Abstract

On May 11, 1878, Max Hödel, a twenty-one-year-old unemployed journeyman plumber, fired three shots in an attempt to assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm I, but all missed their intended target. The attempt took place as the Kaiser, accompanied by his daughter, the Grand Duchess of Baden, rode in an open carriage on Berlin’s most famous thoroughfare, Unter den Linden. This woodcut is based on a drawing by Hermann Lüders.

First Assassination Attempt on Kaiser Wilhelm I (May 11, 1878)

Hermann Lüders

Source

Source: The assassination attempt on Kaiser Wilhelm I on Unter den Linden in Berlin on May 11, 1878. Wood engraving (1878) after a drawing by Hermann Lüders, no date.
bpk-Bildagentur, image number 30013069. For rights inquiries, please contact Art Resource at requests@artres.com (North America) or bpk-Bildagentur at kontakt@bpk-bildagentur.de (for all other countries).

Recommended Citation

First Assassination Attempt on Kaiser Wilhelm I (May 11, 1878), published in: German History in Documents and Images, <https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/forging-an-empire-bismarckian-germany-1866-1890/ghdi:image-1440> [April 22, 2024].

Bloodied Uniform Worn by Kaiser Wilhelm I

Kaiser Wilhelm I Recuperates after a Second Attempt was Made on His Life (1878)

“Reichstag Dissolution” (July 7, 1878)

Reactions to the First Attempt on the Life of Kaiser Wilhelm I (Retrospective Account, 1910)