Impact of WWI on Germany

Political Challenges

• Many people were not fans of the new democratic government. They were in favor of having a Socialistic government.
• The German people were not were not ready to accept an instant change. The government went immediately from having a Kaiser to being democratic. The navy revolted against having a democratic government.

Social Challenges

• 600,000 women were widowed during the war. 2 million children were left fatherless. This created a generation that grew up without men around.
• There were huge gaps in the lifestyles between the rich and the poor. People were not happy about this and wanted something done to fix it- aka a classless society. They thought that Socialism sounded pretty good.
• Women started to take on jobs in the factories. This broke tradition and many were not happy about it. they thought that women should stay home and take care of the children, but because Germany had lost so many men, they need more people to take on the men's jobs.
• The majority of the German citizens did not their choice of democratic leaders. They thought they could not do good things for their country, so instead they leaned towards Socialism.

Economic Challenges

• The income average was one third of what it had been before the war. This caused a nasty selling/producing/buying circle, where as one thing went down, it took everything else with it.
• Germany had lost some of their key industrial and mineral rich land areas in the Treaty of Versailles. They lost the Saar valley, where their best natural resources were.
• Factory production was down by two thirds of what it had been prior to the war. This was because of the two points mentioned previously.
• the German workers had restrictions put on their pay, so the workers got poorer and the factory owners got richer.

Germans React Angrily to the Treaty

1. Germans were not aware of the situation in 1919.

In 1919, many German were not aware of the militaristic situation in Germany. They thought that the German government had agreed to a ceasefire at the end of the war, and therefor should have been allowed into the Peace Conference. they were upset that they were being treated as a defeated state. They did not understand why their government was not allowed to be present at the talks and why their government was forced to sign such papers.

2. War guilt and reparations

The ¨war guilt clause¨ was the part of the treaty negotiations that the Germans hated the most. Germany felt that at the very least, the blame should be shared between a few different countries.

Because Germany was said to have started the war, they had to pay for it. The German economy was already a disaster, and they feared that the reparations would cripple them.

When Germany did not pay their reparations in 1922-23, French and Belgian troops took over Ruhr, Germany´s main industrial area.

3. Disarmament

The Germans were limited to an army of 100,000. This was a very small force for a country the size of Germany, and their army had been a source of national pride. Though Wilson´s fourteen points called for debarment, no one disarmed like Germany had to.
Adolf Hitler received widespread praise when he rebuilt Germany´s military in 1935.

4. German territories

Germany lost a lot of their territories. This was taken as a major blow to German pride and the economy. They lost two major industrial areas.

While Germany was losing their land, France and Britain were gaining territories by taking colonies that had once belonged to Germany.

5. Fourteen Points and League

The Germans felt that their treatment was not kept within Wilson´s fourteen points. While many countries were given self-determination, German speaking people were broken up into many smaller countries, like Austria and Czechoslovakia. To add insult to injury, Germany was not invited to join the League of Nations.

6. Double Standards?

While the Germans did complain about the treaty, their complaints fell on deaf ears, in fact, many thought that the Germans themselves were playing with double standards. Their treatment in the treaty of Versailles was much nicer than the way they had previously treated Russia in other treaties.

Also, Germany´s economic problems were mostly self-inflicted. While most countries had raised taxes for the war, the Kaiser government had planned to pay their debts with war reparations.

Germany is "Punished" by the Big Three at Versailles

1. Using information and sources on pages 14 - 17, summarize the aims of the three leaders at the Paris Peace Conference.

Georges Clemenceau (France)

Attitude towards Germany:

France felt threatened by Germany. Germany had had more power than France, and France was worries that they would abuse France once again.

Main Aim:

France wanted to make sure that Germany could not harm them again. They wanted to cripple Germany. France wanted Germany broken up into smaller states.

How he felt about the treaty

Clemenceau wanted a treaty that would weaken Germany as much as possible. However, he knew that people at the treaty negotiations would not agree with France's ideas because they were rather harsh.

Woodrow Wilson (United States)

Attitude towards Germany:

While Wilson thought that Germany need to be punished, he did not think that Germany should be punished to harshly. He thought that if they punished Germany too harshly, then Germany would want revenge.

Main Aim:

His main aim was to strengthen democracy in the weakened Germany so that the country's people would not let the government start another war.


How he felt about the treaty

Wilson wanted all of the countries to work together to create world peace.He created his Fourteen Points to make sure that his goals were met in the treaty. He strongly believed in self- determination, meaning that all counties govern themselves.

David Lloyd George (Great Britain)

Attitude towards Germany:

He wanted Germany to be justly punished, but he did not think it should be too harsh.

Main Aim:

He wanted Germany to lose their navy and empires because he thought that they rivaled the British Empire. However he did not want Germany to seek revenge in the future and start another war.

How he felt about the treaty:

He thought that the punishment should be harsh, bu not too harsh because he did not want Germany to seek revenge in the future and start another war.

