CHAPTER THREE: World War I

Using the Perspectives

Source: Winter, Jay. "The Kaiser is a mystery." PBS The Great War http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/historian/hist_winter_03_kaiser.html

At the link above, historian Jay Winter analyzes the role Kaiser Wilhelm played in World War I. According to Winter many treat Wilhelm as a buffoon or regarded as clownish but argues that there is more to him than that. He was "hypersensitive, extremely mercurial in temperament, and who took it upon himself to make judgments about very serious political issues, in hysterical terms." Winter notes that by reading some of his correspondence one might think he was mentally disturbed, but despite his apparent mental state he had a confidence, prestige and authority and therefore "he was able to do was to establish a figurehead position within German society in a way to allow the conservative forces to withstand the pressure from below, which was building up over thirty years."

1.  What level of analysis is Winter using? Does this change your perspective regarding why WWI started?
     

The historian, Winter, argues that too much attention has been given to Kaiser as the scapegoat for the disaster that turned into WWI. He had authority but not a lot of power and the political system was, in fact, out of control.

Winter writes, "He was a symbol of a political system that was out of control. There was no one authority that actually could operate, even though the law said that he was it. So, when the time came for major decisions to make, you both have a vision that the Kaiser's hysterical, and that he makes the decisions. The answer is probably both, and neither, because the real core of the German Empire is the army and the navy. They run the show before the First World War behind the scenes. They run it during the war from the Front."

2.  What other levels of analysis does Winter address? Which do you believe is the most appropriate in terms of understanding the      causes of World War I?
     

3.  Identify the perspective(s) is he using and provides support for you response.