World War I
Consequences and Results: Russia and Germany
Mary Ann Wilson
Midland Valley High School
Global Studies Honors
Grade 9-10
Aftermath of World War I:
Consequences
Social:



almost 10 million soldiers were killed and
over 20 million are wounded
millions of civilians died as a result of the
hostilities, famine, and disease
the world was left with hatred,
intolerance, and extreme nationalism.
Aftermath of World War I:
Consequences Continued
Economic:

the total cost of the war: over $350 billion.
How was this paid for???




heavy taxes: causes lower standard of living for the
European people.
international trade suffers: nations raise the
tariffs on imports and exports.
Russia: communist seize power and introduce a
new economic system.
economic collapses bring on the Great
Depression of the late 1920’s and 1930’s.
Aftermath of World War I:
Consequences Continued
Political:





U. S. emerges as a world power because of the
assumption of international responsibilities.
3 major European dynasties are taken out of power:
Romanovs--Russia, Hohenzollerns--Germany, Hapsburgs-Austria-Hungary.
New states are created in central Europe, some
containing several different nationalities, especially in
Poland and Czechoslovakia.
The League of Nations is created to solve international
problems and maintain world peace. Will be a failure.
Many nations turn to military dictatorships—primarily
Russia, Italy, and Germany, to control their political
problems.
Germany: Treaty of Versailles
1. Germany’s financial responsibility for the war.
a. War Guilt Clause (moral responsibility)
2. Exclusion from the League of Nations
3. loss of territory (Alsace and Lorraine in particular)
a. creation of the Rhineland
b. The Sudetenland goes to Czechoslovakia
c. Territories given to Denmark, Poland, and
Belgium
4. Separation of Austria and Germany
5. Limitation of German armies (100,000 volunteer
troops), no air force, u-boats and only 6
battleships
The League of Nations




Purpose:
eliminate international anarchy
prevent war by encouraging disarmament
and settling the international disputes that
may occur in a peaceful manner
solve economic and social problems
through international cooperation
Why Did the League Fail?
The United States Contribution:
 rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of
Nations and accepted a policy of Isolationism. Why?





The League might possibly drag the U. S. back into another war
-- this would be a violation of the Constitution where Congress
only has the power to declare war.
The League might interfere in our own domestic affairs.
The U.S. felt the League would be dominated by England and its
buddies.
The League membership would involve the U.S. in the problems
of the entire world and violate the policy of Isolationism.
NEVER joined the League of Nations. However we did,
in a limited manner cooperate with the League by joining
the International Labor Organization
Why Did the League Fail?
Other Failures:

Membership was not inclusive of major nations:







Russia joined in 1934 but was kicked out in 1939
Germany and Japan pulled out in 1933
Italy withdrew in 1936
Voting on issues required a unanimous vote
Member nations retained their National Sovereignty – their ability
to act independently of other nations. The League did not have the
power to enforce the power to tax, draft, and enforce its own
decisions. It could ask for things from the member nations but it did
not have the power to force it from them.
The League failed in several major takeovers during the 1930’s, in
particular aggression from Japan, Italy and Germany. (The German
aggression was in direct violation to the Treaty of Versailles.)
League disbanded in 1946 by its own vote and transferred its
powers (what little it had) to the newly created United Nations.
Germany and Russia: Brest-Litovsk
Conditions of Treaty
 Russia loses much land in Western Russia to
Germany and its allies
 Russia is to demobilize its armies and either
bring all ships into ports or disarm them.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Cont’d





The Ukraine, Estonia, Livonia, Finland will be
cleared of Russian troops and will be allowed to
be propaganda free of Russian manipulation
against the Axis powers.
Livonia and Estonia will be occupied by a
German police force
All Finnish ports will be cleared of Russian
vessels
Russia must compensate Axis powers for monies
lost during the war
Note: this is a brief synopsis of the treaty
Russia to the USSR
•
•
•
Czar Nicholas II and
family assassinated
the Russian
government falls into
the hands of Premier
Vladimir Lenin and his
War Minister Leon
Trotsky.
Russia is pulled out of
WWI with the Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk.
Russian Civil War 1917-1921


