Keizer Wilhelm II bij het rad aan boord van de Hohenzollern 1889

Paul Güssfeldt captured this image of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the ship's wheel aboard the Hohenzollern. The wheel, a potent symbol, evokes the cyclical nature of fate and the guiding hand of leadership. Consider how this motif echoes through history, from the Wheel of Fortune in ancient Roman iconography to the Buddhist Dharma wheel representing spiritual law. Each spin carries echoes of control, destiny, and transformation. In antiquity, to hold a wheel was to express power and control, an attribute of Gods and rulers. Here, the Kaiser’s grasp upon the wheel is an assertion of command, navigating not just the ship but the ship of state through turbulent waters. Like the ceaseless turning of the wheel, the Kaiser's power is both a promise of stability and a reminder of the inevitable changes that history brings. It’s a performance of power, engaging our primal need for direction and security. The symbol of the wheel, ever turning, reminds us of the cyclical nature of history, where old patterns resurface, transformed yet familiar.