Germany
Bismarck
World War I was caused in part by the two opposing alliances developed by Bismarck's diplomacy after the Franco-Prussian War. In order to diplomatically isolate France, Bismarck formed the Three Emperors League in 1872, an alliance between Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. When the French occupied Tunisia, Bismarck took advantage of Italian resentment towards France and created the Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria- Hungary in 1882. In exchange for Italy's agreement to stay neutral if war broke out between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary would protect Italy from France. Russia and Austria-Hungary grew suspicious of each other over conflicts in the Balkans in 1887, but Bismarck repaired the damage to his alliances with a Reinsurance Treaty with Russia, allowing both powers to stay neutral if the other was at war.
"An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts."
- Otto Von Bismarck
"An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts."
- Otto Von Bismarck
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Politics: Overall, the Kaiser wanted "a place in the sun" for the German people. The only problem was that there was very little room left for new colonization in the early part of this century. Never the less, the Kaiser built up the German military machine and built a naval system to be the rival of Great Britain’s Navy. Historian Barbara Tuchman put it well when she referred to the Kaiser as "possessor of the least inhibited tongue in Europe".
Accomplishments:
- He abandoned the Iron Chancellor's policy of keeping Russia and Austria-Hungary separated by allying with both.
- He allowed Germany's ties to Russia to lapse, a space that France quickly filled. Bound now to the fate of Austria-Hungary, Wilhelm wanted to break what he called “Germany's encirclement.” His efforts alternately scared Europe. His fondness for uniforms and proud pronouncements might have merely provoked disrespect, but Germany's army and economy dominated the continent, and Europe's statesmen could not ignore him.
"I look upon the People and the Nation as handed on to me as an responsibility conferred upon me by God, and I believe, as it is written in the Bible, that it is my duty to increase this heritage for which one day I shall be called upon to give an account. Whoever tries to interfere with my task I shall crush."
- Kaiser Wilhelm II
Accomplishments:
- He abandoned the Iron Chancellor's policy of keeping Russia and Austria-Hungary separated by allying with both.
- He allowed Germany's ties to Russia to lapse, a space that France quickly filled. Bound now to the fate of Austria-Hungary, Wilhelm wanted to break what he called “Germany's encirclement.” His efforts alternately scared Europe. His fondness for uniforms and proud pronouncements might have merely provoked disrespect, but Germany's army and economy dominated the continent, and Europe's statesmen could not ignore him.
"I look upon the People and the Nation as handed on to me as an responsibility conferred upon me by God, and I believe, as it is written in the Bible, that it is my duty to increase this heritage for which one day I shall be called upon to give an account. Whoever tries to interfere with my task I shall crush."
- Kaiser Wilhelm II
Franco- Prussian War
The Franco- Prussian Was was between France and Prussia and the German states from July 15th, 1870 to Februrary 1st, 1871. Napolean I had smashed through the German states very easily during the Napoleonic wars. Even though the war had a short duration, it dramatically changed European history. The fast and overwhelming victory of the German states under the control of Prussia made the creation of a unified German Empire possible and brought the fall of the French empire of Napolean III which would be replaced by the third republic. Prussia would first fight and destroy the armies of the emperor then the new raised armies of the third republic. The war also marked the final step in Germany's rise to the position of a major continental power. As part of the settlement, the territory of Alsace- Lorraine was taken by Germany, which would retain it until after WWI.
Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic refers to a period in German history (1919-1933) when the government was a democratic republic governed by a constitution that was laid out in Weimar. Technically, the Weimar Constitution lasted until Adolf Hitler took control and the constitution became effectively meaningless. Under the Weimar Republic governing, Germany was divided into 19 states. All citizens had the right to vote, electing members of the German Parliament along with the President. The President in turn appointed a chancellor and an assortment of cabinet members. As many historians have noted, the Weimar Constitution was a brilliant document, and Germany under the Weimar Republic was a true democracy. However, even from the start, the Weimar Republic was very troubled. When the constitution was first established, many Germans were highly suspicious of the new government, and extremists on the left and right rejected the authority of the Weimar Republic, underestimating its effectiveness.
Inflation
It was not unusual to have inflation begin to occur during war, but in Germany it really became severe and spiked after the Reperation Bill of World War I was enforced after the war. Germany felt that they were stabbed in the back and had a hard time coming to terms with paying the bills.
