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The argument on the responsibility Germany should take for the outbreak of the war began with the charge of war guilt, given in the Treaty of Versailles. Germany rejected article 231 and campaigned against it successfully, and before Fritz Fischer’s theories in the 1960’s, it was widely regarded that Germany were not the sole blame for the outbreak of WW1 in 1914. Source 1 is by Gordon Corrigan in his book “Mud, Blood and Poppycock”. Published in 2003, it refers to Germany’s “unconditional Support” to Austria Hungary, using this as a way to back up their responsibility for the beginning of the war. Corrigan makes reference to Fischer, arguing that it was not necessarily just the German leaders responsible for the outbreak of war, but their overall aggressive foreign policy. Source 2 by L.F.C Turner, “The origins of the First World War” published in 1970, supports source 1 in claiming that it was the free license Germany gave Austria Hungary through the “Blank Cheque” that played a key role in the war starting. In contrast, source 3 “The Origins of the First World War” by James Joll in 1984, goes against source 1. Joll refers to the involvement of other countries, in particular Britain. Source 2 does agree to an extent, citing other countries also.
Corrigan in Source 1 uses Fischer’s views as the base of his argument, agreeing with him throughout, claiming that Germany’s foreign policy was “focused on annexation”. Such foreign policy was given the name Weltpolitik, which aimed to transform Germany into a global power through aggressive diplomacy. Corrigan also alludes to the German aggression shown prior to the outbreak of war, referring to the Schlieffen Plan of 1906, whilst it would also be correct to put Germany’s Blank Cheque to Austria Hungary in the same bracket. Source 2 also refers to this, and agrees that they were devised out of aggression. Although, it could be argued that it was more for defence against the surrounding countries due to the Triple...