Europe after the first world war. The creation of new states in Europe after the first world war Europe countries after the first world war table

The theme is limitless, gallons of ink are already written on it.

Probably, to say that before WWI and after there were two different "worlds" is too general and pathetic. On the other hand, the resource format will not allow you to name all the changes to the last. Therefore, I will cite the most important ones, in my opinion. However, as it seems, it is impossible to consider them separately, they constitute a complex, tk. one pulls the other.

1) Politics. The First World War plowed the political map of Europe and the Middle East, and in the future - and the colonies. Previously, only the Napoleonic Wars had gone through Europe with such a plow a century earlier, but the consequences of WWI were deeper. Before WWI, there were 21 states in Europe (including Russia, Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire, but not counting the dwarfs like Andora), of which 4 - Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire - were empires. After the war, only the British Empire survived, and new small states were formed in the place of the disintegrated powers. After the war, there were already 26 countries in Europe (as well as new states in the Middle East after the collapse of Ottoman Turkey) (if we assume that Belarus and Ukraine were relatively quickly absorbed by the future The Soviet Union). Some old countries have completely changed their political structure.

A new system of international relations was formed - Versailles-Washington. It turned out to be extremely unbalanced, unfair and unreliable, which ultimately made the Second World War inevitable. the system from the very beginning contained time bombs and did not take into account the interests of new political actors and the lost participants in the war.

For the first time, an international organization was created that was supposed to extinguish conflicts in the future before they entered the "hot" phase - the League of Nations. It is believed that the League was ineffective from the beginning because it had no right to send troops, but in fact it was able to prevent a large number of clashes until the late 1930s.

2) Economic. The shifts were colossal, especially if you remember that approx. 74 million people, approx. 10 of which died and 20 were crippled. Europe lay in ruins, because even where the WWII was bypassed by the front, there were subsequently civil wars - remember Russia, Ukraine, Poland. Economic changes also affected the colonies, where production was transferred and developed, and from where resources were siphoned out even more. Most of the countries abandoned the gold standard, and in many countries the monetary system found itself in a deep crisis - this is well described by the example of Germany by E. Remarque. The only country where there was economic growth is the United States. until 1917 they remained neutral and placed orders from the belligerent countries.

3) Demographic. The figures quoted for the mobilized population alone are enormous. But it must be remembered that demography is affected not only by the number of those called up, but also by the number of those who were not born, who died from the consequences of the war, etc. - the so-called hidden losses. Europe was drained of blood. When Marshal A. Petain addressed the nation after the defeat of France in 1940, he said that "we have lost too many and did not have time to recover."

4) Social. Naturally, when men are massively taken to the front, women and children take their places in production, which overturns the system of social relations in society. Before WWI, women's emancipation was extremely superficial and in many ways rather intellectual. Only after WWI, the female half of the population was able to really declare themselves in a new capacity.

The hardships of the war created a very strong tension in society, and in some countries, including ours, there were revolutions that also had social and political consequences. For example, in fact, the working class in the 1920s was able to win substantial rights in comparison with 1914. Somewhere this happened right in the course of revolutions, but somewhere the industrialists themselves yielded, observing the examples of neighboring countries. In Italy in the early 1920s the slogan was known: "Let's do it like in Russia!"

5) Intelligent. This is not to say that pacifism did not exist before WWI, as well as that after WWI all of humanity as one spoke out against the war. However, for the first time ever, the idea appeared that war is not a means of conducting politics. Yes, of course, before WWII there were a large number of military clashes, but in general, the world community for the first time adopted a meme of condemnation of the aggressor, whatever his motives were. If before WWI, war was considered a normal means of resolving a political conflict that had come to a standstill, and, for example, the wounded side considered itself in the right to start hostilities, then after WWI this idea disappeared. Please note that in the interwar period, for all military endeavors, not just a pretext was sought, but always a pretext from a defensive position. Even the ministries of war in most countries have become "defense". Kuprin's "Duel" (1905), where main character dreams of how he will excel in battle - he does not even have doubts that there will be a war.

6) Ideological. The catastrophe of the war raised the question among the population, but how did our politicians bring us to this? It was answered by newly emerging ideologies, first of all, fascism, or old ones that had taken new positions, especially, of course, socialism. Since WWI was the first real mass war, universal suffrage won in most countries, qualifications were either abolished or relaxed, and in such conditions leftist currents received a second wind. And, of course, without the First World War there would be no fascism. Researcher E. Fromm has well demonstrated how, in the conditions of total war and its consequences, human consciousness softens and becomes ready to accept totalitarian ideologies, which, alas, happened.

