W.W.I – “the war to end all wars?”
Treaty of Versailles
- Used instead of Wilson’s 14 points
- Too punishing
- Allies believed that they had won but gained little, while Germany and its allies believed they had been treated too harshly
Great Depression
- Poverty and despair caused people in countries such as Italy, Spain and Germany to turn to dictators to solve their problems
League of Nations
- U.S did not join
- Proved powerless
New Map of Europe
- Treaty of Versailles changes the borders of many European countries and caused much tension
- The plan had been to give national groups their own countries but it was impossible to please everybody
- Some Germans in Czechoslovakia and Poland
Rise of Dictators
- Adolph Hitler – capitalized on terrible economic problems in Germany caused by Depression and reparations – 1918 loaf of bread in Germany = 2 marks, 1924 = 6 million marks
- Elected 1933, immediately dissolved parliament and created Nazi Reich , or Empire
- Once in power, Hitler
- Built a large and powerful military
- Stopped reparation payments
- Took control of Austria and some of Czechoslovakia
