First World War, Russian Revolution, and Interwar Period

Posted on Dec 2, 2023 in History

The First World War and the Russian Revolution

• Why did a war break out in Europe?

After the Berlin Conference, the rise of powers such as the German Empire caused conflicts between European countries. There was a high possibility of war as European powers competed to control Morocco.

The European powers became nationalistic to defend their colonial empires. The Austro-Hungarian, Serbian, and Russian Empires were planning on gaining power over the Balkans, which would give them control over the Mediterranean Sea. The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina resulted in the Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913). Serbia allied with Russia and Austria-Hungary allied with Germany.

• Alliances between countries

Triple Alliance→ It was an agreement signed in 1882 by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Triple Entente→ An aid pact signed in 1907 between France, Russia, and Britain because they feared the Germans’ military strength and expansion.

• Stages of the First World War

The outbreak→ On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, which had been occupied by Austria-Hungary since 1908. Austria-Hungary accused Serbia and declared war on 28 July. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary, and Germany declared war on Russia and France. Great Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, and only Italy stayed neutral.

The war of movement→ The Germans attacked France through Belgium and Luxembourg. The Germans were near Paris, but the French and the British stopped them at the Battle of the Marne. On the Eastern Front, Germany beat Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg, and in the Balkans, Serbia stopped Austria-Hungary’s advance.

Trench warfare→ The western front became immobile, and trenches were built from Switzerland to the North Sea. The Central Powers and the Allied Powers had to find new allies to provide them with soldiers. The Ottoman Empire, Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania entered the war. The Germans’ new offensive on the Western Front was stopped by the French at the Battle of Verdun. The French and the British attacked the Germans at the Battle of the Somme. This resulted in enormous casualties.

1917→ Many soldiers abandoned, and a lot of revolts took place. Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with the Germans. The United States of America joined the war. In 1918, the Allies defeated Austria-Hungary, the Germans were defeated at the Second Battle of the Marne. At 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed bringing the war to an end.

• Consequences of the First World War

Economic consequences→ The First World War cost a lot of money, so the countries that participated in it had to raise taxes, borrow money from their citizens, and print money for buying weapons. This led to inflation.

Political consequences→ They created the Treaty of Versailles and broke up Europe’s empires and drew new borders.

Social consequences→ Birth rates went down because of the millions of casualties that took place in the war. Women started replacing men in factories and offices, and in many countries, they were given the right to vote. And the upper classes lost their leading role in society.

• Russian revolution

February revolution→ There was a large demonstration in Petrograd. The tsar abdicated, and a republic was proclaimed. A new government formed by bourgeois parties was implemented. This new government initiated a series of political reforms and decided to remain committed to their allies in the war, which made it difficult to improve the living conditions of the people. The Soviets began to demand the dismissal of the government. The tsar’s rule began to split up.

October revolution→ Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, returned from exile and published his ideas about wanting to establish a new government and to sign a peace treaty with Germany. He asked for the distribution of land among the peasants and giving the workers control over the factories. The Bolsheviks created the Red Guards, their armed militia, to be prepared for an insurrection on 25 October 1917. The rebels occupied Petrograd, took the Winter Palace, and overthrew the provisional government. Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin proclaimed a workers’ government. In November 1917, elections for the Constituent Assembly were held. The Bolsheviks won the majority of the votes. Lenin dissolved the assembly and put an end to political pluralism in the new Soviet Russia. The government decreed that the land was expropriated to distribute among the peasants, and workers’ committees were given the control over the factories.

Civil war→ In early 1918, the bourgeoisie and those who supported the return of tsarism took up arms against the Soviet government. The White Army confronted the Red Army led by Trotsky and the Bolsheviks. The Civil War brought great misery to the people, who suffered from food shortages and a high number of casualties. In 1921 the Red Army won the war.

• Europe at the end of the war

The war caused widespread demographic decline and a permanent loss of European hegemony. All European countries were in debt, which made them issue government bonds and take out war loans with other countries.

In January 1919, they held a conference to establish the terms for peace. The Treaty of Versailles imposed the terms of peace with Germany. New borders were created in Europe. The League of Nations was created because of the suggestion of a US President. It guaranteed peace and cooperation between states. It failed because Germany, along with the other defeated nations and the USSR were initially excluded. In addition, the US senate voted not to join. Lastly, the League of Nations and the USA had no influence on international politics.

