Germany has not always been the great world power and cultural hub that we know of today. With the influence of both Austria and Prussia, the Germanic people struggled through the chaos of the 19th century to slowly form and unite. In fact, the European country wasn’t unified until January 18th, 1871 when King William I, a Prussian king, was offered the hereditary crown of a united Germany. Germans were determined to define themselves as a great power and would achieve this with force if need be. That said, the German’s expansion of military, colonial, and industrial might would lead them straight into the First World War.
Going to war was nothing new for Germans; in fact they were very much rooted in confrontation. It began with both Prussia
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Toward the end of the 19th century people were beginning to answer his question and this lead to the swelling of national pride. Their pride lead to a sense of entitlement to deservingly rule over all lesser peoples around the world. The people’s opinions were strengthened by William II’s “blatantly aggressive” desire to “secure Germany's status as a world power with overseas colonies” and Imperialism became a cultural given. In a slight defense of Germany, all major European powers had strong colonialist-imperialist spirits. This only heightened tensions in the region (Tucholsky, “The Spirit of 1914”). The overbearing colonial state of mind boiled down to three economic considerations: the expanding German industry and military required sources of cheap raw materials, the growing manufacturing enterprise required unrestricted access to large markets for their goods, and all the while needing to compete with Britain (Fulbrook …show more content…
As stated before Germans shifted to the imperialistic mind set in the 1890s and 1900s. Political alignment led to loose alliances at first and began to tighten. And actions like the Navy Program by Germany and the beefing-up of rail lines by Russia influenced strategic thinking of the outbreak of war (Fulbrook 149). All of these happenings lead to the heightened tension in foreign relations, while simultaneously each felt “just” in their cause for
With nationalistic ideals, countries involved in the war went full force with weapons and men. According to document 6, “In the coming century, the German nation will either be the hammer or the anvil.” The Germans need to have a strong military with warfare to prevent them from loosing to keep their nation alive. Document 12 is a graph that shows the amount of money spent during the war. Germany had the highest increase in expenses from 1890 – 1914, as they were going full force in the war. “I believe that a war is unavoidable, and the sooner the better.” (doc. 15) Germany was a very patriotic country; as the war was not avoidable for them. Militarism helped cause World War I because each country with nationalism in its core was heavily devoted to the
1. Germany was prepared to launch the First World War in order to become a great power.
World War One was greatly influenced by many factors, and in many ways. National interest ignited the mistrust and insecurities within nations, which in turn led to the creation of strong alliances and immense military forces. The growing suspicion Britain had of Germany only heightened the wariness and uncertainty of nations. The means, by which individual nations dealt with the issues within themselves, and outside of their boundaries, in the years preceding World War One, were irrational and improperly thought through. Nations fell into a strong ultra nationalistic point of view, and acted in a way which expressed interest in themselves only.
The German nation was born in January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles. Many factors have been noted by historians as to what led to the eventual unification of Germany such as; economic and industrial factors and the role of Otto Von Bismarck. A debate that has emerged over German Unification is whether it was united by ‘coal and iron’ or ‘blood and iron’; this looks at whether economic or political factors were the main driving force behind unification. In this essay I will explore these factors and gain an understanding of how these factors contributed to German Unification and come to a decision as to whether it was a nation unified by economic
In 1914, Europe was diving into two separate powers. One was Triple Entente composed of France, Russia and Britain. Other one was Triple Alliance, consists of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. (Pope 2) Each of the countries was connected with different treaties. The caused of European countries’ unstable political situation and threat of war was present. By arranging alliances with other governments, most countries found ways to protect themselves from assault. While Germany was becoming the center of the struggle, Europe made a spider web of tangled alliance that led most countries into two opposing powers. (Hamilton 16) In the late nineteenth century, the most surprising event in Europe was the birth of united state of Germany. Under the leadership of the Chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck, system of alliances was established to achieve peace in Europe. By 1890, Bismarck succeeded in having every major power into his alliance system...
Schlieffen Plan, the arms race and vital miscalculations on behalf of the German leaders have all been cited as causes for WW1 that were solely Germany's fault. In the face of this almost overwhelming evidence against Germany other factors that led to war must be examined in which Germany played little, or no, part. These consisted of the trouble in the Balkans, the growth of nationalism, the denial of self determination to minority groups, the alliance system, traditional imperial rivalries, secret diplomacy and the popular theories of Social Darwinism. If the war guilt clause is to be believed Germany and her allies were totally responsible for war, planning and instigating a chain of events that lead to the crisis of July 1914, independent of any outside influence. This is certainly not true it and absolute proof that Germany was planning and instigating a war is extremely difficult to find.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, many Europeans came to believe that imperial expansion and colonial domination were crucial for the survival of their states and societies as well as the health of their personal fortunes.
