In the early 1930s , Wilhelm apparently hoped that the successes of the German Nazi Party would stimulate interest in a restoration of the monarchy , with his eldest grandson as the fourth Kaiser . His second wife , Hermine , actively petitioned the Nazi government on her husband 's behalf . However , Adolf Hitler , himself a veteran of the First World War , like other leading Nazis , felt nothing but contempt for the man they blamed for Germany 's greatest defeat , and the petitions were ignored . Though he played host to Hermann Göring at Doorn on at least one occasion , Wilhelm grew to distrust Hitler . Hearing of the murder of the wife of former Chancellor Schleicher , he said " We have ceased to live under the rule of law and everyone must be prepared for the possibility that the Nazis will push their way in and put them up against the wall ! " Wilhelm was also appalled at the Kristallnacht of 9 – 10 November 1938 , saying " I have just made my views clear to Auwi Wilhelm 's fourth son in the presence of his brothers . He had the nerve to say that he agreed with the Jewish pogroms and understood why they had come about . When I told him that any decent man would describe these actions as gangsterisms , he appeared totally indifferent . He is completely lost to our family " . He also stated , " For the first time , I am ashamed to be a German . " In the wake of the German victory over Poland in September 1939 , Wilhelm 's adjutant , General von Dommes , wrote on his behalf to Hitler , stating that the House of Hohenzollern " remained loyal " and noted that nine Prussian Princes ( one son and eight grandchildren ) were stationed at the front , concluding " because of the special circumstances that require residence in a neutral foreign country , His Majesty must personally decline to make the aforementioned comment . The Emperor has therefore charged me with making a communication . " Wilhelm greatly admired the success which Hitler was able to achieve in the opening months of the Second World War , and personally sent a congratulatory telegram when the Netherlands surrendered in May 1940 : " My Fuhrer , I congratulate you and hope that under your marvellous leadership the German monarchy will be restored completely . " Hitler was reportedly exasperated and bemused , and remarked to Linge , his valet , " What an idiot ! " In another telegram to Hitler upon the fall of Paris a month later , Wilhelm stated " Congratulations , you have won using '' my '' troops . " In a letter to his daughter Victoria Louise , Duchess of Brunswick , he wrote triumphantly , " Thus is the pernicious '' Entente Cordiale '' of Uncle Edward VII brought to nought . " Nevertheless , after the German conquest of the Netherlands in 1940 , the ageing Wilhelm retired completely from public life . In May 1940 , when Hitler invaded the Netherlands , Wilhelm declined an offer from Churchill of asylum in Britain , preferring to die at '' Huis Doorn ''
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Wilhelm II, German Emperor