Post on 16-May-2015
World War ICauses
Conduct
Consequences
Causes
• Nationalism----the pan-Slavic movements led to calls for the creation of separate states for various Slavic groups in Europe such as was the case of
• Imperialism—competition between nations to build up their economic and military capital.
• Militarism—growth of military machine in Germany, France, and England…an eventual powder keg for explosion
• Lack of international foreign body to handle differences and geopolitical issues
• Alliances• France and England and Russia (who had strong ethnic ties to Serbia)• Germany, Austria-Hungary• The Triple Alliance vs. The Triple Entente
• The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian empire by a Serbian nationalist unhappy with how his Serbian minority members were being treated…
Orange = nations supporting Germany, Austria Hungary and Ottoman Empire
Green = nations supporting England, France, and Russia.
Conduct
• Use of technological advances
• Guns (machine guns, bayonets/rifles, pistols)• Tanks • Flame throwers• Airplanes—used more as messenger carriers• Gas warfare—mustard gas was a horrible weapon.
Barbequed your lungs if you breathed the stuff. The Germans used this quite effectively
• Trench warfare—brutal• Bombs (grenades and mortar rounds)
• A war of attrition. • Bad behavior towards the Americans and their ships from the
Germans—got us into the war!
Consequences
• Germany suffers economically through a staggering recession that ultimately causes a global recession (The Great Depression).
• The suffering of the German people lead them to pick politicians (including Adolf Hitler) to lead NAZI party.
• Racism and Creedalism (Religious-based bigotry—in this case against Jewish citizens (Anti-Semitism) of Germany and eventually all of Europe) as a means to promote nationalism amongst many German citizens
• Hitler launches imperialism crusade to unite Germans in other parts of Europe.
• Despite attempts at “appeasing” Hitler which showed the weakness of the League of Nations.
• World War II starts
Consequences, pt. 2
• Japan following in Hitler’s footsteps over in Asia. Find a common denominator with Hitler despite his racist views with a not-too-fond attitude over the U.S.A.
• Japan angry over U.S. boycotting their goods and also blocking their assets as a protest to Japanese aggression towards China in other Asian nations.
• Pearl Harbor—Dec. 7, 1941 (US in war now…no more isolationism for USA now or ever)
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki = nuclear attacked and Japan surrenders
• The Holocaust of 6 million Jews and other peoples• United Nations and the formation of new nations such as
Pakistan and Israel…what’s happening over there right now?