The Germans considered the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles a humiliation, and in Italy, they were frustrated for not receiving the land that they had requested. This led to an increase of nationalism. The Bolshevik revolution led to uprisings in Germany and Hungary.

Definitions

• Armed peace→ State in which countries who are officially at peace continue to maintain military readiness.
• Arms race→ Countries spent vast amounts of money on new weapons and the army.
• League of Nations→ An international diplomatic group created to guarantee peace and cooperation between states.
• Tsarism→ An autocracy where the tsar had absolute power.
• Soviets→ A former inhabitant of the USSR.
• Bolshevism→ The form of government adopted in Russia after the revolutions of 1917.
• War reparations→ Payments done after the war to cover the damage done during the war.
• Suffragette movement→ It was an international movement to claim the right of woman to exercise the right to vote.

• Franz Ferdinand→ Heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire whose death was the cause of the First World War.
• Woodrow Wilson→ An American politician part of the Democratic Party.
• Nicholas II→ He was tsar during the First World War.
• Lenin→ Main Bolshevik leader.

• Triple Entente/Triple Alliance→ The Triple Entente was the alliance between Russia, France, and Great Britain and the Triple Alliance was a treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
• War of movement/trench warfare→ The war of movement was a phase full of wars while the trench warfare was a stage in which the Central Powers and the Allied Power stayed immobile.
• February revolution/October revolution→ On the February revolution was a spontaneous riot and the October revolution was an overthrow of the government.

Dates

• 1882→The Triple Alliance was signed.
• 1885→ The Berlin Conference.
• 1898→ The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was founded by Lenin.
• 1905→ A revolution broke out in Russia demanding the end of autocracy.
• 1907→ The Triple Entente was signed.
• 1908→ Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary.
• 1912-1913→ Balkan Wars.
• 1914→ Russia entered the First World War.
• 28 June 1914→ Assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
• 28 July 1914→ Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
• September 1914→ Battle of the Marne.
• Late 1914→ Ottoman Empire entered the war.
• 1915→ Italy and Bulgaria entered the war.
• 1916→ Romania entered the war.
• 1916→ Battle of Verdun and Battle of the Somme.
• 1917→ The United States joined the war.
• 23 February 1917→ A large demonstration in Petrograd, followed by a general strike and riots in the barracks.
• 25 October 1917→ The Bolsheviks created the Red Guards.
• November 1917→ Elections were held for the Constituent Assembly.
• 1918→ Russia and Germany signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty.
• 1918→ The Allies defeated Austria-Hungary.
• 11 November 1918→ An armistice was signed to end the war.
• January 1919→ A conference was held in Paris to establish the terms for peace.
• 1921→ The Red Army won the Civil War.

The interwar period

• Problems that led to a new war

Economic imbalances→ The United States became the world’s leading economic power because of its high agricultural and industrial production. It had been benefited by the war by selling food, weapons, and industrial products to the allies. Because of this, many European countries were indebted to the United States. The entire global economy was destroyed because of the economic crisis in the United States in 1929.

The Russian revolution→ The economic difficulties caused a social crisis that led to strikes between 1919 and 1920. These demonstrations were stopped by the army and the police, and trade union rights were limited. This led to the opposition of democracy by the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

Totalitarian regimes→ Countries with strong roots in parliamentarianism and democracy integrated the emerging socialism through universal suffrage and political coalitions, while in countries with little parliamentary tradition, the liberal parties ended up imposing an authoritarian political system.

• Crisis in the United States

Roaring twenties→ It was the decade of prosperity in which the American way of life and the values that underpinned it became a model for the whole world. It ended because of the overproduction and rise in wages that caused the Wall Street Crash.

Paradox of prosperity→ Agricultural prices started to increase more slowly and many farmers increased their production. The market wasn’t able to absorb all the production so stock accumulated. There was a rise in wages.

The Wall Street Crash→ A huge selling wave hit the New York Stock Exchange on 24 October 1929. After this, everyone wanted to sell their shares, which triggered the Wall Street Crash. Many citizens went to the banks to take all their money, so the banks were forced to close.

The New Deal→ It was introduced by the president Franklin D. Roosevelt for reducing the effects of the widespread crisis and promote economic recovery. The government helped private companies in difficulty and ordered agricultural stock to be destroyed. They established a stricter control over banks. They promoted a major public works program to fight unemployment.

