By the time World War I officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles on November 11, 1918, enormous parts of continental Europe lay in ruins. Cities and towns, places of industry and manufacturing, farmland, were all destroyed during the conflict. Millions of soldiers lay dead on the fields, beaches, and trenches of Europe. Countless others who survived the conflict returned home to loved ones scarred in both body and mind by the horrific nature of the first truly modern conflict after the rapid development of the Industrial Revolution. The first uses of poison gas, tanks, submarines, airplanes, and rapid-fire machine guns made this a war beyond anything the peoples of that time had witnessed. Every nation involved in the conflict suffered in some way as a result, but perhaps no nation lost more in this conflict and was in a more vulnerable position as a result of the treaty which ended it, than Germany.
Germany was in a truly terrible state at the end of World War I. Throughout the duration of the war, Germany was fighting on two fronts: France to the west and Russia to the east. As a result, the casualty rate of German soldiers was exceedingly high, accounting for over 50% of the total military losses for the Central Powers. An entire generation of young men had vanished. In addition, almost half a million German civilians were also killed during the conflict. Death, loss, and grief were a national phenomenon, contributing to low morale amongst the population of Germany in the post-war era. This was the case in all nations involved, however, so what made the social climate in Germany distinctly terrible in the years following the war? One thing which sets Germany's loss apart from that of the other Central Powers was the fact that the Treaty of Versaille placed the blame for the entire conflict itself on Germany, and leveled against it the highest penalties.
Germany was ordered to do several things by the Treaty which would contribute to the continued suffering of the German people in the years following the war. First, they were ordered to pay reparations, or financial compensation, to the victorious powers of the war, including England and France. The idea was the Germany was responsible for the financial and civilian losses suffered by the other countries brought into the conflict because they had started it. The total amount of the sum ordered to be paid amounted to approximately $400 Billion dollars in today's currency. This devastated Germany's financial sector, which was already in ruins as a result of the long, expensive war. The currency in Germany, which at that time was the Mark, collapsed, leaving German people unable to afford basic necessities and contributing to increased suffering and poverty. Second, Germany was ordered to abandon their overseas colonies and give up certain territories in Europe to the Allied victors. This loss of perceived international power which was derived from possessing colonies was another blow to the German ego, as was the loss of domestic territory. Third, Germany was ordered to demilitarize, reducing their armed forces to 100,000 men, and were prohibited from amassing any kind of military technologies, including submarines, airplanes, and armored tanks. German people were humiliated by their loss, as they had entered the conflict a powerful and proud nation, known for their military prowess.
Humiliation and punishment of Germany was a key aspect of her surrender: Germany had agreed to take full responsibility for World War I and all of the suffering and loss which ensued in exchange for peace. This fact, that Germany took the blame and was treated as the nation which instigated the conflict, would have far reaching consequences for Germany and the world as the years passed. Feeling that they were the sole cause of the war did not sit well with the German people. For one thing, it wasn't that black and white. The causes of World War I are complex and deeply rooted in the complicated pre-war alliances of Europe and her colonies abroad. There were many factors at play in the early days of the conflict, including the personal loyalties and desires of the monarchs and generals making the crucial decisions which would impact the lives of millions of their citizens. The spark that began the conflict was the assassination of an Austrian duke by a Serbian Nationalist protesting Austria's occupation of parts of the Balkans. Germany became involved in what might have remained a localized conflict between the then Austro-Hungarian Empire and one of its provinces when asked to give aid by the Austro-Hungarian government. However, Serbia had a powerful friend in Russia, who were willing to go to war to protect their slavic ally. Germany, being an ally of Austria, and fearing being in a position of vulnerability due to their central location in Europe with potential enemies on all sides, entered the conflict by declaring war on Russia. This was not the first action in the conflict, but it did lead to a domino effect of more allies of all nations entering the conflict, which would soon be raging across much of the world. So was it the gun of that Serbian nationalist which started the war? Was is Russia coming to the aid of the threatened Serbs? Was is the Austro-Hungarians who were imposing their will on the Balkans? Or was it Germany, who entered on the side of their only true ally in Europe, the declining Austro-Hungarian Empire? The victorious parties decided that Germany was the sole player to bear the blame, a decision that would come to haunt them less than 20 years later when war would again break out in Europe.
The Germany of the early 1920s was poor, broken in spirit, mourning the loss of millions of its citizens, and coming to terms with their reputation as an international power being completely destroyed. There were shortages of food and fuel, and rampant unemployment as the economy struggled to stay afloat while paying the reparations owed to their former military enemies. Discontent and anger at the government grew. Soon there would be individuals and organizations taking advantage of this time of political and social instability and hurt to advance their own agendas and gain power. One such individual was a veteran of the war, who felt the anger and humiliation of Germany's loss and punishment very personally. Adolf Hitler would go on to harness the power of people's loss, discontent and grief to realize his own brutal and merciless goals. He used this time of suffering in Germany to catapult himself into power, and eventually trigger another devastating conflict which would leave millions more dead, and Europe broken once more.
Germany was in a terrible predicament at the end of World War I. They had suffered immense losses during the war and many German soldiers had died or suffered greatly in the trenches.
Over and above this, the Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany had to start paying off "war debt" as the losers of the conflict. German people were heartbroken over the loss of their loved ones and felt hopeless as a result of the debt that they faced. Their currency, the German Mark, had collapsed.
According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to give up various territories, including Alsace, Lorraine, Lithuania and a number in others.
All in all, the despair in Germany was palpable, and this despair was a large factor in Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
No comments:
Post a Comment