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The origins of World War One. The origins of World War One The Fritz Fisher
thesis Fritz Fisher focuses on the Kaiser, Gottlieb von ...
... The long-term origins to World War One start back in 1870 with the Franco-Prussian
War. ... Another of the long-term origins to World War One was Weltpolitic. ...
... war driven country. The historical debate over the origins of World War One will
continue on for many years. Many ideas and interpretations ...
... in the article ‘The origins of the World War', by Sidney B. Fay, can clearly be
stated as the explanation for World War I. Fay states that no one country is ...
... The Origins of the Second World War in Europe is a great read and one that any person
interested in learning about how the Second World War came to be should ...
Submitted by 8ball on February 24, 2005
Category: History Other
Words: 511 | Pages: 3
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The origins of World War One
The Fritz Fisher thesis
Fritz Fisher focuses on the Kaiser, Gottlieb von Jagow, Bethmann Hollweg and Helmut von Moltke. These four were the German leading figures at that time; Fischer is convinced that these people were responsible for the outbreak of World War One. Fischer's three main claims were:
1. Germany was prepared to launch the First World War in order to become a great power.
2. Germany encouraged Austria-Hungary to start a war with Serbia, and continued to do so, even when it seemed clear that such a war could not be localized.
3. Once the war began, Germany developed a clear set of aims, already discussed before the war, to gain large territorial gains in central and eastern Europe, very similar to Hitler's later craving for Lebensraum (‘living space') in eastern Europe
Fischer believes that the First World War was not a preventative war, but that it was planned
and launched by Germany aggressively in order to dominate whole Europe. Furthermore Fischer sees Bethmann Hollweg in the role of the main constructor of the German policy during the July Crisis in 1914, and also as a central figure in the development of Germany's expansionist goals once the war started.
The Egmont Zechlin thesis
Egmont Zechlin thinks that Bethmann Hollweg took a "calculated risk in July 1914 to gain diplomatic victory, or if it failed, to fight a "defensive preventive war" with nearly no objectives. This explains that Germany did not prepare a huge plan for expansion. Zechlin's three main claims were:
1. Germany support for a preventative war grew after the Balkan wars had produced vast gains for Serbia.
2. Bethmann Hollweg lacked the patience to settle matters by negotiation, believed that the Entente powers were paralyzing Germany, and realized that Russia was growing stronger in the Balkans, and Austria-Hungary weaker.
3. When he gave...
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