of the early 20th century, a time when Social Darwinist views of struggle were popular in Europe's ruling classes. Critics also contend that in the centuries following Columbus's voyages to America, the Western European countries including Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, etc. had already acquired vast overseas colonial possessions and spheres of influence long before German unification in 1871, so it is difficult to single out Germany alone as "grasping for world power" when this was a centuries-old Western European tradition. It was not until after World War II that many European colonial subjects finally won their independence. Even after the conclusion of the Second World War, France refused to relinquish control over Indochina. Moreover, Fischer's timetable has also been criticized as inaccurate. Bethmann Hollweg's Septemberprogramm, outlining German war aims, was not produced until after the war had begun and was still going well for Germany. At the same time, other powers had been harboring similarly grandiose plans for post-war territorial gains. Since its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, France was committed to a path of revenge against Germany and the reacquisition of Alsace and Lorraine. Russia, too, had long-standing, explicit war aims. Bibliography Moritz August von Bethmann-Hollweg und der Protestantismus, 1938. Ludwig Nikolvius: Rokoko, Reform, Restoration, 1942. Griff nach der Weltmacht: die Kriegszielpolitik des Kaiserlichen Deutschland, 1914–18, 1961. Germany's Aims in the First World War, translated by Hajo Holborn and James Joll (1968) Weltmacht oder Niedergang: Deutschland im Ersten Weltkrieg, 1965 World Power or Decline: The Controversy over Germany's Aims in the First World War, 1974 Krieg der Illusionen: Die deutsche Politik von 1911 bis 1914, 1969. War of Illusions: German Policies from 1911 to 1914, translated by Marian Jackson and Alan Bullock (1975) Bündnis der Eliten: Zur Kontinuität der Machstrukturen in Deutschland, 1871–1945, 1979. From Kaiserreich to the Third Reich: Elements of Continuity in German History, 1871–1945, translated by Roger Fletcher (1986) Hitler war kein Betriebsunfall: Aufsätze, 1992. See also Causes of World War I Historiography of the Causes of World War I Karl Max, Fürst Lichnowsky Notes References Carsten, F.L Review of Griff nach der Weltmacht in English Historical Review, Volume 78, Issue #309, October 1963, pp 751–753 Epstein, Klaus Review: German War Aims in the First World War in World Politics, Volume 15, Issue # 1, October 1962 pages 163-185 Fletcher, Roger, Introduction to Fritz Fischer, From Kaiserreich to Third Reich, London: Allen