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Imperialism
By 1900, the British Empire extended to over 5 continents. France controlled large areas of Africa. Rivalry with Germany increased, as Germany had entered the scramble for land later and only had control of small areas in Africa. -
Nationlism
Nationalism - loyalty and devotion to a nation; an extreme form of patriotism Nationalism was widespread in Europe in the 20th century. Many Europeans before the war believed in the supremacy of their country. Nationalist feelings assured Europeans that if war erupted, their nation would be victorious. Europeans showed apathy toward the dangers of war. Nationalism diminished after WW1. -
Militarism
Militarism is pretty much glorifying the military. Pre-WW1, many nations defined their greatness through the military. Of course, Germany got in on this and tried building its military to showcase its power. The German navy frightened England, so naturally, England raced to increase its navy. The arms race brought suspicion toward Germany and England, making war more likely. -
Alliances
The 6 major powers in Europe were split into alliances. Triple Entente - Britain, France, Russia
Triple Alliance - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy There were also alliances of smaller countries. Austro-Serbian alliance - Austria-Hungary and Serbia
Franco-Russian alliance - France and Russia -
The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated along with his wife Sophie by Gavrilo Princip. -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
Wilhelm II and Imperial Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Holloweg telegrammed Berchtold that Austia-Hungary could rely on Germany to support whatever actions were necessary to deal with Serbia. -
WW1 Begins
WW1 began directly after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. -
The Lusitania Sinks
German U-boats sank the Lusitania, waging war against the United Kingdom. The sinking killed fellow Americans on board; enter America in WW1. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
The British intercepted the encrypted message from Heinrich von Eckhardt, the German Ambassador, to Mexico. The message said that if the United States enters the war and side with the Allies, Von Eckardt would approach Mexico's president to form a secret alliance. The Germans would provide for Mexican to attack the United States. Mexico was also welcome to annex territories lost to the United States during the Mexican-American War. -
Germany's Resumption of Restricted Submarine Warfare
Germany returns to the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. It was previously suspended due to pressure from the United States and other neutral countries. -
The United States Enters the War
The US Senate votes to declare war on Germany with a vote of 82 to 6. The US House of Representatives approved of declaring wat with a vote of 373 to 50. -
WW1 Ends
18 million deaths, 23 million wounded. New countries formed: ~ Finland
~ Austria
~ Czechoslovakia
~ Yugoslavia
~ Poland
~ Hungary
~ Latvia
~ Lithuania
~ Estonia People thought this was "the war to end all wars". How wrong they were. More problems arose postwar. -
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
Hitler took up political work in Munich in 1919. He joined the German Workers' Party as an army political agent. He was later put in charge of the party's propaganda. He left the army to devote himself to the party. Soon, the party was renamed the National-sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (the Nazi party). -
Period: to
Treaty of Versailles
- Germany lost about 10% of its land. This means fewer people, fewer taxes, and less power.
- The treaty limited the number of armed forces to 100,000. Submarines and airplanes were not allowed; Germany could only have 6 battleships.
- Reparation did a great deal of damage to the German economy. The sum of reparations was £6,600 million.
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The Dawes Plan
With the Dawes Plan, Germany's annual reparation would reduce, increasing overtime as the economy improved. -
The Young Plan
Owen D. Young and a member of the Dawes community proposed a plan to reduce reparations demanded on Germany. The plan made 121 billion gold marks (almost $29 billion) payable over a span of 58 years.
