Blaming Germany for the First World War
Intro:
§ Explain topic. Agree partially. Germany mostly responsible however
other countries contributed.
Para1:
§ Talk about the balance of power. The alliances. One major power in
Germany while 3 major powers in Britain, France Russia yet they were
all threatened by Germany.
§ Encirclement of Germany. Ganging up against Germany.
Para2:
§ Talk about imperialism/colonial rivalry between Germany and Britain,
the naval race and expansion.
§ Talk about commercial rivalry between Germany and Britain.
§ Britain was almost always ahead yet they continuously felt
threatened.
§ Failure to accommodate Germany as a major power.
Para3:
§ Military rivalry.
§ The arms race between Germany and Russia. Franco-Prussian War
leading to tensions between Germany and France.
§ Each country too proud to back down. It would be humiliating to back
down.
Para4:
§ Nationalism.
§ Germany's attitude by 1914 was that war was inevitable. The longer
it was delayed the less chance Germany had to win. No point avoiding
it, they were better off preparing for it.
Para5:
§ Balkan tension unable to be resolved peacefully. Ultimatum to
Serbia. However Austria would never have started war with Serbia and
Russia without Germany's support. Hence the blank cheque to Austria.
Austria-Hungry looked for no other possibility but war to solve the
problem because of their short sighted plan to rid themselves of a
Slavic Nationalist movement
Conclusion:
§ Conclude that three long term factors contributed to war, failure of
triple entente to accommodate Germany as a dominant power, instead
allowing them to feel threatened, hence the naval and arms race
progressed. Austria Hungary and Russia could not resolve Balkan
conflict peacefully; Germany's backing of this making a small local
war a world war. Attitude in the time, Nationalism, no country backing
down, notably Germany. Austria Hungary looked for no other possibility
but war to rid themselves of a Slavic Nationalist Movement.
...onger. But a generation later, the game was on once again; the war aims were much the same. Germany felt it must defend its way of life and stand up for progress. Britain wanted to defend the status quo but it used the excuse of the invasion of another country as the immediate pretext for entry: first Belgium, later Poland. In both world wars, Germany was the innovator, morally and technologically. Britain and France were fighting previous wars while Germany led the way in technology, techniques and tactics.
1. Germany was prepared to launch the First World War in order to become a great power.
Although Fischer’s thesis was widely accepted, there were people who argued against it. Most Germans had accepted the fact that Germany had caused World War II, but they disagreed with the blame Germany took for World War I. World War I was widely regarded as a war forced upon Germany by its encircling enemies. Critics argue that Fischer’s thesis placed Germany outside the real historical context. It is argued that Germany was not the only aggressive a European nation in the early 20th century, as it was a time when Social Darwinism views of struggle were well-known in Europe's ruling classes. Critics also oppose that in the centuries following Columbus's voyages to America, the Western European countries had already acquired vast overseas colonial
In 1914, there were many things that placed Europe at the brink if war. Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, social darwinism, and Jingoes where five of the main forces that were pushing Europe to the brink of war. Another main force was the development of Alliance systems. These ideas and systems threatened the balance of power which could then cause a major war to break out. In Europe at the time, there were many ideas which were causing friction. Nationalism, which was the desire for a country was causing friction because people in old empires sought to be free. The leaders of these people would not be happy and a war would definitely break out. If they became free they would also need to take land from someone else and this again may cause a war and usually did. Another idea which was contributing to the shifts of power in Europe was Militarism.
After 1871, the war atmosphere engendered by the secret alliances led to an armaments race among the powers. The race was particularly serious between 1900 and 1914, as the international situation became much worse than before. There was a significant rise in the army and naval estimates of the European powers in these years. All the Continental European powers had adopted the conscription system since 1870. Austria-Hungary had conscription since 1868 and Germany since 1870. Only Britain did not have conscription. After 1890, the deteriorating diplomatic relations among the powers accelerated their military expansion programme. Britain did not introduce conscription but had prepared her armed forces for both European expedition and for home defense. In general, all the powers increased their stocks of arms, produced more modern weapons of war and built more strategic railways. Britain and Germany were the chief rivals at sea. In the meantime, Britain produced her first Dreadnought. Dreadnoughts were large, fast and heavily armed battleships. They set a new standard in naval armaments and rendered all previous battleships obsolete. The naval race became intense. For centuries the powers of Europe had clashed over their competing interests around the globe. Du...