The anti-Bolsheviks,
called “whites”, led by
former Czarist officers,
vs. the Bolsheviks “reds”.
They are also facing
attacks from outside
Russia, coming from
Poland and the Allied
nations who disliked the
concept of Communism.
(1st of several Red
Scares)
“Vrangel still alive. Rest him
without mercy”
Rise of Joseph Stalin




1922: Lenin dies and
Stalin fights his way to
power.
Revived Russia’s
economy: 5 Year Plans
Collectivization of all
industry and agriculture
Creation of the Worker
State
Hard Work
of Peasant
Result of 5
Year Plans
Stalin: Continued

Problems of Economic Policy:


Industry: much waste and error. High
production costs and goods were often of
poor quality.
Agriculture: 20 % of labor force worked in
agriculture and cannot keep up with
production as population increased. Crude
farming methods and poor equipment lead to
peasant’s resentment of collectivization.
Stalin Continued
Other issues:
 Religious persecutions of Jews, Roman
Catholics and Moslems.
 State religion is Atheism
 Working conditions, in most situations
were deplorable and pay was
inconsequential. Suffering of the common
man (proletariat) is unbearable.
Germany--Weimar Republic-1920’s
The Weimar Republic:

discredited in the eyes of the world AND
Germany



everyone is blaming the communists, Jews
amd liberals for the problems of the Weimar
Republic.
Political Extremism—Communist (left) and
fascist and extreme nationalist (right).
Economic disaster
Why is the Weimar Republic
Disliked?





Blamed for the forced acceptance of the
Treaty of Versailles
Blamed for the rampant economic failure
of Germany after World War I
Blamed for the social distress that is skyrocketing around Germany
Cannot control the problems that are
rocketing throughout the country
The people are looking for SALVATION
Adolf Hitler

a.
b.
c.
Hitler: born in Austria
(1889)
influenced by the
nationalism and antiSemitism of the time.
1921—talented public
speaker whose forum is
the streets.
Joins the National
Socialist German Workers
Party
Adolf Hitler

Nov. 8, 1923—Beer Hall Putsch.
Arrested and imprisoned for 9
months (sentenced for longer)
writes Mein Kampf in prison.
Points of book:
a. going to sway the people with
propaganda
b. going to free them from the constraints
of the Treaty of Versailles
c. the Jews, Communists, and Liberals
caused the war and should be
removed

Hitler




1924: rebuilds the banned
Nazi Party.
Begins to place members
in the Reichstag.
By 1932—Nazi Party is the
largest political party in
Germany.
Jan. 30, 1933—appoint
Hitler Chancellor—2nd in
command of the German
government behind Pres.
Paul von Hindenburg.
Hitler

Hitler immediately pushes through the Enabling Act:
allows the German Gov’t to suspend the civil rights of
the German people.
a. censor mail
b. suspend rights of assembly
c. press is no longer free.


March 1933: Hindenburg dies of natural causes.
Hitler combines the offices of Chancellor and President
and declares himself the Fuhrer (leader) and begins
his “Third Reich” that would last a 1000 years.
Why does Hitler Succeed?










Germany: The conditions of the 1920’s
economic distress: rabid inflation and devaluation of
the currency.
Worldwide Depression collapses the little bit of
economic success the lower and middle classes had.
rising unemployment
Fear of Communism: middle class supported the Nazis
Appeal of Nationalism: Germans had never lost a major
conflict--were convinced they had not really lost World
War I. They were sold out! Nazis exploited this feeling.
Anti-Semitism
Weak government—Weimar Republic
Lack of a democratic tradition: Weimar Republic was a
democracy of sorts.
Hitler—the man himself and his charismatic leadership
NAZI Rule




