When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
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#2: Historiography of the July Crisis
🕑 Added 2024-07-01 05:30:01 +0000 UTC[PATRONS]
How do historians explain the outbreak of the First World War, and how have these views changed over the last century? Were they influenced by new perspectives, new motives, or new source materials? How have they influenced our current understanding of the war's origins, and what impact have they had on the 'mainstream' view of why war broke out? In this episode we go on a journey through the historical record, where new theories and explanations emerged, in the teeth of contentious debate.
For some, the pursuit of truth was a matter of justice - finding significance in the loss. For others, it was a political necessity, to rehabilitate their nation. For others still, it was a mere matter of historical study - the need to find the truth, and be the first person to do so. Whatever the motives - whatever the results - the story behind how historians reached their conclusions, and how these conclusions changed, represents one of the most fascinating and important aspects of the First World War's origins story, and I can't wait to share it with you!
Comments
When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
Good question! It definitely contributed to the spread of the Fischer thesis in the general reading public, but I can't fault all of Tuchmann's work. The Proud Tower is a great read, so long as you take sweeping generalisations about the Kaiser's sanity and German aggression with a pinch of salt.
J Z
Zack, Id like to hear your thoughts on The Guns of August. While it had an impact on the popular view of the war, did it influence at all the historiography at the time?
