Essay 4.

• Essay Question - To what extent was Germany to blame for outbreak of war in 1914
• 1961 F.Fischer “Germany’s aims in WWI” sparked a debate amongst historians inside and out of Germany
• F.Fischer argues that Germany was responsible for the outbreak of WWI, thus justifying the claim of the war guilt clause in ToV that Germany was solely responsible for damages war had caused
• F. Fischer's argument conflicted with belief of both German public and academia at the time as most historians prior agreed with revisionist historians of 1930s S.B. Faye argued that although Germany may have been partly to blame the other major superpowers in europe were equally to blame
•   Fischer presented in his book and later sequel a number of these which he uses to argue that germany had actively and aggressively planned for war since 1912
• G. Ritter refutes ^ claim by presenting equally compelling evidence to argue germany wasn’t trying to be aggressive in its policies instead was being defensive
• • Germany’s militarism during the buildup of war signals germany’s aggressive, war mongering intent (between 1910 and 1914 german military expenditure rose by 73% more than 10% increase of spending over the same time period of germany’s greatest enemy, Fr)
  • F. Fischer argues that this shows germany clearly decided to go to war sooner rather than later and has as a result increased military spending 
  • Negligible increase in french military spending shows FR was not expecting to go to war and as a result had chosen not to prepare by increasing expenditure 
• • F. Fischer fails to take a number of key points into account:
  • France may well have wanted to increase military spending but were not able to as democratic parliamentary system would never elect a leader whose intention were to raise taxes on poor to fund the militarisation of FR
  • Unlike the system in Germany (autocratic) 
• • Many of Germany’s military officers and politicians had decided that war with russia was inevitable
  • Due to reforms russian army was undergoing following defeat in Russo Japanese war
  • Reforms would transform russian army into far more modern and potent threat
  • German politicians believed war with russia prior to reforms completed in 1917 would be beneficial for growth, actively sought war with russia before 1917
• • Bosnian crisis already showed germany’s willingness to go to war, germany who pushed austro-hungary to war with serbia (started events that lead to WWI)
  • Murder of Archduke gave Germany opportunity to both support austria and potentially initiate war with russia through a war with serbia 
• • Series of telegrams sent between Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II on advent of start of war urging another not to mobilise indicates german leadership was reluctant for war - contradict Fischer
• • Germany actively sought the outbreak of war in order to cover up and suppress internal social and political tensions
  • Many high ranking german officials became worried about increasing power of socialist parties and worker’s unions within Reich 
  • Wanted to arrest leaders and suppress parties by force, however to do effectively needed to distract attention (war = opportunity)