In the July Crisis Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) despite not having conclusive proof. Austria-Hungary asked for German support to "eliminate Serbia as a power factor in the Balkans". Germany agreed, offering her full support for Austria- Hungary to start a war with Serbia, and this became known as the "blank cheque". Austria-Hungary and Germany could not have failed to realise the possibility of Russian intervention and a European war, suggesting to me that war was their objective. Austria-Hungary issued an impossible ultimatum to Serbia, which was likely to provoke a war. Serbia was given only 48 hours to reply, so was forced to think quickly, or other countries would be mobilized and ready to attack. Serbia accepted all but one point of the ultimatum. Consequently war was announced. If given more time Serbia could have discussed the issue further in a conference. The British foreign minister, Grey suggested a conference, but this was rejected by Germany and Austria-Hungary, suggesting that they had deliberate aims for war during the Balkan Crisis, rather than the Balkan Crisis being mismanaged.
The first underlying cause of WWI was greed. People always want more than what they have. The countries from the Triple Alliance wanted more land, power, or wealth than what they owned. Germany despised Great Britain at the time, because of the number of colonies they had. In Document --, a German cartoonist drew a propaganda poster, claiming "England is the bloodsucker of the world". This appears that Germany is very fearful of England taking control of the world. It also shows that Germany aspires to be as large of a country of Great Britain. Also, in document 16, in the spring of 1914, before the war started,
Due to German development, several wars broke out with neighboring regions such as France. By gaining the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, German and French border tensions reached new heights. Due to this conflict along with several others, Germany claimed responsibility for the Great War, as exhibited in Document 4. By forcefully signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany accepted defeat and accountability for World War I. On the contrary, in Document 5, a German nationalist opposed the idea that Germany alone was liable for outbreak of the war.
Who To Blame for the World War II World War II began on the 3rd September when Britain and France declared war on Germany after they had invaded Poland. Ever since the end of WWI Europe had been divided into different camps. The ideas of peace during the 1920s and 30s had been designed to eliminate the gaps between the camps. Unfortunately, this never worked and so Europe was still divided into two main camps when war was declared. Britain and France in Western Europe were the leaders of one camp.
Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor that led the unification of the German states, did not like the fact that Germany was between Russia and France. “Bismarck formed the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the year preceding World War 1” (Ch. Imperialism is the way of spreading a country’s power and influence through military force or diplomacy. Great Britain and other European countries took over many countries, making empires. According to Document E, Great Britain has taken over the seas and some countries.
This feeling spread widely throughout Europe during the 19th and 10th centuries and caused many problems. The Slavic people of Bosnia and Herzegovina wanted to break away from Austria-Hungary and unify with other Slavic nations. Russia as a Slavic nation backed up the two countries in this matter, therefore causing tensions between Austria-Hungary and itself. Nationalism was also a source of anger between France and Germany as France resented its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). Alliances between European nations can also be considered an underlying cause of World War I. As a result of the Triple Alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, the Triple Entente (understanding) was formed between France, Britain, and Russia.
The world was plunged into World War II in 1939 for many reasons. The reasons were Japan invading Manchuria, Mussolini's attack on Ethiopia, and when Hitler defies The Treaty of Versailles. Appeasement was one of the biggest things that lead to World War II.Appeasement was giving in to an aggressor to keep peace.It basically postponed the War from happening but did not stop the war from happening . The Most effective response to aggression at this time was collective security because it was using the appeasement to got the countries together and didn't benefit them.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
The Responsibility of Hitler for World War Two In this essay I will be looking at the main causes of World War 2 and deciding whether it was all Adolf Hitler's fault that it began. I will be looking at things Hitler did, other causes and then concluding with my opinion. In some ways the war was Hitler's fault.
France couldn't ally with Britain because Britain kept itself in "splendid isolation", so Russia was really the only real choice as they were the only other great power who was suspicious and disliked Germany.