OTTO VON BISMARCK (1815-1898) Autograph letter signed ‘v. Bismarck’. Friedrichsruh, 24 May 1896.

Small autograph note of receipt by the addressee. 1 p. In-4° (26 x 20 cm). Double sheet. Thick paper. In German. Enclosed an older collection envelope. To General Alexander von Spitz (1832-1910) in Berlin, thanking him for a letter: ‘[...] Ich werde den beigefügten Geschäftsbericht des Kriegerbundes mit Interesse durchsehen, und freue mich, daß Euere Excellenz den Geist pflegen, der unser Heer zu großen Erfolgen geführt hat [...]’ ‘[...] I will look through the enclosed annual report of the Kriegerbund with interest, and am pleased that Your Excellency cultivates the spirit that has led our army to great successes [...]’ Spitz was chairman of the Deutscher Kriegerbund from his retirement in 1896. Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) Prussian politician and statesman, Bismarck dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s to the 1890s. During the Franco-German War of 1870/71, Bismarck was the driving force behind the solution of the German question in a small-German sense and the founding of the German Empire. As Prussian Minister-President and first Chancellor, he decisively shaped the politics of the new German Empire created in 1871. In 1890, differences of opinion with Emperor Wilhelm II, who had been in office for only two years, led to Bismarck’s dismissal.