WHY GERMANY WANTED WAR
It would be impossible to make a list of all the causes which led
Germany from time to time to take such action as would tend to force war
on one or another of the nations of Europe. For besides questions of
national honor or of national rights there were the writings of German
philosophers, historians, and scientists, a great majority of whom
maintained that war was a necessity if men were to continue to live in
large groups or societies. These writers were chiefly Prussian, but
Prussia, including more than half of Germany, dominated the rest of the
empire through the organization of its government. The following
paragraphs present what seem to be the chief reasons why Germany, and
especially Prussia, wanted war.
WAR AS A PROFITABLE BUSINESS.--According to those German writers there
are two results from a successful war. First, the victors take more or
less territory from the vanquished; second, the victors may demand a
large sum of money, called an indemnity, from the defeated people, who
thus have to pay their conquerors for having taken the trouble to defeat
them.
In both of these instances the result is advantageous to the winner of
the war, and particularly to the governing class of that nation. Through
the taxes from the new territory more money flows into the national
treasury, and a great many new officials must be appointed. These, of
course, for many years are appointed by the rulers of the victorious
nation. Besides this not only do we find new markets opened up for the
manufacturers and merchants, but the conquered territory frequently
contains great stores of raw materials. In both cases the goods can now
pass to and fro without the drawbacks of possible embargoes or import
taxes which interfere with the freedom of trade. This is well
illustrated by the results of the seizure of part of Lorraine by Germany
from France in 1870. Lorraine contains great stores of coal and iron
ore. These Germany wanted. So that part of Lorraine was demanded which
would give to Germany rich mines of coal and iron. Some other ore
deposits, which could not be easily utilized, she left to France. Not
long afterwards a new process for making iron was discovered which made
the French deposits more valuable than those Germany had taken.
Undoubtedly one of the reasons for the present war was that Germany
wished to increase her national wealth by seizing the iron mines that
had become so valuable.
Many times before 1870 the Prussians had made large gains, in the way of
increased territory and prestige, by means of war. It was the boast of
many Prussian kings that each one of them had added to the lands over
which he ruled. In almost every instance this increase was due to a
successful war, enabling the king of Prussia to seize territory which
did not belong to him.
The indemnity which may be collected from a conquered nation is also a
source of profit to the conqueror. The money is deposited by the
government in banks, which thus have large sums ready to lend to
manufacturers and merchants who wish to increase their business. The
result of this is a great stimulation of manufactures and commerce. In
the case of Germany, the effect on industry of the $1,000,000,000 of
indemnity which she received from France following the Franco-Prussian
war was so great that Germany was soon manufacturing more than her
people could consume, and German commercial agents spread all over the
globe seeking to find profitable customers for the surplus.
On the other hand, the German leaders have failed to realize that the
destruction of men and materials in war is always a great national loss.
In the case of a long war, the losses from these causes may, even for
the victors, overbalance any advantage which may be secured in the way
of territory or money from the vanquished nation.
GERMANY WANTED LAND FROM HER NEIGHBORS.--The present war was largely
the result of Germany's desire to secure territory. The territory that
was particularly wanted was in a number of different places.
In the first place, Germany coveted the rest of the iron mines which she
had made the mistake (from her point of view) of letting France keep in
1870. These are located along the northeast frontier of France, about
half a dozen miles from the boundary. Germany wanted also the greater
part of Belgium, because it has valuable iron ore deposits, and
especially because it has great deposits of coal. It has been said that
without these mines of Belgian coal and of French iron, which Germany
seized at the very beginning of the war, she would soon have had to give
up the fight.
In the second place, Germany's only ports are on the shallow north
coast, and the channels are intricate and difficult of navigation. These
ports are inconveniently situated for exports from Germany's chief
manufacturing region, the lower Rhine valley. The best ports for western
Germany are Antwerp, in Belgium, and Rotterdam, in Holland. Germany
wanted a port toward the west through which she could more conveniently
reach her customers in North and South America and elsewhere. It is
interesting to notice that the river Scheldt (skelt), on which Antwerp
is situated, passes through Holland on its way to the sea. Even if
Germany secured Belgium this would not give her control of the Antwerp
outlet nor would it give her Rotterdam. It is certain that eventual
domination of Holland was part of Germany's plan.
