordinate at the German Foreign Office. Since his death historians have combined to make him a monster of sinister and self-seeking policy. At various times von Holstein kept diaries, began memoirs, and wrote and received letters, and many of these survive. A selection of this Nachlass, which was first published in volume form between 1955 and 1963, is presented here. The original effect of this publication prompted an entire re-judgement of Bismarck, of German foreign policy at that time and since, and naturally of Holstein himself. The memoirs in this first volume were written in 1883, 1898 and 1906-1909. They include accounts of von Holstein's own career, essays on political subjects and personal impressions. There are fascinating sections on Bismarck, the Franco-Prussian war, and particularly the deterioration of German-British relations. These memoirs were his most formal compositions of this kind.