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Political Effects of WWI
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
Political Effects During WWI Russian Revolution
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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
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
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
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:
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Better working conditions
8-hour work day
Collective bargaining
Wages
Housing
Political Effects After WWI - Treaty
of Versailles
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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
Political Effects After WWI - Treaty
of Versailles
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Article 231 – “War Guilt Clause” – Germany
had to accept everything as their fault
Reparations – Payments for the cost and
damage caused by the war
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Germany had to pay $33 billion dollars
$500 million per year until 1988
Reduced army and made them be only
defensive
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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Serbs
Montenegrins
Croats
Slovenes
Bozniaks
• This caused future unrest
in the area
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 ceasefire 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
Political Effects After WWI –
Treaty of Trianon (Nov. 1920)
• Results - Caused economic problems and
ethnic unrest. They sided with Germany in
WWII
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
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
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
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
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
Political Effects After WWI –
Fear of German Resentment
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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?
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
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
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
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!"
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"