The first German Empire was the Holy Roman Empire or the Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation (HRE of the German Nation). However, the second Empire (Deutsches Reich) was somewhat democratic. The Kaiser ruled for life, but there was universal male suffrage and a parliamentary system with a Chancellor. I'm not entirely sure how the relationship between Kaiser and Chancellor worked (I assume that it was something like the British model) so I can't comment on that aspect. So, I wouldn't call it a 'true democracy' (even though no country today is a true democracy a la Athens).