WW1 Aftermath
Key Question: What did the 'Big 3' want from Germany after World War 1?
World War1 had left Europe devastated.
The total deaths of all nations who fought in the war is thought to have been 8.5 million with 21 million wounded.
In addition, vast areas of north-eastern Europe had been reduced to rubble. Flanders in Belgium had been all but destroyed with the ancient city of Ypres being devastated. The homes of 750,000 French people were destroyed and the infrastructure of this region had also been severely damaged. Roads, coal mines, telegraph poles had all been destroyed, hindering the regions ability to recover and function normally.
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War 1 between Germany and the Allies, England, France and America. The treaty was signed at the Versailles Palace near Paris.
Total losses in the Great War
The Allies
Britain : 750,000 soldiers killed; 1,500,000 wounded
France : 1,400,000 soldiers killed; 2,500,000 wounded
Belgium : 50,000 soldiers killed
Italy : 600,000 soldiers killed
Russia : 1,700,000 soldiers killed
America : 116,000 soldiers killed
The Axis powers
Germany : 2,000,000 soldiers killed
Austria-Hungary : 1,200,000 soldiers killed
Turkey : 325,000 soldiers killed
Bulgaria : 100,000 soldiers killed
To do: Answer the following questions using the link: The Treaty of Versailles
Who were the big three? Why were they the main negotiators?
Explain the expectations of the following participants.
The British
The Americans
The French
Where the allied powers happy with the treaty?
What was the German reaction to the treaty?
What were the main consequences of the treaty of Versailles?
What is the cartoonist 'Sowing the seeds of future wars 1919' saying about the costs Germany had to pay in the cartoon (Right)?
Why were the Germans unhappy with the Treaty of Versailles?
After agreeing to the Armistice in November 1918, the Germans had been convinced that they would be consulted by the Allies on the contents of the Treaty. This did not happen and the Germans were in no position to continue the war as their army had all but disintegrated.
Though this lack of consultation angered them, there was nothing they could do about it. Therefore, the first time that the German representatives saw the terms of the Treaty was just weeks before they were due to sign it on June 28th 1919.
There was anger throughout Germany when the terms were made public. The Treaty became known as a Diktat – as it was being forced on them and the Germans had no choice but to sign it. Many in Germany did not want the Treaty signed, but the representatives there knew that they had no choice as Germany was incapable of restarting the war again.
In one last gesture of defiance, the captured German naval force held at Scapa Flow (north of Scotland) scuttled itself i.e. deliberately sank itself.
Germany was given two choices:
1) sign the Treaty or
2) be invaded by the Allies.
They signed the Treaty, as in reality they had no choice. When the ceremony was over, Clemenceau, the French president, walked out into the gardens of Versailles and said “It is a beautiful day”.
The German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles
To do: What was the German reaction to the Versailles treaty?
Were the Germans consulted about the treaty?
When did the Germans first see the treaty?
What does Diktat mean?
Explain the reasons why Germany couldn't refuse to sign the treaty
Describe the mood in Germany after the signing of the treaty and identify the main concern that Germans had.
Use evidence from the source to explain the cartoonists message in figure 1?
Use evidence from the source to explain the cartoonists message in figure 2.
Figure 1. 'Peace terms'. Punch 1919
Figure 2. 'You have until Monday'. Punch 1919
Extra: ‘What we have lost will be regained’ 1923.
A German postcard, produced about the time of the Treaty of Versailles, showing German territory at the end of the war. The areas in red are the lands given to other countries by the Treaty of Versailles ( including the land lost by Austria). The postcard title is 'Lost but not forgotten land'. The poem under the map reads:
You must carve in your heart
These words, as in stone -
What we have lost will be regained
Describe the message in the postcard.
Assess the strengths and limitations of source C for an historian studying Weimar Germany.
Extra: Stabbed in the back. 1919
An illustration from an 1919 Austrian postcard showing a caricatured Jew stabbing the German Army in the back with a dagger. The loss of the war was blamed upon the unpatriotic populace, the Socialists, Bolsheviks, the Weimar Republic, and the Jewish population. (1919)
Describe the message of this cartoon. (2)
Who is the intended audience of this cartoon? (2)
Is source D a primary or secondary source? How do you know? (2)
Activity 1. Belair Bugle - The Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles article (200+ words)
You have just observed the conference at Versailles as a reporter representing The Belair Bugle.
Write an article for the Belair Bugle that explains the following points to your readers:
Is the treaty fair? Give examples of the terms you consider to be unfair
Explain how you think Germany will react to these terms?
Include reasons why you think Germany will react badly.
Describe your concerns about what might happen in the future as a result of the harsh terms of the treaty?
A guide to writing a newspaper article for the Belair Bugle
Don’t forget to include a headline that gains the reader’s attention and a kicker to kick-start the story by posing a question or summarising the feature article. You will also need to add the by-line (the writer’s name) at the beginning.
The introduction:
The purpose of the introduction or lead is to capture the attention of the readers and entice them to read further into the story.
The body:
Quotations can be used to add life and personality to an article.
Pace. A magazine feature article should develop to give the reader only as much information in each paragraph as is needed.
2. The Roaring Twenties and the Weimar Inflation
A visual guide to the Roaring Twenties
The 1920s was the first decade to have a nickname: “Roaring 20s" or "Jazz Age."
