Germany is blamed for World War I due to the upset that the country had caused economically and politically to Europe in the late 1800s that eventually led to unrest in the Balkans. The war would have remained between the countries of Austria-Hungary and Serbia after the murder of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, but Russia and Germany both stepped in, moving it onto a larger stage.
Arms races and civil unrest had been stirring in Europe since 1871 when there were changes to both political and economic policy changes just as Germany came to the front as a world power. The growth of Germany and the countries need for colonization was just the beginning of what would lead to and become World War I.