Nazi Rule:
Government: all parties except the Nazi party are illegal
Hitler is supreme
create the Gestapo, under the leadership of Heinrich
Himmler. This is a brutal police who arrest and suppress
without mercy.


create the 1st concentration camp at Dachau
Propaganda leader: Joseph Goebbels: controlled the
media throughout the country to make sure that only
Nazi ideas were propagated.
NAZI Propaganda—Hitler the
Leader
Nazi Propaganda—Hitler Youth
Propaganda: The Internal Enemy



Science and Culture
creates the idea of
the Supreme Race
Enemy of the “Aryan”
Treatment of Jews
1933-1939:
Nuremburg Laws
Hitler’s goal was Lebensraum
(living space)








1936: Rome-Berlin Axis with Italy
1936: assisted Franco in his civil war in Spain
1936: invades and take the Rhineland (created by
Treaty of Versailles)
1938: Anschluss: union of Germany and Austria
1938: takes the Sudetenland (Czech. Owned
German speaking) Allies protest!
Promised to not take anymore.
1938: Takes Czecholoslovakia
1939: Blitz of Poland
Bibliography





Gordan, Irving. World History, Second Ed. New
York:
Amsco School Publications.
1996.
Hacken, Richard. “3 March, 1918: The Peace
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk”.
http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7wwI1918/brestlitovsk.
July 10, 2007.
Keegan, John. The First World War. New York:
Vintage Books, 1998.
Meyer, G. J. The Story of the Great War
1914 to
1918. New York: Bantam Dell,
2006.
Spielvogel, Jackson J., Ph.D. World History
Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill, 2005.
Images
All images were taken from the following websites. They were taken during
the dates of April-July of 2007.

Treaty of BrestLitovsk:http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/ph003800/index.jpg

Vladimir Lenin: http://cla.calpoly.edu:16080/~lcall/lenin.gif

Russian Civil War: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org

Soviet Worker Posters: http://www.johndclare.net/images

Joseph Stalin: http://media.isnet.org

Adolf Hitler Posters (including Hitler Youth):
http://z.about.com/d/history1900s/1/0/v/P/hitler36.gif

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images

http://webarchiv.bundestag.de/archive/2005/0919/parlament/geschichte/pa
rlhist/streifzug/g1929/g1929_6.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/ww2/media/images/posters/ewigeju
de.jpg

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goebbels/gallery/images/g_06_1.jpg

http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/pli03468/index.jpg
Suggested Lessons

Discussion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
a. Break class into separate groups: Czarist Russia, Bolshevik Russia, Germany,
Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary.
b. With the five separate sections, create groups of 4-5 (the actual number of groups
will vary, depending on the class size.)
c. Give each nation group a fact sheet of the treaty demands and have each group
discuss the pros and cons of the treaty as these demands pertain to their country.
d. Divide the groups again, choosing one from each group until you have remixed
the groups into multi-national councils. Have these new councils negotiate the peace
treaty.
e. When completed with negotiations, have the students compare their results with
the actual treaty and explain why their treaty was different or the same.
Propaganda:
Included throughout the power point are a variety of different propaganda posters used
by the Soviet Union and Germany during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Using the attached
critique sheet of a poster, have the students analyze these posters and then compare
them to those used before and during World War I.
•
Interpreting a Propaganda Poster
1. What is your initial reaction upon seeing this for the first time? Is it
appealing? Informative? Does it bring forth any particular
emotion(s)?
2. Who do you think created this?
3. When do you think this was created?
4. Why do you think this was created?
5. List any persons portrayed.
6. Describe any symbols or logos found. Who is the target audience of
the poster?
7. What is the message(s) of this poster?
8. Does the layout and artwork of this poster appeal to you? Yes/No?
Why?
9. What is the reaction the creator is looking for in his target audience?
10.After viewing this poster, are you more or less sympathetic to the
cause of the artist? Why?
Amended from the Truman Presidential Library
Standards and Indicators
http://ed.sc.gov/agency/offices/cso/standards/ss/documents/9INEZSo
cialStudiesStandards.pdf