To what extent can Germany be held responsible for causing the two World Wars? Discuss critically. (UPSC 2015)

Germany played a major, but not exclusive, role in both World Wars. Its policies turned crises into wider wars, yet the wider European system, rivalries and failures of diplomacy also mattered.

• World War I: Germany gave Austria-Hungary a “blank cheque” in July 1914, backed naval expansion and the Schlieffen Plan, and invaded Belgium. However, alliance blocs, militarism and Russian mobilisation also helped spread the conflict.
• World War II: Nazi Germany was the chief aggressor. Hitler pursued Lebensraum, remilitarised the Rhineland, annexed Austria, dismantled Czechoslovakia and invaded Poland. Yet Versailles, economic distress, weak League enforcement and appeasement created fertile ground.

Thus, Germany bears the greatest direct responsibility, especially for World War II, but it cannot be held solely responsible for either war. Both wars were products of German aggression and broader European failures.