7) Technological. The war, no matter how cynical it may sound, was an important stimulus for technological progress, and first of all, of course, in the military sphere (see expert.ru here), but not only. Many things we are used to today were either invented or widespread at that time. For example, canned food. Or bouillon cubes. Various methods of making literally everything have been invented or improved - from casting steel to making buttons. Production reached new scales and for the first time became truly massive.

8) Cultural. They are, of course, inextricably linked with paragraph 6. The war gave rise to a previously unseen number of new plots, posed or exacerbated a certain number of philosophical and existential problems. For many ordinary soldiers it was often not clear why they were fighting a war at all, what they were fighting for. On the other front line, the same workers or peasants were freezing and soaking in the trenches. This phenomenon was even in the French and German units, whose peoples historically did not love each other, and the French so simply dreamed of avenging the Franco-Prussian War.

But man does not live by philosophy alone. The 1920s saw a huge explosion of hedonism, the desire to live and prosper. After years of hardship and restraint, the population finally gave itself the will to succeed, especially since industry was diversified and production facilities were optimized for civilian needs. In the United States, this era is called Prosperity - "prosperity". Watch or read The Great Gatsby or Chicago for this spirit.

Of course, I have superficially listed only the most basic changes, you will find many more. We can say that if the world of the 19th century entered the war, then the world of the 20th century came out of it.

As a starting point for further study of the issue, I suggest I. Zhenin's materials on PostNauka postnauka.ru and postnauka.ru as well as the channel "The Great War" youtube.com

I can also suggest to speculate on the topic of alternative war scenarios here

The countries of Western Europe have always played a prominent role in world politics and economics. This primarily applies to England, Germany, France, Russia. In 1900, the balance of forces in world industrial production was as follows - England accounted for 18.5%, France 6.8%, Germany 13.2%, and the USA 23.6%. Europe as a whole accounted for 62.0% of all industrial production in the world.

After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the Czechs and Slovaks united and created an independent state - Czechoslovakia... When it became known in Prague that Austria-Hungary had requested peace, on October 28, 1918, the Prague national committee took over power in the Czech and Slovak lands and created the Provisional National Assembly from representatives of various parties. The meeting elected the first president of Czechoslovakia - Tomáš Masaryk. The borders of the new republic were determined at the Paris Peace Conference. It included the Czech lands of Austria, Slovakia and Transcarpathian Ukraine, which were previously part of Hungary, and later part of Silesia, which is part of Germany. As a result, about a third of the country's population was made up of Germans, Hungarians and Ukrainians. Major reforms were carried out in Czechoslovakia. The nobility was deprived of all privileges. An 8-hour working day was established and social security introduced. Land reform eliminated large German and Hungarian landholdings. The 1920 Constitution consolidated the democratic system that had developed in Czechoslovakia. As one of the most developed industrial countries in Europe, Czechoslovakia was distinguished by a relatively high standard of living and political stability.

On October 31, 1918, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary and at the same time King of Hungary Charles IV instructed the Hungarian Count M. Karoji to form a government of democratic parties. This government was guided by the Entente and tried to keep Hungary within its pre-war borders. November 16, 1918 Hungary was proclaimed a republic. But democracy in Hungary did not succeed. The Hungarian communists called for a revolution and began to set up Soviets across the country along the lines of the Russian model. The Entente "helped" them to come to power, demanding in an ultimatum the release of the territories that were to be transferred to Hungary's neighbors. The ultimatum was perceived in the country as a national disaster. The government and Karolyi himself resigned. It seemed that there was only one way out of this crisis - to try to rely on the help of Soviet Russia. This could not have been done without the communists. On March 21, 1919, they and the Social Democrats united and bloodlessly proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Banks, industry, transport, and large land holdings were nationalized. Communist leader Bela Kun became People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and proposed an "armed alliance" with Russia. This call was supported in Moscow. Two Red Armies tried to break through to each other, the Hungarian, while pushed back the Czechoslovak troops and entered the Transcarpathian Ukraine. But their connection never happened. On July 24, the offensive of the Czechoslovak and Romanian armies began. On August 1, the Soviet government resigned, and soon Romanian troops entered Budapest. Power in Hungary passed to anti-communist groups, which, in addition, spoke out for the restoration of the monarchy in Hungary. Under these conditions, parliamentary elections were held in 1920. The Soviet republic fell, Miklos Horthy came to power. He banned the Communist Party. In the summer of 1920, the new government signed the Trianon Peace Treaty. According to it, Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory, 1/3 of its population and access to the sea. 3 million Hungarians ended up in neighboring states, and Hungary itself received 400 thousand refugees. The foreign policy of Horthy Hungary was unambiguously aimed at restoring Hungary within its former borders. Her relations with her neighbors were constantly strained.

