Germany and the Next War

isamilitaryand political treatise written in the early 20th century. Theworkelaborates on the rationale and necessity of war as a means for national self-assertion and the pursuit of power, asserting that for Germany, conflict is not merely an option but a duty in the face of external threats and internal weaknesses. Theopening of thebook setsa tone of urgency,reflectingonthepublicsen timent in Germany during the summer of 1911, amidst a perceived threat to national honor and political stability, particularly concerning the Morocco crisis. Von Bernhardi aims to clarify the national objectives, difficulties, and sacrifices required for Germany to secure itsfuture. Heemphasizestheneed for a candid discussion of the rights and responsibilities of nations concern ing war, framing it not only as an inevitability but also a moral obligation. Through this lens, he seeks to galvanize a nationalistic fervor, arguing that war is essential for maintaining and enhancing a nation's strength and cul tural vitality.

when Immanuel Kant published in his old age his treatise on "Perpetual Peace," manyhaveconsidereditanestablished fact that war is thedestructionof allgoodandtheoriginof allevil. Inspiteofallthathistory teaches, no conviction is felt that the struggle between nations is inevitable, and the growth of civilization is credited with a power to which war must yield. But, undisturbed by such human theories and the change of times, war has again and again marched from country to country with the clash of arms, and has proved its destructive as well as creative and purifying power. It has not succeeded in teaching mankind what its real nature is. Long pe riods of war, far from convincing men of the necessity of war, have, on the contrary, always revived the wish to exclude war, where possible, from the political intercourse of nations