Transcript Erich Remarque, WWI, Kaiser Wilhelm II

Erich Remarque
World War I
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Erich Maria Remarque






22 June 1898 – 25
September 1970
Working-class family in the
German city of Osnabruck
Started writing at 16
Drafted at 18
Married 3 times (twice to
the same person)
Died in Locarno,
Switzerland
More In-depth







Born Erich Paul Remarque –
switched to mother’s middle name
later to honor her
Only son among 3
Poor family – moved at least 11
times
Wanted to become an elementary
school teacher
In 1938, stripped of his German
citizenship, while living in
Switzerland
His youngest sister was killed
because of the book and Remarque
was “far beyond the Nazi’s reach.”
In 1939 moved to U.S. – became
citizen in 1947
Most Famous Work







Im Westen nichts Neues
1929
War novel, historical fiction, novel of
social protest
Original language: German
Settings: Late in World War I:
1917–1918, German-French front
Themes: The horror of war; the
effect of war on the soldier;
nationalism and political power
Translated into 25 languages and
sold over 30 million copies
Few Other Novels





Die Traumbude (The Dream
Room), - first novel: written in
hospital – published in 1920
Der Weg zurück (1931; The
Road Back). – also a war novel
Drei Kameraden (1937; Three
Comrades) – life in postwar
Germany + love story
Floatsam (1940)– first novel
published in America
Arc de Triomphe (1946) – story
of a German refugee
Sides
Allied Powers:





France
British Empire
Russia
Italy
United States
Central Powers:




Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
Causes





Alliances
Militarism
Nationalism
Colonialism
- power struggles: greed
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne, was shot to
death along with his wife.
•They were assassinated in Sarajevo by a member of the Bosnian Serb
assassins, Gavrilo Princip.
•Motive of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary’s SouthSlav provinces and make them a part of Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia.
•Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum against Serbia, which was
partially rejected.
•Austria-Hungary declared war, marking the outbreak of World War I.
Basic Facts








Began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 by Germany and
the Allied Powers at the Paris Peace Treaty.
The Ottoman Empire was destroyed by the end of the war.
The Germans sank an unarmed ship named the Lusitania,
causing the U.S. to be upset.
The U.S. joined the Allies side on April 6, 1917.
WWI was not coined as such until WWII began. During the
war it was simply called the Great War.
The League of Nations was formed after World War I was over.
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization
founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference which
officially ended WWI.
Statistics of World War I








Total number of men mobilized – 65 million
Percentage of mobilized men who died – 57%
Total number of casualties – 37 million
Number of missing POWs – 7.7 million
Number of wounded soldiers – 19.7 million
Number of years fighting took place – 4 years
Number of civilian casualties – 8,865,650
Total cost of the war – $186.3 billion
Advancements: Trench Warfare




Form of land warfare (long
narrow ditches below ground
level) to protect troops from the
enemy’s small fire arms and
artillery
Used on Western Front during
WWI
Both sides used trench warfare
Area between opposing trench
lines was know as “no mans
land”
Advancements: Tanks




The first tank, the British Mark I, was
designed in 1915 and first saw combat at
the Somme in September 1916.
Powered by a small internal combustion
engine burning diesel or gas, a heavilyarmored vehicle could advance even in
the face of overwhelming small arms fire.
Developed in response to the stalemate
that trench warfare created on the
western front (armed frontier between
lands controlled by Germany to the east
and the Allies to the West).
Also called “land ships.”
Advancements: Chemical Warfare




Chemical weapons in World War I were
primarily used to demoralize, injure, and kill
entrenched defenders.
The types of weapons used ranged from
disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the
severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like
phosgene and chlorine.
Poison gas was also used against enemy
soldiers on the trenches even when no attack
was going on.
In response to such deadly chemical warfare
developments, gas masks were created to
protect soldiers from the chemicals.
Advancements: Machine Guns





Machine guns were first
produced during WWI.
They were widely used during
the war by all sides.
Machine guns had the
firepower of approximately 80
rifles.
Invented by Hiram Maxim.
Very powerful, but heavy.
Advancements: Zeppelins




A zeppelin is a type of rigid airship
pioneered by the German Count
Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early
20th century.
Hydrogen gas was used to provide
lift, and small engines propelled the
airship through the sky.
It was equipped with five machineguns and could carry 2,000 kg of
bombs.
During the early stages of the war,
zeppelins were used for bombing
raids.
Advancements: Planes




WWI was the first war in which
aircrafts and planes were used.
Planes were mostly used to
drop bombs from above.
The most common planes
included fighters, bombers, and
ground-attack aeroplanes.
The first recorded powered
flight was in 1903 when the
Wright brothers flew their
aircraft.
Advancements: Undersea Warfare



The Germans and British were
the first to use undersea
warfare.
During WWI, submarines (Uboats) were used to attack
enemy merchant ships and
warships.
Torpedoes, self-propelled
weapons with an explosive head
which are used for water
battles, exploded when in close
proximity with the target.
Political Leaders: Germany
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Political Leaders: United States
Woodrow Wilson
Political Leaders: France
Raymond Poincare
Political Leaders: Great Britain
Prime Minister Herbert Asquith
Political Leaders: Russia
Czar Nicholas II
Political Leaders: Ottoman Empire
Sultan Mehmed V
Political Leaders: Austria-Hungary
Emperor Franz Josef
Kaiser Wilhelm II








Last German Emperor
Born on January 27, 1859 in Berlin
First grandchild of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert
First son of the Crown Prince of
Prussia
Related to many royal figures,
including his cousins Tsar Nicholas II
of Russia and King George V of
Britain
His left arm is withered due to Erb’s
palsy
Studied at the University of Bonn
His father took the throne to
Germany after Emperor Wilhelm I
died
Continued






His father died of throat cancer and
on June 15 of 1888, Wilhelm II took
the throne
He was forced to give up the crown
on November 9, 1918
In 1922, he published his volume of
memoirs
He was first married to Augusta
Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, then
Hermine Reuss of Greiz
He distrusted Adolf Hitler
He died of a pulmonary embolus in
Doorn, Netherlands on June 3, 1941
at age 82
Place of Death
Huis Doorn in Netherlands where Kaiser Wilhelm II died.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and
his first wife, Augusta
Victoria.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and his second wife, Hermine,
with her daughter Princess Henriette.

Kaiser Wilhelm II as a
kid with his father,
Fredrick III, in 1862.
The End