In Friedrich Fabri’s piece, Imperialism – A German Viewpoint, he details his support for German imperialistic endeavors saying that the acquisition of foreign colonies is the “foundation for a lasting expansion of power.” Fabri, along with many others at that time, believed that expanding his nation’s power could only be accomplished through the annexation and control of resource rich land. He uses the most prolific example of colonial acquisition at that time, Great Britain, to illustrate the power that is derived from exercising control over certain areas on land politically, economically and culturally. Fabri seemed to revere the successes of Great Britain with “extracting strength” from their colonies with what he terms to be a significantly
Both of which they managed to settle, however the compromises both countries dissatisfied. This caused an underline hatred and distrust for each other, causing them to be enemies. Militarism also had an effect on the outbreak of the war. Militarism is the glorification of armed strength. The Military in all European countries began to grow in the 1900s.
middle of paper ... ... It was easy for him to threaten, and hard for him to conciliate.” (pg. 216) Finally, Taylor explains, after Britain’s failure to help reach an agreement, the aggression dragged both France and Britain into war with Germany. Taylor’s perspective on the origins of the Second World War, although controversial, is not one so easily dismissed.
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many European nations began to increase their military spending. Between 1910 and 1914, “France increased her defence expenditure by 10%, Britain by 13%, Russia by 39%, and Germany was the most militaristic as she increased by 73%” (World). Europe industrialized throughout the eighteenth century, which allowed them to develop and produce large volumes of new and deadly weaponry. Many Europeans also increasingly began to use military strength as a way to prove nationalism, which is why there was such a large increase in military spending during this period. In Germany and the Next Great War, which was written in 1911, Friedrich von Bernhardi stated that the Germany “must secure to German nationality and German spirit throughout the globe that high esteem which is due them” (Bernhardi). Bernhardi was a strong supporter of the German military, as he saw it as a way to assert German nationalism and prove that Germany was a dominant force. He, along with other Germans, thought that increasing the German military would enable Germany to become a powerful nation. Brandon Brown, the author of the textbook Causes of World War I (The Great War), stated that these European nations quickly found a “reason to use their militaries against each other in an attempt to prove who is superior” (Brown). European nations used military power as a way to assert global power throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This resulted in growing tensions throughout Europe, which contributed to World War
After the terrible causes of World War I, Germany was stuck in the ruins. They were still trying to rebuild and recover from the war. The Treaty of Versailles, along with the Great Depression severely affected Germany. The unemployment lines increased, and food was scarce. Money was a huge hassle too, the factories were all closed and the savings were completely wiped out. Due to all these economic is what made Hitler’s rise to p...
The importance of the alliance system that developed in Europe in the decades before World War I as a cause for it is still an important topic of debate and argument between modern historians. Some argue that the alliance system was a direct cause of the outbreak of war between all major countries in Europe while other historians prefer to state that the alliance configuration we observe before the war started was simply a symptom of the conflicts and disagreements, fears and envies that had been accumulating since the Bismarck system of alliances collapsed, and even before then. This last opinion is becoming more accepted as the one that describes the true importance of the actual alliance system as a cause of the war. In order to determine the importance of the alliance system as a cause for the war we must first explore the origins of these alliances. We will take high-point of the Bismarck system in 1878 as our starting point as the Franco-Prussian war is a key factor for the development of this system.
After years of trying to unify as one nation and countless failures, the German people now believed that they themselves were among the superior races of the world and it was Germany’s destiny to become the greatest nation the world had ever seen. Under Bismarck’s rule, the economy boomed. The German Industrial Complex, powered by its heavy war production, made many men and the nation very wealthy. This wealth and prosperity led to an intoxicating feeling among its people, a feeling that they were the next great world power.
Prior to unification in 1871 the territory that would become Germany was comprised of thirty-nine independent states and city states joined together in a loose German Confederation. The most powerful among these states was Prussia, both geographically the largest state and that with the largest population. The influential politicians and policies that came out of Prussia were instrumental in the gradual formation of a united Germany. Beginning with the rise of Napoleon, the nineteenth century was a time of incredible change which dramatically altered the political balance of Europe. In order to understand the factors that culminated in official German unification on January 18 1871, it is necessary to examine the preceding decades. No single factor can be credited for the unification of the German states. Rather, the combined forces of social change, economic strength within a unified customs union, the moral justifications provided by nationalism, Bismarck’s careful manipulation of internal politics and the advantages gained through military action resulted in the unification of Germany.