CLASHING SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
ON “SOCIAL IMPERIALISM” IN
WILHELMIAN GERMANY
The most powerful Marxist case was argued in the 1960s &
‘70s by FRITZ FISCHER: The “barons of rye and steel”
resorted to ever more ambitious schemes for expansion
abroad to forestall democratization at home.
The “Bielefeld School” inspired by Max Weber (Hans-Ulrich
Wehler, Jürgen Kocka) sees the emergence of “antidemocratic pluralism” after 1890. The government floated
Imperialist arguments to sway elections, but then saw the
Imperialist pressure groups take on a life of their own.
Conservative German historians such as Andreas Hillgruber
argue that foreign policy decisions resulted from genuine
national security concerns. Even they emphasize warped
perceptions by German leaders and flaws in Bismarck’s
constitution that hampered rational decision-making.
France & Russia allied in 1894,
but Germany was allied to Austria and Italy
The “Schlieffen Plan” vs. “Plan XVII”
Many Germans sympathized with the Boer Republics
when Britain declared war on them in 1899
The British Army crosses the Zand River on May 10, 1900;
450,000 British troops fought in the Boer War
Great Britain and
France signed the
Entente cordiale
in April 1904 to
resolve their colonial
disputes in Africa
After France
reached
agreement with
Spain and Britain
that it could
occupy Morroco,
Chancellor Bülow
persuaded the
vacationing Kaiser
to land his yacht in
Tangier in March
1905.
IN THE FIRST MOROCCO CRISIS, GERMANY’S
PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMATS RESPONDED IN A CLUMSY
WAY TO A GENUINE NATIONAL SECURITY PROBLEM
Russia had just suffered catastrophic defeat by Japan,
and the German general staff urged that this opportunity
be seized for a “preventive war” against France.
The German Foreign Office judged that France would
feel compelled to retreat in Morocco and would learn
that its new Entente cordiale with Britain was worthless.
It never intended to go to war.
Great Britain offered France vigorous support in this
crisis, however, as did Spain, Italy, and the USA, so
Germany was compelled to accept a French protectorate
over the coastal region of Morocco.
The H.M.S. Dreadnought, launched in 1906:
It carried ten 12-inch guns and cruised at 20 m.p.h.
The Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907
nurtured fear of “encirclement” in Berlin
Austria-Hungary
was Germany’s
only reliable ally.
Proportion of
Germans in
Austria:
33%.
Proportion of
Magyars in
Hungary: 54%.
AUSTRIA HOODWINKED RUSSIA IN THE
BOSNIAN ANNEXATION CRISIS OF 1908
Count Aehrenthal, Austrian
Alexander Izvolsky, Russian
foreign minister, 1906-12
foreign minister, 1906-10
They met
secretly in
Moravia on
Sep. 16,
1908
The Reichstag debates the political role of the Kaiser
during the “Daily Telegraph Affair,” November 1908
The new Chancellor Theobold von Bethmann Hollweg and his
predecessor Bülow in 1909. This expert on social policy
promoted détente both with Great Britain and the SPD.
Bethmann Hollweg believed that real success at raising living
standards offered the best hope to influence voters:
“German Social Insurance Is an Unparalleled Example
for the Whole World” (1913)
In 1911 a
new
health
insurance
program
was
organized
for whitecollar
workers.
Weltpolitik and Public Opinion:
Imperialist Pressure Groups
(see Blackbourn, pp. 321-28)
 The Pan-German League: founded in 1891, growing to
20,000 members, led by Heinrich Class.
 The German League for the Eastern Marches
(Hakatisten): 220,000 members dedicated to the
suppression of Polish culture.
 The Colonial Society: 40,000 members
 The Navy League: over 1,000,000 members
…The Bülow Government nurtured their growth, but they
developed a populist dynamic and formulated their own
demands.
The Second Morocco Crisis of 1911 revealed
the influence of the Imperialist pressure groups
In April 1911 the German Foreign Secretary, Alfred von
Kiderlen-Wächter, arranged a secret meeting with
Heinrich Class of the Pan-German League to urge him
to demand a more aggressive foreign policy as the best
hope to weaken the SPD in the next Reichstag election.
In June 1911 tribal uprisings compelled French troops
to occupy Fez in violation of the 1906 accord on the
limits of the French protectorate. Bethmann Hollweg
was on vacation, but Kiderlen-Wächter approached the
Kaiser directly to secure approval for the German
occupation of the port of Agadir.
