The kaiser was visiting and trying to obtain free trade for Germany and equal rights with other countries. Next we move onto the Kaiser's arrogance which created the 1st Moroccan Crisis in 1905. It is time, high time, that we make it clear in our own minds what stance we have to take and how we need to prepare ourselves in the face of the processes taking place around us which carry the seeds within them for the restructuring of power relationships for the unforeseeable future." He concluded with "In the coming century the German people will be a hammer or an anvil." The excerpts from the speech which illustrate best the arrogant sentiment are as follows."We don't want to step on the toes of any foreign power, but at the same time we don't want our own feet trampled by any foreign power and we DON'T INTEND to be shoved aside by any foreign power, not in political nor in economic terms. ![]() On December 11th, 1899 Bernhard von Bulow made his 'Hammer or Anvil' speech before the Reichstag which was to set the general tone for the attitudes of arrogance that Germans were beginning to hold more dear. This is proven by a statement that an Austrian colleague of his, who had been in Paris for a long time had made." Whenever the French begin to forget about revanche, you always remind them of it with a jack-boot." The forementioned remark was made in regards to Germany's enigmatic Morocco Policy which was in a nutshell (it had given rise to the suspicion that Germany didn't know what she wanted, or that it was their object to keep Europe on the qui vive, and, when the opportunity offered, to humiliate France). THIS POLICY CREATED AN ATMOSHPERE OF UNEASINESS WHICH WE OFTEN TOOK TO BE HOSTILITY, AND SO WE DEVELOPED OUR 'COALITION NIGHTMARE' (Central Powers). ![]() ![]() Why do I think that Germany is reponsible? In brief I will try to point this out.įirst of all the German diplomacy of 1870 to 1914 was one of sentimental politics, not Realpolitik: Lichnowsky wrote "instead of a clear-cut program taking power relations as well as the interests and feelings of our neighbors and fellow men into account, and calculating the effect produced on them by our attitudes, we (Germany) have indulged in trials of strength and successes that flattered our vanity, trying to intimidate and impress the our neighbors by threats, occasional digs in the ribs, and empty bragging. However this one is for Jeni, Axel, and Horrido, who would like to shift the blame for WW1 from Germany to everyone that was affected by it. John rohl for the usage of his title for this thread.
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