Historians have disagreed about whether Germany was the principal
cause of World War One. What is your view about the issue?
- Analyse the ways in which interpretations of the question,
problem or issue differ
- Explain the differences you have identified
- Evaluate the arguments indicating which you found most
persuasive and explaining your judgements
World War One was an international conflict between the Allies, including Britain,
France, Russia, and the US, and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria
Hungary. Throughout the early 1900s, tensions between powerful nations rose and
led to the outbreak of war. The 1908 Bosnian crisis was caused by Austria Hungary’s
formal annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to an increase in nationalism
in the Balkan regions. This contributed to escalating tensions and the complex web
of alliances that would become key players in the war. The Black Hand gang was
formed following the crisis, with a member of this gang later assassinating Archduke
Franz Ferdinand and being the final catalyst in the outbreak of the World War. By the
end of 1913, Europe was firmly split between the Triple Entente and the Triple
Alliance, and all Great Powers had increased their military to prepare for potential
conflict, especially German who had clear war aims and a desire for war. The war
begun on July 28th, 1914, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was
assassinated by Gavrilo Princip with weapons supplied by Serbia, leading Austria-
Hungary to declare war on Serbia.
The cause of World War One has been a much-debated topic amongst historians,
with factors such as Germany, the alliance system, and nationalism having been
arguments for the main cause. Germany is often seen as being the primary cause of
the War due to their desire for power and aggressive foreign policy. Fritz Fischer, a
German historian, took the stance that the responsibility for the outbreak of the was
solely on Germany. He argues that German leaders had deliberately unleashed the
outbreak of War in pursuit of aggressive foreign policy aims. His views came about
after he was given access to German archives at Potsdam in the 1950s. These files
revealed Germany’s war plans and territorial ambitions, with Fischer seeing these as
proof that Germany had started World War One.
Another cause of World War One is the alliance system. The alliance system meant
that minor conflicts could rapidly escalate and draw in other powers, leading to full
scale war. Nations were also willing to take more bold actions as they believed their
allies would support them regardless. Sidney Bradshaw Fay argues that this is the
main reason for the war. He is an American historian, who studied in Germany, and
was the first to challenge the popular view that Germany was responsible for the
, war. Instead, he argued that all European powers shared in the blame and the
greatest cause of the war was the system of alliances developed after the Franco
Prussian war and that Germany simply acted when faced with conflict. Fay stresses
that the formation and strength of other countries alliances, such as that between
Russia and Serbia, forced Germany to create their own alliances with their
neighbours, creating a complex web of alliances that led to the outbreak of war.
A final cause is nationalism, which created competition and tensions between
powers as they desired both military and cultural supremacy. Nationalism is the
belief that a particular nation or ethnic group has a unique identity and is entitled to
self-rule. James Joll, a British historian known for his work on modern European
history, argues that nationalism was the main cause for the outbreak of War. Joll
believes that nationalism was a powerful force that fuelled rivalries between many
European nations leading to the war. He emphasises how cultural factors, including
nationalism, heavily influenced how leaders acted in the years leading up to the war
and were intertwined with ideologies such as Social Darwinism, creating the sense
that war was inevitable.
Theories surrounding the cause of World War One have changed overtime due to
the availability of documents and materials, and popular views at each time. In
1919, Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to accept full
responsibility for initiating World War 1 and claimed that the Allies had the war
imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and their allies. This led to the
belief that Germany was responsible for the war, and this links to the fact that
victorious countries often write the history of events and blame those who are
defeated, leading to a biased viewpoint. However, during the 1920s and 1930s
governments, such as Russia, began releasing documents outlining the role that
other leaders had in preparing for war. These new developments meant that
Germany was no longer the focus of the blame and historians started to look to
other world leaders and politicians as a source for the start of the War. The Fischer
thesis has a significant impact on the debate and argues that the German
government had a will to war and wanted events to slide into war in 1914. Whereas,
modern studies have focused on the idea of a will to war in other countries, with
some historians blaming militaristic attitudes of Britain and France, and recent
historians suggesting Austria-Hungary and Russia believed war would unite the
countries and increase control of their people.
Fritz Fischer suggests the actions and motives of Germany was the principal cause
of World War One. Fischer argues that Germany had been pursuing a war since
before the events of 1914 as they saw it as an opportunity to extend their power
and that “Germany’s claim to world power was based on her consciousness of being
a ‘young’, growing and rising nation”, 1 suggesting that Germany were aware that
they had less power than other nations and did not only want to become of equal
power to others, but more powerful. Stating that “Germany found herself, as Moltke
1
Fritz Fischer, Germany’s Aims in the First World War, W.W Norton & Company, 1967, p. 11
cause of World War One. What is your view about the issue?
