Download The Legacy of War - Mr. Cathcart`s Social Studies 11

The Legacy of War
The First World War
• Known as the ‘the war to end all wars’
• Hostilities of WW1 ended with the signing of
an armistice on Nov.11, 1918
– Agreement amongst warring countries to stop
fighting and move to a peace conference
Legacy of War
• Early next year, delegates from the belligerents
(countries who participated in the war) met in
Paris to discuss the terms of peace
• Victors of the war set the terms of peace
Legacy of War
• The task was daunting
• Peacemakers wanted to design an
international system to make another war
unlikely
Building the Peace
• Fourteen Points
– President Woodrow Wilson of the US, released a
document called the fourteen points
– Originally released to convince the American
public that the sacrifices made during the war
were justified
Woodrow Wilson
Fourteen Points
• President Wilson then took these same
fourteen points to the Paris Peace Conference.
• Tried to convince the Europeans that these
points could be the foundation for a lasting
peace.
• The points were in organized into two
categories
Group One
• Points 1 - 5 were a new idea about how
countries should work together.
• Idea was called Internationalism
– For internationalism to work countries would have
to put aside selfish feelings (nationalism)
– Ethnic groups would be allowed to create new
countries based on nationalist desires
Group 2
• Points 6 - 8 explained how the lands that
Germany conquered should be dealt with
• Points 9 - 14 referred to the ethnic desires
of the people living in Central and Eastern
Europe.
– Would give Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, and
Poles a homeland.
– These people given their own country, and must
be fair to avoid more conflicts.
– Austria-Hungary empire would no longer exist
The Paris Peace Conferences –
The Treaty of Versailles
• Treaty of Versailles
– Possibly most important international
agreement of the 20th century
– Representatives from Allied Powers met at
the Paris Peace Conferences to decide what
would happen to the defeated countries
– Very difficult to do, wanted to prevent
another war from occurring
Paris Peace Conference
• Realism vs. Idealism
• Realists believed Germany should be dealt
with very harshly so they would physically not
be able to go to war again
• Idealists argued that punishing Germany
would cause the Germans to become bitter
and may cause them to seek revenge
Realism vs Idealism
• President Woodrow Wilson (US) was an idealist
• Prime Minister Georges Clemensceau (France)
was a realist
• These two represented the two sides at the
conference
Realist France
• Because France was located next to
Germany, they wanted Germany to be
crippled/dismantled.
• France wanted Germany to pay for all the
damage they caused during the war
• Paying for these damages was called
reparations
Neutral Britain
• Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain
fell between idealism and realism
• Wanted revenge on Germany
• But didn’t want to cripple them because they
wanted to trade with them in the future
The Treaty of Versailles
• In the end, the treaty that was signed was a
compromise between both sides.
• Arguably the worst of both
• Two very important ideas emerged
– 1. Self-determination
– 2. The War Guilt Clause
Self-Determination
• Self-Determination meant that ethnic
groups could vote on the issue of whom
they would prefer to live with or be
governed by
• To implement self-determination each
ethnic group in Europe had to have their
own homeland
Self-Determination
• Finding land for each ethnic group was
extremely difficult, and the borders of
European countries already existed, making it
much harder
• Two new states (countries) were created
– Czechoslovakia
– Yugoslavia
Self-Determination
Self-Determination
• President Wilson didn’t expect that German
people would have right to self-determination
• Many significant groups were not given a
homeland, but were forced to live in another
country
Self-Determination
• Unfulfilled self-determination led to
future conflict (as we will see)
• Some exceptions were
– Sudetan Germans in Czechoslovakia
– 1 million Poles in Czechoslovakia
– Germans in Polish corridor
– 50-50 split of Germans and French people in
Alsace-Lorraine
– The Irish
Polish Corridor
The War Guilt Clause
• The War Guilt Clause stated that Germany
alone must accept responsibility for causing
the war
• Included to justify the punishments the allies
wanted to place against Germany
The War Guilt Clause
The War Guilt Clause
• Caused
– Germans to protest
– German Chancellor to resign
– German sailors scuttled (sank) the German fleet
so the Allies couldn’t have them
• No protests worked
– Germans had to sign the Treaty of Versailles or the
Allies would resume hostilities (fighting)
The War Guilt Clause
Summary of Provisions of the Treaty of
Versailles
• 1. The War Guilt Clause
• 2. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
• 3. Poland was given a strip of land (from
Germany) to give them access to the sea - called
the Polish Corridor
• 4. Germans and other central powers had to
surrender all of their colonies to the League of
Nations
Alsace-Lorraine
Europe 1914
Europe 1919
Summary of Provisions of the Treaty of
Versailles
• 5. German army was limited to 100,000 men,
navy also very restricted in size
• 6. Germany also forced to surrender entire
merchant fleet to compensate for Allies shipping
losses during the war
Summary of Provisions of the Treaty of
Versailles
• 7. West bank of Rhine River Valley (on border of
France and Germany) was to be demilitarized.
