How Did The Great War Affect Germany

From the 1920s to the beginning of the World War II, as the country which played a dominant role in Europe, Germany was the one that took advantage of other small Europeans country by its strong power. Hitler and his Nazi party demonstrated their ambition to make Germany a stronger country. Under the pressure of the German power, other European countries were afraid to justify equality and agreements among all the European countries.

Warfare meant that Germany couldn’t import or export manufacturing goods and they had severely limited trade. As a result of World War I, by 1919 Germany was no longer the most economically advanced nation in Europe. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to pay huge amounts in damages to the allies, and by 1921 Germany could no longer pay. Since Germany could no longer pay, the French and Belgian troops attacked and occupied the Ruhr to take resources and needed materials. But then during the years of 1924 to 1929 Germany became gradually wealthy and peaceful, the USA even gave Germany vast amounts of money. During this time the economy was restored, unemployment was low, and the people began to feel safe again. Then another travesty occurred after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 in American economy. This unexpected blow had terrible consequences all over Europe, and between the years of 1929 and 1933 there was high unemployment and severe poverty in Germany. Consequently because of Germany’s unlucky past and the situation they were in at the moment, Hitler decided to take action.

During Germany’s vigorous attempts to take a stronghold of Russia, there were many strategical mistakes that were made that lead to long and gruesome fights that destroyed so

The late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Europe saw a lot of developments, like nationalism and imperialism, that eventually led to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Countries in Europe were expanding and taking over countries in Africa thanks to nationalism, and this competition led to high political tension that contributed to the Great War. This war was the bloodiest, most destructive war in European history up to that point, and it represented a major break from the status quo in many aspects of European life and politics. The war changed European history because war was taken to a new level, the European economy was changed, and Europe began its decline as a world power as a result.

The Second World War cost Germany approximately 270 billion dollars. Hitler understood that the German government should be prepared for a 10 to 15 year war. As he wished massive building projects to coincide with victory, this proved to be an unrealistic task (Overy). To combat growing industry several million prisoners of war were deported into the Reich (Spoerer). In order to sustain the German war economy, the armament industry was privatized. This privatization ultimately led to the commodification of prisoners of war; especially polish Jews.

Nationalism can cause unity among a country but can mean competition between other nations. This cause competition between the European nations of France, Italy, Russia, Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, and Germany. Competition for ores and resources led to hatred between nations looking to expand their influence which was a direct cause for WW1. To be the best nation, they had to be the best at everything militarily and economically. Germany was more advanced than France, Britain, and Russia. Russia had the worst technology and military.

Germany and many other nations in Europe had a strong desire to become the most powerful nation in Europe by gaining more military strength. These ambitions locked many nations in an arms race as each nation saw the other as a threat and wanted protection and military superiority. Roberts writes about German military ambition, “The new German fleet, built directly to challenge the british navy, combined with Germany's rapidly growing industrial strength, therefore caused the British government's great anxiety. It drove them toward alliances in Europe which previously they had avoided.” (13) Germany’s military ambition, like their desire for colonies, caused other European nations to become fearful and form alliances with others. The fear of German expansion and militarization, the two things the German government wanted most, drove other nations to make alliances they wouldn’t have under other circumstances. This divide of Europe was essentially the cause of the First World War. It stemmed from German ambitions, both of military and expansion. Fromkin also points out that military force would be necessary for German expansion when he writes, “In retrospect, it is clear that Germany’s post 1890 hunger for empire could no longer be satisfied except by taking overseas territories away from other European countries.” (Fromkin, 91) This idea ties in both the German ambitions for military strength and their desire for colonization. The German government knew that their need for more colonies couldn’t be fulfilled without taking land away for other nations, and to do this they needed to have a strong military. Other nations saw this and began to expand their military as well. This brought about

German militarism and especially the expansion of naval power persuaded Great Britain that Germany may soon establish itself as a dominant power on the Continent.

One of the main factors causing the outbreak of The Great War was the aggressive sentiment of a recently unified Germany. With a pervasive feeling of nationalism, and a sense of entitlement as a world power, Germany had the need to satisfy its growing development, and therefore the need to secure its importation of natural resources. Industrialized and militarized, and feeling confident after the relatively easy victory of the Franco-Prussian War, Germany was prepared for a multi-front offensive with the secretive Schlieffen Plan. Several factors strained Germany’s relations with its neighbors. Confrontational rhetoric from Kaiser Wilhelm II, who represented the sentiment of a modern generation in Germany, acrimonious feelings from missed opportunities

Overall , Germany did more to cause the war than other countries did. Much evidence is given in the text that shows Germany was trying to start a war.

Hundreds of countries, thousands of cultures, and billions of people is what the world is made up of. These statistics include a country called Germany. Germany consists of diverse cultures and millions of people. Because of this, Germany has had a major impact on the world.

The effects of the Great War were incredibly harmful. The instability within Europe was a major issue for not only Germany and German states but also neighboring regions throughout the world. The reason for such instability actually occurred with the implementation of the Treaty of Versailles. Merriman explains, "Ethnic rivalries within nations, many inflamed by the Treaty of Versailles, intensified social and political conflict. The post-war treaties could not create new states that satisfied all nationalities" (Merriman p. 956). The clauses within the treaty weren’t representative of each nationalities beliefs and needs. The ideas, which are to be discussed later clashed as Britain and France sought to inflict punishment upon Germany after declaring that Germany be held responsible for the war and the losses thrust upon

How did Germany take over so many countries in WW2? Europe wasn’t ready or prepared for Germany, like France and in western Europe and they failed to protect their country.

German expansionism in the Wilhelmine period contributed greatly to the outbreak of World War I. Even leading up to that period tensions were rising, with so many different political groups being formed and with that all the different opinions being formulated the unification they hoped to fulfill was not carried out. The anticipation was building for a war to break out and Germany was preparing for it too whether it was through the building up and upgrades to their nations military. Colonialization played a role as well in the outbreak in the war as countries wanted to expand their territories and take control smaller areas as such as the Balkan Peninsula. Finally, industrialization played a factor as well because manufacturing of weapons and transportation went up in Germany all in preparation for war.

To find out why Germany wanted to have strength and unity so much, you have to look at the past. Germany had a proud history from the holy