22 Apr 2022

378

Is the notion of German responsibility a satisfactory explanation of the causes of the Great War?

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The occurrence of both World War One and Two was not because diplomacy had failed. It broke out as a result of other European countries wanting to benefit from the situation. Several individual and states wanted their impact in the community and the world as a whole to be felt. Such people provided a catalyst for the occurrence of world war and World War Two. The implications of the word wars One and Two were not felt only in Europe but all over the world. As a matter of fact, the war was fought more in other parts of the world than how it was fought in Europe. Many people of African, Indian, and Asia origin were taken from their native continents to be the forefront of the World War One and Two. Through the war, some European countries are believed to have been more involved and responsible for both the occurrence of the global war one and World War Two. Some European countries have been identified as having played a critical role to ensure World War One occurred and later the occurrence of World War Two. In many colonies across the world, the countries were aiming at making their presence visible and acknowledged across the colonial territories. Germany is one particular country that played a significance role in the war. Germany is considered to have been among the countries that were responsible for the occurrence of World War One and Two. Germans and-and the government were very keen to ensure the war was of help to them. They had both strategic and economic reasons that they wanted to be safeguarded. Thus, both of these wars helped them realize the goals. This paper examines the role Germany played in the World War One and Two that made it appear like Germany was more benefiting from the war. The notion that Germany was benefiting from the war seems to validate the idea that Germany was responsible for the wars.

Both the world wars one and two were fought with sophisticated weapons of mass destruction. Many countries were conducting detailed research to ensure they developed their means of transportation and communication to outdo their enemies (Levy, 2015) . During the period of the World War 1 and World War 2, Germany was experiencing a period of advancement in communication and transportation technology. Many Germany industries were thriving and were involved in making weapons that helped Germany to be a strong opponent of the war. Germany used its developed technologies to design various equipment and machines that helped them take part in the war. Development such as coming up with machine guns helped the Germans to feel more capable of taking part in the war than ever before. Germany had also developed its rail transport system making it feel secure in moving its troops around Europe with ease.

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The weapons made Germany more proactive in wanting the war to take place than other countries. Whatever diplomatic measure that was being initiated to cushion the occurrence of the war appeared directed to the Germans more than other European nations (Marsland, 2012) . Germany was also involved in the production of weapons to equip its army specifically for the war. The actions angered other countries making them consider various methods of arming their troops to ensure that when the war broke out, they could easily protect their interests. Making populations outside Germany were becoming restless with the German efforts to arm itself. The actions were increasingly creating enmity between Germany and its neighboring countries. The nations regrouped and planned a joint attack on Germany and its colonies, eventually leading to the outbreak of the war. Had Germany not concentrated on developing advanced transportation and communication systems, its neighbors and other European nations could not have felt insecure and resulted in the suspicion that led to the outbreak of the war (Marsland, 2012) . The advancement of transportations and communication system by the Germans also made them arrogant in dealing with their neighbors. They began to regard their neighbors as inferior and thus justified to be in control of them. The actions angered many nations making them plot the war to prove they were not any inferior to Germany. 

Germany was increasingly being isolated from world politics around the year 1914. Germany, to some extent, did not want to cooperate with other European nations in finding solutions to existing issues that were affecting the world politics at that particular time. Germany believed that the most attractive country with the well-equipped army should be allowed to dominate world politics. It, therefore, concentrated in equipping itself to ensure it was respected by other nations (Levy, 2015) . The principle created a problem in making of cordial interactions with its neighbors and other European countries. The German policy of not cooperating with other European nations made the nation together with Austria and Hungary to be isolated in significant events. The actions made the countries not to be well versed with new developments taking place in the region. Moreover, the feeling of neglect created enmity with the Germans taking the issue more personal (Marsland, 2012) . They felt they were being targeted and had to act promptly to protect their interest both in Europe and overseas. 

The German government at that time made all measures to prove their might to other European nations and ensure their territories were not grabbed. The actions angered other countries eventually pitching them to war against their neighbors and fellow European nations. By not being involved in the activities of the world politics at that moment, Germany was taken as being against peaceful existence among the nations. German activities came under sharp focus and criticism with other countries equally feeling that the Germans were out to do well. The actions of suspicion among the nations were more advanced towards Germany than any other state. The same activities of suspicion are responsible for the occurrence of the Great War. It is, therefore, logical to believe that Germany was more involved in the war than other nations (Levy, 2015) . The actions and attitude by Germans made them more responsible than any other country. 

Similarly, the German leaders were not aggressive in ensuring they took part in world activities that were designed to ensure healthy existence among the world nations. The German leaders were more isolated and their activities and input towards making the world a better place were not felt by other chiefs as compared to the leaders. The actions by the Germans made them appear to be more concerned about making the war occur than their counterparts in other countries. The leaders were not engaging with other world leaders in ensuring peace prevailed in the course of their interaction and managing their colonies. 

