The Effects of the War


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

The Effects of the War

Before the First World War, Germany was a thriving economy and had developed in a powerful state. Citizens of Germany were confident of the future. Even the prospect of war did not make Germans nervous. Their armed forces were strong and confident of success. However, the First World War destroyed Germany.

By 1918, Germany was no longer a strong confident country, but one on the brink of ruin.

The war had destroyed Germany’s economy. The country spent around one third of its income on war pensions to all those widows and families who had lost someone during the conflict. This was an expensive undertaking for a country which had seen it’s national income slashed by around two thirds since the start of the war.

The war also exposed the divisions between the German people. The gap between rich and poor became very evident in the newly poor country, which lead to increased social unrest.

In addition to this, many in Germany did not like the fact that women had worked in factories during the war, as they saw this an undermining of family values.

The war had also lead to the removal of the Kaiser, and his replacement with new politicians and leaders. Many Germans felt betrayed by the politicians who had let down the German military leaders in the war.

The Effects of the War: The First World War had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially. Earlier, Europe was the continent of creditors, but now became a continent of debtors.

  • In society , soldiers were ranked higher than civilians. Trench life of the soldiers was glorified by the media.
  • Politicians and publishers laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive and masculine.
  • Aggressive war propaganda and national honour occupied center stage in the public sphere.
  • People's support grew for the recently established dictatorships.
  • Democracy as a young and fragile idea could not survive the istabilities of Europe between two world wars.
  • Impact of refusal to pay war compensation in 1923 on Germany were:

  • The France occupied its leading industrial area. Ruhr, war which was rich in coal.
  • Germany retaliated with the passive resistance and printed papers currency recklessly . with too much printed money in circulation , the value of the German mark fell drastically , causing the prices of goods to soar.
  • Eventually , the Americans helped Germany to recover from the crises by reworking the terms of repararation to ease the financial burden on Germans.
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