She was in a difficult position and Austria... In Austria, on October 30, 1918, the Provisional National Assembly and the State Council, a coalition government headed by Social Democrat Karl Renner, assumed power. The Provisional National Assembly abolished the monarchy. Emperor Charles IV, who succeeded the deceased Franz Joseph in 1916, became the last Habsburg on the Austrian throne. The terms of the peace treaty that Austria was forced to sign were unusually difficult for her. For centuries, the emerging economic ties of Austria with Hungary and the Slavic lands were artificially severed, the country lost access to the sea. Vienna, revered as the capital of a huge empire and rivaling in greatness with London and Paris, became the capital of a small state. Having become almost a purely Austrian-German state, Austria naturally began to gravitate towards Germany. But these connections were also limited. It has become nutrient medium for the growth of nationalist and fascist sentiments.

The Yugoslavian peoples, which were part of Austria-Hungary, united around Serbia and created on December 4, 1918 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes... However, the Serbs sought to occupy a leading position in this state. At the same time, they did not want to reckon with the interests of other peoples, which were very different from each other, despite their common origin (Croats and Slovenes - Catholics, Macedonians, Montenegrins and the Serbs themselves - Orthodox, part of the Slavs adopted Islam, the Albanians - non-Slavs, professing in the majority Islam). This almost immediately made the national question the main source of political instability. At the same time, the main contradiction was between the Serbs and Croats - the two largest peoples of the country. The authorities tried to suppress any discontent. The country became known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was supposed to symbolize the "national unity" of the population. In response, Croatian nationalists killed the king in 1934. Only in 1939 the ruling regime decided to make concessions on the national question: it announced the creation of an autonomous Croatian region.

Lost independence and divided in the 18th century Poland for more than a century she fought for the restoration of her state. The first World War created the conditions for achieving this goal. The restoration of the independent Polish state is associated with the name of Jozef Pilsudski. Observing the growth of contradictions between Russia and Austria-Hungary, he came up with the idea of ​​using these contradictions to achieve his goal. He offered the Austrians the services of a revolutionary underground to fight Russia. With the outbreak of the First World War, Pilsudski was able to form Polish national units, which already in 1914 entered the battle with the Russian army. The retreat of the Russian army from Poland in 1915 contributed to the growth of Pilsudski's influence, which caused alarm among the Germans and Austrians, who least of all thought about Polish independence. They assigned Pilsudski only the role of a tool in the anti-Russian struggle. The February revolution in Russia and the recognition by the new government of the right of the Poles to independence changed the situation. Pilsudski even thought about going over to the side of Russia, and for a start he stopped cooperation with the Austrians and Germans. They did not stand on ceremony with him: he ended up in a German prison. But this episode further contributed to the growth of his authority in Poland and, no less important, made him an acceptable figure for the Entente as the leader of Poland, the restoration of independence of which became inevitable. The German revolution made it possible to proclaim the independence of Poland, and it also liberated Pilsudski.

Arriving in Warsaw, becoming the head of the resurgent Polish state, he concentrated all his energy on creating an efficient Polish army from scattered units and detachments, which, in his opinion, was to play a decisive role in defining the boundaries of the Polish state. Poland's western borders were defined at the Paris Peace Conference. The eastern ones Pilsudski tried to recreate in the form in which they were in 1772, when, in addition to the Polish lands proper, it included all of Belarus, Lithuania, part of Latvia and the Right-Bank Ukraine. Such plans could not fail to meet opposition from the peoples inhabiting these territories. They also contradicted the principle of self-determination of peoples, which was the basis for the post-war reconstruction.

In December 1919, the Supreme Council of the Entente established the “Curzon Line” as the temporary border of Poland in the east, which ran along the approximate border of residence of Poles, on the one hand, and Ukrainians and Lithuanians, on the other. However, relying on the support of France, which saw a strong Poland as a reliable counterbalance to Germany in the east, Pilsudski could ignore this decision. This was also facilitated by the weakness of the states that had just proclaimed their independence (Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus) after the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Polish troops consistently established control over Galicia (this part of Ukraine was part of Austria-Hungary before World War I), the Vilnius region of Lithuania, and in May 1920 occupied Kiev. After the signing of the peace treaty, in March 1921, the Soviet-Polish border passed east of the "Curzon Line", and the western part of Ukraine and Belarus became part of Poland. Soon the Poles again seized the Vilna region from Lithuania. This is how the borders of Poland were formed, in which a third of the population was non-Poles.