The German leaders, instead of cooperating with their fellow leaders of other countries, concentrated in ensuring their interests were self-addressed more than that of their neighboring countries. The heads, to some extent, favored the occurrence of the Great War hoping that with their better machinery, they could easily win the war (Bresciani, 2013) . German government officials were aware of the impending war and instead of putting in place mechanisms to counter the war; they were more involved in equaling themselves to win the war. The Germans believed in themselves and furthermore worked to equip themselves for the war made them more responsible than their neighbors and other government officials from countries that took part in the Great War. 

Another factor that led to the war was industrialization. During the period preceding the war, many countries were involved in extensive manufacturing activities (Bresciani, 2013) . The action to oversee the economy transformed into a lucrative production industry across the several nations. The activities to industrialize were met with desperate acts of countries not cooperating. On many occasions, the growth of industries made a nation more hated by its neighbors more than it was earlier. It is believed that with a country rapidly industrializing, it made its neighbors fear that the country might become too powerful and undermine the existence of other nations (Marsland, 2012) . The period that preceded the Great War saw Germany being among the best-industrialized countries than any other countries. Germany was undergoing a massive transformation in its sectors, and it needed to expand its economy. The expansiveness of the German economy involved the Germans acquiring new territories to be used as sources of raw materials and the market for the finished products. The country was more determined to learn new lands by all mean available. Germany was not keen to ensure a good relationship with other European nations. The country was more concerned about acquiring new properties and enhancing its dominance on the existing areas under its control. The actions needed to be done in the more diplomatic way, yet Germany was not willing to this mile. Germany believed if they could resort to using force, they could easily outdo their rivals (Levy, 2015) . They thus ventured into war hoping to come out victoriously. Many other countries were seeing prospects of peaceful accumulation and sharing the available resources, but Germany believed more in using force than any other means. They thus appear to be more responsible for the Great War than other nations. 

Another reason that made Germany more accountable for the Great War is the German’s belief at that time that a European war was inevitable. Many Germans believed the war was to have more good on the European nation’s foreign policy and how they were involved in organizing their internal affairs. Thus, the Germans supported any activity that appeared to promote the war (Levy, 2015) . The people of Germany together with their government were anxious and prepared to go to war with other European nations with the hope of gaining from it. The Germans sometimes were involved in both physical and diplomatic confrontation with the aim of sparking the war. Psychologically, the Germans were prepared to go into war making other nations make their people prepared for any eventuality. The Germans were taken to be more proactive, and thus other countries had no choice but to arm themselves and prepare for the war. Interaction with the Germany people was significantly severe as other government’s wanted to preserve their peace. Germans did not stop at that; they physically insinuated their neighbors with the aim of making them retaliate back, causing a fracas between the people (Marsland, 2012) . The German’s mentality about the war to a major extent made them responsible for having taken an active role in strategizing and ensuring the war took place. The war mentality and being confrontational with the aim of making great a reality made the Germans bear the responsibility of having initiated the Great War. 

The Great War was also influenced by the German’s fatalist mood of 1914. Through its colonial territory, Germany was making silent advances towards acquiring the lands owned by their rivals. The actions angered the other European nations with colonies that were adjacent to that of the Germans (Levy, 2015) . Countries with colonies not neighboring the Germans were also threatened. Every country feared that Germany was concerned with grabbing territories owned by other colonial powers. The nation furthermore showed minimal interest in resolving disputes related to ownership of the settlements. Border disputes were also becoming common. All attempts to resolve them amicably were met with a strong opposing from the Germans. Many countries became infuriated with German activities and planned to attack as diplomacy had failed. In the process of regrouping to find a lasting solution to their problems and challenges touching on the administration of colonies, Germany became more obsessed with going to war to resolve the disputes than any other nation (Bresciani, 2013)

Arguably, many countries were involved in the Great War for various reasons. Germany was not the only country that took part in making the war a reality. Nevertheless, Germany’s activities and ideologies, largely, made the war more practical than other nations. The Germans and German government officials were more encouraged to go to war than any other countries because of greed and the notion of readiness. German’s action of arming their troops and massive production of weapons fuelled suspicion among many European nations making them go into war. Various initiatives to do away with the war failed to materialize because the Germans were not willing to be part of the initiatives that would bring peace and avoid the occurrence of the war. The above reasons clearly show that Germany was more responsible for the war than any other nation. 

References 

Bresciani-Turroni, C. (2013). The Economics of Inflation: A Study of currency depreciation in post-war Germany, 1914-1923 . Routledge.

Levy, J. S. (2015). War in the Modern Great Power System: 1495--1975 . University Press of Kentucky.

Marsland, E. A. (2012). The nation's cause: French, English and German poetry of the First World War . Routledge.

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). Is the notion of German responsibility a satisfactory explanation of the causes of the Great War?.
https://studybounty.com/is-the-notion-of-german-responsibility-a-satisfactory-explanation-of-the-causes-of-the-great-war-essay

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