Do people think of Germany as the bad guy in WWI?

[SackOfAllTrades]

<< Do people think of Germany as the bad guy in WWI? >>


personally, I think bullets were the bad guys

 

[IgoByte]

<< I thought the war started in the balkans. I think the Germans sided with the Austrians and the Russians with the Serbs. When Duke Ferdinand what's his name was assassinated by a Serb, everyone took sides and all hell broke loose. >>



The Austro-Hungarian Duke Ferdinand was indeed assassinated by a Serb (Gavrilo Princip) in the Balkans (Sarajevo). I can't figure out exactly why he was assassinated, but I guess some people just got tired of the Austro-Hungarian rule there.
As for that starting WW1, I guess it officially did, but that was just a spark to something that had been building up for a long time.
Now, to the Germans. . .I don't think of the Germans as the bad guys in WW1. It was just a war and people/countries fought for dominance.
As for WW2, the Germans were the bad guys, but in a sense they were much more honorable warriors than some of their allies. The killing of the Jews was terrible and senseless, but was supported by most people in Germany, because Jews were seen as a pest, and centuries of hatred had built up to this. Nothing will justify the Germans' killing of Jews nor anyone else for that matter. As for their allies, you guys should read up on what the Croats (who now have their independent nation, named Croatia) did as German allies during WW2. I'd personally rather have gotten killed by a German than by a Croat. Due to the most recent conflict in the Balkans, all these things about the Croats have been hushed up, but I'm sure that there are still some books out there that will give at least a close representation of what happened.

Just my two cents...

 

[GasX]

<< Germany was in no way the bad guy of the war. They did have to take blame for it though. I would personally blame Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Serbia. If Austria-Hungary hadn't taken part of Serbia, Archduke Ferdinand wouldn't have been shot. Then Russia started mobilizing its troops on the German border, which wasn't exactly the smartest move. >>

FYI - Germany had increased its Gold reserves to the highest levels in history several months prior to the assasination. They wanted an excuse to go to war with France. Were they the bad guy? hard to say, but they were looking for an opportunity to go to war.