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.