CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
Lecture 6
FIRST WORLD WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Among historians there is a question that is probably the most pondered in history:
“What caused the senseless slaughter that was World War I?”.
There wasn’t the moral vindication of resisting a tyrant who is pushing others to take a
military stand (Great Britain vs Hitler),
What was the origin of the conflict?
Europe on the surface seemed to be a peaceful continent but beneath this calm surface,
tensions were building within and between nations. There were several developments that in
the end caused the war, (many of them already listed in another lecture)
1. Nationalism- a new and powerful force of tension in Europe, which was tightly linked with
Militarism
o Created new areas of interest over which nations could compete
o Was the most important force at the beginning of the 20th century
o Appeared during the American and French Revolutions, during the 19th century
(among the forces which helped unify the states of the German area, which helped
unify the states of Italy)
o In other European powers, nationalism was a dividing force ( Ottoman Empire and
Austrian-Hungarian Empire→ the ethnic groups that formed in these empires by the
on of the 19th century formed nationalist groups to seek independence- Serbs,
Bulgarians, Romanian)
2. Economic rivalry between nations (Germany, Hungary, Britain, Russia, France- all rivals),
came from several sources -INDUSTRIALIZATION
o Germany and Great Britain led Europe in industrial growth, but besides them, there
was a general competition for materials and markets →Every nation wanted to catch
up economically and build its industrial base.
3. Political Rivalry- many territorial disputes among the territorial powers
o France never got over the Lorraine region (Franco-Prussian War Battle of Sedan),
o Austro-Hungary and Prussia tried to dominate the Balkan area
o many other issues along the European power
4. Imperialism- they competed for colonies in Asia and Africa
o Colonies were considered units of exchange that could be bargained and exchanged
o Pushed European Nations to war against each other
o As the countries continued to compete, their rivalry and mistrust of one another
deepened, they were fighting each other, and this had consequences in Europe
5. Militarism- the rise of the dangerous European arms race
o To be truly great they needed to have a powerful army (the European nations)- the
era of military competition
o The policy of building a stronger military created a sort of culture of “paranoia”-
patented the search for allies
o Fed by a cultural belief that “war was good for nations”
o By 1914 all the great powers except Great Britain had large standing armies, more
than 300. 000 men signed up for the army (first month of war)
o Militarism as part of a society → Having a large army makes citizens feel patriotic
and proud of their nations. Emperors and kings often appeared in public in military
uniforms, war was considered a legitimate tool of statecraft.
6. Alliances- were created by the growing rivalries and distrust between the nations
o was created in the last decades of the 19th century after the Franco-Prussian War
, o After 1871, Bismarck wanted to maintain peace in Europe and return his energies to
this goal →the greatest threat to Europe was France
o In 1879 Bismarck formed a dual alliance between Germany And Austria-Hungary,
which Italy later joined
o Bismarck's first role was to create in 1882 the “Triple Alliance”- Germany, Austria
Italy
Bismarck made a treaty with Russia called the “Reinsurance Treaty”- in 1887
according to it the two countries would serve neutrality, and in case Russia
would make war with another country they would provide help
Bismarck was afraid of the idea of fighting a war against France (he
considered that Germany could not fight two countries at the same time)
o 1890- Germany's policy changed dramatically, the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II who had
become ruler of Germany, forced Bismarck to resign because he didn't want to share
the power. The new Kaiser was a lover of militarism (show his power as a new
military leader and show the world the new power of Germany)
o In 1890- he didn't sign the renewal of the treaty with Russia → Russia responded by
forming a defensive military alliance with France (which was Bismarck's biggest
fear)
o Germany was now the enemy of both France and Russia and during an eventual war,
Germany would be forced to fight on both eastern and western borders.
o Moreover, William II began a ship-building program to make the German navy equal
to the British fleet (the most powerful in the world). alarmed by this, Great Britain
allied with France (ANTANTA, ENTENTE).
o In 1907- Britain allied with Russia (Triple Entente). This alliance was a sort of
defensive alliance, it didn’t bind Britain to fight with France or with Russia if they
could fight against someone else. They couldn't fight against each other
(DEFENSIVE ALLIANCE)
ALL OF THESE CAUSES HAD SOME IMPORTANCE, THE MOST DEVASTATING
WAS THE COMBINATION OF THE ALLIANCE NETWORK AND THE WIDESPREAD
MISGUIDED BELIEFS THAT WAR IS GOOD FOR THE NATION
BEFORE THE WAR
In 1914-two rival camps they existed in Europe (Triple Entente- Germany, Austria, Hungary, and
Italy). The dispute between the two rival parties drove all the European nations into the war. The
dispute was most likely to occur in the Balkan peninsula.
The Balkans were an area of an assortment of ethnic groups, (Nationalism was a powerful
force in the area, long history of uprisings and ethnic clashes, so the Balkans were considered
the powder keg of Europe)
o The problems in the Balkans started with Serbia, (which had a large Slavic
population) because Serbia wanted to absorb all the Slavs on the Balkan peninsula
o Russia which is itself mostly a Slavic nation supported Serbia, supported Serbian
nationalism, however, Serbia's powerful neighbor opposed this idea (Austria) →
Austria had a Slavic population inside its borders and therefore feared that a Slavic
rebellion could steer rebellion inside its borders.
In 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Balkan country with a large Slavic
population and Serbia would have wanted to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina and rule these
provinces. In the years after 1908 tensions between Serbia and Austria rose severely
→Serbian Nationalists wanted to take Bosnia and Herzegovina away from Austria (they
wanted to liberate Bosnia and Herzegovina from AEmpire).
o Austria on the other hand, wanted to crush all Serbian national rebellions in the
Balkans
This atmosphere (poison) of mutual distress caused the assassination of the archduke of
Austria.
