Is there anything in german people or in there history that made them start two world wars?

Question

Have germans got a history of being aggressive before world war 1? If so any reason why that is?

just to say i aint generalising, and i didnt say i was wicked at history- thats why im asking the question....doh

Answer 1

Not genetically of course but Germany's aggressiveness can be traced to their late development as a nation.

When the Romans abandoned their efforts to conquer the Germanic tribes they effectively deprived the Germans of the thousands of years of civilization that became part of the culture of Western Europe. Germany remained tribal in outlook.

Although Charlemagne incorporated much of Germany into his empire it was too little and too late. When his heirs divided the empire the Germanic portion evolved into hundreds of petty principalities and city states. True, the French and Italian portions also sundered along regional lines but the resulting states were still larger, on average, than the German successor states.

For centuries thereafter the German states quarreled and warred amongst themselves with often disastrous results and many of them became puppets of external powers.

The two leading German states, Prussia and Austria would remain so jealous of each other that even when Germany was united in the late 19th century it was under Prussian leadership that deliberately excluded their ethnic kin in Austria.

Coming to the world stage as a more or less united nation only in the late 19th century meant that Germany often acted like a child intent on proving its worth with bombast, bullying and boasting.

And having as its unifying moment the defeat of the Second French Empire of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War, Germany saw militarism and aggression as the proper means of achieving its ends. The German Reich was proclaimed, one should remember, not in Berlin but in the Hall of Mirrors in the palace of Versailles outside Paris.

The first German Kaiser was lucky to have the services of Otto von Bismarck who managed hold the worst German aggressive tendencies in check in recognition of the dangers of creating world wide hostility against the new German state. But the second Kaiser Wilhelm dismissed Bismarck and set about to strut and bully his war to recognition. He so offended England, which had traditionally supported the German states against their mutual enemy, France, that he drove the English into an Entente with the French. Recall that England, at that time, had been fighting France, on and off, for almost four hundred years.

Wilhelm, who was the grandson of England's Queen Victoria, behaved so erratically that forfeited any chance of healing the rift and joined his nation's fortunes to the moribund Austro-Hungarian Empire and the equally young and newly united Italian Kingdom.

When the Serbian nationalist assassinated the Austrian Archduke, Wilhelm could not bring himself to counsel moderation and managed, thru his felt need to assert Germany's status as a Great Power, to turn a regional conflict into a world war.

World War II was, in effect, only a continuation of World War I. Much is often made of Hitler's influence, but the plain fact is that his message resonated with Germans and nothing that he advocated, especially the extermination of the Jews, was not already a popular point of view.

Answer 2

Try focusing on the larger picture, that of Europe as a whole. European nations have warred with one another for centuries. As a result, there was a lot of bad blood between nations, even in the early part of the 20th century.

Many historians list the assassination of Prince Ferdinand by the Black Hand in Serbia as the catalyst for launching Europe into the first World War. After the war ended with Germany surrendering, huge war reparations were placed upon them, causing the country serious economic problems. These economic problems paved the way for the second World War, when Adolf Hitler was able to focus his countries anger and resentment into a common cause.

The subject can be elaborated upon in a far more detailed manner, however this is but a simple explanation.

Answer 3

Well, just understand that what led up to World War I and World War II were two different circumstances. In World War I, ultra-nationalism was very high across Europe and considering the arms races and mobilizations going on throughout these countries basically was like a balloon with too much pressure in it...it was just waiting for that little extra bit of pressure to cause everything to explode, which happened when Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assasinated in the Former Yugoslavia.

As for World War II, the horrible economic conditions leading up to World War II (outrageous inflation rates, joblessness, etc) allowed Adolf Hitler to use these conditions to push forward his quest for power, telling the German people they were a stronger, better people who deserved a better way of life. He even promised at the end of WWII to have a Volkswagen (folk's car) for every German family. This is how he captured the people of Germany and enslaved them to his will...while using Jews and Blacks as scapegoats for the woes and problems of Germany and the world.

And thank God and our brave service members who served in WW II that he lost. So there isn't genes in the Germans that make them aggressive. There are just historical reasons for why things happened. Just dig into history and you'll find all the answer you want behind stuff like this.

Answer 4

Prior to WW1, Europe as a whole had just seen several decades of huge military build ups. Germany, France, Great Britain... all had these enormous armies and navies. It was just a matter of time before they got used.

The Treaty of Versailles (ending WW1) was a real ***** for the Germans. The allies were not at all accommodating… and it left Germany in economic shambles. At one time, it cost a million Deutsch Marks to mail a letter. The Great Depression that began in the US in 1929 spread across the Atlantic and just added to the misery in Germany. So when the Nazis came along, they had a nation that was ripe for the picking. They offered jobs and a revival of nationalism. In fact, Hitler and the Nazis were very popular… but then again, no one knew than that they were only a few years from yet another war.

The German people are a very good, industrious people.

Answer 5

It actually dates back the the Reformation. There isa concept in German called "Sonderweg" or Unique path. Basically when the other European countries were forming and figuring all nationalism stuff out, there was a religious war raging in Germany. Because of this Germany didnt become a country until 1872, and they held on to their monarchy much longer. This has been attributed with many of the developmental problems Germany faced in those years, since It was the only country to do it that way they had no model as other countries did.

Answer 6

Germany was not particularly aggressive. France was much more quarrelsome (think Napoleon, for example). Or even England (think colonies).

Actually, it was Austria-Hungaria who declared war first. But because of alliances, it involved many countries in Europe - and then America.

As for WW2, it started because of Hitler. Nazism was one of the reasons. Hitler wanted a bigger Germany and wanted to conquer other territories. The German people had been "humiliated" by WW1 so it helped Hitler gain power.

That's it in a nutshell. But basically, countries in Europe had been trying to get as many military weapons as possible and they were trying to be the most powerful. One century later, it's not America that's trying to do the same. Men will never learn from history.

Answer 7

It goes way farther back then just WWI.
Back to the Roman times. The Germans have been war-like for a very long time. Only until the 20th century has there been a downward trend in their aggression. But it can always make a comeback.

Answer 8

You need to go back and look at what was happening in Europe economically at the time. Often, wars, revolutions, etc., are caused by economic problems.

With WWII, the unfortunate rise of a mad man (Hitler) and all his promises along with his brainwashing them into thinking they were "the superior race", fueled a fire that carried them into a war.

Do a little research on what was going on before the wars started, you may find it interesting reading.

Answer 9

History 101: Attila the Hun .seems Rome wanted there part of the world . Rome tried so they sacked Rome and burned it.anytime you get a leader that wants someone else place and property they will find any excuse to try and take it.France and Napoleon.England and Victoria.Russia and Catherine the great so on so

Answer 10

It's horrible to just think Germans started 2 wars. You can't classify the entire country as agressive just because of a war started by it's leaders. That's completely unfair.