People argue that this was just because in the armistice, it was clearly set out that Germany would have to accept war guilt and the German leaders signed this at their own free will. As well as this, the German invasion of Belgium was what pulled the war into one of physical action in the form of man to man fighting rather than political discussions. However, I disagree with this; I think that although the Germans had originally agreed to this, it was not, in truth, the German's fault entirely. For example, many of the countries involved such as Serbia when Serbian gunmen assassinated the archduke Franz Ferdinand. Furthermore, the German people didn’t see themselves as a defeated state, many of them were unaware that they had lost; they thought that a temporary ceasefire had been introduced as there were no foreign soldiers marching down their streets.
The army was a symbol of German pride and an important political source of nationalism. Having almost half of it taken away ruined Germany's Great Power status, and made her an easy target for other countries. On the other hand, some groups believe that the military clause was fair, as it punished Germany as well as giving the smaller countries of Europe a chance to establish themselves. Furthermore, restricting Germany's army meant that there would be no threat to the British Empire, security or international trade, and it prevented the break out of another large, destructive war. The war guilt and reparation clauses also had a great impact on Germany.
Germany deciding to aid Austria- Hungry in its conflict with Serbia suggests that Germany have precipitated war. In 1909, Bethmann-Hollweg was forced in supporting Austria in its dispute with Bosnia despite never having been asked before Austrian Annexation tool place, mainly due to a treaty pledging support. Considering this it could be argues that German support for Austria-Hungry was similar following the Sarajevo murder. It is possible that Bethmann-Hollweg could never have known at the time of the colossal consequences his Blank Cheque was to have. Source W suggests that Bethmann was a ‘sensitive, passive and Fatalistic man’ these claims further support the idea that Germany was dragged in to these political time bombs because of some in capabilities.
Firstly, they were, under a ‘War Guilt’ clause, expected to accept all of the blame for the war. The Allies maintained that this was because they had, rather than fight Russia, on whom they had declared war, followed the Schlieffen Plan and opted to invade France first. To do this they marched through Belgium, which was a neutral country and not a part of any major alliances, leading to the British, Belgian and French declarations of war on Germany. The Germans felt that this was unfair because Britain could have kept out of the war as it was not being threatened – they felt that they were expected to accept the blame because they had lost, rather than because it was their fault. Secondly, all of Germany’s colonies were taken away, and Germany itself had its borders redefined.
But the rising power of Germany and the Kaiser’s personality wasn’t a reason for accusing Germany of starting the war. The rising power of Germany was due to the case that they where the second country in the world with economical power and they also wanted overseas colonies. And lets think who started the war, was it Germany? No, it was Serbia who started the war when a Serbian terrorist killed Franz Ferdinand. Off course Austria Hungary had to defend itself so they attacked Serbia and Germany, as a good ally supported Austria Hungary as the Triple Entente supported Serbia so why are we blaming Germany for the outbreak
There are two reasons as to why Hitler would not go to war with Germany. One would be that Hitler has violated the Treaty of Versailles and had worked very hard to make Germany strong again. He would not want to waste his resources by going to war with the West. The west was also already threatened and was more concerned with self-interest. For example, the British claimed that Germany was only marching into its own backyard when the remilitarization of Rhineland and did not support France.
While they were friends, both the USSR and the United States still did not agree with each other in terms of government, but both thought that it was more important to work together fighting against Germany. World War 2 left Germany in tatters, and after this the allies divided it into four parts. One part of the country was given to USA, France, Britain and Russia. Berlin, situated in Eastern Germany, split as well although it was part of the quarter that was made Soviet after World War 2. The USSR and the United States were friends during World War II only because both countries did not approve of Nazi Germany's ideology.
German Appeal to Americans The question of who was the primary culprit of the First World War is still in debate today. At the end of the war, treaty of Versailles was signed and concluded that Germany has sole responsibility for causing the war along with many harsh punishments for Germany. The cause of this harsh treaty can be traced back to the very beginning of the war. The early invasion of Belgium has not only cost German its humane and peaceful reputation but also caused a defeat of the propaganda war. In order to minimize the damage of Germany’s reputation after the invasion, Germany wrote an appeal to the neutral United States explaining the reason of its entrance to the war.
Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement also played a part in the causing war to break out. By letting Hitler do as he pleases in hopes that he would be satisfied at some point and stop, it caused Hitler to think that no one would dare to stop and oppose him and that he was free to do whatever he liked. By giving the Sudetenland to Germany, Stalin signed the pact with Hitler because he thought that Britain and France couldn’t be trusted and that they didn’t have the ability to keep their promises. The pact, in effect, gave Hitler the
Abstract After War World I, the allied forces of Europe sought to usher in an era of peace by sanctioning Germany and reconciling the European nations. The Treaty of Versailles was created for this cause, however, Britain’s appeasement policies only served to strengthen Germany’s quest for lost territories and military rearmament. In the end, Adolf Hitler manipulated British appeasement policies which only served in aiding his rise to power. Hitler would go on to lead Europe and the United States into World War II. Treaty of Versailles The end of World War I was officially marked by the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles by the ‘Big Three’ world powers on June 28th, 1919.