2. Letter from the German Chancellor, Bethmann Hollweg to the Austrian
Foreign Minister, Feb 1913.
“After analysing the situation objectively, one has to
conclude that, considering her traditional relations with
the Balkan States, it will be nearly impossible for Russia
passively to watch military action by Austria against
Serbia without a tremendous loss of face.
The obvious consequences of Russia intervention,
however, are obvious. They would result in a warlike
conflict with the Triple Alliance… against the Triple
Entente, and Germany would have to bear the full
brunt of the French and British attack.”
3. Which option correctly describes the source’s
perspective on the role of alliances in the
outbreak of WWI and best explains why he held it?
A. That the alliance system means any Balkan
conflict would become a conflict between the
Great Powers
a. He was the German Head of State who had an
overinflated view of German military strength
B. That Russia was Germany’s greatest threat in
a future war
b. He was the Head of the German Government
and had access to foreign office reports and
experience in foreign policy
C. That Britain and France had allied themselves
with Russia in order to attack Germany
c. He was the Head of the German Army who
appreciated the likely cost of a future war
D. That Germany was having second thoughts
about its alliance with Austria because of the
threat of war
d. He was a member of the opposition who
strongly supported Austria because of their
shared language and heritage
4. Which option correctly describes the source’s
reliability with regards to motive and its impact on
a historian’s judgement about its reliability?
A. He was writing to encourage Austria
to bolster its Eastern defenses
a. Highly reliable – he would be unlikely
to lie to an ally
B. He was writing to persuade Austria to
avoid antagonising the Serbs
b. Somewhat unreliable – he may
exaggerate the risk to make his point but
he needs to be taken seriously
C. He was writing to tell Austria that they
had Germany’s full support in a future
conflict
D. He was writing to criticise Russia for
wanting to start a world war
5. Which option correctly describes the source’s
reliability with regards to audience and its impact
on a historian’s judgement about its reliability?
A. He is writing to a German ally a. Reliable – he would be unlikely
to lie to a friend
B. He is writing to a country
Germany hopes to make an ally
b. Mostly unreliable – he knows he
can use threats to get what he
wants
C. He is writing to a German
enemy
6. Which option correctly describes the source’s
reliability with regards to tone and its impact on a
historian’s judgement about its reliability?
A. Sober and objective a. Reliable – he has clearly stated the
facts
B. Emotional b. Mostly unreliable – he has allowed
fear and racism to cloud the facts
C. Flippant b. Very unreliable – he gives the
impression of not being informed
D. Evasive
7. Which option correctly describes the source’s
reliability with regards to errors and its impact on a
historian’s judgement about its reliability?
A. One significant error – in the final
line he presents Germany as the victim
of a British/French attack, failing to
mention the Schlieffen plan
a. Reliable – he has access to good
intelligence
B. Many small errors – e.g. with regard
to Russian reactions to Balkan conflicts
in the first paragraph
b. Mostly unreliable – he appears to be
uninformed about the realities of
European diplomacy
C. No errors b. Unreliable – he has concealed
important details
8. What content would a historian find useful in
this source?
A. Evidence that Germany attempted to influence Austria to
prevent a war
B. Evidence that German leaders knew that the alliance system
could turn a small war into a big one
C. Evidence that German leaders believed they would easily win the
coming war
D. Evidence that Germany was preparing for war against Russia
9. Which other source would a historian find most
useful to use alongside this one in discussing the
role of alliances in the outbreak of WWI?
A. The Willy-Nicky correspondence
B. The 1908 Daily Telegraph Article
C. The Constitution of the Black Hand
D. Statistics on the relative military strengths of the Great Powers
