Der doppelte Militarismus: Die deutsche Heeresrüstungspolitik zwischen Status-quo-Sicherung und Aggression, 1890-1913

This study by the German military historian Stig Förster explores the German armament policy between 1890 and 1913, which was informed by militarisn and imperialism. From the end of the 19th century, the escalating arms race in naval construction between Great Britain and Germany was carried out openly. The pursuit of world power and prestige as well as the acquisition of colonies set an international arms race in motion around the turn of the century. In the German Empire, national associations such as the Pan-German Association, the German Fleet Association and the German Defense Association fueled armament. They saw it as an essential prerequisite for the acquisition of new overseas territories. At the center of the arms race was the fleet, with which the empire rose to become the second strongest sea power after Great Britain under the responsible State Secretary of the Reichsmarinamt, Alfred von Tirpitz.