Germany Was Responsible For Germany : Germany Responsible For World War I

World War I was caused by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914. However, World War II was caused by the political and economic instability in Germany, along with the bad conditions of the Treaty of Versailles . When the treaty of Versailles was put into affect, Germany acknowledged responsibility for the war, which also meant agreeing to pay enormous amounts of money for war reparations and losing land/territory to those who

The expansion during the Wilhelmine period in Germany and the sociopolitical factors of that time helped start a war that more than Germany alone were responsible for starting. This war, that started in 1914, came to be known the Great War and was later known as World War I. This war was a defining moment in German and world history as a whole. Although Germany was not solely responsible for starting the war, there were certain actions that Germany did to help lead to World War I.

During world war one there were many things the came to the start of it. Countries allied together, leaders were blamed for pushing their people to war. Armies went to action starting the wars and everyone blamed each other for it.The way people thought that war was good at the time. All these causes that could have lead to it. Many can argue that nationalism was the cause or alliances etc. However, Militarism was the underlying cause in World War 1.

Britain, France, Germany and other nations competed for colonial gains in Africa. Britain and Germany competed industrially. Then, Germany industrialized quickly and the British were threatened by this. This caused them to hate Germany, then France and Britain eventually forms an alliance and goes at it with Germany. Document 4 states, “The allied and associated governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage”. The final cause of WW1 was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary which started the war immediately. After the assassination the Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. once Russia heard that Serbia was at war, they also had to go to war which leads Germany declaring war on Serbia. Therefore, the era of the began expansion of the war included all those countries who were defending they alliances. Document 7 states, “The two armed camps alarmed each other, and each grew heavy with multiplied incidents, which spread East with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, where Russia and Austria were advancing contradictory claims…” This quote shows how the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand started WW1 immediately and kept

WWI was the cause of problems in countries all throughout the World. There is a wide variety of opinions on who started the war. But one country should not be blamed for the outbreak of war. Instead, all the European countries are at fault for causing WWI because of Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism.

At the end of World War I, the sole responsibility of initiating the conflict fell on Germany. With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany took the blame and agreed to pay for reparations. However, the origin of the war was not the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Rather, the origins were nationalism, the creation of entangling alliances, the conflict in the Balkans, and the economic and imperialistic rivalries in Europe. These factors created the right conditions for war to occur. However, the responsibility of initiating conflict can be placed on Austria-Hungary.

There were many causes that contributed to World War I like: Imperialism, Militarism, and Alliances. Europeans thought they could make the world their oyster and take over any areas they pleased. Most countries did not appreciate their land being taken from them. For example, Serbia wanted independence from their mother country Austria-Hungary, so a nationalist group called the Black Hand, decided to assassinate the Archduke. If Serbia didn’t assassinate the Archduke of Austria-Hungary the war probably wouldn't have happened at all. Europe’s imperialism is what caused the Great War that went for four long years from 1914 to 1918 and had over 30,000,000 million casualties. The main cause of World War I was Imperialism which caused Alliances and

Bismarck’s decisions and policy effected the first World War when he used a series of conflicts to bring Germany together but also create several enemies. One of these enemies being France played a big part in World War I later because Germany took the former French territory of Alsace- Lorraine. This conflict that took place during the time of Bismarck’s reign gave France a motive to fight against Germany. Wilhelm on the other hand played a far bigger role in the war. Because of a quarrel amongst Serbia and Germany, he asked Austria- Hungary to attack Serbia and thus pulling Britain, France, and Russia into the war (“Firstworldwar”). his aggressive tactics and need for power created many enemies and caused the German Empire to lose a lot of power leading up to the war.

Weltpolitik, an extension of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s ‘New Course’ initiative, directly contradicting the quiet policies of Bismarck. Through Weltpolitik, the Kaiser sought to begin an expansionist period in Germany. Where Bismarck had favored a quiet foreign policy, Kaiser Wilhelm II had a contrary view. Weltpolitik involved an aggressive foreign policy, primarily through the acquisition of colonies in Africa (Mittelafrika). In order to do so, naval improvement had to take place, thus leading to the Naval Race involving both Germany and Britain, an important factor when considering the escalation of tension in pre-WW1 Europe. A second key importance of Weltpolitik, was that it sought to justify Germany’s place as a leading power in central Europe (Mitteleuropa). Most German people craved “a place in the sun”, and

The decisions of Bismarck and Wilhelm were significant to World War I because each of their methods were so different. While maintaining most of the same goals, their approach to solving these methods caused World War I. For example, Wilhelm’s attempt to isolate France did not go as well as he had hoped and gave a completely opposite effect than what he was aiming for, as well as angering the other countries. His fumble in Morocco caused him to gain more foes and give France more allies, as well as give him a bad reputation. Additionally, by adding a naval force, he came off as a threat to the other countries. Bismarck did not want to establish a naval force, but Wilhelm’s thirst for power blinded him to make inadequate decisions. People began to develop a distrust and fear of Germany, which was what Bismarck worked to prevent (“German”). Bismarck’s and Wilhelm’s decisions on foreign policy and its execution were some of the key factors that lead to this war. Who they chose to become allies with, and who they caused others to become allies with was one of the major causes of World War I (Dobbs).

The First World War was not caused singularly by Germany and Austria-Hungary as the treaty of Versailles has set out. Germany is greatly responsible for much of the tension of the world situation in 1914, resulting from its aggressive policy of Weltpolitik, its attempts to have a superior navy, the Kaiser's personal poorly said remarks, and its attempts to break up the Triple Entente. However Germany was not solely responsible for the tension, many other events had occurred outside Germany's control, which had the same effect. Germany was also largely responsible for allowing the conflict in the Balkans to escalate into a major European conflict, by giving Austria-Hungary free reign, though it was not their intent. However Germany should

     Although in the Treaty of Versailles Germany was to accept full responsibility for World War 1 this in not necessarily the case. Many factors have to be taken into account when considering the cause of World War 1. Germany may have been primarily responsible for the war but the other major powers must accept some of the blame for failing to prevent it. The conflict resulting from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinard should have been local and confined but due to a series of factors, militarism, the alliance system, nationalism, this one incident led to the greatest war Europe had ever seen. As a result of underlying hostilities the assassination led to a chain of

Under the reign of William II, Germany’s foreign policy transitioned to a more aggressive state, while maintaining the goals enacted by Otto Van Bismarck. German foreign policy from 1890-1913 became a problem for Germany because of its increased threat and involvement in conflicts. These decisions led to a hatred and fear of Germany that Bismarck had fought to prevent during his time.

In this essay, I would like to try and explain in my opinion which country is the most responsible for the First World War. I have arranged them by putting the country which is the most responsible at the top and the least responsible at the bottom. 1) Germany (Most Responsible) I feel that Germany is the most responsible for starting the First World War for many reasons.

There were four main causes of the First World War. Those were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. Germany was guilty of all of these. They mobilized their army and had 8.5 million men, had alliances with other countries such as Austria-Hungary, conquered other weaker countries to gain power, and German citizens loved their country which made them more war-like if they were insulted. All of these factors led to huge tension, especially when Kaiser Wilhelm II took over.