To what extent was Germany to blame for the start of World War 1
To what extent was Germany to blame for the start of World War 1?
During the beginning of the 19th Century Europe was crossing a period characterized by great technological advancements and scientific optimism, but it was also subject to hostile relations between many of its main powers. These hostilities transformed into war on the 28th of June 1914,when a 19 year old terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, creating the cause of war that one month later brought Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and officially start World War 1. At the end of the war, during the treaty of Versailles, the "war guilt clause" was written and it stated that Germany was to blame as the cause of World War 1, but as time passed the majority of historians disagreed on this statement. World war two was the result of many long and short term factors such as nationalism, militarism, alliance systems and colonialism. These factors created the ideal environment for the war to outbreak as they favored the creation of hostilities between groups of countries and, even though Germany did have an important role as it was one of the most influent powers of the time, so did other allied and non-allied countries and blaming entirely Germany would result unjust.
The decades that preceded World war 1 were characterized by a profound feeling of nationalism in Europe that fueled the belief in each country's population that they were superior to other countries, that they deserved more and would win in a military conflict. People were proud of their countries and patriotism was taught to children. These feelings were the same that led to the unifications of Italy and Germany in 1861 and 1971, but that also caused problems in Austria-Hungary due to Slavic territories in the country and that continuously sought independence. Nationalism was therefore one of the main reason that caused the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the main Slavic power, that
During the beginning of the 19th Century Europe was crossing a period characterized by great technological advancements and scientific optimism, but it was also subject to hostile relations between many of its main powers. These hostilities transformed into war on the 28th of June 1914,when a 19 year old terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, creating the cause of war that one month later brought Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and officially start World War 1. At the end of the war, during the treaty of Versailles, the "war guilt clause" was written and it stated that Germany was to blame as the cause of World War 1, but as time passed the majority of historians disagreed on this statement. World war two was the result of many long and short term factors such as nationalism, militarism, alliance systems and colonialism. These factors created the ideal environment for the war to outbreak as they favored the creation of hostilities between groups of countries and, even though Germany did have an important role as it was one of the most influent powers of the time, so did other allied and non-allied countries and blaming entirely Germany would result unjust.
The decades that preceded World war 1 were characterized by a profound feeling of nationalism in Europe that fueled the belief in each country's population that they were superior to other countries, that they deserved more and would win in a military conflict. People were proud of their countries and patriotism was taught to children. These feelings were the same that led to the unifications of Italy and Germany in 1861 and 1971, but that also caused problems in Austria-Hungary due to Slavic territories in the country and that continuously sought independence. Nationalism was therefore one of the main reason that caused the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the main Slavic power, that
Bibliography: Rogers Kelly and Jo Thomas. History 20th Century World. Causes, Practices and Effects of Wars. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.