Friday, March 20, 2020

World War Is Mitteleuropa

World War I's Mitteleuropa German for ‘Middle Europe’, there are a wide range of interpretations for Mitteleuropa, but chief among them was the German plan for an empire in central and eastern Europe that would have been created had Germany won the First World War. War Aims In September 1914, a few months after the start of World War I, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg created the ‘September Programme’ which, along with other documents, set out a grandiose plan for post-war Europe. It would be enacted if Germany was totally successful in the war, and at that point nothing was certain. A system called ‘Mitteleuropa’ would be created, an economic and customs union of central European lands that would be led by Germany (and to a lesser extent Austria-Hungary). As well as these two, Mitteleuropa would include German domination of Luxembourg, Belgium and their Channel Ports, the Baltic and Poland from Russia, and possibly France. There would be a sister body, Mittelafrika, in Africa, leading to German hegemony of both continents. That these war aims had to be invented after the war started is often used as a stick with which to beat the German command: they are chiefly blamed for starting the war and didn’t even know what t hey wanted beyond having threats from Russia and France removed. It’s unclear exactly how far the German people supported this dream, or how seriously it was taken. Indeed, the plan itself was allowed to fade as it became obvious the war would last a long time and may not be won by Germany at all. A variation emerged in 1915 when the Central Powers defeated Serbia and Germany proposed a Central European Federation be created, led by Germany, this time recognizing the needs of the war by placing all military forces under German command. Austria-Hungary was still strong enough to object and the plan again faded. Greed or Matching Others? Why did Germany aim for a Mitteleuropa? To Germany’s west were Britain and France, a pair of countries with a vast global empire. To the east was Russia, which had a land empire stretching to the Pacific. Germany was a new nation  and had missed out as the rest of Europe had carved the world up between them. But Germany was an ambitious nation  and wanted an empire too. When they looked around them, they had the hugely powerful France directly west, but between Germany and Russia were eastern European states that could form an empire. English language literature racistly considered a European conquest as worse than their own global conquests, and painted Mitteleuropa as significantly worse. Germany had mobilized millions of people and suffered millions of casualties; they tried to come up with war aims to match.In the end, we don’t know how far Mitteleuropa would have been created. It was dreamt up in a moment of chaos and action, but perhaps the Treaty of Brest-Lit ovsk with Russia in March 1918 is a clue, as this transferred a vast area of Eastern Europe to German control. It was their failure in the west that caused this infant empire to be erased.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Residency Essay Tips

Residency Essay Tips In previous pages we have discussed the importance of honesty and brevity in residency program personal statements. Now, however, I would like to take this opportunity to review the importance of specific information in a residency essay. Specifics are not only crucial to the overall tone of a good statement, but the informational value as well. Heres a good rule of thumb to use when writing your personal statement: dont beat around the bush. The directors reading your statement are interested in knowing your personals objectives and career goals in the shortest amount of time possible. Therefore get straight to the point and leave zero room for speculation. Specifics are exactly what directors want to know about potential residents. Exactly what made you want to pursue a PhD? Precisely why didnt you get better grades in school? Specifically what made you want to apply for residency at this particular institution? The more directly you can answer these and other such questions, the better your personal residency will reflect on you. Writing a residency essay requires a tremendous amount of work and patience, so be certain to give yourself plenty of time. In the meanwhile, if you would like help in writing your residency statement or if you would like to know more writing a quality residency program personal statement, please access the link provided. This link will direct you to an excellent essay writing resource where you can find help and info.