In 1921, a constitution was adopted declaring Poland a parliamentary republic. In foreign policy Poland, being in an alliance with France since 1921, pursued an anti-German and anti-Soviet policy.

Independence was granted on December 31, 1917 Finland... Already in January 1918, the left-wing Social Democrats and the Finnish Red Guard tried to establish Soviet power. They captured the capital of Finland, Helsinki, industrial centers in the south of the country, created a revolutionary government, which concluded a treaty of friendship with Soviet Russia. In addition, after the proclamation of independence, parts of the Russian army remained on the territory of Finland, supporting the revolution. The Finnish government moved to the city of Vasa on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia and began to form a national army, entrusting this to the former Russian general K.G.E. Mannerheim. The presence of Russian troops gave Finland an excuse to ask for help from Germany. In early April 1918, about 10,000 German soldiers landed in Finland. The revolutionaries were defeated. But the country turned out to be dependent on Germany, plans for the proclamation of Finland as a kingdom and an invitation to the throne of a German prince were discussed. After the defeat of Germany in the First World War, a republic was proclaimed in Finland, German troops left the country. Before the formation of elected bodies of power, the new state was headed by Mannerheim. Soviet-Finnish relations remained for a long time tense.

Territory of the future independent Lithuania already in 1915 it was occupied by German troops. Under the auspices of Germany, the Lithuanian Tariba (Assembly) was created there, headed by A. Smetona. On December 11, 1917, she proclaimed the re-establishment of the Lithuanian state. The independence of Lithuania was recognized by Germany, forcing Soviet Russia to recognize it according to the Brest Peace. However, after the Armistice of Compiegne, the Red Army invaded Lithuania, Soviet power was proclaimed there, Lithuania and Belarus were united into one Soviet republic. Negotiations began on its federal union with Soviet Russia. These plans did not come true. The Vilnius region was captured by Polish troops, and the Red Army was driven out of the rest of Lithuania with the help of volunteer detachments consisting of the remnants of the German army. In April 1919, the Lithuanian Tariba adopted an interim constitution and elected A. Smetona as president. All the decrees of the Soviets were canceled. However, the power of Smetona at first was purely nominal. Part of the country's territory was occupied Polish army, the north of Lithuania was controlled by German troops, relations with Soviet Russia remained unsettled. The Entente countries were suspicious of the new government, seeing it as German henchmen. It was decided to send the newly formed Lithuanian army to clear the territory of German troops, then, on the basis of anti-Polish interests, it was possible to normalize relations with Soviet Russia. An agreement was signed with her, according to which the Vilna region was recognized as Lithuanian.

In the Soviet-Polish war, Lithuania adhered to neutrality, but Soviet Russia handed over the Vilnius region to it, from which the Polish troops were driven out. However, after the retreat of the Red Army, the Poles again seized the Vilna region, there were continuous clashes between the Polish and Lithuanian armies. Only in November 1920, with the mediation of the Entente countries, was an armistice concluded. In 1923, the League of Nations recognized the fact of the annexation of the Vilnius region to Poland. Kaunas became the capital of Lithuania. As compensation, the League of Nations agreed with the seizure of Memel (Klaipeda) by Lithuania on the coast of the Baltic Sea - German territory that came under the control of France after the World War. In 1922, the Constituent Seimas adopted the Constitution of Lithuania. She became a parliamentary republic. An agrarian reform was carried out, during which large landholdings, mostly Polish, were eliminated. About 70 thousand peasants received land as a result of this reform.

Territory of the future independent republics Latvia and Estonia to the moment October revolution was only partially occupied by German troops. Soviet power was proclaimed in the rest of Latvia and Estonia, but in February 1918 the German army captured this territory as well. According to the Brest Peace Treaty, Soviet Russia recognized the separation of Latvia and Estonia. Germany planned to create a Baltic Duchy here, headed by one of the representatives of the Prussian Hohengdollern dynasty. But after the Armistice of Compiegne, Germany transferred power in Latvia to the government of K. Ulmanis, and in Estonia to the government of K. Päts, who proclaimed the independence of their states. Both the government consisted of representatives of the democratic parties. Almost simultaneously, an attempt was made to restore Soviet power here. Units of the Red Army entered Estonia. The Estland Labor Commune was proclaimed, the RSFSR recognized its independence. On the initiative of the government of the RSFSR of Estonia, part of the territory of the Petrograd province with a predominantly Russian population was transferred.

