Who started World War I? According to the treaty of Versailles Germany and their allies started the war (document 4)(see fig 1.0). In this essay I will tell you why I think that all of Europe is responsible for the outbreak of World War I. In the essay I will use 6 of the 7 documents in the document-based question and use some outside sources to prove my theories.
             Nationalism was on reason why World War I started. Nationalism is a strong feeling of loyalty to ones own country (Childcraft dictionary). Nationalism was strong in Europe but it was especially strong in France and Germany. Germany was proud of their economic and military strength wile France was one of Europe's leading powers (wh p.694). While nationalism was strong in those two countries they were having a bitter rivalry. The French were still mad at their defeat in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 because their leader Napoleon III was overthrown had they had to accept harsh peace with Germany. The peace treaty said that they (France) had to surrender their provinces of Alsace and Lorraine (see fig. 2.0) and pay a huge sum of money to Germany (wh p.617).
             At the same time in Austria-Hungary they feared nationalism because they worried that Serbia would rebel and be in a different country.
             Meanwhile Russia had a powerful form of nationalism called Pan-Slavism, which stated that all Slavic people shared a common nationality (ce). So Russia as the largest Slavic country stood ready to defend Serbia (wh p.695).
             In the Ottoman empire they feared Serbia and Russia because Serbia was aggressive and they also dreamed of having their own south slave state (wh p.695), and Russia over the past years was decreasing the ottoman empires borders by invading them and they wanted revenge for that (ce).
             Another factor that helped cause World War I was the economic and imperial rivalries (document 5).
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