Great Britain, France, and Russia all formed the Allies while Germany, Austria- Hungary, and Italy formed the Central Powers. The position of Germany might have led to an early declaration of was because it was surrounded by the allied powers. Nationalism and extreme patriotism towards the country was also a reason for the outbreak of the war. This over-confidence gave birth to a fatal misconception: that in the event of war in Europe, one’s own country would be victorious
It is important to recognise what constitutes fascism especially when we consider the similarities and differences that belong to different fascist regimes in Italy, Japan and Germany and how they differ from authoritarian movements in Eastern Europe. “It is still no easy matter to pinpoint fascism precisely” (Laqueur 1976 p. 315) although, all three countries shared certain characteristics with each other before the Second World War began and have contributed to its rise. I would argue the basic principles of fascism are based on absolute power of the state, aggressive dictator rule, fierce nationalism, totalitarian ambition, militarism and arguably, are revolutionary. It can also be said that fascism is anti-socialist, anti-democratic, anti-liberal and anti-parliamentary. In a fascist state there is no power greater than the power of the state.
Was Germany to blame for the start of world war one? Germany was to blame for the First World War, but only to a certain extent. Germany was not solely to blame, but did contribute greatly to the sequence of events that led to war. Germany were a major contributor to the Arms Race, caused tension between many European countries, made alliances, were extremely nationalistic and encouraged Austria – Hungary to declare war on Serbia. In 1904, Germans were encouraged to become nationalists.
Germany was trying to gain the Moroccan land which France had already taken over as a colony. When Germany did this France was furious. In a conference Britain and France, Germany had to back down from taking over Morocco. Wilhelm wanted land to create an empire for Germany, their ally Austria-Hungary helped gain land from Turkey. This meant more power for their empire.
In both countries the aftermaths of the war led to frustration amongst the society, economic and political crisis and as a result, to revolution. Although the scenario was similar in both countries, the background was slightly different. One of the basic differences was the fact that Italy is considered to be amongst the nations that won the war and Germany, who was also blamed for causing the war, was defended. The defence of Germany has resulted in a number of sanctions that were put on the country. Germans were forced to pay for various repairs across different country what inevitably caused damage to country’s economy.
Moreover, as Britain was one of the major power of the WWI, the effects on both of their men and arms were not recovered from the WWI. This also led Chamberlain hesitant to take part for a large war at this time. Thus, making an appeasement with the Germans was the best solution for them to be recovered and prepared later in the future because rather than fighting a big war against advanced army with unprepared-no men army, they would fight a war with recovered army even if the opponents might grow more. ! Back again to 1919, the Treaty of Versailles made conclusions to the German’s territorial, armed forces, colonies, preparations and indemnity, and the war guilt issues.
Fischer’s argument that the outbreak of the First World War was due to Germany’s aggressive foreign policy, with a harsh focus on annexation, can be regarded as one of much significance. This theory has been backed up by historians such as Berghahn who claims that Germany ‘[tried] to shift the balance of power in their favour’, and did this through a weltpolitik policy of aggressiveness. This, it can be argued, can be shown by The Navy Race, in which Germany attempted to expand their navy in order to compete with Britain. Despite this being regarded by some as an attempt to
Having a huge leadership role in the League of Nations, Great Britain played the largest role in allowing Italy, Germany, and Japan to take advantage of other nations, and eventually take them over. Events/agreements that prove these notions are as follows; the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the Second Italian-Ethiopian War, the Anschluss, the Czech Crisis, the occupation of the Rhineland, and lastly, the Munich Conference. The Japanese Invasion of Manchuria was very significant. Among other reasons, this event proves that appeasement was a major reason in starting WWII. Japan was attracted to Manchuria because it was large, had great forestry, and also other resources.
Hitler and the Nazis wanted to enforce Gleischaltung. Gleischaltung is the process of Nazification of German political, social, economic and cultural life. It gave the state governments the same powers the Reich government possessed under the Enabling Act. Hitler put gestapo in place and this means that Hitler has consolidated his power at local level. Once Hitler had passed the enabling act, he then introduced new laws to consolidate his power.
Why did Germany go to war in 1914? There are many reasons as to why Germany went to war in 1914 such as fear of encirclement, various alliances formed, internal policies and domestic and military factors. I personally think the most important reason was due to their internal politics. Germany was formed as a country in 1871 and so felt like they had to prove themselves as a nation to the rest of Europe. They did this through aggressive policies, which they hoped would achieve their aim and build up their empire.