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We consider the turbulent history and politics of the country most often blamed for the outbreak of the First World War -- Germany. The youngest of all the combatant nations in World War I, The German Reich's deep class, regional, and religious divides drove Kaiser Wilhelm and his inner circle to seek national aggrandizement abroad as a source of unity at home--which inadvertently led them to unite their rivals against them and dragged them into a war not of their making.

Suggested further reading: Christopher Clark, "Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia"; Mary Fulbrook, "A Concise History of Germany."

Image: Hand-Colored Photograph of Kaiser Wilhelm II in Tangier, Morocco, 1905

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