Europe Before & After WWI

Russian Revolution of 1917 Czar Nicolas II seemed incapable of leading his country through WWI A rash of horrible military decisions, huge losses of life and resources, along with his wife listening to a religious radical Rasputin Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks (the majority) seized power and killed the Czar and his family By 1919 the Third International Communist Meeting took place in the Soviet Union encouraging all countries to convert to communism and take out all forms of capitalism

Collapse of Germany Ungrateful and unruly little German brats you should love your King!!! Massed mutiny first starts in the German Navy and then quickly spreads to the German Army. Then on November 9, 1918 the city of Berlin revolts and the socialists leaders declare the establishment of a German republic. The Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated the throne and flees to the Netherlands for refuge. The German war machine and war economy were too exhausted. On the 11th day of the 11th hour in the 11th month of 1918 Germany officially surrenders.

Treaty of Versailles Wilson’s Fourteen Points- a speech delivered on January 18, 1918 before the U.S. Congress. The points were divided into three groups that were plans to how to maintain world peace. The first five points addressed issues that Wilson believed caused the war. Congress rejects Wilson’s plan. League of Nations- an international organization to address diplomatic crises like those that had sparked the war. It would provide a forum for nations to discuss and settle their grievances without having to resort to war. Treaty of Versailles- it crushes Germany. France and Great Britain feel a great deal of animosity towards Germany. They demilitarize Germany, stripping it of its air force and most of its navy and reduces its army to 100,000 men. The treaty also required Germany to return Alsace-Lorraine to France and to pay reparations of 33 billion dollars to the Allies. Furthermore, the treaty contained a war guilt clause that forced Germany to acknowledge that it alone was responsible for WWI.