Was Germany solely responsible for the outbreak of World War One?

After 1919 they had to suffer from many reparation costs, the loss of territory and a destroyed economy. This built up aggression, which can be argued is the only reason why Hitler was elected Chancellor. People knew his aggressive objectives and wanted revenge to the World without thinking of real consequenses. Germany hasnt recovered from the first World War. Their short-term reaction built up anger ad therefore just used Hitler as a leader. Therefore it can be argued that they took advantage of Hitler to later blame him for the outbreak even though it was their aggression from World War 1 which made them get revenge.

The fourth cause of World War One was nationalism. Germany did not want to take responsibility for the war, since they didn’t start it, they were merely aiding Austria Hungary in their war. Germany confessing to starting the war all by themselves wouldn’t be the complete truth, since it was not all their fault. They were just helping aid Austria Hungary with their pursuits on Serbia. Germany’s rise to power was unsettling to many countries. Tensions rose, fear of military powers being higher than one’s own became prominent. Every country involved wanted to be better than all the rest.

A major build up of armies in main countries resulted in the Naval Arms Race which was another main contribution to the war as it increased tension and more rivalry. The armies of Germany and France had more than doubled but it was Germany and England who were about to compete for the most powerful navy in the world the tension between the two nations had risen. Wilhelm’s dream of being an imperial ruler was about to come true, he had put his plans into practice and had built several powerful ships. The British saw this as a threat. In

Similarly to source 2 there are differing opinions within source 3, however unlike sources 1 and 2, source 3 does not see Germany’s aggressive behaviour as a factor in the reason for the outbreak of war in Europe, instead it suggests the arms race was a major factor in itself. ‘The arms race… has contributed to the sense that war was bound to come’, although this does not directly state the superpowers armament as a factor it implies it had a

Although more countries than Germany itself is responsible for starting the first World War, Germany in its history to become a nation performed certain actions that helped guide the world toward war. War after war was fought in order to solidify Germany as a nation both politically and morally. These wars gave the German people a sense of unity but also fueled rage, hatred, and fear by those that Germany defeated along its path to become a nation. These feelings are not easily forgotten. These feelings could be seen rising up during World War I by the nation of France, who was defeated earlier by the Germans over land disputes as part of Germany’s quest to become a nation, one of the allied powers in the war. As another result of these wars and the quest to build Germany into a nation, Bismark put together a web of complex treaties with varies nations in Europe. These same treaties where then unraveled by William so that Germany could advance as a civilization. Through the actions that the Germans took in order to become a nation did not see them making too many friends as it made them enemies. It is these actions that lead the nations of France, England, and Russia to go on edge and distrust Germany and build an arsenal to defend themselves. When a nation displays the actions that Germany displayed it leads people, and nations alike, to believe that they are aggressive and that they plan to take military action against them in order to expand. This then causes distrust and fear that lead people to take certain measures so when the time comes for war they can defend themselves. As those nations build their arsenals tensions grow even higher. As these tensions grow high, countries form allies with other countries which

Due to Germany taking back the colonies lost after World War I and forming an alliance with Austria, Germany’s actions against the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the cause of World War II. After Germany got slapped with a $33 Billion dollar war reparation bill and Kaiser Wilhelm was removed from power, Germany was a mess, which allowed the rise of Hitler. Hitler, being a former Iron Cross winning

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.

Militarism was one of the key major factors of the war. Soon after Britain created their battleship, Germany revealed their 60 ships from a man named Alfred Von Tirpitz . A naval battle arose between the two and their relationship weakened immensely. Both Germany and Britain wanted to have the better army, and taking up naval weapons was the beginning of the hate and jealousy each country had for one another. Germany’s past ideology that they should not anger Britain because Britain was dangerous was an ideology that was now put aside. Part of being a powerful empire meant having strong, effective military willing to go to battle at any time for their people. In a book written by Ruth Henig titled The Origins of the First World War, Henig says, “The Kaiser and

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

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

World War 1 broke out when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in 1914, whose organization implicated members of Serbian military. For this reason, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, supported by Germany. This triggered chain reaction, nations in Europe declaring war on the other nations, which, with in a month, caused Europe to turn into a battlefield. The Great War was ended, when the Treaty of Versailles and several other treaties were signed in 1919 and Germany was fully held responsible for causing the war. But it is not justified, that Germany, and Germany alone, should be held responsible for the outbreak of the war, even though her

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.

In order to fully understand how Britain’s decision to go to war against Germany is best explained one must engage into the debate revolving around the question of the extent to which Britain and other countries were responsible for causing war. This helps explain the intention Britain had for war which is vital in understanding their decision making process to cause war in the first place. Some schools of thought have come to the conclusion that it was everybody or nobody- the continent “slithered over the brink into the boiling cauldron of war without any trace of apprehension or dismay.”1 That analysis will be considered in this essay as will the widespread thesis that it was Germany’s aggression which not only created the preconditions for war, but also triggered Britain into war with the political imbalance of power being created from the growing naval and colonial expansion of Germany. Other factors that help explain why Britain went to war against Germany

After the First World War (1914-1919), the world was faced with the questions - who was responsible and what was reason for the outbreak of the war. Ultimately it was agreed on the 28 June 1919 that “the Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage” from the First World War. However, there have been many other interpretations on whom and what was responsible for the war. On the one hand, some historians would agree with David Lloyd George’s notion of all “the nations slithered over the brink into the boiling cauldron of war”, however, on the contrary, others would agree with Fischer in arguing that Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was responsible for the First World War. Whether you agree with Lloyd George or Fischer, it is important to understand some of the other possible reasons for the outbreak of the First World War – including the growth of nationalism and imperialism, the alliances within Europe and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Although this essay will argue that Germany’s aggressive foreign policy was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War, it will also illustrate why other historians have argued against that notion.