The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political change.
It was a decade of prosperity and dissipation, and of jazz bands, bootleggers, raccoon coats, bathtub gin, flappers, flagpole sitters, bootleggers, and marathon dancers. It was, in the popular view, the Roaring 20s, when the younger generation rebelled against traditional taboos while their elders engaged in an orgy of speculation. But the 1920s was also a decade of bitter cultural conflicts, pitting religious liberals against fundamentalists, nativists against immigrants, and rural provincials against urban cosmopolitans.
To do: Create a visual guide to the ‘Roaring Twenties’
Use descriptions, images, newspaper cartoons and quotes to examine the following seven aspects of the Roaring Twenties.
Use these seven (7) points to outline your presentation below.
Women's emancipation - Women had more social freedom
Urbanisation - People began moving to the city
Economics - There was massive economic boom as the world rebuilt
Economic growth led to the development of the consumer society.
Advertising - meant people bought a wider range of goods and listened to the same music, did the same dances and even used the same slang!
Hedonism - The roaring twenties are perceived as time of non-stop partying and hedonism, when drugs became freely available.
Prohibition - In Australia and America many people were uncomfortable with this new, urban, sometimes racy “mass culture” and they responded by trying to stop some practices.
Background Briefing: The Weimar hyperinflation
The new Weimar Republic faced one of Germany’s greatest economic challenges: hyperinflation. Due to massive borrowings used to finance the war effort and pay the reparations from the Treaty of Versailles. The German economy stagnated and was unable to repay its debts. European governments were unsympathetic to Germany’s claim that it couldn’t afford to pay, and in response to a missed payment, French and Belgian troops occupied Germany’s main industrial area, the Ruhr, to take their reparations by force.
In response, the Weimar government simply printed more money to pay for the wages of the striking workers and other government expenses. This led to inflation increasing at an astonishing rate. The cost of living rose rapidly and many people lost everything they had. An underground bartering economy was established to help people meet their basic needs.
“Lingering at shop windows was a luxury because shopping had to be done immediately. Even an additional minute could mean an increase in price. One had to buy quickly. A rabbit, for example, might cost two million marks more by the time it took you to walk into the store. A few million marks meant nothing, really. It was just that it meant more lugging. The packages of money needed to buy the smallest item had long since become too heavy for trouser pockets. They weighed many pounds… People had to start carting their money around in wagons and knapsacks. I used a knapsack.”
George Grosz on the hyperinflation of 1923
3. Sources - Great Depression
After the boom came the crash.
The Roaring Twenties ended with the Wall Street crash in October 1929.
The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1939, and was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors.
In Australia the unemployment rate reached 32%
There were widespread business and bank failures
People were forced out of their homes
People became dependent on government payouts to feed themselves and their families.
German unemployment reached 6 million men out of work, many families struggled to even afford food.
By 1932, German industrial production had fallen to just 58 per cent of its 1928 levels.
Sources Analysis Answer Guide
Don’t forget: Quote often and begin your response with name of the author, not the Source number. Put the source number in brackets at the end of the quote/paraphrasing.
For example:
This is supported by Jones who states that 'History students would be more popular at parties if they used this method.' (Source 3)
SACE Sources advice
More successful responses:
were well-structured
contained relevant evidence from sources when required.
Less successful responses
provided responses without reference to any evidence from the source
stated that sources are limited without reasoning
did not address the nature of sources clearly
did not explain how the nature and origin of the sources were a strength or limitation
did not include of the source in the response.
For example: Source A. Mountain View Mirror. Unemployment Crisis, 1932
Question
Use evidence from the source to describe the impact of the Great Depression (2)
Answer
The Mountain View Mirror shows the impact of high unemployment on two men wearing placards to indicate their need for jobs. Both men want 'decent jobs' and are 'family men' The man on the left also indicates that he is 'a war veteran with skills'. (Source A)
Source 1. The Daily Mail. Greatest crash in history. October, 1929
Questions
Is Source 1 a primary or a secondary source? Use evidence to explain your answer (2)
Use evidence from the source to describe the impact of the Wall Street crash. (2)
Source 2. The New York Times. $100 will buy this car. November 1929
Questions
Describe what is happening in this photo? (1)
Explain how Source 2 supports Source 1. (2)
Source 3. Lowenstein. Weevils in the Flour. 1998
A bush worker remembers: 'Depression! There's always been a depression in Australia as far back as I can remember. I was walking the country looking for work from the end of the First World War until the start of the Second, till 1939!'
Questions
Is Source 3. a primary or a secondary source? How do you know? (2)
Which event ended the Great Depression? (1)
Source 4. Soup Kitchens. 1932. State library Victoria.
Questions
Use examples t describe what is happening in this source. (1)
How could an historian use this photo to examine the impact of the depression on ordinary people? (2)
Source 5. We're on the Susso now. Children’s rhyme. 1931. State library Victoria.
By 1932 more than 60,000 men, women and children depended on government payments for food, called ‘susso’ (short for ‘sustenance’), which allowed them to buy only small amounts of food.
Question
How does the information in Source 5 support the information in the other sources.
‘We’re on the susso now,
We can’t afford a cow,
We live in a tent,
We pay no rent,
We’re on the susso now.’