Lesson 1: The 1848 Revolution, The Second Reich, And The First World War?

Conner Nichols 440920 cmnnq6 German 2320

Lesson 1: The 1848 Revolution, the Second Reich, and the First World War

Under the leadership of Bismarck, Germany experienced a time of great division between classes and some financial crashes, such as “the Gründerzeit burst in 1873, when a collapse of confidence brought an inevitable economic crash” (Fulbrook 131) from 1871 to 1890. In a time when the greater population was beginning to play a greater role in politics, Bismarck’s authoritarian style brought about a great deal of political and social tension because refused to consider any opposing viewpoints. When Otto von Bismarck was removed from power and imminent chancellorship in 1890, Emperor William II took power and implemented a far more
imperialistic system for Germany that would eventually cause the outbreak of the First World War. While many forms of expansion played key roles in the build up of the First World War, it could be argued that industrialization within German kick started it all. The urge for industrial expansion under both Bismarck and William II was not unjustified by any means. In fact, it is completely understandable when one takes Germany’s rapid population growth during this time into account. While Germany’s population “increased from 41 million in 1871 to 67.7 million in 1914. French population rose only from 36 million to 40 million” (Fulbrook 137). The increased population led to an increased need for greater production, which is why Germany saw their “output of manufactured goods [increase] by a multiple of five at time when Britain’s output merely doubled” (Fulbrook 138). The rapid expansion of both population and production within German borders, along with other incentives, forced the government to begin to look elsewhere for both markets and sources of natural resources, which began the colonial expansion of German power. In a time period where Germany had recently become a newly unified nation, along with the rapid growth they were experiencing, there were many great debates on whether Germany should maintain a middle position in Europe, or aspire to become a world power. During the 1890’s and 1900’s, the idea of attaining a world power status gained traction within the country, causing imperialism to no longer be a question for Germany, but rather a given. Germany knew that imperial expansion would provide the “needed markets for manufactured goods, and sources of cheap raw materials” (Fulbrook 149); something that they knew would be necessary to compete with great world powers such as Britain. On top of this knowledge, Germany also understood that colonial expansion would cause an increase in “political strength, [which would] bolster their position in the European balance of power” (Farshtey). The plan of colonial expansion was officially put into place, but not without the knowledge that the country would face great resistance from other expanding or even established powers, such as that of Great Britain. The imminent attempt at colonial expansion along with the knowledge that it would face resistance with great force sparked a rapid time of military expansion in Germany. The German attempt for colonial expansion within and beyond Europe required the military to go up against many forces and world powers looking to expand into similar territories, none more noteworthy than Great Britain.
In the time period where Germany was looking to expand it’s reign outside of their borders, much of Europe was already under control of other powers and they were forced to focus their expansion on African territories. The problem with this plan of action was that the British navy was considered the strongest naval force in the world, and they already possessed control of many waterways leading to territories desired by both Great Britain and Germany. Due to this predicament, militarism in Germany began with great naval expansion “following the appointment of Admiral von Tirpitz as Secretary of State for the Navy in 1897” (Fulbrook 142). His push for rapid naval growth for means of both a deterrent to other nations and a means of competing with British naval forces lead to the creation of the Naval League and a strong national support for naval expansion, something that did not go unnoticed by other nations. German navy building brought about “a general sense that war was looming, and all European states began a race to be ready for war when it came” (Fulbrook 149). The rapid expansion of Germany in almost all regards and actions taken by other nations presented the inevitability of war, but other key factors also played major roles in the culmination of
World War I. A key sociopolitical factor outside of the desire for expansion that sparked the First World War was the formation of alliances within Europe.
In an effort to avoid conflict with other countries that could evoke detrimental damages to a given nation, many began to align with each other, none more worrisome to Germany than the Triple Entente. The alliance of France, Russia, and Britain led to a ‘fear of encirclement’, where Germany feared that they were surrounded by hostile forces. This made the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, and Italy) all more important to Germany, and also assured that if war were to break out, it would be of incredible
magnitude.
Along with the formation of alliances which pitted groups of nations against each other, the Wilhelmine period marked a time of peak nationalism in all of Europe. With every nation holding a strong belief that they were superior to the others came the urge to take particular actions to prove such. The proud culture of these nations gave them “aspirations towards great [world] power status” (Fulbrook 144). These strong cultural beliefs eventually sparked World War I, when a member of a Serbian nationalist group assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, causing troops of all nations bound by the alliances to be mobilized and beginning the First World War.
Many historians argue that Germany was responsible for the outbreak of World War I, and I would agree with this statement. While the singular action that eventually sparked the war was not executed by anyone of German ties, this action would not have sparked such a war without previous German actions. The imperialistic aspirations of Germany directly led to an arms race throughout Europe, which brought about a sense of war that would not have been present without it. Alliances were then formed as a result of the arms race and preparation of war by each European state, which led to a war of far greater magnitude than one assassination could have ever caused otherwise. While other factors played into the outbreak of World War I, Germany’s urge to expand and the way they went about the desired expansion eventually culminated in the First World War.

Works Cited

Farshtey, Mr. "Causes of WWI." Causes of WWI (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Fulbrook, Mary. "Chapter 5: The Age of Indutrialisation." A Concise History of Germany. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge UP, 2004. 104-54. Print.