Paper 1, Question # 2: Von Spiegel's Account vs. Zimmermann Telegram

Sources A and B, von Spiegel's account and the Zimmerman Telegram, agree on the subject of the necessity of Germany's U-boat warfare. In Captain von Spiegel's journal entry, he specifically expresses his views towards war, stating that, "War is war, and every horse fewer on the Western front is a reduction of England's fighting power." The captain understands that despite the cruelty of sinking neutral merchant ships with innocent civilians on board, it cannot be helped. Von Spiegel has to sink those ships because he has the responsibility to help his country and his fellow countrymen who are fighting in the horrible trenches in Europe. The Zimmerman Telegram also conveys a similar message, that Germany is only committing to unrestricted submarine warfare because it is necessary and the nation has little choice. The Germans cannot fight Britain's blockade and prowess at sea if they do not engage in submarine warfare; it iss perhaps the most effective way of reducing Britain's advantage at sea. And, although there iss the danger of provoking the United States, Germany can only hope that Mexico will accept their offer detailed in the Zimmermann Telegram.

In contrast to Source A, von Spiegel's account, Source B, the Zimmerman Telegram, expresses a different purpose for submarine warfare. According to the telegram, Germany uses submarine warfare because they do not want the balance of power to change in favor of the Allied powers; the Germans wish to keep the United States neutral and out of the war. This is stated specifically in the Zimmerman note: "We [the Germans] shall endeavor...to keep the United States of American neutral." Captain von Spiegel does not bring up anything about the U.S. in his journal entry but seems to be exceedingly honest and open about his infatuation towards beautiful horses. Also, unlike the Zimmerman telegram, von Spiegel's account emphasizes the reduction of "England's fighting power" on the Western front to protect Germany and her people.

Source A disagrees with Source B in the way that von Spiegel's account shows the humanity and compassion in the Germans. Not only does Captain von Spiegel show remorse for the lives he takes when he bombs the passenger ship, but he cannot bear to watch all the men, women, and animals scrambling about, terrified, knowing that their ship is sinking and death is just around the corner. As recorded in his journal, "At that point I could not bear the sight any longer, and I lowered the periscope and dived deep." However, the Zimmerman Telegram shows the Germans as impersonal and calculating. No where in the telegram mentions the casualties that unrestricted submarine warfare will cause, the civilians that will die. The Germans seem to be only worried about the possibility of the United States entering the Great War and the impact it will make.