Changing of Territories
The map of Europe changed dramatically after World War one as new nations were popping up and different territories were put under the control of other countries. Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Turkey, Austria, Hungary, Finland, and the Baltic States were new countries that resulted out of World War One. As countries go, Germany lost the most when they took the loss in the war. Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine to France. Lost Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium. Control of the Saar region was given to the UN. They lost Northern Schleswig to Denmark, Poland received some of West Prussia and Silesia, and Czechoslovakia obtained the Hultschin district. Danzig became a free city. Lithuania received Memel. They lost all their colonies, and in all Germany lost about 13 percent of its territory in Europe. Yet, even some victors lost land after the war. Russia also lost a lot. Ukraine, Georgia and Finland became independent. Russia gave up some of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. They gave Kars, Ardahan, and Batum to Turkey. Overall, as a result of the war, the political landscape changed as territories moved and countries were created.
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Treaty of Versailles
(Primary Source)
The Treaty of Versailles was the Peace treaty that was negotiated at the end of the first world war. This was a treated that was created by the victors of the war. Great Britain, France, the United States and Russia had all the say in it and with this treaty they took complete advantage of Germany. As has been learned in all the wars throughout history, the losers have no say in what happens to them and this was also the case with the Treaty of Versailles. In the treaty, the Allied powers declare their expectations for Germany. First they say that Germany must pay reparations for all the damage caused during the war. Secondly, the treaty said that Germany would lose all of its colonies and that they would even have to give up some of its territory in Germany. It also said that the Rhineland, a major industrial part of Germany, was to be demilitarized and taken away from Germany. Most importantly to Germany, the treaty said that Germany would have to take the blame for the war. Germany hated that because they believed that they did not start the war. The Treaty of Versailles was very important because it changed the landscape of Western Europe both with the map and with the transfer of power away from Germany.
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Politics lead Germany and the world to World War II
After World War I the world was in a little bit of Chaos. There were a bunch of treaties being signed and a bunch of new countries being formed and even land being take away from other countries. Yet, in all of this chaos the country that had it the worst was Germany. The Allied powers wanted to make Germany suffer and they did with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. However, what the powers did not expect was what would eventually come out of the revenge they took upon Germany. As Germany lost its land, money, army, and navy, the people were very mad and they became very poor. This mistake allowed new political parties to form in Germany, and eventually take over the german government. The Main point is that the political power shifted in Germany. This shift in power allowed the new parties to take control and eventually it allowed the National Socialist German Worker's Party to take control. This Party, also known as the Nazi's, came into power and it is very clear that this was devastating for the world. As the leader of the party, Adolf Hitler vowed to fix what had been done to Germany after the end of the first great war. He then started the second world war. All in all, the changes in politics after World War I were a major cause of what would eventually happen a few years later when Hitler takes control of Germany through polotics and starts the second World War.
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