In Latvia, a Provisional Soviet Government was created from the Latvian Bolsheviks, which turned to the RSFSR for help. The Red Army established control over most of Latvia. Then the creation of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Latvia was proclaimed. In the struggle against the Soviet troops, the governments of Ulmanis and Päts were forced to rely on the help of the German army, and after its evacuation, on volunteer detachments consisting of the Baltic Germans and soldiers of the German army. From December 1918, aid to these governments began to come from the British; their squadron came to Tallinn. In 1919 Soviet troops were supplanted. Reorienting to the Entente and creating national armies, the governments of Ulmanis and Päts drove out the German troops.

In 1920, the RSFSR recognized the new republics. They held elections to the Constituent Assembly and adopted constitutions. Agrarian reforms, as in Lithuania, played an important role in stabilizing the internal life of these states. Large land holdings, which belonged mainly to German barons, were liquidated. Tens of thousands of peasants received land on favorable terms. In foreign policy, these states were guided by England and France.

Results of the First World War (the map can be opened in a new window)

Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France, the French occupied the Rhine region of Germany. Coal mines in the Saar region were transferred to France for 15 years. Belgium and Denmark received small territorial increments, and Poland received significant ones. Danzig (Gdansk) became a free city. Germany had to pay reparations. General conscription was prohibited in Germany, it could not have submarines, military and naval aviation, the number of the volunteer army should not exceed 100 thousand people.

The treaty with Austria fixed the disintegration of Austria-Hungary and prohibited the unification of Austria with Germany. Part of the territory of Austria-Hungary went to Italy, Poland, Romania. Bulgaria was deprived of some lands in favor of Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia. The Ottoman Empire was deprived of Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, almost all possessions in Europe. However, after the revolution in Turkey in 1918-1923. and the defeat of Armenia and Greece in the wars with Turkey, it increased its territory.

New states arose in Europe: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland. The German colonies in Africa were divided between England and France, as well as the Union of South Africa. Japan grabbed the German-owned islands in Pacific and the possession of Germany in China. Australia received part of New Guinea. The possessions of Turkey in the Middle East were divided by England and France. The independence of Iraq was recognized.

Revolution in Germany.

In Germany, the aggravated situation during the war years escalated in November 1918 into a revolution. It began with the dispersal of a demonstration of sailors in Kiel. A soldiers 'council and a workers' council were formed there. Then such councils began to appear in other cities. In a number of places, power was in their hands. On November 9, the abdication of the emperor and elections to the National Assembly were announced. Power was in the hands of the Council of People's Representatives, headed by the Social Democrat F. Ebert. The establishment of an 8-hour working day was proclaimed, and the rights of trade unions were expanded. However, the left-wing Social Democrats headed by K. Liebknecht and R. Luxemburg, who created the Communist Party in December 1918, advocated deepening the revolution. In January 1919, an open struggle broke out between the government and the workers, and a general strike broke out in Berlin. The troops suppressed the uprising, Liebknecht and Luxemburg were killed. But the speeches and strikes continued. On April 13, 1919, a Soviet republic was proclaimed in Munich, which was defeated two weeks later.

The government fought the workers not only by force of arms. It tried to take into account a number of their requirements in the Constitution adopted in the summer of 1919 by the National Constituent Assembly in Weimar. The Weimar constitution established universal suffrage, and the president received large powers.

The last revolutionary event was the uprising of workers in Hamburg under the leadership of the communist E. Thalmann in October 1923. It was suppressed.

Revolution in Hungary.

Bela Kun (Bela Morisovich Kuhn (-) - Hungarian and a Soviet communist politician and journalist. In March 1919 proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic , which existed in the end for 133 days. In November 1920, after establishment of Soviet power in Crimea was appointed chairman of the Crimean the revolutionary committee ... In this position, he became an organizer and an active participant mass executions in Crimea https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Kun

The Communist Party was formed in Hungary on November 20, 1918. Many of its leaders were participants in the revolution in Russia. The party was headed by Bela Kun. On the evening of March 21, 1919, the Budapest Soviet of Workers' Deputies proclaimed Hungary a Soviet republic. The Council of People's Commissars was formed. Locally, all power was concentrated in their hands by the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.

Banks, industrial enterprises, transport, landowners' lands were nationalized. The Entente sent troops from Romania and Czechoslovakia to fight Hungary. On August 1, 1919, Soviet power was abolished. As a result of the elections, Admiral M. Horthy came to power, who became the regent of the country, since the monarchy formally remained in Hungary.

