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Royal cousins, German Emperor or Kaiser Wilhelm II (left) and King George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, went to war.
As nations gear up to mark 100 years since the start of World War One, academic argument still rages over which country was to blame for the conflict.
Education Secretary for England Michael Gove’s recent criticism of how the causes and consequences of the war are taught in schools has only stoked the debate further.
Here 10 leading historians give their opinion.
Sean McMeekin – assistant professor of history at Koc University, Istanbul
Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France, Britain and Serbia
It is human nature to seek simple, satisfying answers, which is why the German war guilt thesis endures today.
Without Berlin’s encouragement of a strong Austro-Hungarian line against Serbia after Sarajevo – the “blank cheque” – WW1 would clearly not have broken out. So Germany does bear responsibility.
But it is equally true that absent a terrorist plot launched in Belgrade the Germans and Austrians would not have faced this terrible choice. Civilian leaders in both Berlin and Vienna tried to “localise” conflict in the Balkans. It was Russia’s decision – after Petersburg received its own “blank cheque” from Paris – to Europeanise the Austro-Serbian showdown which produced first a European and then – following Britain’s entry – world conflagration. Russia, not Germany, mobilised first.
The resulting war, with France and Britain backing Serbia and Russia against two Central Powers, was Russia’s desired outcome, not Germany’s. Still, none of the powers can escape blame. All five Great Power belligerents, along with Serbia, unleashed Armageddon.
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