Date
_
July 1914
January 1920 January 1922 January 1923 July 1923 August 1923 November 1923 | Equal to $1
4 Marks
64 Marks 191 Marks 17,972 Marks 353,412 Marks 4,620,000 Marks 420,000,000 Marks |
Polarization
In polarization the middle class moves to the extremes. In Germany during the war the middle class decreased as a result of the econmomy and other factors.
During the polarization the middle class either moved to the left (Towards Communism) or to the right (Towards Nazis)
During the polarization the middle class either moved to the left (Towards Communism) or to the right (Towards Nazis)
"Stab in the Back"
A theory that claimed that the German Army had been 'stabbed in the back' by politicians on the home front, that anti-war activists had caused unrest and weakened the morale of the soldiers. This, according to the conspiracy theory, created the November revolution of 1918 and the devastating armistice. This new government (the Weimar Republic) then accepted the humiliating peace terms of the Treaty of Versailles. This theory was extremely significant because it provided the Germans with a reason to hate the Weimar Republic, and in the longer term it provided Hitler with a chance for power. The stab in the back theory is closely directly linked to the rise right wing political extremism in Germany. Many Germans believed that Germany had been doing well in World War 1. As soon as Germany lost the war though, this stab in the back theory became known and accepted by many Germans and played a key role in stirring up antisemitism.
Propaganda and Appeasement
_Propaganda was used in favor of Germany and agaisnt them. These were designed to develop and strengthen the current of hatred that was already engendered in Britain. The same thing was done in Germany – untrue headlines were tolerated and even encouraged by the German authorities. Some headlines were:
- “French doctors infect German wells with plague germs”
- “German prisoners blinded by Allied captors”
One of the most infamous stories that went around was adapted the further it got from the Western Front. The story went from monks in Antwerp being forced to ring bells to celebrate the Germans occupation of the city to the monks refusing to do this and being tied to the clappers of the bells and being used as human clappers – and being killed. It was all nonsense but to the minds of the British, where the story all but ended, it seemed to encapsulate the evil of the Germans and justify why the fight was going on. The one thing that suffered in the war was the truth. There were numerous stories in Britain of German soldiers parading round Belgium towns with babies on their bayonets.
However, the media was used for other purposes. British newspapers published casualty figures that were acceptable to the government but less than accurate. British success in battles was emphasised as opposed to the minimal gains actually made. All countries were guilty of this. Parisians did not know about the danger Verdun was in during the initial stages of the German attack despite being just 150 miles from the city. The French authorities simply clamped down on the truth. Anybody caught spreading the truth regarding Verdun was liable for arrest as an agent provocateur.
- “French doctors infect German wells with plague germs”
- “German prisoners blinded by Allied captors”
One of the most infamous stories that went around was adapted the further it got from the Western Front. The story went from monks in Antwerp being forced to ring bells to celebrate the Germans occupation of the city to the monks refusing to do this and being tied to the clappers of the bells and being used as human clappers – and being killed. It was all nonsense but to the minds of the British, where the story all but ended, it seemed to encapsulate the evil of the Germans and justify why the fight was going on. The one thing that suffered in the war was the truth. There were numerous stories in Britain of German soldiers parading round Belgium towns with babies on their bayonets.
However, the media was used for other purposes. British newspapers published casualty figures that were acceptable to the government but less than accurate. British success in battles was emphasised as opposed to the minimal gains actually made. All countries were guilty of this. Parisians did not know about the danger Verdun was in during the initial stages of the German attack despite being just 150 miles from the city. The French authorities simply clamped down on the truth. Anybody caught spreading the truth regarding Verdun was liable for arrest as an agent provocateur.
Axis
The Axis consisted of the powerful countries of Germany, Italy and Japan. The U.S ends up fighting as a part of the Allies against the Axis group.
Non- Aggression Pact
_Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a ten-year
nonaggression pact on August 23, 1939, in which each signatory promised
not to attack the other.
The German-Soviet Pact enabled Germany to attack Poland on September
1, 1939, without fear of Soviet intervention. On September 3, 1939,
Britain and France, having guaranteed to protect Poland's borders five
months earlier, declared war on Germany. These events marked the
beginning of World War II. After the Germans defeated France in June 1940, German worked to secure Germany's ties in southeastern Europe. Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia all joined the Axis alliance in November 1940. During the spring of 1941, Hitler initiated his eastern European allies to plan to invade the Soviet Union.