Frankfurt International School
Did Germany cause the war?
Omar Ocasio
Grade 9
History
Mr. Roger
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Did Germany cause the war?
Did Germany cause the Great War? This is something many historians have been arguing about since the war had even started. I believe many people would agree that in fact, Germany did not cause World War one and that all the countries should share the blame for what had occurred. It wasn't only Germanys fault that Europe had divided and fought against itself.
Between the years 1879 and 1914, Europe had been split up into two very strong, very powerful alliances. Britain, France, Russia and Serbia had formed an alliance that had became known as the Triple Entente. While Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed another that became known as the Central Powers. The reasons for theses alliances were different for each country, but they were defensive intended to preserve the balance of power.
To prevent any one European country from reaching a position of tremendous strength. The way it was set up, if any country had declared war on another, the other countries in its alliance had no choice but to come and support its comrade. Theses two Alliances divided Europe into a very hostile atmosphere. Most people during this time called the system of alliances the "Balance of Power". They believed that the magnitude of size and power of the two would prevent either side from starting a war. The degree of secrecy led to fear and wariness. That, plus disputes just kept pilling up and up until it all came crashing down on them both later on.
Britain felt as though they were superior to everyone else. France wanted what Britain had and Germany wanted what France had. This helped inflame intense competition...