Germany wanted that part of Russia which was along the Baltic Sea. The
part of Germany adjoining this, called East Prussia, is the stronghold
of the Prussian Junkers, or landed nobility. These people already own
great estates in the Baltic provinces of Russia. Germany wished to
govern this German-owned land and provide a place to which her surplus
population could emigrate and still be in German territory. The Junkers
were especially anxious for this to come about as it would greatly
increase their power in Germany.
"Pan-Germanists" is the name given to a group of German leaders who
aimed especially to bring all German-speaking peoples into the German
Empire. In general, however, the same leaders aimed to bring under
German control all the districts that have been mentioned above,
together with the Balkan states and other lands.
GERMANY WANTED MORE COLONIES.--Germany's commercial expansion came
after most of the world had been divided among the other nations. She
thought she must have more colonies to provide her with raw materials
and to give her markets for some of her surplus manufactures. Other
reasons why Germany wanted colonies were that she might obtain more
food, and that she might establish coaling stations for her navy, so
that it could protect her commerce, especially her food-carrying ships.
As the war has shown, Germany can hardly produce a full supply of food
for her own people.
The easiest way to get colonies seemed to be by making war against some
nation that already possessed them, in the hope that a victorious
Germany could seize the colonies she desired. On the other hand, without
war, she had gained some large colonies and was assured of others in
Africa, and she had secured a prevailing influence over the immense
domains of Turkey in Asia. By 1914 the Germans had more than half
completed a railroad through Turkey to the Persian Gulf, and expected
soon to dominate the eastern trade by the Berlin-Bagdad route.
[Illustration: THE BERLIN-BAGDAD RAILWAY]
GERMANY WANTED "A PLACE IN THE SUN."--Germany was acknowledged to be
the strongest nation in continental Europe. Her position as a world
power, however, was disputed by Great Britain, both by reason of the
latter's control of the sea through her enormous fleet, and by reason of
Great Britain's numerous colonies all over the world. It was galling to
German pride to have to coal her ships at English coaling stations. She
wanted stations of her own. By bringing on a war that would humble
France to the dust and make Belgium a part of Germany, thus giving her a
chance to seize the colonies of France and Belgium, Germany would at
once attain a position in the world's affairs which would enable her to
challenge the power of any nation on earth.
THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.--German thinkers carried to an extreme
the theory of the survival of the fittest. This doctrine teaches that
all living things have reached their present forms through a gradual
development of those qualities which best fit them to live in their
present surroundings. Those that are best adapted live on, and produce a
new generation that are also well fitted to survive. Those that are not
fitted to their surroundings soon give up the struggle and die. The
Germans applied this same belief to nations, and claimed that only those
nations survived that could successfully meet world conditions. They
believed that war was an inevitable world condition, and that that
nation would survive that was best able to fight. They believed in war,
because they believed that just as nature removes the weak animal or
plant by an early death, so the weak nation should pay the penalty of
its weakness by being defeated in war and absorbed by the stronger one.
War would prove which nation was the most nearly perfect. The Germans
had no doubt that this nation was Germany. Acceptance of this belief by
the German people had much to do with bringing on the present war.
GERMANY WANTED TO GERMANIZE THE WORLD.--As a result of the reasoning
outlined in the last paragraph, German writers taught that those things
which were German--their speech, their literature, their religion,
their armies, in short the manners, customs, and thoughts of the
Germans--were the best possible manners, and customs, and thoughts.
These things all taken together are what is meant by _Kultur_
(kool-toor´),--not merely "culture" as the latter word is generally
used.
Since the Germans believed that their _Kultur_ was the highest stage of
human progress, the next step, according to the view of their leaders,
would be to Germanize all the rest of the nations of the earth by
imposing German _Kultur_ upon them. If possible, this was to be brought
about with the consent of the other nations; if not, then it was to be
imposed by force.
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY.--1. Locate Antwerp, Rotterdam,
Hamburg, Bremen, East Prussia, Alsace-Lorraine. 2. Show on an
outline map the regions which Germany desired to control. Who
would have suffered? 3. If all countries adopted the German
idea of war what would be the condition of the world? 4. Has
any nation the right to impose its rule upon another people
because it believes its own ideals are the only true ones?
REFERENCES.--See page 26; also _Conquest and Kultur_
(C.P.I.); _War Cyclopedia_ (C.P.I.), under the headings
"German Military Autocracy" and "Pan-Germanism."