Transcript End of WWI and the Great Depression PowerPoint

I. WWI Ends
• Russia left the war by 1917, as the Communist
Revolution of Lenin’s Bolsheviks took hold
• War of Attrition continued (more than 9 million
soldiers died and huge amounts of products were
expended in the war efforts)
• USA entered the war, with fresh men and resources in
late 1917
• Germany decided to surrender from a position of
strength (it could have still kept fighting!) Goal: get good
treaty results
II. Kaiser is no longer the
emperor of Germany! Abdicated
and exiled.
Weimar Republic of Germany,
the new democratic government.
III. The Treaty of Versailles
In Paris 1919, the leaders of the victorious countries met to discuss peace
settlement. They were dominated by “The Big Three.” Germany and
Russia were not invited to the peace conference.
David Lloyd-George
[Great Britain]
Georges Clemenceau
[France]
Woodrow Wilson
[USA]
The Treaty of Versailles: Germany
• Germany had to accept full blame for
causing the war.
• Germany had to pay reparations (money
paid to the winners).
• Germany lost large chunks of its land to
other nations and its overseas colonies.
• Germany had to shrink its military forces to
a fraction of what they had been.
Discontent with the Treaty of Versailles
• Germans were bitter!
• Russia (excluded from peace talks) resented being
shunned as Communists.
• Arabs were mad that Ottoman rule was replaced by
British and French control rather than independence
(Mandate System)
• Colonial people who fought in the war were angry that
their nations remained colonies (wanted nationstates).
1914
1919
IV. The Great War
was to see the
collapse of four
continental
empires. These
were to be replaced
by new nation
states.
1.Austria-Hungry
2.Russia
3.Ottoman Empire
4.German Empire
What is the
political
message of
this
cartoon?
1. Describe the
scene shown,
what is the
storyline?
2. Then, assess the
individual
features in the
cartoon.
What is
being
represented
by the
‘hand’?
3. Then, identify the
political message
intended by the
cartoonist.
‘Who’ / or, ‘what’
is the man
representing?
What does
the plank
represent
THE FINISHING TOUCH
i. What do we learn from it
about the period being
studied?
ii. How reliable is this
source?
Describe the condition
of the room in which
this family is living?
How is the child shown?
Why?
Look at the caption,
what is its political
message?
How reliable is this
source?
Vengeance! German Nation
Today in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles the disgraceful Treaty
is being signed. Do not forget it! The German people will with
unceasing labour press forward to reconquer the place among
nations to which it is entitled. Then will come the vengeance for
the shame of 1919.
From the ‘Deutsche Zeitung’ [‘The German Express’] newspaper.
Only fools, liars and criminals could hope for mercy from the
enemy. In these nights hatred grew in me, hatred for those
responsible for the dead.
By Adolf Hitler, who had served in the army and became a future leader of
Germany
The Great Depression
An economic depression in the
United States spread throughout
the world and lasted for a decade.
I.Causes of the Great Depression
1. WWI Ends, production shrinks, men become
unemployed
- European countries in debt to US
- Germany cannot pay reparations or the loans
for the reparations
– High inflationmoney looses value
Causes of the Great Depression
2. Crash of the U.S. stock market
- Panic about the economy
3. Overproduction
• Mass production plus shrinking
wages after WWI meant factories couldn’t sell all
of the goods they made
– Example: Unemployment reached 50% in Germany
and 36% in USA
II. The Great Depression: Capitalism
Challenged
• Major result of the Great Depression = capitalist
countries were challenged and criticized
• Capitalist countries = claimed the economy would
regulate itself and self-correct itself if any problems
arose
– But this wasn’t
happening during
the Great Depression
The Great Depression: Capitalism
Challenged
• Some countries became
interested in communism and
looked twice at the Soviet Union
• USSR continued to
experience economic growth
throughout the Depression
because of 5 Year Plans
(centralized gov’t control)
III. Government Reactions
• Some governments become less laissez faire,
like the United States
• Governments that hold colonies exploit them
even more to try to improve their own economy
• Governments of non-industrial countries became
even stronger autocracies to try to keep control
– Ex: Latin America- military
officers seized power