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, German foreign policy, and of Holstein himself. Volume 4 completes the correspondence from and to Holstein. Together, volumes 3 and 4 contain the real core of the papers and are an unusually rich source of primary material on German foreign policy of the period. Volume 4 covers Holstein's correspondence between 1897 and 1909.