The Second Reich Was The Great War Essay

The loving marriage of Germany and national socialism was not love at first site, instead it was a relationship years in the making. A country so young yet so rich in history by the end the 19th century whose people only looked to embrace the power of their new second Reich. The stars aligned to make the transition from a militaristic government ran my the almighty emperor into a government where the power was in the hands of the pissed off German people. From the years 1871-1933, Germany went from a young country flexing its muscles in World War I to a pit of godless darkness whose people were searching for hope in all the wrong places. National socialism was not what Germany needed but it was a reaction to the times.

The second Reich was

was a result of a young country bolstering its importance in Europe. A strong economy and a growing middle class allowed a new ideology of Woltpolitik (world politics) paving a way for Germans to think of expansions east. An arms race resulted against Britain, from Wilhelm’s perspective this is not a bad thing because the arms race meant that the people of Germany would be more nationalistic in their thoughts. Finally, in 1914 war broke out, the nation was not against this because before WWI battles and wars only lased months. No one had foreseen the bloodshed and anguish brought by the trench warfare and mustard gas. The war effort back in berlin displayed the exhaustion. Yes, they still wanted national power and glory but at what cost. The men had been away for years and meaning that the effort had subsided. In 1918 Wilhelm meets with the allies with the understanding of an inevitable defeat. The conditions which become more significant in the future were the leaving of the Rhineland article 231, this article states the Germany accepts all damages imposed on the other countries. Ultimately, these bring the second Reich to its knees with reparation payments being unpayable and the Rhineland being a major source of industry. The once great up and coming nation seeking power and expansion is now left with the sour taste of defeat. This defeat ended the second Reich and established the Weimar government and they soon learn that this defeat was much easier to