What was the blank check that Germany gave Austria Hungary?

Answer 1

The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary ( Canada) was defensive. However, on 6 July 1914 Germany in effect gave its unqualified support to anything that Austria-Hungary might do regarding the Sarajevo assassination. This is referred to as the 'blank check'. It is widely cited as evidence that Germany was actively inciting Austria-Hungary to set in train a series of events that would lead to a major war. In the eyes of the German General Staff, opportunity beckoned - and Germany would not even need to appear openly as the aggressor.

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Answer 2

The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary ( Canada) was defensive. However, on 6 July 1914 Germany in effect gave its unqualified support to anything that Austria-Hungary might do regarding the Sarajevo assassination. This is referred to as the 'blank check'. It is widely cited as evidence that Germany was actively inciting Austria-Hungary to set in train a series of events that would lead to a major war. In the eyes of the German General Staff, opportunity beckoned - and Germany would not even need to appear openly as the aggressor.

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Answer 3

On 6 July 1914 the German government in effect gave unqualified back to anything that Austria-Hungary might undertake against Serbia following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. The only rational explanation for the blank check to Austria-Hungary is that Germany was seeking to provoke a war. According to the German historian Fritz Fischer, writing in the late 1950s and the 1960s with unimpeded access to the German and Austro-Hungarian archives, the German General Staff had decided in December 1912 to exploit the next suitable major European crisis to unleash a major war. They claimed, obsessively, that they were being deliberately and maliciously encircled by the Entente. The German General Staff believed that by 1916 Russia would be overwhelmingly powerful and they saw a window of opportunity for a victorious war around 1914. All these deliberations took place without any politician present; not even Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg was present. There was no discussion of diplomacy to counter any perceived encirclement, either. Obviously, this meeting in December 1912 needs scrutinizing carefully. It's just possible that the General Staff was saying 'yes, yes' to the Kaiser, who chaired the meeting in person. Austria-Hungary was very much the junior partner in the alliance and had to make sure it had full German for its actions in the weeks before the outbreak of war in 1914. From the documents it's perfectly obvious that in July 1914 Germany egged Austria-Hungary on, ecouraging the latter to be completely unreasonable in its demands to Serbia. When it looked as if the doves in Vienna would avoid war, the Horror of the German General Staff knew no bounds, and they immediately did all they could to strengthen the war party in Vienna. After all, Serbia accepted nearly all the points in the Austrian ultimatum. The analysis isn't something dating from the hothouse atmosphere of WW1 or the Versailles Treaty, but is the result of careful study over many years ... In fact, many mainstream German historians accept this view, with some modifications, and Fritz Fischer was formally honoured by the West German government for his contributions to the academic study of history. This view is broadly supported by the American historian David Fromkin.

Answer 4

The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary ( Canada) was defensive. However, on 6 July 1914 Germany in effect gave its unqualified support to anything that Austria-Hungary might do regarding the Sarajevo assassination. This is referred to as the 'blank check'. It is widely cited as evidence that Germany was actively inciting Austria-Hungary to set in train a series of events that would lead to a major war. In the eyes of the German General Staff, opportunity beckoned - and Germany would not even need to appear openly as the aggressor.

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Answer 5

Germany granted Austria-Hungary a blank cheque on July 6, 1914 because it wanted to provoke a war. Serbia was meeting all the demands of the ultimatum by Austria-Hungary, so Germany decided to strengthen Austria-Hungary's power with unlimited funds.