Germany and Taking Responsibility for World War I Essay

At the end of WWI many countries blamed Germany for starting the war. These countries used the Treaty of Versailles to punish Germany. These punishments included loss of land and military, infeasible reparations, and complete humiliation; this is how the Treaty of Versailles directly caused WWII.

Many historians argue that the reason for Germany going to war was due to the aggressive behaviour of Germany in the build up to the war. Throughout this essay I will be addressing this issue looking at whether Germany was responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914. There are many factors which contribute to the outbreak of the war from a short-term trigger such as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to the long-term annexation aims Germany implemented in the years building up to the war, the most important reason was Germany’s aggressive foreign policy, they had provided

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

At the end of world war I, the European countries got together to decide what Germany's punishments should be after losing the war. The terms that they came up with were nearly impossible for Germany to meet, these terms included Germany to pay in gold, in land, in resources, and to reduce military strength. Also they had to take full responsibility for causing world war I.

In 1914, Germany and Austria-Hungary allied against France, Britain, USA and Italy in World War 1. The war resulted in resentment towards the Germans. Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, established a treaty that would bring everlasting peace. For the Germans however, the treaty served as a punishment, as they were required to accept the responsibility for causing all of the damage. Germany was angered by the treaty as they would have to pay for reparations and take responsibility for everything. Territorial losses, militarism, economic reparations and blame were all causes of World War II.

To begin with, the pre-war alliance in Europe intensified the long-lasting tensions between countries. In 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance against Russia. In 1881, Austria Hungary allied with Serbia against Russia. The Triple Alliance reveals the alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. On the other hand, Russia, France, and Britain agreed to become the Triple Entente. (Doc 1) The alliance clearly divided the countries in Europe into two groups, each of which hated the others very much. (Doc 4) The

Though most historians consider the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary the most immediate cause of WWI, or the rise of Germany to be the main cause since they signed the Versailles Treaty (Doc 4), many agree that the war was not caused by just one thing. Instead, it was caused by a concept instead of specific people or countries. It seemed that everyone, during this time period, had started to increase their military power and defense systems. Therefore, World War I was caused by two things: the fear these countries had of losing their power, and the big toll that European Imperialism took international relations.

he first world war is known by many names; The great war, the war to end all wars or even as simple as World war one. The war originated in Europe and was fought by the Allies and the Central powers. In Document A the Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria Hungary and Italy while the Triple Entente powers were Russia,Great Britain and France .WWI was fought at the Eastern, Western and Italian fronts, but the biggest was the Western Front. The Western Front involved the area of Europe to the west of Germany, including France, Belgium and England. This is where trench warfare became very popular, which is what this war is so infamous for.

Many historians believe that due to the Wilhelmine Era and the expansion of the German nation, led to the outbreak of World War One. During the Bismarck era, Bismarck 's main goal was to keep France isolated and stay in good relations with Austria and Russia so that it would prevent a war. Although Bismarck 's foreign policy was creating cooperation, it did not last very long. The spark of World War one came from the Wilhelmine era, which turned away from everything Bismarck’s foreign policy represented. The expansion of the military scared Europe, the industrialization of the railroad was a suspicion to other countries, and the expansion of domestic supporters led to the alliance of the France, Britain, and Russia known as the Triple Entente.

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

The Triple Alliance was a military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed on March 20th 1882. Each country promised support in the event of attack.

Many countries were involved in WWI, Germany being one of them. It is arguable whether Germany is responsible for the outbreak of war or rather the responsibility of individual countries such as Britain, Russia, France, Austria-Hungary and the Balkans collectively. However, Germany should be blamed to the full extent of starting WW1 due to the reasons that Germany had unconditional support for Austria, Germany 's war plans were planned to cause more conflict and Germany 's mobilization schedule.

     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

After a massive war, it easy to see why a lot people would point fingers at the country that lost the war. However, is this always correct; or do people jump to conclusions much too quickly? By doing this, do they also create a whole new kind of trouble for themselves to come in later years? Some may suggest that it is more productive to look at the events leading up to the war to determine who was at fault. The blame attached to World War One (WWI) is not exclusively German, but may lie with the concepts of militarism, imperialism, nationalism, and alliances.

Why was Germany unable to translate tactical and operational victories into strategic success during World War II? Cite evidence from H200 to support your answer.