The seven deadly sins of the German Empire in the First World War

The seven deadly sins of the German Reich in World War I is a book by the author Sebastian Haffner , first edition 1964 (Hamburg Nannen Press).

In this book, Haffner analyzes what, in his opinion, were the most significant mistakes made by the German government at the time with regard to World War I. Haffner wrote the book in 1964, exactly 50 years after the beginning of the First World War . With his polemic, Haffner intervened in the controversy surrounding Fritz Fischer's theses in 1964 . His motivation for the book was that, in his opinion, Germany “couldn't cope with the outcome of the First World War” even after such a long time .

The seven deadly sins

1. The turning away from Bismarck
2. The Schlieffen Plan (England is drawn into the war)
3. Belgium and Poland or the escape from reality
4. The Unrestrained Submarine War (America Getting Drawn In The War)
5. Playing with the world revolution and the Bolshevikization of Russia
6. Brest-Litovsk or the botched last chance
7. The real stab in the back (handling defeat after the war is over)

literature

• Sebastian Haffner: The seven deadly sins of the German Empire in the First World War , revised and expanded version of the first edition, Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2001, ISBN 3-7857-2077-7 . (no longer available). New edition: Anaconda, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-7306-0135-8 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Volker Ullrich: Meister der Pointe , Die Zeit No. 52 / December 19, 2007