Lesson 1: The 1848 Revolution, the Second Reich, and the First World War
Under the leadership of Bismarck, Germany experienced a time of great division between classes and some financial crashes, such as “the Gründerzeit burst in 1873, when a collapse of confidence brought an inevitable economic crash” (Fulbrook 131) from 1871 to 1890. In a time when the greater population was beginning to play a greater role in politics, Bismarck’s authoritarian style brought about a great deal of political and social tension because refused to consider any opposing viewpoints. When Otto von Bismarck was removed from power and imminent chancellorship in 1890, Emperor William II took power and implemented a far more …show more content…
In the time period where Germany was looking to expand it’s reign outside of their borders, much of Europe was already under control of other powers and they were forced to focus their expansion on African territories. The problem with this plan of action was that the British navy was considered the strongest naval force in the world, and they already possessed control of many waterways leading to territories desired by both Great Britain and Germany. Due to this predicament, militarism in Germany began with great naval expansion “following the appointment of Admiral von Tirpitz as Secretary of State for the Navy in 1897” (Fulbrook 142). His push for rapid naval growth for means of both a deterrent to other nations and a means of competing with British naval forces lead to the creation of the Naval League and a strong national support for naval expansion, something that did not go unnoticed by other nations. German navy building brought about “a general sense that war was looming, and all European states began a race to be ready for war when it came” (Fulbrook 149). The rapid expansion of Germany in almost all regards and actions taken by other nations presented the inevitability of war, but other key factors also played major roles in the culmination of …show more content…
In an effort to avoid conflict with other countries that could evoke detrimental damages to a given nation, many began to align with each other, none more worrisome to Germany than the Triple Entente. The alliance of France, Russia, and Britain led to a ‘fear of encirclement’, where Germany feared that they were surrounded by hostile forces. This made the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, and Italy) all more important to Germany, and also assured that if war were to break out, it would be of incredible