Fischer, Ritter and Jarausch:Debate over World War One War-Guilt

Fritz Fischer, Gerhard Ritter and Konrad H. Jarausch have each written on the topic of World War One regarding the nature of Germany’s involvement. Fischer holds Germany undeniably responsible for the Great War while Ritter, seems to be responding emotionally to Fischer’s essay. He denounces Fischer’s assertions arguing that Germany acted diplomatically and that Fischer is guilty of ‘thesis history’. Jarausch’s paper took a more balanced view; he considers arguments from both ends of the spectrum. Fischer, Ritter and Jarausch differ in their interpretations of the many correspondences that took place between members of political and military influences during the war with particular consideration payed to the German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. I will attempt to argue that Fischer’s thesis is essentially correct. Ritter fails to prove, in my view, Fischer’s paper an example of ‘thesis history’. Instead, he succeeds only in expressing his emotional respo...