Miklos Horthy, Knight of Nagbanyai (, -) - ruler (regent) of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1920-1944, Vice Admiral. Coming from an old noble family committed to Calvinism. In his youth he traveled a lot, was in the Austro-Hungarian diplomatic service in Turkey and other countries. In 1908-1914. - Adjutant of Emperor Franz Joseph. During the First World War - a captain, then vice-admiral of the Austro-Hungarian navy, won a number of victories, in March 1918 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the fleet. He held this position until the order of Emperor Charles I on the surrender of the fleet to the newly formed State of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (October 31, 1918). He led the resistance to the 1919 revolution in the south of the country; after the evacuation of the Romanian troops from Budapest, Horthy entered the city on a white horse and announced that he forgave the "sinful capital" that had defiled his homeland. The National Army, led by Horthy, a series of semi-independent militias, was responsible for the "White Terror" against the Communists, other leftists and Jews. In 1920, the Entente withdrew its troops from Hungary, but in the same year the Treaty of Trianon deprived the country of 2/3 of the territory (where, in addition to Slovaks and Romanians, 3 million ethnic Hungarians lived) and most of the economic infrastructure. Under Horthy, Hungary remained a kingdom, but the throne was vacant after the official deposition of the last king, Charles IV. Thus, Horthy became an admiral without a navy (Hungary lost access to the sea) and regent in a kingdom without a king; he was officially titled "His Grace Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary". https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miklos_Horthy

Revolutionary movement in Italy.

The rise of the labor movement was observed in all European countries. The struggle was especially acute in Italy. In 1920, Italian workers took over factories and factories and ran them for almost a month. The peasants occupied the landowners' lands. The government and businessmen did not dare to use weapons. They promised to pass a law on the introduction of workers' control at enterprises and to raise wages. The workers left the factories. However, the law did not come into force.

Communist movement.

The strengthening of the labor movement, the successes achieved by the workers in many countries, the events in Russia have led everywhere to the strengthening of the role of the Social Democrats. There was no unity within this movement. Many believed that the workers had already achieved considerable and now it is necessary to consolidate these gains and make further progress through gradual reforms. Others called for vigorous action, the seizure of power following the example of the Bolsheviks. Supporters of this course began to create their own communist parties. In March 1919, delegates from these parties and organizations close to them gathered in Moscow for the Constituent Congress, which announced the creation of the Communist International (Comintern). Its task was declared to be the struggle for a world revolution and the creation of a world Soviet republic. The Comintern became the world headquarters of the revolution, and the national communist parties were considered its sections. The governing body of the Comintern - the Executive Committee - was located in Moscow. The Comintern did a great job of promoting communist ideas, creating communist organizations, preparing speeches against governments in different countries.

The supporters of moderate views in the social democratic movement united in 1923 in the Socialist International.

By 1918, the German Empire had finally exhausted its economic, military-technical and human resources. The German army no longer carried out offensive operations, but only held the defenses. There were frequent cases when German soldiers surrendered, finally losing faith in victory.

The people of Germany finally lost faith in the German emperor - Wilhelm II, accusing him of complete helplessness, bringing German citizens to ruin and poverty. A revolution began in Germany, which overthrew the monarchy and proclaimed a republic on November 9, 1918. Under these conditions, Germany asked the Entente countries to cease all hostilities and sign an armistice. Wilhelm II fled the country.

War is over November 11, 1918 signing Compiegne Truce... It was concluded between the representative of Germany and the commander-in-chief of the Entente army. There were no representatives of Russia at the signing of the peace agreement, since the Russian Empire withdrew from the First World War back in 1917, due to the revolution that began in Russia.

The victorious countries demanded from Germany:

• Voluntary issuance of submarines, military ground vehicles and various types of weapons to representatives of the Entente.
• An immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts.
• Withdrawal of troops from the French, Turkish, Belgian, Romanian and Luxembourgish territories occupied by Germany within half a month.
• Establishment of a demilitarized zone on the west bank of the Rhine.

The surrender of Germany also provided for the abolition of the terms of the Brest Peace Treaty, concluded between the German Empire and Russia on March 3, 1918. Germany was supposed to return all Russian gold, but the Entente countries did not oblige her to withdraw troops from Russian territories.

We memorize new words!

Demilitarization- disarmament, the dissolution of the armed forces, the destruction of military fortifications, the transfer of industry from the production of weapons and military equipment to the production of peacetime goods.

Surrender- complete and unconditional cessation of hostilities and surrender at the mercy of the winner.

