1. The End of World War I

2. The Central Powers Declare Defeat
By the end of 1918, Wilson forced Kaiser Wilhelm II to give up the German throne
Creation of the Weimar Republic
November 11, 1918: Germany signed an armistice, ending World War I

3. Germany Signs an Armistice
Germany must hand over munitions (military capability)
Smaller naval fleet
No more U-boats
Release POWs
Rhineland occupied
More punishments later

4. Each dot represents a ship sunk by a U-boat

5. Economic Costs of WWI $300 Billion Total Financial Losses
Germans lost 178 U-boats, but sunk 5,000 ships
13 million tons of supplies

7. Human Costs of WWI 21 million soldiers wounded
About 9 million soldiers died
Germany, Russia lost the most
Russia lost more in revolution and ensuing civil war
About 8 million civilians died
6 million due to famine and disease
Almost 2 million were Russian

8. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Wilson’s plan for post-war world
General statements of peace
Idealistic views increased morale

9. Paris Peace Conference
Wilson was too idealistic
European powers wanted revenge
Defeated nations allowed very little role

10. Paris Peace Conference
Allies met at Versailles
Big Four:
US--Wilson
Britain--George
France—Clemenceau
Italy- Orlando

11. Wilson vs. Allied Powers
Wilson didn’t want harsh punishments
“war to end all wars”
The British and French wanted to punish Germany
Expected reparations
Germans didn’t have a chance to negotiate

12. Division of Europe
Wilson’s goal of self-determination not fully realized
Boundaries didn’t match ethnic groups
Border Disputes in the following regions
Germans in Czechoslovakia and Polish Corridor
Deportation and Genocide of Armenians in Turkey

13. Europe in the Middle East
Ottomans lost everything except Turkey
Britain and France promised independence to ethnic groups in Middle East
Palestine, Transjordan, Syria, Iraq created

14. League of Nations
Places where problems could be worked and war avoided!

15. League of Nations Part of Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Added to the Treaty of Versailles
U.S. never joined
Senate never ratified treaty
Afraid of giving up sovereignty, and another war

16. The League of Nations
President Wilson won the Peace Prize in 1919 as the leading architect behind the League of Nations