Impact of the First World War on European economy
Casualties of major
participants in
WWI
2
 WWI, the first great war in the history of mankind, lasted
four years and three months.
Participants
in WWI
(in dark)
3
 65 million soldiers were mobilised.
 Among them, more than 8 million were killed and
20 million were injured.
Corpses on the
Eastern Front
4
 When WWI ended, Europe was in ruins.
A Belgian town destroyed during WWI
5
 Life in the post-war period was very hard.
Food shortage was common in Europe after WWI. This photo shows the
German government distributing food relief to hungry people.
6
The changes in European politics after the First World War
Source A
Source B
Europe
in 1914
Europe
after
WWI
7
 After WWI, four powerful empires in Europe fell.
The 1917 October
Revolution
overthrew the
Czarist dynasty
in Russia.
8
 The fall of the Russian
Empire was perhaps
the most important
one.
Under the leadership of Lenin (列寧),
Russia became the Soviet Union
(USSR), the first communist country
in the world.
9
 They included the Russian Empire, the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Empire and the
Ottoman Empire.
Germany
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Austria
Hungary
Romania
Yugoslavia
Italy
Bulgaria
Austria-Hungary was
divided into Austria and
Hungary. Czechoslovakia
and Yugoslavia were also
created out of the former
empire of Austria-Hungary.
10
 After the War, many
new nation states
were created.
 Most of them were in
Eastern Europe.
11
 After the War, Britain
and France became
weaker.
Britain faced serious economic
problems after the War. The photo
shows a demonstration organised by
British unemployed workers in 1922.
12
 The US extended its trade and
increased its military power.
The US began to build aircraft carriers in the early 1920s.
13
 Japan’s position in Asia was strengthened.
Japan
South Seas Islands
(former German colonies)
After WWI, Japan received the former German colonies in the Pacific region.
14
 During WWI, many new
weapons were developed.
Machine Guns
Poison gas
15
Submarines
Tanks
Warplanes
16
 The patterns of warfare changed.
 There was fighting on land, at sea and in the air. A new
kind of war began.
Submarines
played an
important
role in naval
warfare
during WWI.
17
 All the people of a
country, not just soldiers,
made their own
contribution in this new
kind of war.
 This is what historians call
a ‘total war’ (總體戰).
An American poster published
during WWI, encouraging the people
to save food
18
The change in women’s status after the First World War
19
 During WWI, many men joined the army to fight in the
front line.
German new recruits
during WWI
20
The change in women’s status after the First World War
During WWI, women actively took part in production. The pictures above show
women making airscrews (left) and working in arsenals (right) in wartime.
21
 The government
encouraged women to
take up jobs that had
traditionally been kept
for men in order to
carry on industrial
production.
Women working in a
aircraft factory
22
A cartoon published after WWI,
showing that women were excited
about getting the right to vote
23
 After the War, women’s abilities and their
contribution to the country were recognised.
 Their social status began to rise.
The US government
granted women the
right to vote in 1920.
24
 After the War, the European powers wanted to maintain
peace.
The devastation caused by WWI made the powers to
reconsider the importance of peace.
25
 They set up the League of Nations (國際聯盟)
in 1920 to settle future disputes through peaceful means.
A cartoon showing how Wilson
of the USA was trying to earn
the support of the other nations
to form the League of Nations
26
 Its headquarters were in Geneva (日內瓦),
Switzerland.
Palace of
Nations, the
headquarters
of the League
of Nations
27
 The League was unable to maintain peace.
 WWII finally broke out 20 years later.
Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 led to the outbreak of WWII.
28