to what extent can Germany be held responsible for world war 1 and 2?

Question

What were the problems in world war 1 and 2, what did Germany do to cause some of these problems?
This is for my History project can someone please help me..

Answer 1

Germany I don't think was any more responsible than any of the other major powers for starting WW I. They were just honoring their alliance with Austria-Hungary when they joined the war. Colonial expansionism was a factor in that war but all of the major powers again were guilty of that. WWII they definitely had a major amount of blame for, but not all of it. The way the winners of WW I treated defeated Germany did allot to set the stage for the hate and feeling of need for vengeance to take hold. You need look no further for proof of this than to note that when Hitler defeated France in 1940, he had the original train car used in Versaile where they Germans were made to surrender to the allies used again to have the French have a taste of the humiliation that they were put through.

Answer 2

Germany Was Pretty Much Entirely Innocent As A Matter Of Fact. The Only Reason School's Today Brainwash Us That Germany Was The Big 'Baddy' Who Was Always Greedy For Power And Expansion, Thus Starting A War Was Because A). The 'Allies' Won And Could Make Up Whatever They Wanted, And B). The Real Reason Was Because The Serbian's And Austrian's Had Been Neck To Neck For Centuries Back, So When Serbia Boldly Assasinated Austria's Leader There Was Bound To Be A Consiquence. Thus Austria Soon After Declared War On Serbia, Pulling In Germany Because It Was Austria's Brotherly Friend And Sworn Ally - Just Like Britain And America. Serbia Was Allied With Russia And France At The Time And Britain Didn't Really Have Much Of A Reason To Join Except For Wanting To Stay The Supreme Power (Which The Germans 'Threatened' When They Started Up A Navy). Thus When The War Was Won To The 'Allies' Simply For Having More Manpower Really, Germany Was Immidiately The One Held Responsible Because They Were The Only Ones Who Were Of Any Influence In Europe Apart From Britain. To Ensure Germany Remained Down In The Mud The 'Treaty Of Versailles' Was Implemented, In Which The Loser's Countries Were; Greatly Reduced In Size (Obviously The Richest And Most Fertile Land Was Taken), Almost No Army Was Allowed, And Staggeringly High War Debts Were Demanded To Rebuild All The Damage "They" Had Done. The Real Fact Is It Was Actually The 'Allies' Who Started WW1 For The Sake Of Power, And Later Blamed It All On Germany Beause They Could, And Because Obviously Didn't Want People To Learn The Actual Truth Behind The Whole War (Infact To This Day It's Still Lied About In School's etc To Ensure The Truth Doesn't Get Revealed To The Public). Life Is Unfair!!

Answer 3

They could be held responsible to a great extent. For WW1, Austria would not have gone to war had Germany not given her a 'blank cheque', promising to come to her aid, no matter what. Also, Germany invaded Belgium which pulled the British into the war and sank the Lousitana which brought the USA in. Germany also wanted to fight Russia because they were afraid that Russian power was rising and it was better to fight her then than when she became stronger.

Germny created tensions in Europe in her quest for her overseas empire to match that of the French and the British. They also rapidly built up their navy which alarmed Britain, which was then the preeminent sea power.

For WW2, it was Hitler's insatiable appetitte for territory (what he called 'living space') that led him to invade Poland. This brought Britain and France into the war. If he had been satisfied with just taking Austria and Czechoslovakia, it wouldn't have led to war. Hitler miscalculated, thinking that France and Britain will not resist him if he took Poland. He was actually not that prepared for war in 1939. he thought Germany would be ready in 1945.

Hitler invaded Russia to gain her natural resources, take living space and enslave the Slav people to work for the Aryans.

All in all, Germany was to a great extent responsible for starting both wars. Although you could argue that the Treaty of Versaiiles was too harsh, Germany had already overturned many of the provisions in the treaty by 1939. She had her territory back and was no longer weak militarily or economically.

Answer 4

Germany was not responsible at all for World War One. They were allied with Austria, and when Austria invaded Serbia, England and France etc. declared war in support of their serbian ally. Since Germany had an alliance with Austria, they declared war in return and the whole thing blew up in everyone's face.

World War Two was a different matter, the Germans started that one all on their own, at least the European part.