Effects of WW1

Question 1

Overview of effects of WW1

Answer 1

• The First World War led to significant political, economic and social changes for the countries involved.
• Political systems were affected, empires collapsed, territories changed hands and governments had to work out how to meet the needs of their citizens, who had endured four years of total war.

Question 2

Effects of WW1

Answer 2

• The Peace Treaties
• Political impacts
• Social impacts
• Economic impacts

Question 3

Examples of different peace treaties that were created at the end of he war, aiming to create lasting peace

Answer 3

• Treaty of Versailles
• Treaty of St. Germain
• Treaty of Trianon
• Treaty of Sèvres
• Treaty of Neuilly

Question 4

Which country was the Treaty of Versailles concerned with?

Answer 4

Germany

Question 5

Key terms of the Treaty of Versailles

Answer 5

• Reparation payments of 132 billion gold marks (never fully paid)
• Rhineland, bordering France, to be demilitarized
• Lost ten percent of its land and all colonies
• Military severely reduced, with no tanks, air force, or artillery, and a maximum army of 100,000 men
• Unification with Austria, Anschluss, forbidden

Question 6

Which country was the Treaty of Trianon concerned with?

Answer 6

Hungary

Question 7

What were the key terms of the Treaty of Trianon?

Answer 7

• Two-thirds of territory lost
• Massive reparations (never fully paid)
• Military reduced to 35,000 men and no air force or navy

Question 8

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Question 9

Changes in territory/land at the end of WW2

Answer 9

• Both the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires were dismantled at the end of the war, leading to the formation of new nation-states such as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
• US President Woodrow Wilson’s principle of self-determination was carefully considered as the territorial boundaries of Europe were redrawn, with new nations being formed with homogeneous peoples.
• However, this process was not smooth and led to thousands of civilians being moved and thousands more becoming a minority population in a new nation.

Question 10

Political effects of WW1 in Western Europe (Germany)

Answer 10

• Germany became democratic at the end of 1918 with the abdication of the Kaiser, the German emperor, just before the end of the war, and the founding of a republic.
• The Treaty of Versailles was met with great protest in Germany and was referred to as the diktat (‘dictated peace’). It resulted in anti-democratic, violent, right-wing support and actions.
• The new Weimar Republic, named after the city where the new constitution was signed, faced difficult political challenges immediately, with revolutions attempted by various extreme political groups over several years.

Question 11

Political effects of WW1 in Western Europe (Italy)

Answer 11

Italy was politically divided after the war, leading to violence and the emergence of fascism and its leader, soon to be dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini

Question 12

Political effects of WW1 in Central and Eastern Europe

Answer 12

• Russia had two revolutions in 1917 and pulled out of the war in early 1918. The Russian Civil War, between various political groups, was mostly over by 1921, leaving the Bolsheviks, or Communists, in power. They established the Soviet Union as the world’s first communist state.
• With the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, new nation-states, such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, were created.

Question 13

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Question 14

Social impact of WW1 (casualties)

Answer 14

• The war inflicted more casualties than had any previous European conflict, with around 10 million men killed.
• Civilian casualties were also high, with 500,000 Russians dying as a result of the war, excluding the Russian Civil War period.

Question 15

Social impact of WW1 (impact on women)

Answer 15

• Although women joined the workforce in unprecedented numbers during the war, most left industry at the war’s conclusion. In France, women’s employment returned to 1911 levels by 1921
• The war gave women a sense of freedom and independence that continued to develop in the 1920s. Fashions began to change and accepted social norms regarding employment status, marital status and more began to shift.
• One of the biggest consequences of the war for women in many countries involved, such as Britain and Germany, but not France, was gaining the vote.

Question 16

Economic impact on Germany

Answer 16

• The naval blockade devastated German’s economy.
• Germany lost key industrial territory under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, such as the Saar coalfields, which were placed under the supervision of the League of Nations.
• France and Belgium occupied the industrialized Ruhr area of Germany in 1923 to take its profits as reparations. Germany responded by asking its workers to go on strike in the Ruhr and continued paying their wages. The government was able to pay their wages by printing more money, leading to hyperinflation, destroying the currency’s value.

As Germany’s land was not invaded during the war, the damage was minimal, and German industry recovered by 1928 to 1914 levels.

Question 17

Economic impact on France

Answer 17

• France lent money to Russia during the war, but the Bolshevik government in Russia refused to pay the old government’s debts, leading to France needing German reparations to rebuild the country.
• France’s economy slowly began to recover through the 1920s.

Question 18

Economic impact on Britain

Answer 18

• In order to survive the conflict, Britain was forced to borrow money from the USA, leaving the country in debt.
• Britain needed Europe to recover quickly economically so that it could resume trading with other countries, especially Germany, and boost its own economy in turn.

Question 19

Economic impact on the USA

Answer 19

Unlike most countries, the USA prospered as a result of the war:

• The US economy expanded greatly during the war. Before the USA entered the war in 1917, it lent money and sold food and supplies to the Allies.
• The USA’s economic growth continued post-war, and the 1920s were known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, as the nation’s wealth more than doubled from 1920 to 1929.
• Yet, by the late 1920s, the economic situation was precarious because of excessive borrowing, and in 1929 the Wall Street Crash occurred, causing the Great Depression.

Question 20

Economic impact on the Russia

Answer 20

Economic changes in Russia were perhaps greater than for any other state participating in the war:

-War Communism led to the starvation of millions but it allowed the Bolsheviks to supply their troops and win the war.

The Bolsheviks introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921 to try to tackle the problems caused by War Communism.

• The NEP allowed for small private industries and built trade links with other countries, exporting grain to purchase machinery
• By 1928, the Soviet Union matched Russia’s pre-war production levels

Question 21

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