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{{Short description|Plan of German territorial expansion}}{{Expand French|date=August 2024}}{{Expand German|date=August 2024}}
The '''''Septemberprogramm''''' ({{IPA|de|zɛpˈtɛmbɐpʁoˌɡʁam|lang}}, literally "September Program") was a memorandum authorized by [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg]] of the [[German Empire]] at the beginning of [[World War I]]. It was drafted on 9 September 1914 by the Chancellor's private secretary, [[Kurt Riezler]], in preparation of peace negotiations at a time when Germany expected to defeat France quickly and decisively on the Western Front. The territorial changes proposed in the ''Septemberprogramm'' included making a [[vassal state]] of [[Belgium]], annexing [[Luxembourg]] and portions of [[France]], expanding [[German colonies in Africa]], and increasing German influence in Eastern Europe at the expense of the [[Russian Empire]].

The ''Septemberprogramm'' gained great notoriety after it was discovered by historian [[Fritz Fischer (historian)|Fritz Fischer]], who wrote that it was based on the ''[[Lebensraum]]'' philosophy as well as the ''[[Drang nach Osten]]'' nationalist movement of the 19th century, which made territorial expansion Imperial Germany's primary motive for war.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Fritz |url=https://ia600204.us.archive.org/31/items/FischerFritzGermanysAimsInTheFirstWorldWar/Fischer%2C%20Fritz%20-%20Germany%E2%80%99s%20Aims%20in%20the%20First%20World%20War.pdf |title=Germany's Aims in the First World War |publisher=W.W. Norton |year=1967 |isbn=978-0393097986 |location=New York |pages=98 ff}}</ref> This interpretation has been controversial. The modern consensus among historians is that it was more of a discussion document, written well after the start of the war, and not a formally adopted government policy.<ref name=":1" />

==War goals==
The ''Septemberprogramm'' was a list of possible goals for Germany to achieve in the war:<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The September Memorandum (September 9, 1914) |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=980 |access-date=19 December 2022 |website=German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)}}</ref>

*[[France]] should cede some northern territory, such as the iron-ore mines at [[Briey]] to Germany and possibly a coastal strip running from [[Dunkirk]] to [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], to Belgium or Germany.
*France should pay a [[war indemnity]] high enough to prevent French rearmament for the next couple of decades. Additionally, a commercial treaty would make the French economy dependent on Germany and exclude trade between France and the [[British Empire]].
*France would partially disarm by demolishing its northern forts.
*[[Belgium]] should become a [[vassal state]] and cede eastern parts and possibly [[Antwerp]] to Germany and give Germany military and naval bases.
*[[Luxembourg]] should become a member state of the German Empire.
*[[Buffer states]] would be created in territory carved out of the western Russian Empire, such as [[Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918)|Poland]].
*Germany would create a ''[[Mitteleuropa]]'' economic association, ostensibly egalitarian but actually dominated by Germany. Members would be [[France]], [[Belgium]], [[the Netherlands]], [[Denmark]], [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Kingdom of Poland (1917–1918)|Poland]], and possibly [[Italy]], [[Sweden]], and [[Norway]].<ref name=":2" />
*The [[German colonial empire]] would be expanded. The [[German colonization of Africa|German possessions in Africa]] would be enlarged to create a contiguous German colony across central Africa known as ''[[Mittelafrika]]'', at the expense of the French and Belgian colonies. Presumably to leave open future negotiations with Britain, no British colonies were to be taken, but Britain's "intolerable hegemony{{cn|date=September 2022}}" in world affairs was to end.
*The [[Netherlands]] should be brought into a closer relationship to Germany while avoiding any appearance of coercion.

==Significance==
The ''Septemberprogramm'' was based on suggestions from Germany's industrial, military, and political leadership.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Wayne C. |title=In the Eye of the Storm: Kurt Riezler and the Crises of Modern Germany |publisher=University of Iowa Press |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-87745-094-8 |location=Iowa City |pages=98–99}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> However, since Germany did not win the war, it was never put into effect. As historian Raffael Scheck concluded, "The government, finally, never committed itself to anything. It had ordered the ''Septemberprogramm'' as an informal hearing in order to learn about the opinion of the economic and military elites."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Scheck |first=Raffael |title=Germany, 1871–1945: A Concise History |publisher=Berg |year=2008 |isbn=9781845208172 |location=Oxford}}</ref>

In the east, on the other hand, Germany and her allies did demand and achieve significant territorial and economic concessions from Russia in the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] and from Romania in the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1918)|Treaty of Bucharest]].<ref name=":1" /> Both treaties were annulled with the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]] that ended the fighting in World War I.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Thompson, Wayne C. (December 1978). "The September Program: Reflections on the Evidence". ''Central European History''. '''11''' (4): 348–354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008938900018823
* {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Wayne C. |title=In the Eye of the Storm: Kurt Riezler and the Crises of Modern Germany|year=1980 |location=Iowa City |publisher=[[University of Iowa Press]] |isbn=978-0-87745-094-8}}

==External links==
* {{in lang|de}} [http://www.deuframat.de/de/konflikte/krieg-und-aussoehnung/der-erste-weltkrieg-im-kollektiven-gedaechtnis-der-deutschen-und-der-franzosen/deutsche-und-franzoesische-kriegsziele/kriegsziele-deutschlands.html Full text of the ''Septemberprogramm''] (''DeuFraMat'' = ''Deutsch-französische Materialien für den Geschichts- und Geographieunterricht'' (German-French Materials for Historical and Geographic Education))

{{italic title}}
{{Authority control}}{{World War I}}
[[Category:1914 in Germany]]
[[Category:German Empire in World War I]]
[[Category:1914 documents]]
[[Category:Government reports]]
[[Category:Government documents of Germany]]
[[Category:German involvement in the Russian Civil War]]
[[Category:Historiography of Germany]]
[[Category:Historiography of World War I]]
[[Category:Historiography of World War II]]
[[Category:Germanization]]

Septemberprogramm - Revision history

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