Main Terms of the Treaty of Versailles against Germany

2. Read pages 18 - 19. Summarize the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

War Guilt:

Germany had to accept all fault for starting the war.

Reparations:

Germany had to pay the Allies for the damage caused by the war. The figure was set to about 6.6 million pounds.

German Territories and Colonies:

Germany's overseas territories were taken away. Their former territories were controlled by the League of Nations. They also lost some of their European territories.

Germany's Armed Forces:

Germany's armed forces were restricted to less than what they were before the war. Their army was limited to 100,000 men, all of their service men had to be volunteers, and they were not allowed any armored vehicles, submarines or aircraft. Also, the navy could only build six battleships, and Rhineland was now a demilitarized zone.

League of Nations:

The league of nations was set up as an international police force. Germany was not allowed to join the league until they proved that they were a peace- loving country.

The German Revolution

1. Using the documents in Chapter 1 as evidence, list the ways in which conditions in Germany worsened during the war.

a. There was a food shortage

b. There was awful weather and it wiped out the potato crops.

c. People were sick of being in war. They wanted to have their men back at home.


2. Give two reasons why the war caused such bad conditions for German civilians.

World War One caused bad conditions for German civilians. The British blockade of the German coast made it so that Germany could not get food imported. Also, the soldiers didn't like the war they were fighting, so they revolted.



3. After reading Chapter 2, give two reasons why Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on November 10, 1918.

Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated the throne for a couple of different reasons. One was because of his refusal to change the government. The US said that in order to improve their government and situation, they needed to become more democratic. However, he refused to do that, so the Communists and Socialists started to talk about revolution. Also a cause of Kaiser Wilhelm's abdication was the mutiny in the navy. There was nothing the Kaiser could do to control his country and his Generals would not support him.



4. Using the information you have read in this chapter, give evidence to support the statement that there was "revolution all over Germany."

During World War One, there was a revolution all over Germany. IT started with the women, who were tired of having to pay too much for their food. Then it spread to the navy, where there was a mutiny, causing a revolt in ports all around Germany. This caused the revolution to spread through out Germany.

5. Study the information about the German Socialists in Chapter 2, page 5. What did the three Socialist groups have in common?

The three groups all had the same goals. They all wanted to improve workers conditions and give all Germans the right to vote.


6. In what ways were the Socialist groups different.

The methods of the socialist groups were what set them apart. The social democratic Party wanted to use Parliament to get the ball rolling and start to fix the wrongs. On the other hand, the Independent Socialist Party wanted to oppose the government through organized strikes. The Spartacists wanted to overthrow the government by revolution. Counsils of workers would then make reforms.

7. After reading Chapter 3 make a time chart of the events of the German Revolution from Nov. 10, 1918 to Jan. 15, 1919. You should be able to find six events.

• November 10, 1918- Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated the throne by fleeing to Holland.
• December 23, 1918- 1,000 underpaid and hungry sailors broke into government offices and held Elbert at gunpoint
• December 31- The Spartasists begin to work toward Communist revolution
• Janauary 6, 1919- The Spartacists begin their revolution.
• January 15, 1919- Rosa Luxemborg is arrested and murdered
• February 11, 1919- Elbert is elected president of the new Weimar Republic.

8. At what time would you say the Communists had their best chance of seizing power? Explain your answer.

I think the Communists had their best chance of seizing power right after Kaiser Wilhelm left. When this happened, it showed that Germany was really falling apart, and that something needed to be done. At this point, the German people would be willing to try anything to get their government to work properly for them, and if this meant Communism, they would probably be open to it.

Russia, 1861-1905

1. List the general goals of the:

a. socialists

The socialists wanted to create a classless society that would end the suffering of the working class. They wanted to destroy the capitalist economy by taking the businesses from their owners, and giving them to the government.

b. liberal reformers

The liberal reformers believed that if they could place western constitutional practices and law in Russia, then it would solve their problems and fix what had happened in the past.

2. List three characteristics of serfs' lives.

1) Smerfs were the lowest of the low in Russian society. Because of this, they had to pay the landlord for their homes. They payed the landlord in either money, produce, or labor. They worked the land communally and used the same farming techniques form generations before.
2)They often lived in small, dark homes, which they had to share with chickens and other barnyard animals.
3) The head of the household had control over all belongings. The needs of the communal family came before the needs of the individuals.

3. List four reforms of Tsar Alexander II.

1) The Tsar eliminated serfdom. The serfs were now freed and land transference was allowed.
2) The Tsar introduced jury trials, like the ones seen in the west. He also relaxed censorship laws.
3) He created locally elected government officials.

4. Why did the populists go "to the people" in 1873-1874?

The populists went "to the people" because they felt that the peasants would be the ones to support them in their ideas for social revolution. They also wanted to establish a connection with the poverty-stricken peasants. They felt that they could convince the people to join their movement.