Lecture 6
FIRST WORLD WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Among historians there is a question that is probably the most pondered in history:
“What caused the senseless slaughter that was World War I?”.
There wasn’t the moral vindication of resisting a tyrant who is pushing others to take a
military stand (Great Britain vs Hitler),
What was the origin of the conflict?
Europe on the surface seemed to be a peaceful continent but beneath this calm surface,
tensions were building within and between nations. There were several developments that in
the end caused the war, (many of them already listed in another lecture)
1. Nationalism- a new and powerful force of tension in Europe, which was tightly linked with
Militarism
o Created new areas of interest over which nations could compete
o Was the most important force at the beginning of the 20th century
o Appeared during the American and French Revolutions, during the 19th century
(among the forces which helped unify the states of the German area, which helped
unify the states of Italy)
o In other European powers, nationalism was a dividing force ( Ottoman Empire and
Austrian-Hungarian Empire→ the ethnic groups that formed in these empires by the
on of the 19th century formed nationalist groups to seek independence- Serbs,
Bulgarians, Romanian)
2. Economic rivalry between nations (Germany, Hungary, Britain, Russia, France- all rivals),
came from several sources -INDUSTRIALIZATION
o Germany and Great Britain led Europe in industrial growth, but besides them, there
was a general competition for materials and markets →Every nation wanted to catch
up economically and build its industrial base.
3. Political Rivalry- many territorial disputes among the territorial powers
o France never got over the Lorraine region (Franco-Prussian War Battle of Sedan),
o Austro-Hungary and Prussia tried to dominate the Balkan area
o many other issues along the European power
4. Imperialism- they competed for colonies in Asia and Africa
o Colonies were considered units of exchange that could be bargained and exchanged
o Pushed European Nations to war against each other
o As the countries continued to compete, their rivalry and mistrust of one another
deepened, they were fighting each other, and this had consequences in Europe
5. Militarism- the rise of the dangerous European arms race
o To be truly great they needed to have a powerful army (the European nations)- the
era of military competition
o The policy of building a stronger military created a sort of culture of “paranoia”-
patented the search for allies
o Fed by a cultural belief that “war was good for nations”
o By 1914 all the great powers except Great Britain had large standing armies, more
than 300. 000 men signed up for the army (first month of war)
o Militarism as part of a society → Having a large army makes citizens feel patriotic
and proud of their nations. Emperors and kings often appeared in public in military
uniforms, war was considered a legitimate tool of statecraft.
6. Alliances- were created by the growing rivalries and distrust between the nations
o was created in the last decades of the 19th century after the Franco-Prussian War
, o After 1871, Bismarck wanted to maintain peace in Europe and return his energies to
this goal →the greatest threat to Europe was France
o In 1879 Bismarck formed a dual alliance between Germany And Austria-Hungary,
which Italy later joined
o Bismarck's first role was to create in 1882 the “Triple Alliance”- Germany, Austria
Italy
Bismarck made a treaty with Russia called the “Reinsurance Treaty”- in 1887
according to it the two countries would serve neutrality, and in case Russia
would make war with another country they would provide help
Bismarck was afraid of the idea of fighting a war against France (he
considered that Germany could not fight two countries at the same time)
o 1890- Germany's policy changed dramatically, the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II who had
become ruler of Germany, forced Bismarck to resign because he didn't want to share
the power. The new Kaiser was a lover of militarism (show his power as a new
military leader and show the world the new power of Germany)
o In 1890- he didn't sign the renewal of the treaty with Russia → Russia responded by
forming a defensive military alliance with France (which was Bismarck's biggest
fear)
o Germany was now the enemy of both France and Russia and during an eventual war,
Germany would be forced to fight on both eastern and western borders.
o Moreover, William II began a ship-building program to make the German navy equal
to the British fleet (the most powerful in the world). alarmed by this, Great Britain
allied with France (ANTANTA, ENTENTE).
o In 1907- Britain allied with Russia (Triple Entente). This alliance was a sort of
defensive alliance, it didn’t bind Britain to fight with France or with Russia if they
could fight against someone else. They couldn't fight against each other
(DEFENSIVE ALLIANCE)
ALL OF THESE CAUSES HAD SOME IMPORTANCE, THE MOST DEVASTATING
WAS THE COMBINATION OF THE ALLIANCE NETWORK AND THE WIDESPREAD
MISGUIDED BELIEFS THAT WAR IS GOOD FOR THE NATION
BEFORE THE WAR
In 1914-two rival camps they existed in Europe (Triple Entente- Germany, Austria, Hungary, and
Italy). The dispute between the two rival parties drove all the European nations into the war. The
dispute was most likely to occur in the Balkan peninsula.
The Balkans were an area of an assortment of ethnic groups, (Nationalism was a powerful
force in the area, long history of uprisings and ethnic clashes, so the Balkans were considered
the powder keg of Europe)
o The problems in the Balkans started with Serbia, (which had a large Slavic
population) because Serbia wanted to absorb all the Slavs on the Balkan peninsula
o Russia which is itself mostly a Slavic nation supported Serbia, supported Serbian
nationalism, however, Serbia's powerful neighbor opposed this idea (Austria) →
Austria had a Slavic population inside its borders and therefore feared that a Slavic
rebellion could steer rebellion inside its borders.
In 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Balkan country with a large Slavic
population and Serbia would have wanted to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina and rule these
provinces. In the years after 1908 tensions between Serbia and Austria rose severely
→Serbian Nationalists wanted to take Bosnia and Herzegovina away from Austria (they
wanted to liberate Bosnia and Herzegovina from AEmpire).
o Austria on the other hand, wanted to crush all Serbian national rebellions in the
Balkans
This atmosphere (poison) of mutual distress caused the assassination of the archduke of
Austria.