• Allied armies occupied this bank for 15 years
after WW1.
• Rhineland area known as a ‘buffer zone’ since
Germany was not allowed to have military
activity in this area
Europe 1919
Summary of Provisions of the Treaty of
Versailles
• 8. Union between Austria and Germany was
forbidden
• 9. The constitution of the League of Nations
was to be included as part of the treaty
Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
• Treaty of Versailles had many shortcomings
• These problems helped cause WW2
Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
• Examples
– groups left without a homeland kept a strong feeling
of nationalism that can lead people to war
– Germans were angry that they were blamed for the
war, and left so crippled after the Treaty of Versailles.
– Forced to pay extreme penalties for ‘starting the war’
Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
– Hitler will use his view point of the treaty to gain
support and to get help overthrowing the German
government.
– Treaty that ended WW1 was a major cause of WW2
Effects of the War
International Effects
• Approximately 10 million people died in
battle.
• An additional 20 million were casualties
(wounded in action)
International Effects
• The war cost $200 billion, which left most of
Europe bankrupt.
• In today’s currency that would be well into the
trillions
International Effects
• The Ottoman Empire fell apart
• Austria-Hungary disintegrated
– Created Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia
– Made Romania and Bulgaria larger
•
Europe 1914
Europe 1919
International Effects
• Poland became an independent nation
– Previously under Russian and German control
• 3 governments that were ruled by kings were
replaced with democratic governments.
• Germany, Austria, Turkey
• Russia first ever communist country
International Effects
• Germany was forced to pay for all of the
damages caused by war
• Was forced to admit that they were at blame
for the war
• Many refugees in Europe fled their home
countries
Effects of WW1 in Canada
• Summarized as a nation “coming to maturity”
• Business, government, and military all
matured (grew) rapidly
• Canada became more of an independent
country because of their contributions to the
Allied effort
Changes that affected Canada
• At Paris Peace Conference Canada was given a
separate seat and signature from Britian.
• Also eventually given separate seat in the
League of Nations (now the United Nations)
Changes that affected Canada
• Women were recognized as workers during
the war, since they held positions that
previously only men had held
• As a result Canadian women gained the right
to vote federally in 1917
Changes that affected Canada
• Canadian troops gained world recognition for
battle victories (Vimy Ridge and
Passchendaele)
Changes that affected Canada
• After the war, Canada’s population increased
due to immigration
• Canada also saw significant economic growth
during and after the war
Changes that affected Canada
Changes that affected Canada
• War cost the Canadian government $3 billion
dollars.
• To pay off the debt, Canadian government
introduced income tax in 1917
Changes that affected Canada
• Over 60,000 Canadians were killed in action,
and 178,000 were wounded
• Issue of conscription deepened (worsened)
the difference and conflict between French
and English Canadians
Changing Map of Europe
• Peace agreements at Paris Peace Conference
re-drew the map of Eastern Europe.
• The ideas that led to these changes were selfdetermination (especially Central and Eastern
Europe), idea that territories acquired during
the war would be returned, and the victors
(allies) would ‘write the rules’
Changing Map of Europe
• German interests were completely ignored
when Poland was given access to the sea by
creating the Polish Corridor (previously
German territory)
• Czechoslovakia was created and held over 2.5
million Germans
• Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
Changing Map of Europe
• These changes were not the main cause of
WW2
– Did create mind set among German people that
made a war more likely