History course work- To what extent Germany was responsible for the outbreak of ww1

I'm currently researching a debate for my A-level History coursework and I want to base it around Germanys contributions to the outbreak of WW1. I have found a fair few Historians that I can use to support my debate, all with differing interpretations, however I just don't know if they are strong enough and which ones to choose (or whether there are more that I could use in replacement).
The Historians I have so far are...
Fischer- argues that the war was solely caused by German aggression + argues that it was due to German foreign policy and German domestic tension
AJP Taylor- argues the cause was pan-European mobilisation contest and that no one particularly wanted war, however mobilised quickly as a deterrent.
McMeekin- argues that Russia was mostly to blame for the outbreak of WW1. (Would be similar to AJP Taylor due to Russian mobilisation)
Hillgruber- argues the outbreak was due to encirclement- Germany feared this as an alliance of enemies)
I was just wondering if these Historians would be enough to make my debate legible or whether I should reconsider the debate title to a different focus or if there are any Historians that have better interpretations

Reply 1

username6164978

12

Original post by hollyyludlow

I'm currently researching a debate for my A-level History coursework and I want to base it around Germanys contributions to the outbreak of WW1. I have found a fair few Historians that I can use to support my debate, all with differing interpretations, however I just don't know if they are strong enough and which ones to choose (or whether there are more that I could use in replacement).
The Historians I have so far are...
Fischer- argues that the war was solely caused by German aggression + argues that it was due to German foreign policy and German domestic tension
AJP Taylor- argues the cause was pan-European mobilisation contest and that no one particularly wanted war, however mobilised quickly as a deterrent.
McMeekin- argues that Russia was mostly to blame for the outbreak of WW1. (Would be similar to AJP Taylor due to Russian mobilisation)
Hillgruber- argues the outbreak was due to encirclement- Germany feared this as an alliance of enemies)
I was just wondering if these Historians would be enough to make my debate legible or whether I should reconsider the debate title to a different focus or if there are any Historians that have better interpretations

I’m guessing you’re talking about the supporting arguments for one of your three interps (I did edexcel I don’t know if you are doing the same?) These do sound good- there will be some relative cross over between them, but this is ok.

For your different overall historians, make sure the historians are writing from different political stances/ experiences etc, , and are not all the same in this respect.

Also, you will want 2 of your interpretations/historians to be weak anyway, so if you 2 weaker historians that disagree with your argument, this is good. For instance, choose 2 that, although convincing, have certain political views/ experiences which may hinder their interpretation and make it less convincing.

I don’t know if this helps? I completed my history coursework a few months ago and got 40/40, so hopefully I’m writing from a position of experience. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask :smile:

Reply 2

mazzystar44

6

I did this exact question for my coursework and got 39/40. It sounds like you’re starting off strong, I did Fischer and would definitely recommend using him as one of your main historians. I essentially just argued that he focuses excessively on Germany’s role while ignoring the role of British aggression and the issues in the Balkans. I also did Niall Ferguson who primarily blames British foreign policy, Ferguson is definitely a good one to do because his view contrasts so strongly with most other historians on the topic. Christopher Clark is also an easy historian to use because he takes into account a huge number of factors and concludes that no one country/factor was entirely at fault for the war. Good luck with your coursework!

History course work- To what extent Germany was responsible for the outbreak of ww1

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