Unit 1: Impact of World War 1

How one war changed the world!

By the end of the lesson, students will learn

to:

Appraise the impact of WW1 on political, social and economic relations in the world.

Practice constructing explanations and arguing out a point of view.

Lesson Agenda

World War 1 ended on 11th Nov 1919 at 1100hrs GMT. At the end of the war, this was the outcome:

Years of war: 1914-1919 (5 years)

Total number of war dead: 11,016,000

Total costs in US dollars: $196.5 billion (1990 dollar values)

Number of years between WW I & WW II: about 20 years

Aftermath

Impacts can be divided into 3 main areas or

groups:

Political Economic Social

The Impacts of WW I

Political Impact 1: Growth of smaller nation

states

Old empires broken up – new nation-states formed. (F)

Based on: ethnic majorities in a particular region. (El)

US President Wilson proposed that national boundaries to be redrawn based on self-determination* (El)

For example Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia created from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (Ex)

Re-drawing Europe’s map = did not create ethnic homogeneity. Led to more tensions within nations. (L)

Political

Political Impact 2: Nationalism & Revolution

Nationalism was further strengthened after WW I as the control of old empires weakened. Revolutions in Russia and Germany. Citizens unhappy about how the war was managed. (F)

Russian Tsar was replaced by Provisional Government and in Germany Kaiser Wilhelm II was replaced by Nazi dictatorship. (El + Ex)

Colonies now exposed to ideas of self-determination. Subject peoples had a strong desire for independence. Independence movements in India and Burma. (El + Ex)

This meant strong desire for change in the political structure and governance. (L)

Political

Political Impact 3: US adopts Isolationism

Before the War – US wanted to stay out of the political affairs of Europe – preferred to be only a trading partner.

After the war many citizens in the US continued to support isolationism - did not want US forces and personnel being drawn into another European conflict.

However another group believed that US needed to be greater involved in World affairs so that the US could extend its influence elsewhere.

The issue of isolationism still debated during inter-war period – only resolved at the start of WWII.

Political

Discuss in your teams, which one of the

political factors was the most significant (important) and why?

5 mins. Remember to:

Practice FEEL Support your answers with materials from your

notes or from the Internet .

Buzz Break 1

Economic Impact 1: High national debt

Western powers were in debt caused by having to finance a very costly war. (F)

The war was very costly as both sides were forced to produce weapons and ammunition to carry on the fighting. (El)

For example: Britain, France and Germany were facing huge debts. Forced to either borrow money and financial resources from the US or raise taxes at home. (Ex)

The high debt = Europe dependent on the US for economic recovery. High taxes also caused unhappiness among citizens towards their governments. (L)

Economic

Economic Impact 2: Inflation

Prices of necessities increased drastically as there was a severe shortage. “Too much money chasing too little products”

As a result of war – most resources channeled towards weapons & ammunitions. Difficult to re-tool. Factories destroyed – necessities could not be produced.

Inflation led to situations for example like that in Russia where although workers salaries doubled, prices of food more than doubled.

Inflation left many governments helpless in ensuring the basic needs of citizens. Citizens grew dissatisfied with their governments and easily supported radical leaders.

Economic

Economic Impact 3: High unemployment &

Shortages

Production had not started after the war – unemployment was high. Due to difficulty in re-tooling.

During the war, food & horses channeled towards the war effort – peasants could not produce enough food. Conscription* meant that not enough able bodied workers to produce food. Land also destroyed.

Further added to dissatisfaction and created unstable governments.

Economic

Economic Impact 4: Decline in International trade

Before WW 1, much of the world’s products were supplied through International trade. The Great Powers & US grew wealthy through Imperialist trade practices.

After the war, European countries had been devastated. Their priority now was to resolve internal problems caused by the war. They were not focused on building international trade.

This impact meant that the levels of international trade took a longer time to recover to pre-war levels. Countries remained poorer – led to even more dissatisfaction.

Economic

Could economic impacts of the war be the

reason for changing attitudes towards the Jews in Germany?

Why?

_________________ _________________ _________________

Buzz Break 2

Social Impact 1: High mortality rate among males

Men formed a large part of the labour force prior to the war. Factory work and hard physical work done by men. (F)

After the war – male population figures dropped drastically. Now factories could not reopen as quickly (El)

Example: The German economy suffered terribly during the war. Industrial output fell by over 40% between 1914 and 1918 - as millions of working men had been killed in the war.

The workforce was not physically fit enough to work as hard.

The impact of the male deaths slowed down the rate of recovery in Europe. 

Social

Social Impact 2: Class differences minimized

Before WWI: Europeans - class conscious. Movement up the “social ladder” was not always possible.

During the war – rich & poor fought alongside. Class equality more acceptable.

Example: After the war – servants now demanded higher wages and the rich had to treat them better.

This meant that class differences could no longer be emphasized- poorer classes demanded to be treated fairly.

Social

Social Impact 3: Greater gender equality

Before the war, women confined to their roles as home-makers – participated very little in activities outside the home – low status in society.

During & after the War – women helped to support the economy by working in factories – Women were capable of working just as the men. Raised their social status.

Example: Based on this changed attitude towards women - After WW1, women in US were given the right to vote.

The war changed the social status of women in Western societies.

Social

Social Impact 4: Demands for better labour conditions

Those that had fought for their country returned and fought for better working conditions in workplaces.

They did not passively accept pre-war working conditions such as low pay and discrimination.

For example – many workers now formed, supported and joined

labour unions to press for better working conditions & compensation.

These demands led to a general improvement in working conditions. Workers in Western Countries had a greater say in policy making.

Social

Which impact is the greatest?

After you have constructed your explanation…

Now consider each individual factor and see which one is more important.

How? - Either choose – Long term vs. shorter term effects Greatest number of effects vs smaller number of

effects

Essay Writing- Conclusion

In my view, Economic impacts were the most

significant impacts of WW1 as it gave rise to the conditions for WW2.

This is because European economies had been devastated and it took them a long time to recover. This generated feelings of unhappiness within these countries in particular, Germany.

The long term effect of this was, poor economic conditions which drove citizens in Germany and Russia to support authoritarian governments thus setting the political foundations for WW 2.

Worked Example

What are the Social Impacts of the First World

War?

What is the structure of an essay conclusion? W_________ & ___________ Concluding statement

Research on the Objectives of the Paris Conference: To set up an international organization for

peace.Wikipedia, Yahoo answers, Other credible sources.

Lesson recap