Political Effects of WWI

1. Political Effects of WWI

2. Political Effects During WWI - Russian Revolution • Russia even before the outbreak of war had been facing serious social problems • There were widespread peasant revolts, strikes, and widespread poverty and hunger in the countryside • The Tsar Nicholas II had assumed personal responsibility for leading the armies and spent most of his time after the summer of 1915 at army headquarters

3. Political Effects During WWI - Russian Revolution • Suffered 7 million casualties, but still had 6.5 million men and hope for the future • The Russian army lacked weapons and munitions. Many resigned from the army • The Tsar didn’t like to govern the country; when he was away running the army, his wife and Rasputin were left running the country • The Empress Alexandra, a narrow-minded, autocratic woman was left in charge. She did not use the ministers in government • Some questioned if Rasputin was leading the country. His death in December 1916 led to much public rejoicing

4. Political Effects During WWI - Russian Revolution • In March 1917, Petrograd (St. Petersburg) erupted in worker demonstrations.  The soldiers refused to fire on the crowds, joined the revolt, and the czar abdicated on March 15th • The Provisional Government decided to continue the war. This was a fatal mistake — the war was probably the biggest single cause of discontent • After a couple of tries, the Bolsheviks succeeded in rallying support for a military assault on the government and seized control in October 1917

5. Political Effects During WWI - Russian Revolution • The Bolsheviks took Russia out of the war — they saw it as a capitalist struggle to begin with, and they also needed time to strengthen their domestic government • They signed an armistice with Germany in December 1917 • The Russian government agreed to give up its claims to Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, and the Ukraine, and to pay a heavy war indemnity

6. Political Effects After WWI - New Governments • Monarchies were replaced in Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire • Socialistic ideas experienced a boom • Revolution was in the air as people began to express their desires for a better way of life • Britain, France, and Germany all experienced a rise in socialism to deal with: • Better working conditions • 8-hour work day • Collective bargaining • Wages • Housing

7. Political Effects After WWI - Treaty of Versailles • Germans were forced to sign in June 1919 • Vengeance, not reconciliation, was the treaty’s dominant tone. The Allies hated Germany because: • Money spent on war • Starting war • Deaths

8. Political Effects After WWI - Treaty of Versailles Article 231 – “War Guilt Clause” – Germany had to accept everything as their fault Reparations – Payments for the cost and damage caused by the war Germany had to pay $33 billion dollars $500 million per year until 1988 Reduced army and made them be only defensive

9. Political Effects After WWI - Treaty of Versailles • Limited navy • No reserves • No tanks • No subs • No long-range artillery • No conscription • No colonies • No unions with other countries • Rhineland was to be demilitarized • Saar was to be occupied by France for 15 years • Poland was given a corridor to the sea with Danzig being the main port • Can’t train soldiers to be general staff officers

11. Political Effects After WWI - Treaty of Versailles – Other Countries’ Reactions • Italy – Didn’t get the areas they had hoped for (Fiume) • China – Upset because the Korean peninsula should’ve been theirs, but Japan got it • U.S. – Didn’t accept the treaty because of the League of Nations • Britain – Softened their stance against Germany • France – Upset that the U.S. and Britain had soft stances against Germany

12. Political Effects After WWI - Treaty of Versailles & the League of Nations • Was an international organization to settle international disputes • Its defects were: • The Japanese were offended because her attempts to have a statement of racial equality were rejected • The U.S. and Central Powers (initially) were excluded • It possessed no armed forces of its own

13. Political Effects After WWI – The U.S. Returns To Isolationism • America's return to isolationist politics after the war caused them to reject Wilson's plan to join his new international peace-keeping community • America's abstention destroyed any real hopes for international cooperation to keep the peace, since France and England were not strong enough to do it alone because they were in so much debt

14. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Saint-Germain (Sept. 1919) • Broke up Austria-Hungary • Had to pay war reparations – went bankrupt before they could be set • Couldn’t enter into unions without consent of the League of Nations • Austrian army limited to 30,000 volunteers • Reduced their territory • Also dealt with railroad rights and navigation rights over the Danube River • Result - The vast reduction of territory, population, and resources of the new Austria severely affected its economy and made them resentful

15. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Saint-Germain (Sept. 1919) • Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were just as multi-national as the Austro-Hungarian Empire they replaced • Czechoslovakia • Czechs • Slovaks • Yugoslavia • Serbs • Montenegrins • Croats • Slovenes • Bozniaks • This caused future unrest in the area

16. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Trianon (Nov. 1920) • Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory and 3.3 million people • When the Romanian Army infringed upon the cease-fire line, the Allied powers asked Hungary to acknowledge the new Romanian territorial gains • Unable to reject the terms, but unable to accept the treaty, the democratic government resigned. It was replaced by a Communist government • The Romanian army attacked and won • The Allied powers restored the Hungarian state • Army reduced to 35,000; no conscription • Was to recognize the rights of minorities in her borders • Amount of reparations was never set

17. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Trianon (Nov. 1920) • Results - Caused economic problems and ethnic unrest. They sided with Germany in WWII

18. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Sevres (Aug. 1920) • Ottoman Empire renamed Turkey • Territory shrunk: • Created the Kingdom of Hejaz (later Saudi Arabia) • Created Armenia • Greece and Italy got territorial gains • Mandates were given to: • Britain – • Iraq • Palestine • France – • Lebanon • Syria

19. Political Effects After WWI – British Mandate of Palestine • The United Kingdom was granted control of Palestine by the Versailles Peace Conference • During World War I the British had made two promises regarding territory in the Middle East: • Britain had promised the local Arabs, through Lawrence of Arabia, independence for a united Arab country covering most of the Arab Middle East, in exchange for their supporting the British • Britain had promised to create and foster a Jewish national home as laid out in the Balfour Declaration, 1917

21. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Sevres (Aug. 1920) • Allies controlled the Empire’s finances • Everyone was to be granted free transit through the Empire • Goods in transit were to be free of customs duties • Property of citizens from Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Bulgaria was to be liquidated • Army reduced to 50,000, reduced navy, reduced air force • Were supposed to give up the people responsible for committing massacres during the war to an Allied Tribunal, but this was never executed • The Dardanelle Straits were to be open in both peace and war

22. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Sevres (Aug. 1920) • Results – • Created areas under Western control that were nationalistic and sought their autonomy • Fostered resentment of the occupying Western forces • Some Middle Eastern countries, like Iran, would create a good relationship with Germany • Didn’t resolve the issue over a Jewish homeland

23. Political Effects After WWI – Treaty of Neuilly (Nov. 1919) • Bulgaria established borders over contested territories • Reduce army to 20,000 • Pay reparations of over $400 million • Results – Resentment over the loss of lands led them to occupy them with the Nazis during WWII

25. Political Effects After WWI – Fear of German Resentment • Locarno Treaty • Signed in October 1925 • The Germans renounced any desire to change their western frontier with France and accepted the loss of Alsace-Lorraine • Britain and Italy guaranteed the western frontiers of France and the continued demilitarization of the Rhineland against a “flagrant breach” – but what did that mean?

26. Political Effects After WWI – Fear of German Resentment • Locarno Spring • Had eased tensions between France and Germany, but France was still suspicious of Germany • From 1925-1929, relations were better between the two countries • France had an alliance with Poland and Czechoslovakia, but these two countries couldn’t be counted on for French security • Britain wouldn’t aid France if they attacked Germany

27. Political Effects After WWI – Kellogg-Briand Pact • Created by the U.S. Secretary of State and French Foreign Minister • Agreement signed in 1928 that renounced war as a way to resolve disputes • A total of 62 nations signed the treaty, including the U.S., Italy, Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Japan

28. Political Effects After WWI - Stab In the Back & Hitler’s Rise • The German and Austrian populaces, with their censored presses, had been kept in the dark about the recent military defeats of their armies, so that the surrender came as a complete, nasty surprise • As Germany itself had not been militarily conquered, its citizens expected a mild, negotiated settlement, and were stunned by the harsh peace treaty that their new leaders eventually agreed to • In the years after the war, conspiracy theories grew up in which Germany had been defeated not on the battlefield, but by treacherous politicians at home. Adolf Hitler would later use these theories to great effect in rallying opposition to German democrats, socialists and communists

29. Political Effects After WWI – Stab in the Back & Hitler’s Rise • Adolf Hitler, a veteran of the War's worst firestorms, desperately sought a reason for defeat • Imbued with a burning hatred of Jews, Bolsheviks and even Democrats, the solution was simple - the country had been stabbed in the back by the November Criminals, or in Hitler's words: "a gang of despicable and depraved criminals!"

30. Political Effects After WWI - Stab In the Back & Hitler’s Rise • The First World War created the Dictator that the world would bitterly come to know • He himself admitted this in 1941, saying: "When I returned from the War, I brought back home with me my experiences at the front; out of them I built my National Socialist community"