Post-war redistribution of the world

After the signing of the armistice, the Entente countries began to prepare the Paris Peace Conference, at which they were to resolve important issues:

• To finally determine the fate of the defeated states.
• Solve territorial issues, establish new or reaffirm old borders between states.
• Determine the position of the colonies of defeated Germany.
• Set the amount of reparations for the defeated states.
• Solve the "Russian question" - Western countries were worried about the growing social movement, the threat of Bolshevism - which, in their opinion, came from the newly formed Soviet Russia.
• Create an international organization that would become the guarantor of preventing a new world war.

The participants in the Paris conference sat in the Palace of Versailles for over a year, from January 18, 1919 to January 21, 1920. Representatives from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Italy participated in developing the solutions. Politicians could not come to a common decision regarding the size of reparations, the territorial redistribution of the world, the status of colonial possessions. At the same time, representatives of Germany, Austria, Soviet Russia and Hungary were not allowed to attend the meeting.

After lengthy meetings of US President Woodrow Wilson, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and other representatives of the victorious states, the Versailles Peace Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919. According to its terms:

• The redistribution of the German colonies was carried out. The colonial possessions of Germany in Africa were divided between Great Britain, Portugal, Belgium, France. The protectorate over some territories of China was transferred to Japan, over Egypt - to Great Britain. Also, the territory of the German state was reduced by 1/8 in favor of the neighboring victorious countries.
• For Germany, the strictest restrictions on the size of the army and various types of weapons were introduced. Part of its territory was temporarily occupied by the Allied forces of the Entente.
• Germany was declared the culprit in the outbreak of hostilities and the obligation to compensate for post-war damage in the amount of 269 billion gold marks. She had to give up the territories transferred to her by Russia under the terms of the Brest Peace: part of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Baltic states, the Caucasus.

In the course of further negotiations, the post-war borders of the states were determined, a new world order in Europe was formalized, which was later called the Versailles-Washington system.

In addition, the League of Nations was formed - an international organization formed to ensure global security and prevent hostilities. The creation of the League of Nations subsequently made it possible to prevent and resolve more than 40 conflicts, but the organization was unable to prevent the Second World War.

Collapse of empires and revolutions

The most important of the consequences of the First World War were the revolutions that arose in a number of states, as a result of which the largest empires in the world collapsed: the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, German and Russian.

The reasons for the revolution in Germany were: anger of the people against the government of William II, a severe crisis in agriculture and industry, inflation, the naval blockade of England, which destroyed the German economy, the lack of success of the German army at the front at the final stage of the war. In November 1918, the revolution swept Munich, Hamburg, Bremen and soon reached Berlin, it marked the collapse of the German Empire. On August 11, 1919, a new constitution was adopted in the country, since it was developed on the territory of the city of Weimar - it was named Weimar, and the Weimar Republic was established in Germany.

It is interesting!

Weimar republic lasted from 1919 to 1933, until the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in the German state. During the Weimar Republic, the country overcame the post-war economic crisis, achieved international recognition, and overcame hyperinflation. However, high post-war reparations, restrictions on Germany's armaments, the economic blockade of the country - led to an increase in extremist sentiments, the crisis of the Weimar Republic and the coming to power of Adolf Hitler.

The defeat in the war also led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which sided with the Triple Alliance. By signing the act of surrender in 1918, the Ottoman Empire lost a number of its territories:

• islands of the Aegean Sea;
• the territory of modern Syria and Lebanon;
• Mesopotamia;
• Palestine;
• A series of Ottoman territorial conquests in Europe.

In 1920, the sultanate was abolished, followed by the formation of the Turkish Republic.

During the war years, revolutionary sentiments swept the multinational Austria-Hungary. Internal political contradictions complicated military setbacks on the fronts, the economic crisis and crop failures in 1918. France and Great Britain were interested in the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, seeking to fragment the hostile monarchical power. So on July 30, 1918, the French government recognized the right of Czechs and Slovaks to self-determination, which further exacerbated the situation in Austria-Hungary. The revolution in Austria-Hungary overthrew the monarch - Charles I, led to the proclamation of new republics: Hungary, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (future Yugoslavia).

The First World War pushed the Russian Empire to disintegration. In late 1916 - early 1917, it was seized by revolutionary sentiments caused by food shortages, the mobilization of workers and peasants, and the inept military command of Nicholas II. Under the influence of the Bolsheviks, the anti-war movement grew in the army and navy, the slogans “Peace to the peoples”, “Peace to the whole world”, “Land to the peasants, factories to workers” were increasingly heard in the cities. As a result of the February and October revolutions of 1917 and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the Russian Empire ceased to exist. Finland, Lithuania and part of Latvia were separated from Russia.

