Zimmerman's Time As Foreign Secretary For Germany example essay topic

278 words
Who exactly is Arthur Zimmerman, the man who wrote the telegram to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt? Arthur Zimmerman was born in 1854 and died in 1940 and he was the one responsible, as German Foreign Secretary, for the Zimmerman Telegram, which helped to draw the United States into World War One against Germany in April 1917. Zimmerman was appointed Germany's Foreign Secretary in November 1916 and owed his political eminence to his unwavering support for the Third Supreme Command, an effective military dictatorship led by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff. Towards the close of 1916, Zimmerman stated his full support for the military high command's decision to impose a highly controversial policy of unrestricted submarine warfare-the policy that eventually drew the United States into World War One in April 1917. Probably the most famous incident that happened in Zimmerman's time as Foreign Secretary for Germany is the Zimmerman Telegram. This telegram was sent to the German Embassy in Mexico on January 19, 1917.

The thinking behind the telegram suggested that the United States would find itself too concerned with a fighting a war with Mexico at home to direct its enemies to the conflict in Europe. The inevitable publication of the telegram on March 1, 1917 was initially met by stunned disbelief in American quarters, its contents widely considered implausible. Zimmerman unfortunately confirmed the telegram's authenticity two days later and this drew war with Germany and its allies ever nearer. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Zimmerman choose his own retirement in August 1917 and he died in 1940..