Germany before 1914: social reform and British emulation

Casting an eye over social policy blurs the lines of Anglo-German relations before the First World War: Britain's commemoration of the First World War must avoid depicting Imperial Germany as a simplified, demonised, or monolithic enemy. To do so brings with it the danger of distorting modern perceptions of Germany as well as misrepresenting Britain's role in the Europe of a century ago.The drives for social reform in pre-war Britain and Germany underline a similarity between the two former empires that, although well serviced by scholarly literature, is being forgotten in public memory.Fears of shifts in voter sentiment are driving the British government to appear cool on the idea of Europe. The memory of the First World War is now in danger of being used in a campaign to bolster an idea of outmoded Britishness and reactionary Euro scepticism.Any attempt to advance a 'just war' hypothesis must address Britain's own imperial and colonial problems both before and after 1918.