One of the reasons I wanted to read Christopher Clark’s epic book The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to war in 1914 was its rampant popularity in Germany. Why, when Germany is keeping the 2014 centenary fairly low key, is a detailed history book such as this so popular there?
Well, one reason is that the book explains the complexity of events, relationships, myths, commitments and errors that led to the bloodbath, and makes it clear what Germany’s role actually was. To put it really simply: how did Austria’s need for revenge against Serbia for the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife turn into a wider conflict that killed millions and ended up with the blame being pinned solely on Germany. This is Clark’s question, too. The Treaty of Versailles reads differently in the light of this treatment. Clark says:
We need to distinguish between the objective factors…
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