Transcript E - PTO
Section III: Peace in a New Europe (Pages 624-629) This section is about: The armistice that ended World War I. The economic and human costs of the war. How world leaders attempted to work out peace terms at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Start by looking at the pictures on each of the pages: 625-628. Look at the “Main Ideas” on page 624. Look at the side notes on 624 and 625. Peace in a New Europe Signing an Armistice It’s a lot easier to start a war than it can be to end one. Ending WWI took the skills of all the leaders of both sides. The Eleventh Hour As more an more Americans came to help the exhausted French and British troops, the Germans began losing hope of winning the war. All of the other countries had already signed an armistice. Finally, Germany did, too – at 11/11/11 and the war was over (1918). The terms of the treaty were tough on Germany – they gave up many of their weapons and the allies had the right to occupy the western part of Germany (west of the Rhine) (an agreement to stop fighting) Disbanding Allied Troops Plans were started for demobilization / demilitarization on both sides (sending soldiers back home). This process took a long time – the tired French and British went first. The American “doughboys” didn’t leave Europe until 1923. Effects of the War WWI affected millions around the world. It involved countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. Fighting took place in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Fighting happened the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Total War WWI was a total war – soldiers, regular people, movement of people and goods – and changed the face of the world forever. It brought mass destruction to many of the towns of Europe. It changed political boundaries of many countries. It even changed the workforce – for the first time, women began working regular jobs a lot more and soon after the war was over got the right to vote. Costs of the War Wars also cost a lot of money and WWI was “record breaking.” $186 billion dollars in 1918 money. But there were other costs – loss of business and regular production, medical costs for the wounded, future economic contributions of the killed, and costs of supporting families of people who had died. More than 65 million soldiers fought in WWI. Some battles had over a million soldiers. Some countries had even more civilian than military deaths. As an example, the Ottoman Turks thought the Armenian Christians were helping the Russians and massacred 1.5 million men women and children. 7-11 million soldiers were killed and twice that many were wounded and/or disabled for life. An entire generation of European youth were killed. “Only” 125,000 Americans were killed in battle. In Germany or Great Britain, it seemed just about every family had someone who had been killed. Loss of Life “Only” 125,000 Americans were killed in battle. But, about 650,000 American soldiers died during the war. There was a bad flue epidemic in the world in 1918. It may have even started in 1918 in Kansas, and a soldier brought it to Europe. It kept spreading and spreading. It infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of them—3 to 5 percent of the world's population at the time—making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history The Terms of Peace The Fourteen Points The war was not officially over until there was a plan for peace. The allies met at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to come up with a plan. President Wilson had come up with a plan about how the countries of the world should get along after the war. It had 14 points, so it’s called: ______________ The Paris Peace Conference At the peace conference, different committees worked on different parts of the plan. One of the issues was reparations – who was going to pay for the damages of the war? “The Big Four” (U.S., Great Britain, France, and Italy) met at Versailles The other countries had a more minor role in the plan. Each of the Big Four countries found things in the Fourteen Points they didn't like – and since the other 3 were in Europe, they had their own plans about the post-war map of Europe. Treaty of Versailles The losing nations couldn’t help with the post-war plan at the Treaty of Versailles. And, the winning nations broke some promises they made at the Paris Peace Conference. Germany lost some land and Resources. Poland was made a separate country again. All of Germanys’ overseas colonies were taken from them (and spit up by the Allies). ………………………… The hardest part for Germany: Germany had to accept the “war guilt” statement – that they were the aggressor in the war. This meant that Germany would have to pay reparations for the damage they caused, and the Allied losses ($33 Billion). Economists pointed out this would cause problems down the road – for Germany and for nations that would trade with them. Terms of the Treaty of Versailles There were a total of 440 clauses in the final treaty. The first 26 clauses dealt with the establishment of the League of Nations. The remaining 414 clauses spelled out Germany's punishment. …………………. “The Big Four” wanted to make sure Germany would never be a threat again. Germany would be restricted to 100,000 troops (not many). The German army had to reduce their amount of ships. They were prohibited to manufacture armored cars, tanks, airplanes, submarines, and poison gas. The area west of the Rhine River became a demilitarized zone – no military forces. The League of Nations The Treaty of Versailles also created the League of Nations. They were supposed to keep countries boundaries intact and reduce military forces and equipment. President Wilson’s “14th Point” was that the League of Nations should also keep world peace. In the U.S., Congress makes peace treaties – not the president - and republicans wanted that control. They also felt that the United States might have to listen to the League of Nations at times when the United States might want to take a more independent action. …………………….. Wilson traveled all over the United States, trying to win support for his plan. But Wilson wore himself out, got very sick, went back to Washington D.C., and died. The Treaty of Versailles was signed, but not by the United States – they made a separate treaty with Germany. One of the purposes of the League of Nations: prevent aggressor nations from forming – but we know there’s a WWII, so it didn’t work the way it was planned Other Treaties Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia (with Serbia and Montenegro) were made countries. Austria-Hungary's army was reduced and it’s navy eliminate d – it’s ships given to the Allies. Hungary lost 2/3 of it’s population to Czechoslovakia, Austria, Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Italy. The Allies took away much of the Ottoman Empire’s territory. Turkey and Greece gave up land to Greece, Italy, and Yugoslavia. Iraq and Palestine (Mesopotamia) would now be controlled by the British. Effects of the Peace Treaties The Peace Treaty didn’t really solve anything. The Allies didn’t care about their defeated enemies. Resentment grew – especially from the Germans. The economic problems in Germany later encouraged new leaders to take over their government. I think you know what happens about 20 years later.