Propaganda about the Causes of World War I in the German White Book of 1914

Abstract

When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914 between the Allies Powers, led by England, France and Russia on the one side and the Central Powers, led by Germany and Austria-Hungary, on the other, the warring countries on both sides published propaganda documents called “the Color Book” such as the British Blue Book, the French Yellow Book, the German White Book, the Austro-Hungarian Red Book etc. attempting to point out that they were not the originators of the war and at the same time show the opposing side as the one who started the war. The purpose of this academic article is to describe and analyze the contents of the English version of the German White Book, which the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs published in August 1914. The result was that the contents of the German White Book was aimed to justify Austria-Hungary's use of military force against Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. Russia and France were also accused of provocation that escalated the conflict into World War I. However, the German White Book didn’t mention the violation of Belgian neutrality by Germany which led to England joining the war.