• Post-war

Italy→ They were disappointed with the peace agreements. There was political instability and five different governments were leading between 1919 and 1922. Because of all the deaths from the previous war the cost of living rose, real wages fell and unemployment kept growing. In northern Italy workers stared to strikes with revolutionary goals.

Germany→ After the First World War, the Weimar Republic was founded and a democratic constitution established. Germany considered the Treaty of Versailles a humiliation. In the post-war years there was an economic crisis, poverty and unemployment. The war debts caused a huge inflation.

• Fascism and Nazism

Fascism→ It was a program based on building a strong state to guarantee private property and an expansionist foreign policy. It was presented as an effective way to stop the revolutionary movement in Italy. This new party was supported by the petty bourgeoisie, the church and the king.

Nazism→ Adolf Hitler was a demobilised soldier that could not accept Germany’s defeat in the First World War so he joined the Nazi Party and was proclaimed its leader. Hitler did not support a parliamentary democracy nor Bolshevism. He also advocated antisemitism, the superiority of the Aryan race and he wanted to build a great empire. He promised works for everybody, to reduce industrial profits and better wages.

• The Nazi regime

A totalitarian system→ After 1934, the Nazi Party and the state united under the authority of Hitler. Individual freedom was abolished. They dissolved political parties and trade unions. All workers were forced to join the only trade union, the German Labour Front. They eliminated public administration, took over the police and later on the Gestapo (secret police) was created.

The enforcement of Nazi ideology→ Absolute ideological unity was needed to form the Nazi state. The Nazis created a ministry that controlled propaganda to guarantee a racist and nationalistic mindset. This ministry made all the science and culture disappear. The education system was changed. They started persecuting and eliminating all minorities considered inferior. They ordered a boycott of Jewish businesses, prohibited interracial marriages, excluded Jewish from German citizenship and were forced to wear an identity badge. After 1933, they created concentration camps for communists, democrats, socialists and Jews, where they were forced to work and were exterminated.

Economic self-sufficiency and rearmament→ Nazis wanted to make Germany a world economic power so they focused on militaristic and expansionist projects. They wanted to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

An expansionist policy→ Hitler wanted a powerful army so he established a military policy. He strengthened the army by introducing military service and creating a new army.

The indoctrination of the population→ Nazism indoctrinated the population with propaganda and fear so they would join his army.

• Stalin’s dictatorship

After Lenin’s dead, Trotsky and Stalin argued about exporting the socialism to other countries or not. Stalin took control over this situation and after 1927, he had become the sole leader of the USSR.

Socialism→ Stalin imposed an economic model based on a planned, state-managed economy, prohibiting the private company and prioritizing heavy industries.

Gulag→ A system of prison camps that held opponents of the regime and forced them to do hard labour.

Definitions

• Lebensraum→ Living space.
• Dictatorship→ Absolute authority.
• Overproduction→ When the market can’t absorb all the production so stock accumulates and prices fall.
• Autarky→ Economic self-sufficiency.
• Wehrmacht→ New army created by Hitler.
• Luftwaffe→ Nazis’ modern air force.
• Speculative bubble→ A disconnection between the real economy and the productive economy.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt→ He introduced the new deal in 1932.
• Adolf Hitler→ The leader of the Nazi Party.
• Benito Mussolini→ Creator of the Fasci.
• Joseph Stalin→ The sole leader of the USSR.

Dates

• 1915→ Treaty of London.
• 1918→ Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated.
• 1918-1929→ Roaring twenties.
• 1919-1920→ Strikes in UK, France, Germany, Italy, etc.
• 1920→ The leader of the USSR established a totalitarian political regime.
• 1921→ The Fasci became the National Fascist Party.
• 1922→ Elections in Italy.
• 1924→ Mussolini won the elections.
• 1924→ Lenin died.
• 1926-1927→ A series of events that led to a crisis.
• 1927→ Stalin became the sole leader of the USSR.
• 24 October 1929→ Black Thursday (banking crisis).
• 1929→ Wall Street Crash.
• 1929→ Stalin enforced the collectivisation of the agricultural sector.
• 1929→ The Gulag was set up.
• 1932→ Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected.
• 1932→ The Nazi party won the elections.
• January 1933→ President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor.
• 1933→ A boycott of Jewish businesses was ordered.
• 1933→ Concentration camps were created.
• 1934→ Hitler declared himself Führer.
• 1934→ The Gestapo was created.
• 1935→ Jews were excluded from German citizenship.
• 1938→ Jews had to wear a Jewish identity badge.