WWI: Consequences of the Great War

On November 11th, 1918, at 11 o'clock, Germany surrenders... World War I is over. The Germans are forced to give up, since the war has destroyed their economy. They can no longer provide enough new weapons, soldiers, or even food. In Germany, revolution is brewing, just like in Russia.

Between 9 and 10 million people have died in the war, and about twice that number are wounded. During World War I, weaponry has developed, become more powerful, and more deadly. Aeroplanes have become more advanced, and entirely new weapons have arrived, such as the tank. Many of the wartime inventions will be even more developed, and be more influential in the next major war. World war I is also redrawing the world map.

Countries like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire disappear entirely. Germany and Russia both lose a lot of land. At the same time new countries appear, like Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Turkey. Outside Europe, France and the United Kingdom take over colonies. In Africa they take over Germany's colonies, and from the crumbling Ottoman Empire they seize, among others: Syria, Palestine, and Iraq.

The end of the war also affects how countries are led. In dictatorial Russia, the end of the war leads to a bloody revolution. Many Russians hope that the revolution will lead to a fair and democratic society. But, their hopes are dashed. Instead, the new country, the Soviet Union, is turned into a communist dictatorship.

In other countries, the end of World War I leads to more people demanding - and getting - more democracy. In many countries, women (and poor men) didn't have any right at all to vote, or only weak voting rights, compared to rich men. The period after World War I is the first time that democracy is widely adopted in Europe. So, why democracy? Well, largely because of anger about the war. "If I am to risk my life for my country, I also ought to be allowed a say in how it's run!" When so many of the men were in the army, the women took care of their countries' domestic affairs.

It was often women who worked in the munition factories, and other sections of the economy. But even though women have become so important for their countries, they are still paid less than the men, and are treated worse. To change society and to make it more fair, many are now demanding that women get the right to vote. The Russian revolution and the forming of the communist Soviet Union also affects other countries, and makes them more democratic. Many poor people in Europe dream of making a violent revolution, just like in Russia.

Ideas like these cause men with power and money to panic... if there's a revolution they risk losing it all. With democracy they'll surely lose their political power, but they'll get to keep their money, and their lives. "Hmmm, if we let them have democracy, then they might pass on that revolution thing, and we won't get a situation like the one in communist Russia... in the Soviet Union." Hence, the first World War has by this time led to both the Russian revolution and to more countries in Europe being democratic. Now, during the years after World War I, the foundation is also laid for the bloodiest war in human history...

World War II. France and the other victors, force Germany, who lost the war, to pay a lot of money, war reparations, to cover all that has been destroyed during the war. Their plan is to ruin the German economy, making Germany so poor that it can never afford another war. The war reparations do indeed destroy the German economy, just as planned. But the result is not peace, but poverty, and political chaos.

Instead of democracy, people start longing for a strong leader. It is this poverty, and this chaos, that will eventually pave the way for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, when they seize power in Germany, and start the Second World War, a war that will lead to the deaths of some 60 million people. So, the end of World War I, soon turns into the beginning of World War II.