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Nationalism in WWI
Nationalism is seen as another significant cause of WWI. It was especially prevalent in European nations before the beginning of WWI. Slavic nationalism was especially strong in Serbia and slacs were against the Empire of Austria-Hungary and its control over them and their homeland. Young Serbs angered by the actions of the Austria-Hungary Empire joined radical Nationalists groups like the Black Hand. The black hand and other groups like it hoped to liberate Serbia. -
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World War I to the Great Depression
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Imperialism of WWI
Imperialism was seen as one of the significant causes of WWI. Several countries including Britain, Russia, France and Germany were all scrambling to grow their empires. As they all tried to acquire new colonies, they saw each other as rivals which led to worsening relations between the countries. This rivalry led to general distrust between the countries and led to paranoia and tension which played a part in the beginning of WWI. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
A group of Serbian nationalists known as the black hand assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the throne, and his wife as they drive through the streets of Sarajevo. Austria believes that the nation of Serbia was behind the assassination and requests that they renounce their sovereignty. -
Beginning of World War I
Austria-Hungary believed that Serbia was a part of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. They gave them an ultimatum which was to renounce their sovereignty, when Serbia refused to announce its sovereignty Austria-Hungary declared war. -
Germany gives Austria-Hungary a Blank Check
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany promises that he will support Austria Hungary unconditionally however Austria-Hungary chooses to take action. This promise or pledge was seen as a "blank check" promise because Germany would help Austria-Hungary at all costs. -
Invasion of France
Germany launched an attack on France through Belgium. Britain had a treaty with Belgium, the Treaty of London, which promised to defend Belgium. Additionally Belgian ports were close to Britain's coast and this made Germany a threat to Britain. The day after the invasion of France, Britain declared war on Germany. -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The Lusitania was a British Ocean Liner making a voyage from New York to Liverpool when a German U-boat launched a torpedo at it, sinking the ship. There were a total of 1,900 passengers and crew members on board and of those more that 1,100 died. This event angered Americans and put more pressure on President Wilson to enter World War I. -
Alliances of WWI
The thing that makes a World War a "World War" is that it is a global conflict. The allies included the nations of Russia, France, Britain, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Romania, US, Brazil, Greece, Siam, China and Liberia. The Central Powers included Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
Most of these countries were brought into the war because of their various alliances. -
Militarism in WWI
During WWI many of the countries involved became focused on militarism increasing military expenditure and army conscription. For example, Germany increased their military expenditure by 73%. However Militarism is also seen as a cause of WWI; before WWI had even begun European powers had begun building their armies doing this caused nations to begin to feel a lack of trust in each other. Britain and Germany were also in a race to have large navies. -
Zimmerman Telegram
Great Britain intercepted an encrypted note from Arthur Zimmerman the German Foreign Secretary intended for the German Ambassador to Mexico. This note detailed a plan for if the US was to enter the war. The German ambassador was to approach the Mexican president and offer him Germany's military and financial support in exchange, Mexico would be able to retrieve its lost territory which included Texas, New Mexico and Arizona -
Germany's Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Germany announced that they would continue to use unlimited Submarine warfare in the Atlantic. German torpedo submarines had the go-ahead to fire upon any type of ships even if they were civilian ships. Germany sunk multiple civilian ships increasing tensions between them and the United States further pressuring the US to join the war. -
US enters WWI
The US had finally been pushed by the unrestricted attacks German submarines were making on American ships. Another reason was that the US was angry about the Zimmerman telegram. -
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
After WWI Hitler became a part of the NSDAP also known as the Nazi's. He rose to prominence and was known as one of their best speakers. He coerced the other party members into making him the leader or he would leave. After the release of his book Mein Kampf he became much more well known and this greatly helped his political career. Throughout the 1920s/30s the Nazi party gained enough members to become the largest political party and eventually enabled Hitler to have control over Germany -
The End of World War 1
The death toll of WWI was around 38 million, including civilian and military casualties about 9 million died on the Allied forces side and about 7 million died on the central forces side. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles created 9 new nation which were Finland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. -
Treaty of Versailles
Germany and the Allied Nations all signed the Treaty of Versailles, which effectively ended the war. However the United States refused to sign the treaty of Versailles and join the league of nations and instead later signed the Treaty of Berlin with Germany. The terms included Germany accepting guilt for the war, paying reparations for the war, limitation of Germany's army and Germany would have to surrender all of its colonies and return all the land it took. -
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan was an agreement to resolve Germany's WWI reparations. The conditions of the plan was that the Ruhr area would be evacuated by foreign troops, that payments would begin at one million marks and increase to two and a half billion after 5 years. The central bank of Germany would be reorganized under the eye of the Allies. The sources for money would mainly be from transportation services, excise and customs taxes lastly Germany would be loaned 800 million marks from the US/Britain. -
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The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the longest lasting and most severe economic downturn in modern history. The Great Depression began after the stock market crashed banks, as a result banks began to close down and investors demanded their money back. However the Great Depression was addressed by a plan known as the new deal which created jobs, and established a minimum wage. The new deal also set regulations and protocols to minimize the chance of another major depression. -
The Young Plan
The Young Plan was a plan that was introduced after it became apparent that Germany would not be able to keep up with the Dawes Plan. As a result of the Depression Germany would be unable to jeep up with its reparation payments. They agreed to not pressure Germany with requests for payments. They also reduced Germany's debt and required Germany to prepare for the issuing of bonds reducing the debt by nearly 90%. They also agreed that the US would cancel the War debts owed by the Allies.