- Analyse the ways in which interpretations of the question,
problem or issue differ
- Explain the differences you have identified
- Evaluate the arguments indicating which you found most
persuasive and explaining your judgements
World War One was an international conflict between the Allies, including Britain,
France, Russia, and the US, and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria
Hungary. Throughout the early 1900s, tensions between powerful nations rose and
led to the outbreak of war. The 1908 Bosnian crisis was caused by Austria Hungary’s
formal annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to an increase in nationalism
in the Balkan regions. This contributed to escalating tensions and the complex web
of alliances that would become key players in the war. The Black Hand gang was
formed following the crisis, with a member of this gang later assassinating Archduke
Franz Ferdinand and being the final catalyst in the outbreak of the World War. By the
end of 1913, Europe was firmly split between the Triple Entente and the Triple
Alliance, and all Great Powers had increased their military to prepare for potential
conflict, especially German who had clear war aims and a desire for war. The war
begun on July 28th, 1914, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was
assassinated by Gavrilo Princip with weapons supplied by Serbia, leading Austria-
Hungary to declare war on Serbia.
The cause of World War One has been a much-debated topic amongst historians,
with factors such as Germany, the alliance system, and nationalism having been
arguments for the main cause. Germany is often seen as being the primary cause of
the War due to their desire for power and aggressive foreign policy. Fritz Fischer, a
German historian, took the stance that the responsibility for the outbreak of the was
solely on Germany. He argues that German leaders had deliberately unleashed the
outbreak of War in pursuit of aggressive foreign policy aims. His views came about
after he was given access to German archives at Potsdam in the 1950s. These files
revealed Germany’s war plans and territorial ambitions, with Fischer seeing these as
proof that Germany had started World War One.
Another cause of World War One is the alliance system. The alliance system meant
that minor conflicts could rapidly escalate and draw in other powers, leading to full
scale war. Nations were also willing to take more bold actions as they believed their
allies would support them regardless. Sidney Bradshaw Fay argues that this is the
main reason for the war. He is an American historian, who studied in Germany, and
was the first to challenge the popular view that Germany was responsible for the
, war. Instead, he argued that all European powers shared in the blame and the
greatest cause of the war was the system of alliances developed after the Franco
Prussian war and that Germany simply acted when faced with conflict. Fay stresses
that the formation and strength of other countries alliances, such as that between
Russia and Serbia, forced Germany to create their own alliances with their
neighbours, creating a complex web of alliances that led to the outbreak of war.
A final cause is nationalism, which created competition and tensions between
powers as they desired both military and cultural supremacy. Nationalism is the
belief that a particular nation or ethnic group has a unique identity and is entitled to
self-rule. James Joll, a British historian known for his work on modern European
history, argues that nationalism was the main cause for the outbreak of War. Joll
believes that nationalism was a powerful force that fuelled rivalries between many
European nations leading to the war. He emphasises how cultural factors, including
nationalism, heavily influenced how leaders acted in the years leading up to the war
and were intertwined with ideologies such as Social Darwinism, creating the sense
that war was inevitable.
Theories surrounding the cause of World War One have changed overtime due to
the availability of documents and materials, and popular views at each time. In
1919, Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to accept full
responsibility for initiating World War 1 and claimed that the Allies had the war
imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and their allies. This led to the
belief that Germany was responsible for the war, and this links to the fact that
victorious countries often write the history of events and blame those who are
defeated, leading to a biased viewpoint. However, during the 1920s and 1930s
governments, such as Russia, began releasing documents outlining the role that
other leaders had in preparing for war. These new developments meant that
Germany was no longer the focus of the blame and historians started to look to
other world leaders and politicians as a source for the start of the War. The Fischer
thesis has a significant impact on the debate and argues that the German
government had a will to war and wanted events to slide into war in 1914. Whereas,
modern studies have focused on the idea of a will to war in other countries, with
some historians blaming militaristic attitudes of Britain and France, and recent
historians suggesting Austria-Hungary and Russia believed war would unite the
countries and increase control of their people.
Fritz Fischer suggests the actions and motives of Germany was the principal cause
of World War One. Fischer argues that Germany had been pursuing a war since
before the events of 1914 as they saw it as an opportunity to extend their power
and that “Germany’s claim to world power was based on her consciousness of being
a ‘young’, growing and rising nation”, 1 suggesting that Germany were aware that
they had less power than other nations and did not only want to become of equal
power to others, but more powerful. Stating that “Germany found herself, as Moltke
1
Fritz Fischer, Germany’s Aims in the First World War, W.W Norton & Company, 1967, p. 11
