The Great War (WWI) Origins

Opinions of different historians

Let’s agree to disagree
 Key points from the last time

• Militarism is where military matters influence a

countries policy, which make them build up their
armed forces.
• Alliances divided Europe into two.
– 1882 - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed
the Triple Alliance.
– 1907 - France, Britain and Russia formed the Triple
Entente.
• Imperialism is the desire to conquer countries
• Nationalism is the belief that your country is
better than others.
Fritz Fischer blames Germany
 F. Fischer blames Germany
• The German historian F. Fischer argues that the German
ruling elite is to blame for the WW1.
• Fischer uses a document called "september programme" th
issued by Bethman Holloweg (German chanchellor) in 1914 to
support his thesis.
• The document outlines Germany's aim for world domination.
Fischer claims that the document proved that the ruling elite in
Germany had extreme expansionist aims, which a war would
allow them to fulfill.
• This argument is persuasive as he links long-term German
policies to how German government acted in the July crisis
(Germany gave blank cheque to A-H to trigger a European war).
 Septemberprogramm

A central European economic association is to

be constructed through common customs
agreements, to comprise France, Belgium,
Holland, Denmark, Austria-Hungary, Poland and
possibly Italy, Sweden, and Norway. This
association will probably have no common
constitutional head and will provide for
ostensible equality among its members,
although it will in fact be under German
leadership; it must stabilize Germany’s
economic predominance in central Europe.
John Keegan
J.Keegan blames communication
in 1914
• J.Keegan says war broke out because of
the lack of communication between the
great powers during the July crisis.
Although there were long-term causes,
war was never inevitable.
James Joll
 J. Joll
blames politicians in 1914
• J. Joll also attributes the outbreak of the
war to disastrous decision made by
politicans in the July crisis in 1914.
Niall Ferguson
 N.Ferguson blames the UK

• Ferguson sees UK as the country that

contributed to the war the most.
• Germany is not to blame because there is
evidence that the social democrat party
influenced the German Kaiser so much
that he abandoned his expansionist aims.