Economic+and+Social+Changes+of+WWI

Stacie Chapman 7

IB History/Research Paper

December 10, 2009

1,500-word maximum

On November 11, 1918, Germany accepted the armistice terms demanded by the allies and World War One ended. The four-year long war caused great destruction to all countries involved. Out of all, Germany suffered the greatest economically, politically and socially. In total, World War One cost a total of $337 overall. By 1918, the last year of the war, it was costing about $10 million and hour. Sixty-percent of Germany and the UK’s output was going toward the war, compared to the seventeen-percent of economic output that Canada and the U.S. were putting toward the war. In most European countries, many returning soldiers could not find jobs. Europe lost man markets for its exports while producing war goods. On the contrary, the U.S. and other countries played a smaller role in the war and emerged with increased economic power [i]. Throughout the four years the war became more expensive. This caused most countries to borrow, creating huge war debt. The allies borrowed greatly from the United States [ii]. On the other hand, others printed extra money, which caused severe inflation. Germany suffered greatly from hyperinflation. However, Germany was blinded by the crises of the year to realize that prices had been rising greatly and rapidly since the early months of the war. They assumed this was a part of the great reparations they were responsible for paying as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. Between the years of 1914 to 1918 the real value of the mark fell, dropping from 4.2 to 8.9 against the U.S. dollar. On top of this, the increase in national debt increased from 5000 million marks to 144,000 million marks [iii]. Not long after the war, did the Wall Street Crash occur and other countries go into the depths of economic downfall. The whole world was suffering which sent Germany into major turmoil. “As demand for exports collapsed, so world trade slumped. In this situation, German industry could no longer pay its way. Without overseas loans and with its export trade falling, prices and wages fell and the number of bankruptcies increased.” Before the Wall Street Crash, Germany was already suffering extensively. But after the market crash it was said that every one in three German workers was unemployed in 1933 [iv]. All this economic struggled occurred because of the neglect to the economy during the First World War. The government was pouring all the attention into the war and paid the consequences after the conclusion. The economic depression around the world lead to a political crisis in Germany. “Britain, France, and the USA were all well-established democracies and did not face the possibility of a wholesale collapse of their political system.” [v] On the other hand, Germany did. The people of Germany were becoming restless and fed up with the Weimar. They had been suffering for years and the situation was only getting worse. This is where the National Opposition arose. Nazism and nationalists were gaining national standing for the first time [vi]. This lead to many political changes, such as the collapse of the Weimar and Hitler coming to power. The Great War brought many changes in society. The deaths of so many people, both civilians and soldiers, left gaps in society and psychological scars on the survivors. Losing young men to the war resulted in lower birth rates. Many villages and towns were destroyed and civilians that had fled their homes and went back to their town in pieces. Others became refugees because of new governments and national borders [vii]. Since many farms were destroyed during the war, urban areas grew immensely after the war because of peasants settling in the cities. Women were granted a new independence because of the need for them to fulfill the jobs that men had left to fight in the war. Many countries granted the right for woman to vote after the war [viii]. Socially, the people of Russia and Germany suffered greatly. By 1917 the Russians were not longer to put up the casualties and shortage of food and fuel. They blamed Czar Nicholas II and his advisors for the countries problems. An uprising in early 1917 forced Nicholas from the throne and the new government continued the war [ix]. The people of Germany suffered long-term after the war. The economic destruction left many people unemployed and hungry. Not long after the Great Depression swept the whole world into trouble. All in all, this war took a toll on every country involved. Between republics collapsing, economic downfall and the lives of millions taken, it was exhausting. All of the uneasiness left after the war was taken into World War II, which occurred not too long after. Politcally, socially, and economically there were many changes for every nation.

[i] "World War 1." World Book Advanced. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. . P. 13 [ii] Ibid p. 13 [iii] Layton, Geoff. __The Great Inflation,__ 3rd Edition. London. Hodder, 2005. P.1-2 [iv] Layton, Geoff. __The Decline of Weimar ad the Rise of Nazism 1929-32,__ 3rd Edition. London. Hodder, 2005. P.125 [v] Ibid- p. 125 [vi] Ibid- p. 122 [vii] Wolfson, Robert, and John Laver. "International Relations nd Crises 1919-39." Years of Change European History 1890-1990. 3rd ed. Print. P. 283 [viii] "World War 1." World Book Advanced. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. . P. 13 [ix] Ibid- p.13