5. List two consequences of the famine of 1891.

1) Over half a million people died because of the famine.

2) Many communities hosted small- scale revolts and revolutions.

6. Why was Karl Marx important to Russian intellectuals?

Karl Marx was important to Russian intellectuals because he was the one who explained the idea of a classless, communistic society. They thought that this idea for a society would greatly benefit the problems that they were having in Russia at that time.


7. What were the Goals and Methods of the following political groups in early twentieth century Russia? (see page 8 of the reading)

a. Liberal Democrats

The liberal democrats thought that western Europe provided a great example of how a government should be run. They thought that individual liberties were very important, and that the government is there to protect the rights of the citizens.

b. Socialist Revolutionaries

The Socialist Revolutionaries (SR) were the most radical of the socialist groups. Their forefathers were the People's Will, who had assainated the Tsar 20 years prior. They were a party of intellectuals pioneering for what they saw as the people's cause. They had two main goals. The SR wanted to socialize all land and redistribute in into communes, and transform the then monarchical government into a democratic republic. The SRs turned to violence, and assainated the Tsar's minster of the interior. Other assassinations followed.

c. Social Democrats

The Social Democrats were also radicals, but they instead turned to Marxism. They believed that if Russia became more industrialistic, then it would provide better grounds for socialism- focusing on the working class instead of the peasants. The SDs called for a revolution to build a stringer sense of consciousnesses among the working class. The next year the SDs split into two groups, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.

8. How did Bloody Sunday change people's attitudes toward the Tsar?

People had peacefully gathered in the Tsar's winter Palace to air their grievances with the Tsar. The Tsar sent out his guard, and by the end of the day, more than two-hundred people lay dead. People no longer saw the Tsar as the benevolent protector as they once had.

9. List four reforms in Tsar Nicholas's October Manifesto.

1) expansion of civil liberties

2) a limited monarchy

3) a legislature elected by universal suffrage

4) the legalization of trade unions and political parties

The Seeds of Conflict

1. Define "The West." Make sure you could identify several countries as examples.

"The West" are the countries of North America and western Europe that maintained capitalist and democratic ideologies. While the United States was the principal power of the West, Great Britain, Canada and France were also represented.


2. Explain the differences in the economic ideology between the West and the USSR.

The West and the USSR has very different economic ideologies. The West was run by a ideology known as capitalism, while the ideology in the USSR was run by communism. Capitalism is an economy where individual people are encouraged to prosper. The individuals have the freedom and right to own their own businesses and to keep the profits. The individuals get ahead in life using their own gumption and prosperity. The idea of the individual prospering is the complete opposite of communism, where people are encouraged to work together as a community to prosper as a whole. In communism, having individuals prosper is seen as what produced the division between the different classes. It was believed that the working class was poor and the factory and business owners were the rich. Because of this, the government took away the freedom to own a business, and took over the businesses and factories themselves, to ensure that the good produced and provided would be distributed equally among the community.

3. Explain the differences in the political ideology between the West and the USSR.

In the West and the USSR, here were also many differences in their political ideologies. In the West, they were strong believers in Liberal Democracy, while in the USSR, they believed in the Communist State. In the West, the Liberal Democracy was upheld because people felt that it allowed them to uphold their freedoms. A liberal democracy allowed people the right to vote, freedom of speech, the freedom to worship and free press. This system allowed people to have a chance to vote an unpopular party out of the government offices. However, in the USSR, different political parties were seen as dividers for people of conflicting classes. Because the USSR was a Communist State, and because they wanted to rid themselves of the dividing classes, they created a one-party government, which ruled on behalf of the people. Because of the one- party state, the freedoms that they had once enjoyed and seen in the West were threatened. Also, they believed that conflict between capitalism and communism was unavoidable because of their opposing views. They also believed that for communism to succeed, it had to be worldwide, which would mean the destruction of capitalist economies.

4. What was the Comintern (Communist International) and why did it concern the West.

The Comintern was the coordination of communist groups from all over the world to help support each other in their attempts to undermine the capitalist counties by revolution. This concerned the West because they feared that a revolution would happen in their own countries. Before the Comintern was founded, the communist powers were disjointed, and lacked any unity, but know that they were all together, they had more power then ever before.

5. What occurred during the Russian Civil War (1918-21) that solidified the opposition between the West and the Communists?(Be specific and use key details.)

During the Russian Civil War (1918-21), the West (USA. France, Great Britain, and Japan) tried to intervene aiding the conservative forces- known as The Whites- against the Red Bolshevik forces. The West not only wanted to stop the Bolshevik forces, but reverse Lenin's decision to take Russia out of WWI against Germany. When WWI ended in November of 1918, Western efforts started to wither, and by 1918, the Red Forces had won the Civil War. The show of the Western forces against the Bolsheviks showed that they were ready to take militaristic actions against communism, whenever the need might arise.