SMS Panther, the German gunboat that sailed into Agadir
harbor on July 1, 1911. The German press hailed
“the Panther’s Leap.” “At last a deed!” one headline declared.
The German government alleged that France had excluded
German business interests from Morocco, but more German
capital was invested in the “French” mining consortium than in
the purely German one denied access….
THE SECOND MOROCCO CRISIS RESULTED IN
ANOTHER DIPLOMATIC DEFEAT FOR GERMANY
After the British government publicly threatened to go to
war if Germany attacked France, Germany agreed to give
France a free hand in Morocco in exchange for the transfer
of some jungle land to German Cameroon.
During these negotiations, the new Army Chief of Staff,
Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, wrote his wife as
follows: “If we again slip away from this affair with our tail
between our legs, and if we cannot bring ourselves to put
forward a determined claim which we are prepared to
force through with the sword, I shall despair of the future
of the German Empire. I shall then resign. But before
handing in my resignation, I shall move to abolish the
Army and to place ourselves under Japanese protectorate;
we shall then be in a position to make money without
interference and develop into ninnies.”
Chancellor Theobold von
Bethmann Hollweg (1909-17)
Helmuth von Moltke the
Younger (1906-14)
Bethmann Hollweg firmly rejected Moltke’s argument for
“preventive war”
Bethmann Hollweg sought a naval arms limitation agreement
with Britain, and Lord Richard Haldane arrived in Berlin in
February 1912, authorized to propose the following bargain:
1. Fundamental. Naval superiority recognized as
essential to Great Britain. Present German naval
program and expenditure not to be increased, but if
possible retarded and reduced.
2. England sincerely desires not to interfere with
German Colonial expansion. To give effect to this she
is prepared forthwith to discuss whatever the German
aspirations in that direction may be. England will be
glad to know that there is a field or special points
where she can help Germany.
3. Proposals for reciprocal assurances debarring either
power from joining in aggressive designs or
combinations against the other would be welcome.
BUT ADMIRAL TIRPITZ SECURED THE
ANNOUNCEMENT OF A MAJOR INCREASE IN GERMAN
NAVAL CONSTRUCTION AS HALDANE ARRIVED
A genuine international crisis erupted in October 1912 with
the First Balkan War. Major victories by Russia’s ally Serbia
threatened disaster for Austria….
The atmosphere of crisis enhanced Moltke’s influence
(shown here observing the annual army maneuvers with
Wilhelm II in 1912), and he and the Kaiser assumed the
worst in their “War Council” on December 8, 1912
But Bethmann’s diplomacy SUCCEEDED at the
London Ambassadors’ Conference of December 1912,
which agreed to create Albania to limit Serbia’s growth.
The territorial
settlement of the
Second Balkan
War in 1913, and
the grievances of
Serb and
Rumanian
nationalists
DIPLOMATIC CRISES IN EUROPE, 1898-1914
1898: German Navy Bill adopted, ostensible based on Tirpitz’s
“theory of risk.”
1905: Germany provokes the First Morocco Crisis to disrupt
the Entente cordiale (i.e., not for political reasons).
1908: Austria provokes the Bosnian Annexation Crisis.
1911: Germany provokes the Second Morocco Crisis, mostly
for political reasons.
1912/13: Fierce debate between the German civil and military
authorities, following the Kaiser’s “War Council.”
June 1913: Bethmann Hollweg persuades the SPD to support
a tax bill to finance army expansion.
May 1914: News of an Anglo-Russian naval convention
weakens the arguments against “preventive war.”
Franz Ferdinand and his wife leave for the hospital to visit
their wounded aide, Sarajevo, June 28, 1914
Gavrilo Princip of
the “Black Hand”
assassinates
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his
wife in Sarajevo,
Bosnia, on
June 28, 1914
THE ARREST OF GAVRILO PRINCIP
CHRONOLOGY OF THE JULY CRISIS OF 1914
June 28
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in
Sarajevo
July 5/6
Hoyos Mission to Berlin; Germany issues a
“blank check” to Austria to attack Serbia
July 23
Austrian ultimatum to Serbia
July 28
Austria declares war on Serbia
July 29
Austria shells Belgrade; Sir Edward Grey
threatens British intervention for the first time
July 30
Russia orders general mobilization
July 31
Germany issues 12-hour ultimatum to Russia
Aug 1
Schlieffen Plan implemented
THE CENTRAL POWERS VS. THE ALLIES IN WORLD WAR I