The Great War and the Origins of Contemporary Ideology

Abstract

The historical rupture that resulted from the Great War of 1914–1918 and its refraction throughout the twentieth century have been more controversial in Germany than elsewhere. At the beginning of the century the German nation, only recently unified under Bismarck, had rapidly become a leading force of modernity in every arena. Material progress underpinned by scientific creativity was quickly translated into technology; the new industries in turn favored the emergence of a new middle class while the state took responsibility for the well-being of those in need as well as those who came to work in the giant new factories. National self-affirmation was evident also in the growing power of the army and especially its professional officer corps (its “General Staff”), as well as in the growth of maritime power accompanied by new colonial ambitions. Reflecting on what had been, the distinguished American historian Fritz Stern recently recalled the observation of Raymond Aron, who had foreseen the rise of “a German Century.”1 Alas, the four grinding years of the Great War transformed the dream into a nightmare, and the history of the war lent itself to a politicization that became the incubator of different and opposed ideologies.