LateInTheAfternoon t1_ja48bq6 wrote
Reply to comment by calijnaar in Treaty of Versailles being ‘too harsh’ by -Mothman_
>What exactly do you consider the "myth of the War Guilt Clause"?
I consider it to be the myth that the allies solely blamed Germany for the war.
The innovation was that the allies put all the blame on the central powers which said central powers understandably might have issues with. Now, if the argument concerning the War Guilt Clause brought up in this discussion had stuck to the "the central powers were blamed for the war" interpretation all would be fine and I wouldn't complain but instead this was said:
>the “War Guilt Clause” - it’s easier to see how this would’ve enraged Germany when you consider the fact that it wasn’t “just Germany” that caused World War I.
calijnaar t1_ja4exl8 wrote
Yes, this is obviously incorrect, the other central powers were blamed as well. And there was certainly enough blame to go around. However, it's not really surprising that this was contentitious (mainly for the central powers, for obvious reasons), because while it is certainly true that Austria-Hungary backed by Germany (or instigated by Germany, depending on interpretations) very much provoked the outbreak of war, it is also true that the Allied powers seemed far from opposed to the idea of fighting a war against the central powers (at least until the full horror of a large scale modern war became apparent).
And while it is technically true that the allies did not solely blame Germany in the peace treaties but included Germany's allies as well, the Allied reply to the German delegation in 1919 certainly seems to put the blame almost eclusively on Germany
Doctor_Impossible_ t1_ja4w579 wrote
>it is also true that the Allied powers seemed far from opposed to the idea of fighting a war against the central powers
So the Allied powers wanted to fight rather than just immediately surrender when invaded?
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