Russia became the world's first socialist state in which most European countries saw a threat. According to the results of the First World War, Soviet Russia was not allowed to the territorial redistribution of the world; for many years it had to be in international isolation.

Economic consequences of the First World War

The First World War ended the existence of the 4 largest empires in the world and led to the creation of many new states, claimed the lives of 10 million soldiers and 5 million civilians. The destruction of the First World War led to dire consequences for the economy, delayed the economic development of a whole generation of people.

The territories in which the battles took place were destroyed, residents had to rebuild the city infrastructure, residential buildings, and transport arteries. The lands of France, Russia and Belgium, where most of the fighting took place, were particularly affected. The least losses in the First World War were suffered by the United States, since there were no battles on their territories.

At the end of the war, the states that took part in the war faced the following tasks:

• To transfer industry from the production of military equipment and ammunition to the production of essential goods.
• Overcome high level unemployment, which was associated with the return of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the front.
• Restore the pre-war level of agricultural and industrial production.

In addition, after the end of the war, the Entente countries had to pay off military debts to the United States, which throughout the hostilities supplied weapons, food, vehicles and monetary loans to their allies.

The most serious economic consequences of the First World War were felt by Germany, from which all colonial possessions were taken away, the industrial regions - Alsace and Lorraine, were obliged to pay high reparation payments. This time, the United States again wished to become a creditor. The States gave the German people money to restore agriculture and industry, the proceeds of which he was obliged to transfer to the Entente countries. And those, in turn, had to pay back their military debts to the United States.

Dictionary

Reparations - compensation for damage caused by the war, the defeated state to the victorious country.

Occupation is the forcible occupation of the territory of an enemy country by troops.

Inflation is the depreciation of money.

Hyperinflation is the depreciation of money at an extremely high rate.

The Sultanate is a monarchical state headed by the Sultan.

Mobilization - putting the armed forces on alert.

Peace Treaty of Versailles 1919, a treaty signed on June 28, 1919 in Versailles by the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan, as well as Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hijaz, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian state, Siam, Czechoslovakia and Uruguay, on the one hand, and surrendered Germany, on the other. The terms of the treaty were developed at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20.

According to V. m. Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France (within the borders of 1870); Belgium - the districts of Malmedy and Eupen, as well as the so-called neutral and Prussian parts of Morene; Poland - Poznan, parts of Pomorie and other territories of West Prussia; the city of Danzig (Gdansk) and its district was declared a “free city”; The city of Memel (Klaipeda) was transferred to the jurisdiction of the victorious powers (in February 1923 it was annexed to Lithuania). The question of the state ownership of Schleswig, the southern part of East Prussia and Upper Silesia was to be decided by a plebiscite (as a result, part of Schleswig passed in 1920 to Denmark, part of Upper Silesia in 1921 to Poland, the southern part of East Prussia remained with Germany); a small section of the Silesian territory went to Czechoslovakia. The original Polish lands - on the right bank of the Oder, Lower Silesia, most of Upper Silesia, and others - remained with Germany. Saar passed for 15 years under the control of the League of Nations, and after 15 years, the fate of Saar was to be decided by a plebiscite. The Saar coal mines were transferred to the ownership of France. According to the V. m.d., the independence of Austria is recognized, as well as the complete independence of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The entire German part of the left bank of the Rhine and a strip of the right bank 50 km wide were subject to demilitarization. Germany was deprived of all its colonies, which were later divided among the main victorious powers on the basis of the League of Nations mandate system.

The redistribution of the German colonies was carried out as follows. In Africa, Tanganyika became a mandate territory of Great Britain, the Rwanda-Urundi region became a mandate territory of Belgium, the Kionga Triangle (Southeast Africa) was transferred to Portugal (the named territories were formerly German East Africa), Great Britain and France divided Togo and Cameroon; South Africa received a mandate for South West Africa. In the Pacific Ocean, the islands belonging to Germany to the north of the equator belonged to Japan as territories of mandate, German New Guinea to the Australian Union, and Samoa to New Zealand.

Germany, according to V. m.d., renounced all concessions and privileges in China, from the rights of consular jurisdiction and from all property in Siam, from all treaties and agreements with Liberia, and recognized the protectorate of France over Morocco and Great Britain over Egypt. The rights of Germany in relation to Jiaozhou and the entire Shandong province of China were ceded to Japan (as a result of this, the WM was not signed by China). According to article 116, Germany recognized “... the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914 ", as well as the abolition of the Brest Peace of 1918 and all others.