Schlieffen Plan DBQ Kewen Mao 1. a.

Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany is rejecting the idea that German citizens can be content with peace. By stating that peace is not a part of German life, Wilhelm endorsees the philosophy that German citizens should embrace war. He deems that only through war may Germany establish itself as a Great Power such as the ranks of England and France; and prosper as a nation. Unspoken in the statement is also Wilhelms desire for Germany to expand as an empire by utilizing war to enlarge their territory. b. The political cartoon reveals how the allied viewed the invasion of German forces into neutral Belgium in August 1914. In the cartoon an older male is threatening a young boy with a much larger stick because he wants to pass the fence labeled thoroughfare. The old man has a string of sausages which symbolizes Germany; while the boy is wearing clogs which is symbolic of Belgian culture. Belgians representation through the frail looking boy with the small stick contrasts with Germanys large weapon and menacing stature and shows the prevalent allied conception that Germany unjustly threatened a weak (military strength wise) country to further their own agenda. By depicting Germany in such a way, the artist portrays the idea that allied forces, namely England, must stand up for Belgium against the bully that is Germany by declaring war on Germany. 2. -Sources C and D both support the fact that Belgium declined Germany entry to France on account of its neutrality. -Both source C and D show Germanys adamant insistence that France planned to attack Germany through Belgium. -The type of communication that the two sources utilize are very different as source C is of letters between the two countries, leading to delays between messages, whereas source D is of a conversation between the diplomats and allows for instant responses. -Time span of the sources also differ since source C ranges from August 2 to August 3 over a period of a day while source D consists of about an hour of conversation. -Belgiums tone in both sources is perplexed at Germanys requests but firm in its portrayal of France as a noble country that respects Belgiums neutrality. -Plausibility of source C is more so as it is a hard copy of official government documents whereas source D is a recollection of a conversation and the German officials words may have been exaggerated negatively due to the Belgian ministers anger over Germanys invasion of Belgium. 3. -The origin of source C is a letter from the German Ambassador Herr von Below Saleske to M. Davignon, Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs on August 2, 1914 and a reply from the Belgian Minister to Germany on August 3, 1914. -The purpose of the first letter in source C was for Germany to try and convince Belgium to allow Germany access to France and avoid risking the entrance of Belgiums ally, England. Belgiums response was meant to dissuade Germany from invading by stating that Belgium would fight for its right to neutrality. -Source C is valuable to the historian as it shows the extent of immoral behavior by countries in war time as the German government blatantly lied about a French invasion in order to sway Belgium sympathies to Germany and allow them access through Belgium.

-The limitation of Source C is that the letters were official documents and thus only offer the perspectives of a select few from the governments of Belgium and Germany. ????? -The origin of source D is an account of a conversation between Herr von Jagow, Germanys foreign minister, and the Belgian minister of foreign affairs, Baron Beyens, on August 4, 1914 written by Baron Beyens. -The purpose of source D was for Belgium to attempt to understand Germanys actions in invading through Belgium despite Belgiums protests. -Source D is valuable to historians because it allows historians to be privy to a private conversation in which Germanys motives are revealed through questions asked by the Belgium minister. -Source D is limited in that the Belgian minister may have applied negative implications when recalling the conversation due to Beyens anger over the invasion of Belgium by Germany; thus reducing the validity of the source.