Accountability for World War I

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Germany's involvement in World War I and why she was held responsible for the damages that occurred in Europe, through the eyes of three historians. The paper explains that Germany had rejected the attempts of mediation made by Britain and that it was the miscalculations of German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg that caused all of Europe's superpowers to engage in a World War. The paper looks at how the three historians; Fritz Fischer, Gerhard Ritter and H. Jarausch discuss whom should be held accountable for the World War. In conclusion the paper shows that it is Fischer's persuasive arguments and ample evidence that clearly identifies Germany's faults in the causation of World War I.

From the Paper:

"According to Fischer, Publicist Victor Naumann, who was an adviser of the German Foreign Ministry, engaged in a discussion with the permanent head of the Austro-Hungarian foreign ministry, Count Hoyos, about German aggression for the war in Berlin. He stated that the triple alliance of Italy, Austria-Hungary and Germany was powerful and that Britain would remain neutral because of the Anglo-German settlement in Africa, therefore stating that an attack against Serbia would be best if executed immediately. Ritter criticizes Fischer for bringing forward Victor Naumann as a witness to the Berlin Agreement as he was only a journalist and not a diplomat and therefore questions Fischer's credibility. However, Fischers claims are proven true when Count Hoyos met with the Austro-Hungarian ambassador, Szogyeny in Berlin on July 5th, 1914 and presented him with two documents: a memorandum that stated the situation of the monarchy and a proposal that insisted the only way to save the monarchy from being swallowed in the "Pan-Slav flood" was to "eliminate Serbia"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fritz Fischer, Germany's Aims in the First World War, (W.W. Norton, 1967)
• Gerhard Ritter, A New War-Guilt Thesis? , (Heath, 1975)
• Konrad H. Jarausch, The Illusion of Limited War: Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg's Calculated Risk, July 1914, (Missouri:1969)

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