Hello,
what i learned at school in Germany during the 1970ies was indeed that "we" started all major wars, and certainly were guilty of all war crimes ever committed.
Everyone even asking would be instantly declared as revanchistic and ultra-right - which in Germany simply means nationalistic and Nazi. It simply was and is a big "No" touching those themes.
As well Germany was (and often still is) equated with Prussia, which is certainly wrong since 1872, when Prussia became one state within numerous others. As well major parts of the former "Prussia" are now Poland.
It is as someone else mentioned, that WW2 and the atrocities against the so-called inferior races as well as concentration camps had blurred the view at the historical happenings before the 3rd Reich, and made all additional propaganda seem right -as if this additional propaganda would not even have been superfluous after what had happened alone from 1933-45 ... in that way we can "thank" Hitler for the view the world had and has towards Germany.
Who started the war ... the situation in Europe resembled a powder keg, and the assassination in Sarajevo ignited the spark. From a technical point of view it was Austro-Hungary, but this monarchy did not intend to fight anyone else than Serbia, which alone was certainly wrong enough.
It is just that the causes for England to join the war at France's side were not so unselfish as it seems. They did not like to have another nation join the "exclusive club" of colonial powers (England, France, Belgium), and the armament of the german fleet who had just become the second largest fleet after the UK's posed a threat on the seven seas, even if "Britannia..." still "...ruled the waves".
Indeed William 2nd intended to use the fleet internationally for securing the colonies, and german warships like the "Emden" and "Nuernberg" helped smash riots overseas - as other colonial powers certainly also had, and did.
Greetings,
Catfish
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