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Over fifty years ago the German historian Fritz Fischer published his famous book Germany's Aims in the First World War. It departed from the established consensus that many countries and governments had a shared responsibility for the outbreak of the war, and put the onus primarily on Germany. The book initiated a fierce international debate which Fischer seems to have mostly won. By the middle of the 1970s many of his controversial positions had becomemainstream. More recent research, however, started to question this consensus again. Many scholars moved away from focusing on the responsibility of individual countries or politicians and turned to the complex structures and mechanisms of the international system. How does this 'systemic' perspective alter theimportance Fischer's findings and interpretations?This volume brings together the latest research by many of the most prominent historians of the First World War from a wide range of countries and it presents the most important trends and results of recent international scholarship, frequently based on new archival findings unavailable to Fischer at the time. By concentrating on key controversial areas of his arguments and asking which of his assumptions and interpretations still stand the test of new research, the essays in this book providean excellent and focused overview of the complex history of the outbreak of the war. However, they also demonstrate that no clear new consensus has emerged so far regarding a comprehensive explanation for what still has to be seen as the 'great seminal catastrophe' of the twentieth century (G. F.Kennan).
About the author
Andreas Gestrich, Prof. Dr., geboren 1952, Historiker, lehrt neuere Geschichte an der Universität Trier und ist derzeit Direktor des Deutschen Historischen Instituts London. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Sozial- und Religionsgeschichte sowie historische Friedensforschung.
Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann; Jahrgang 1938; lehrt seit 1966 Europäische Geschichte an britischen, amerikanischen, deutschen und afrikanischen Universitäten; Professor of Modern History an der Universität Oxford/England. Zahlreiche Veröffentlichungen zum europäischen Imperialismus, zur deutschen Kolonialgeschichte, zur Vorgeschichte des Ersten Weltkriegs und zu den deutsch-sowjetischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen 1917 und 1941.
Summary
This volume takes a fresh look at the outbreak of the First World War, fifty years after Fritz Fischer's controversial Germany's Aims in the First World War. It collects the latest research by prominent scholars, frequently based on new archival findings. The essays provide an excellent overview of the complex history of the outbreak of the war.
