Germany was not responsible for World War One because in the years leading up to the war, countries held strong militaristic feelings that lead to increased hostility, alliances were formed between many countries that expanded conflicts to a global scale, and widespread nationalistic values increased international tensions between major powers. To begin with, Germany was not to blame for World War One because, at the time, strong nationalistic feelings were prevalent in most of the major powers and these countries were ready to go to war to defend their honor. Nationalism is the belief that people should be loyal mainly to their nation, that is, to the people with whom they share a culture and history, rather than to a king or empire.
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Militarism is a policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war (Textbook, pg 408). For example, in Europe between 1890 and 1914, every major power was developing a strong military presence. Of great concern at this time was the rise of a dangerous European arms race. Consequently, many countries had doubled the size of their armies and were also spending millions to develop their wartime technology. For example, Russia’s army grew to 1.5 million troops, France and Germany’s to 900,000 and Great Britain to 500,000 (Lecture, Causes of World War One). Generals in each country had developed highly detailed plans to mobilize the army in the event of war (Textbook, pg 408). This demonstrates that Germany is not to blame for World War One because all the great powers were developing strong, large militaries and preparing to mobilize them in the event of war. Most nations believed that a strong military would make them feel safe, and there were no thoughts towards negotiations or peaceful coexistence. The large standing armies greatly increased the international tension and served as a catalyst for the impending war. With the already heightened feelings of nationalism and the aggressive military buildup, a demonstration of military strength by one country evicted …show more content…
At that time, to prepare for a war, countries formed alliances with each other stipulating that if one country of an alliance of became involved in a war, the others were bound to join in and help (Lecture, Causes of World War One). While this was done to give the major powers a feeling of safety from their competitive neighbors, it resulted in the fact that when one country went to war, others were forced to join in as well. While this was initially due to loyalty, a secondary reason was also the fear that if they did not join the war against a common enemy, the European countries might end up having to defend themselves singly. This was how smaller conflicts escalated to a global scale. As an illustration, by 1907, almost seven years in advance of World War One, two rival camps existed in Europe. The two major groups were the Central Powers that comprised Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire, and the Triple Entente, which was France, Russia and Great Britain, although Great Britain was not bound to fight with the Triple Entente, just not against (Textbook, pg 411). Great Britain, also due to its geopolitical isolation was able to stay out of the war in the beginning. However, when the Germans, following the Schlieffen plan, invaded Belgium in 1914, Great Britain, according to a previous alliance,
Militarism is a policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war (Textbook, pg 408). For example, in Europe between 1890 and 1914, every major power was developing a strong military presence. Of great concern at this time was the rise of a dangerous European arms race. Consequently, many countries had doubled the size of their armies and were also spending millions to develop their wartime technology. For example, Russia’s army grew to 1.5 million troops, France and Germany’s to 900,000 and Great Britain to 500,000 (Lecture, Causes of World War One). Generals in each country had developed highly detailed plans to mobilize the army in the event of war (Textbook, pg 408). This demonstrates that Germany is not to blame for World War One because all the great powers were developing strong, large militaries and preparing to mobilize them in the event of war. Most nations believed that a strong military would make them feel safe, and there were no thoughts towards negotiations or peaceful coexistence. The large standing armies greatly increased the international tension and served as a catalyst for the impending war. With the already heightened feelings of nationalism and the aggressive military buildup, a demonstration of military strength by one country evicted …show more content…
At that time, to prepare for a war, countries formed alliances with each other stipulating that if one country of an alliance of became involved in a war, the others were bound to join in and help (Lecture, Causes of World War One). While this was done to give the major powers a feeling of safety from their competitive neighbors, it resulted in the fact that when one country went to war, others were forced to join in as well. While this was initially due to loyalty, a secondary reason was also the fear that if they did not join the war against a common enemy, the European countries might end up having to defend themselves singly. This was how smaller conflicts escalated to a global scale. As an illustration, by 1907, almost seven years in advance of World War One, two rival camps existed in Europe. The two major groups were the Central Powers that comprised Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire, and the Triple Entente, which was France, Russia and Great Britain, although Great Britain was not bound to fight with the Triple Entente, just not against (Textbook, pg 411). Great Britain, also due to its geopolitical isolation was able to stay out of the war in the beginning. However, when the Germans, following the Schlieffen plan, invaded Belgium in 1914, Great Britain, according to a previous alliance,