Category: World Civ-World War One

Was World War I the outcome of elite machinations?

What caused Europe to immolate itself? World War I, after all, was neither an avalanche nor a tempest but a ghastly man-made disaster. The question of responsibility has preoccupied Europe, and its historians, since the war began, and the identification of culprits has also varied over time, running the gamut from German militarism to reckless diplomacy, the faceless forces of imperialism and nationalism, and ideologies like social Darwinism. The debate has never been purely academic…

Not surprisingly, the approaching centenary of the fateful summer of 1914 has elicited new reflections on the war’s causes. While the current crop of books on the outbreak of the war offer a range of perspectives, they tend, on balance, to find blood primarily on the hands of Europe’s “Great Men,” a small cabal of diplomats, kings, military leaders and their advisers. In her highly readable The War That Ended Peace, Margaret MacMillan concludes that “the decisions that took Europe into that war—or failed to prevent it—were made by a surprisingly small number, and those men—few women played a role—came largely but not entirely from the upper classes, whether the landed aristocracy or the urban plutocracy.” 

The first world war: Look back with angst

A century on, there are uncomfortable parallels with the era that led to the outbreak of the first world war…

Yet the parallels remain troubling. The United States is Britain, the superpower on the wane, unable to guarantee global security. Its main trading partner, China, plays the part of Germany, a new economic power bristling with nationalist indignation and building up its armed forces rapidly. Modern Japan is France, an ally of the retreating hegemon and a declining regional power. The parallels are not exact—China lacks the Kaiser’s territorial ambitions and America’s defence budget is far more impressive than imperial Britain’s—but they are close enough for the world to be on its guard. Which, by and large, it is not.

The Economist draws the parallel on the even of the centenary

During World War I, Germany Unleashed 'Terrorist Cell In America'

In the early years of World War I, as many as 1,000 American horses per day were shipped off to Europe to assist in the Allied war effort, even though the United States was officially neutral. Those horses became the target of germ warfare, infected with anthrax cultures on American soil; at the same time, mysterious explosions were rocking U.S. munitions factories, and fires were breaking out on ships headed to Europe.

Journalist Howard Blum says this was all part of an aggressive campaign of spying and sabotage the German government unleashed on the United States soon after war broke out in Europe. Blum’s book, Dark Invasion, is about the campaign and the effort of American law enforcement to crack what Blum calls “the first terrorist cell in America.” It’s filled with fascinating characters, from the duplicitous German ambassador who held the title of Count, to Capt. Franz von Rintelen, who plotted destruction while living at the Yacht Club in New York, to the NYPD bomb squad detective who in effect formed an anti-terrorist squad to try to find the saboteurs. Interesting

Fresh Air Interview

Interview: Tracing The Divides In The War 'To End All Wars'

The human cost of World War I was enormous. More than 9 million soldiers and an estimated 12 million civilians died in the four-year-long conflict, which also left 21 million military men wounded.

“Many of them were missing arms, legs, hands, genitals or driven mad by shell shock,” says historian Adam Hochschild. “But there was also a human cost in a larger sense, in that I think the war remade the world for the worse in every conceivable way: It ignited the Russian Revolution, it laid the ground for Nazism and it made World War II almost certain. It’s pretty hard to imagine the second world war without the first.”

Hochschild traces the patriotic fervor that catapulted Great Britain into war during the summer of 1914 — as well as the small, but determined British pacifist movement — in his historical narrative To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918. The book frames the Great War not as a struggle between nations but as a struggle between individual people — sometimes even family members — who supported and opposed the war.

The German Menace?

Part One: Develop an Argument

For those of you assigned to do so, post an argumentative essay which addresses a central question of the origins of World War One:

To what extent was Germany to blame for the outbreak of World War One?

Follow the following directions:

  • make sure that your name is in the post
  • make sure that you have a title that clearly indicates your position on the issue (e.g. “Shame on Germany” or “Germany: Not Innocent but Not the Primary Cause”)
  • one-page, single-spaced
  • Demonstrate a clear stance using a thesis statement that is specific, complex and refutable.
  • use and cite 2-3 scholarly sources to support your argument (I just installed a proxy detector on my website to catch plagiarism. Be honest–if you use a source, cite it
  • Post your essay in the “comments” link below

Part Two: Defend Your Argument

  • When the essays are posted, you will have a couple of days to write a refutation of your classmates’ arguments.
  • Demonstrate that you have read 3-5 student essays that take a stance in opposition to yours
  • Address the authors with whom you do not agree by name (refer to specific authors)
  • You must disagree with them in a scholarly manner. Be diplomatic Do not get personal.

The Inevitable Great War?

Part One: Develop an Argument

For those of you assigned to do so, post an argumentative essay which addresses a central question of the origins of World War One:

Given the potentially lethal combination of long-term historical forces, was World War One inevitable?

Follow the following directions:

  • make sure that your name is in the post
  • make sure that you have a title that clearly indicates your position on the issue (e.g. “The Inevitable War” or “A War of Choice”)
  • one-page, single-spaced
  • Demonstrate a clear stance using a thesis statement that is specific, complex and refutable.
  • use and cite 2-3 scholarly sources to support your argument. Be honest–if you use a source, cite it
  • Post your essay in the “comments” link below

Part Two: Defend Your Argument

  • When the essays are posted, you will have a couple of days to write a refutation of your classmates’ arguments.
  • Demonstrate that you have read 3-5 student essays that take a stance in opposition to yours
  • Address the authors with whom you do not agree by name (refer to specific authors)
  • You must disagree with them in a scholarly manner. Be diplomatic Do not get personal.