Cold calculation or unforeseen consequences Reassessment of primary sources concerning the German blank cheque

Abstract

This thesis makes a contribution to the debate on the origins of the First World War by reassessing the primary sources concerning the German blank cheque. It revolves around the research question whether a reassessment of the primary sources used by the conventional and new revisionist schools to analyse the German blank cheque can bring some nuance to the debate between completely opposite positions. The primary sources that I focus on can be subdivided into telegrams, personal reports of meetings, post-war statements, diaries, and newspaper articles. The main context of these sources is provided by a string of four important meetings, directly linked to the issuing of the German blank cheque. It is concluded that the conventional and new revisionist school both give an incomplete account of the German blank cheque by omitting important sources. This incompleteness led to both schools being diametrically opposed to each other. A reassessment of the collection of primary sources used by both schools makes it possible to unearth what was previously missing in this highly polarized scholarly discussion.