Germany and Outbreak of WWI Essay -- History World War I

Throughout time wars have ended with the defeat of one force and the victory of another, those on the side of defeat almost always being held accountable for the destruction these wars produce. This is undoubtedly the case with post WWI Germany, burdened with defeat and forced to sign the treaty of Versailles, thus taking responsibility for the war. Although blamed for the war, it is still a highly controversial question between historians if the Germans were truly responsible for WWI. However when studying the actions of Germany as a nation and its leaders in the years leading up to the war, one can see it is quite accurate to say Germany was responsible for the outbreak of World War One. Germany had been creating tensions since the days of Bismarck's alliances, and so when Kaiser Wilhelm ascended to the throne in 1888 and wanted to make Germany a great world power and have â€Å"a place in the sun† adopting a policy of ‘weltpolitik’1, German creation of pre-wa r tensions and advocacy of a war drove the rest of Europe into WWI with them in 1914. The nation of Germany can be held largely accountable for the outbreak of WWI solely because they laid the foundation for this war long before a world war was in view. Throughout the years leading up to the war, Germany's actions contributed to the tensions that would eventually erupt in war. By the year 1914, the countries of Europe had established such alliances with each other so that to ensure any conflict between two countries would result in a collective conflict involving all the great powers of Europe. This extensive alliance system would not have even been conceived if Germany had not initiated it; â€Å"The division of Europe into two armed camps took place by slow stages over a perio... ...: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War. New York: Random House, 1991.226 10Morrow, John Howard. The Great War an imperial history. London: Routledge, 2004. 27. 11"First World War.com - Primary Documents - Germany's 'Blank Cheque' to Austria-Hungary, 6 July 1914." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. 19 Nov. 2010 . 12Marshall, S. L. A. World War I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 35. 13Tucker, Spencer, and Priscilla Mary. Roberts. World War I: encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. 15. 14Morrow, John Howard. The Great War an imperial history. London: Routledge, 2004. 27 15"First World War.com - Feature Articles - The Causes of World War One." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. 19 Nov. 2010 .