The translated Zimmerman Note was sent as a telegram on January 16, 1917.
 |
| Sinking of British Merchant Ship |
 |
| German U-Boat |
Heinrich von Eckardt, the German Ambassador in Mexico -- is transcribed from a telegram of Walter H. Page, American Ambassador in Great Britain, to Robert Lansing, American Secretary of State (File No. 862,20212/69) and mirrors a typescript discovered October 2005 in British archives (assumed to be the actual This English translation of the cipher telegram -- from Arthur Zimmermann, German Foreign Secretary, to copy shown to the American ambassador in 1917). The transcription of the British Admiralty's decoding of the text in German is likewise based on a telegram from Ambassador Page to the Secretary of State.
"We intend to begin on the 1st of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace.
Signed,
Zimmermann.
When did the US enter the war?
What was Germany's position at the time regarding ships traveling to and from England?
Did the Zimmerman Note contribute to America's decision to enter the war?
Based on the Zimmerman Note was the US justified in entering the war?
Should there be rules in warfare protecting civilians, ocean liners and merchant marine vessels or should countries subscribe to the belief that "All is fair in love and war?"
Additional Thinking Questions - Bringing Documents, Readings, Cartoons, and Photos all together on Germany's Submarine Warfare Policy!
Was the Lusitania a standard cruise liner? What made it different?
How did the Germans use this for justification on its position to sink it?
Did the expression of American sentiment in Wilson's War Message influence Germany's policy on unrestricted submarine warfare?
Is there a political cartoon in this blog that you might connect to the German sentiment regarding the Lusitania? How were mines both a benefit and a disadvantage to German submarines?
No comments:
Post a Comment