Zimmermann Note

Zimmermann Note (1917)
Though Germany had previously promised President Wilson that it would cease attacking neutral carriers, on February 1, 1917 Germany departed from its policy of restraint and began unrestricted submarine warfare against all ships destined for Britain.  Several American ships were sunk in February and March of 1917.  At about this time, newspapers published an interceptedtelegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the government of Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance.  On April 2, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany; Congress complied four days later.
As you read, think about why the Zimmermann Note would have enraged Americans and contributed to a growing sentiment in the U.S. that the nation should enter the war onthe side of the Allies.
 
We [Germany] 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 partthat Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.... Inform the President [of Mexico] of the above most secretly.... Please call the [Mexican] Presidentís 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.
 
The Zimmermann Telegram
Background
Between 1914 and thespring of 1917, the European nations engaged in a conflict that became known as World War I. While armies moved across the face of Europe, the United States remained neutral. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson was elected President for a second term, largely because of the slogan "He kept us out of war." Events in early 1917 would change that hope. In frustration over the effective British naval blockade, inFebruary Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare. In response to the breaking of the Sussex pledge, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany.
In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joiningthe German cause. This message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history. The telegram had such an impact on American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, "No other single cryptanalysis has had such enormous consequences." It is his opinion that "never before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a secret message." Inan effort to protect their intelligence from detection and to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the United States, the British waited until February 24 to present the telegram to Woodrow Wilson. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies.
The story of British intelligenceefforts to decipher the German code is fascinating and complicated. The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara Tuchman recounts that story in all of its exciting detail. It is an excellent historical account for high school students.
The coded telegram is from Decimal File 862.20212/82A (1910-1929), and the decoded telegram below is from Decimal File 862.20212/69 (1910-1929), General Records of theDepartment of State, Record Group 59.


Nota Zimmermann (1917)
Aunque Alemania había prometido con anterioridad el presidente Wilson que dejaría de atacar a los transportistas neutral, el 01 de febrero 1917 Alemania se apartó de su política de contención y comenzó la guerra submarina sin restricciones en contra de todos los buques destinados a Gran Bretaña. Varios barcos estadounidenses se...