1. Germany after WW1

2. BRAINSTORM
In your notebooks, write the Political, Social and Economic consequences of war on Germany.

3. World War One had a devastating impact on Germany
World War One had a devastating impact on Germany. Throughout World War One, the people of Germany had been led to believe by their government that they were winning the war. Government propaganda had been used to great effect.
German soldiers were convinced that Germany was not only winning the war but was in the process of putting together a major military assault on Allied lines. 

4. Germany itself was being starved of food and all goods as a result of the British Navy's blockade of her ports in the north. With such a small coastline, the British Navy found it a relatively easy task to blockade her.
German troops were poorly equipped and what food there was went to the war effort leaving the people of Germany very short of food.

5. In the autumn of 1918, the Allies launched a massive attack on the German lines. The German Army collapsed.
The blame was put on weak politicians rather than on military exhaustion.
In the space of two months, Germany had gone from being a fighting nation to a defeated one; from a nation with a leader - Kaiser William II - to one with politicians leading the country.
William II had been forced to abdicate - give up the throne.

6. By early November 1918, many cities had been taken over by workers' and soldiers' councils. This was very similar to what had happened in Russia during the communist take over of 1917 and politicians were fearful of another communist takeover in Germany itself.

7. AFTER THE WAR
Food shortages in Germany itself had pushed many civilians to the brink of starvation.
Farmers were short of labourers to bring in the harvest as young men had been drafted into the military.
By 1918, Germany was producing only 50% of the milk it had done before the war.
By the winter of 1917, the supply of potatoes had run out and the only real alternative was turnips. This is why the winter of 1916 to 1917 is known as the "Turnip Winter". Turnips were used as animal foodstuff and the thought of eating them repelled many as they were the food of cows, pigs etc.
Lack of food had seriously weakened the ability of people to fight off disease. Flu had a terrible impact on Germans as the people had little bodily strength to fight the illness.
It is thought that nearly 750,000 died of a combination of flu and starvation - this figure included mainly civilians but it also included soldiers who had survived the horror of war, returned to Germany and had died of the disease.

8. The most obvious was Ebert's inability to control Berlin
The most obvious was Ebert's inability to control Berlin. Such was the violence and chaos in Germany's capital city between the German Communists and the Freikorps and army, that the government moved to the nearest large city which was 'peaceful' and set up government there. This was the city of Weimar. Hence the name of Germany from 1919 to However, how could Ebert's government appear strong when it had fled its own capital?

9. Also Germany had lost 2 million men in the war
Also Germany had lost 2 million men in the war. These were the core of Germany's work force and Germany's industrial base could not recover without them. Therefore, it seemed that in December 1918, Germany was condemned to economic weakness.

10. The war had brought : economic disaster to Germany
a serious loss of man power
near total disrespect for the government 
many thousands of armed and disillusioned former soldiers roaming the streets
a civilian population traumatised by the impact of the war
This was all before the anger that was to occur in Germany over the Treaty of Versailles.