Conflicts of the Twentieth Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Conflicts of the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Through World War I, World War II, and the Cold War, the nations of Germany and Japan played critical roles. In the years before World War I, Germany's nationalism reached full tilt. The Germans were proud of their empire, military, and industry. They were keen to defend their empire against others, especially the British, who were shocked to find Germany's industrial output topping their own. In 1905 and 1911, competition for colonies brought France and Germany to the brink of war. Diplomacy prevented the outbreak of war then, but Germany did gain some territory in central Africa (Blum, Cameron, and Barnes, 1970, 320). Militarism in Germany also helped drive the world closer to war. The public viewed war with romantic eyes, and the notion of Social Darwinism suggested that, if a nation could become powerful enough to take what it wanted, then it ought to have it. As nations spent more and more money to create grand fighting machines, it must have seemed almost a shame to them to have no excuse to use them - much like a new yellow belt in a Tae Kwon Do class who is eagerly waiting for the school bully to give him an excuse to practice his martial arts. Germany's army and navy swelled in size to protect its empire and homeland, and other nation's reacted accordingly. Germany's military leadership encouraged aggression. Helmuth von Moltke, a high-ranking strategist, declared, "The German people must be made to see that we have to attack because of enemies' provocation. . . . [W]ar must seem like a deliverance from the great armaments, the financial burdens, the political tensions. . . ." (Snyder, 196 0, 377) Germany's participation in the alliance system also helped create the conflict of World War I. Kaiser William II encouraged Francis Joseph to take a firm stand against Serbia. The alliance system affected the nations of Europe and America, too. What should have been a small, localized conflict turned into a deadly contest between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy on one side, and France and Britain (and eventually the US) on the other side (Unger and Unger, 1990, 257). Germany's role in World War I had direct effects on Americans. Unrestricted submarine warfare by the German's helped draw America into the war. Americans on European vessels such as the Sussex and Lusitania would be killed while crossing the Atlantic. (They had been warned not to cross on those European ships, but this detail is often omitted in our national memory). America would be "threatened" from the south as German leaders encouraged Mexico to launch an attack against the US to regain its land lost in the Mexican-American War. The Zimmerman note sought to bring Mexico into the war. Germany forced America to decide between isolationism and a defense of democracy (Unger and Unger, 1990, 145). Likewise, Germany's role in World War II is hard to overstate. They were well-equipped for war, with plenty of material resources and a new leadership that captured public attention. Taking advantage of political instability and a fear of communism, Hitler speeded the rise of the Nazi Party. Concentrating on the unfairness of the Treaty of Versailles, the Jewish "problem," and a bad