Economic and Political Fallout of World War I - Term Paper Example

Economic and Political Fallout of World War I A country’s army, navy, air force will only work in coordination to protect their territorial integrity and also on certain occasions to gain superiority over other countries. Among these two objectives, the wish or even misadventure of any country to gain superiority over other country or countries has mainly set many of them on the path of war and destructions. When many nations of the world have this objective and the other group of nations tries to protect their territory from these nations, it would result in World Wars. Along with these two major objectives, many other factors would also push nations to initiate World Wars. The world got ‘shaped’ both geographically and historically by two global conflicts that happened in the twentieth century. It included the First World War and the Second World War, with the First World War starting in 1914 and ending in 1918 with the signing of Treaty of Versailles. Although, the First World War ended officially in 1918, its aftereffects simmered for many years, leading to the political and the economic fallouts in various regions of the World, particularly in Europe as well as United States, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Europe In Europe, the political and economic fallout of First World War was mainly visible in Germany and Italy. Defeated in the First World War and with fellow European countries from Britain to Spain dominating the world scene during that period, through their imperialist policies, Germany and Italy along with Japan thought of exhibiting their imperialistic leanings. They thought of capturing many colonies, which will enable them to regain their lost glory. Germany for instance at the end of the First World War I, lost some of its most economically rich territories like eastern portion of Upper Silesia, Saarland and Rhineland to its fellow European neighbors, France, Poland, etc. The loss of these territories apart from depriving Germans of economic wealth also resulted in population relocation and thereby problems with neighboring territories. These problems fueled the German ambition to regain its lost territories. Importantly by restoring the ‘rightful’ boundaries to pre-First World War Germany, its leader, Adolph Hitler wanted to form a Greater Germany. Through Greater Germany, he wanted to encapsulate all the territories where Germans lived into a Great Nation. Italy on the other hand, frustrated by the minimal territorial gains at the end of First World War indulged in expansionism. At Versailles, even though Italy was promised larger part of Austrian territory, it got only rentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, and this resentment fueled Italy’s expansion plans. “…uncompromising message was that Italy and had not received from its allies the gains to which its gallant war had entitled it” (Henig, 2005, p.10). This reason coupled with domestic crisis lead to the rise of Benito Mussolini, and he with popular support launched the desire to capture as many colonies as possible. “Mounting resentment over what was increasingly referred to by nationalists as the 'mutilated victory', and a series of post-war social and industrial convulsions, destabilized the weak post-war Italian government” (Henig, 2005, p.10). Mussolini desired to create a New Roman Empire, basing it around the Mediterranean area. As a first step, he invaded Albania and then Greece in the early part of 1939. There were also economic reasons behind the desire of Germany, Italy and Japan to conquer many territories. That is, these three countries were not as rich as Britain and France and also they did not have enough colonial possessions to serve as source of raw material or markets for their finished goods. Germany was particularly affected by the Great Depression of 1929 which started first in the U.S.A and then spread to other countries, and which indirectly caused the war. That is, U.S.A had been lending capital to European countries, but to protect her own industries, America raised a Tariff wall. It imposed taxes on imports and Britain did the same thing. So, each country tried to become self-sufficient and in this race for self sufficiency, Germany and Italy were at a disadvantage. They determined to get colonies at any cost. Hence they indulged in aggression in the post First World War period. When one focuses on the finance controlling measures of Britain, it was clear that Britain and United Kingdom as a whole faced severe economic problems due to the funding of the War. It only faced negative economic fallout, as it became one of the biggest debtors from being a world's largest overseas investor, with debt payments forming close to 40% of government budget spending. With the 1926 General Strike further shunting any chance of recovery, British economy was at the lowest ebb in the aftermath of the First World War. Europe and United States of America The burdensome and humiliating provisions of the Treaty of Versailles left the Germans bitterly disappointed and deeply resentful. They were ready to denounce it at the earliest opportunity. When Hitler came up with the promise to lift them from ‘the humiliation’ created by the treaty, the Germans hailed him as their leader and savior. That is, when the treaty was formulated at the end of the First World War, it blamed Germany and Austria-Hungary, and even punished them for their role in the First World War. That is, “The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to admit guilt for starting the war. Germany had to give up nearly 10 percent of its land - some of its richest territory. Germany promised never again to raise a large army.” (Rossel and Altshuler, 1992, p.68). So, the treaty in a way imposed harsh monetary recompense on the German citizens affecting the Germany’s economy as well its people. Also by taking away the territories, it caused a kind of territorial dismemberment, resulting in mass resettlements. So, the treaty created bitter resentment among the German people towards the European powers who were on the victory side of the First World War. The people of Germany felt betrayed and want to break the treaty by taking offensive actions against the Allies. This sentiment of the German people was very well utilized by Hitler and his Nazi party. In fact, in the post First World War period, England and France began to use it to further their own interests like using it to authorize their imperialistic ventures. On the other hand, Italy, Germany and Japan defied the League openly and indulged in aggression going on to capture more colonies. Another important factor that made League of Nations weak and incapable to prevent the aggression of the member countries is the non-participation of USA. Even though, League of Nations had sound principles, the absence of USA deprived it of political and military backing. “The failure of the League was due to the fact the United States had refused to join... If only American had joined…there would have been a great power prepared to use its economic and military clout to prevent acts of aggression” (Harris, 2007, p.46). Thus, USA, by being not part of the League of Nations, took the decision of not taking an active political role in World affairs. Although, as mentioned above, it continued to finance the rebuilding initiatives throughout Europe after the War, it could not continue as it suffered negative economic fallout in the form of Great Depression. Asia In the Asian region, Japan for its part had made considerable progress militarily by the end of the 19th century. After the First World War, Japan became a war- like nation, eager to conquer and rule the world. It first invaded and conquered Manchuria a province of China in 1931 and set up a puppet state called Manchukuo. In 1937, Japan tried to expand its conquest by invading other areas of China. For its part, China also tried to play a prominent political role in the aftermath of the First World War, but without any positive results. During the War, Germany captured the Chinese territories of Jiaozhou Bay and the city. As China supported the Allied powers, they wanted the return of those territories back to its fold. Instead, that German ruled Chinese territory was transferred to Japanese rule. This is a key event because, this betrayal of China only led to the May Fourth Movement, a social and political movement, which only seeded the formation of Chinese nationalism and the resultant revolution in 1940’s. Africa and Central America While World War I is thought to have greatly affected Germany and the surrounding European countries, it did in fact, damage other areas as well including Africa and Latin America. (Nosotro, n. d). Africa suffered sizable human losses during the War, and in the aftermath many African countries had struggling economies, with prices of essential commodities increasing manifold, and poverty becoming even worse. Many political groups emerged in this tough economic fallout, tapping on the people’s angst against the European countries particularly Britain for just using African soldiers in the War and not doing any constructive things for those soldiers, their families and also their countries. “The shabby treatment of African and Caribbean people in Britain prompted a large number to return home, disaffected, but also politicized and radicalized.” (Nosotro, n. d). On the other hand, Latin America did not face maximal fallouts in the aftermath of the First World War because it remained neutral during the War, and did not actively participate in support of either group. It did not face any political repercussions, although it is said that some German ships were harbored by few Latin American Coastal countries. Economically also, First World War did not have major impacts and the Latin American countries functioned in a normal manner. References Harris, L. (2007). The Suicide of Reason. London: Westview Press. Henig, R. (2005). The Origins of the Second World War, 1933-41. London: Routledge. Rossel, S and Altshuler, D. A. (1992). The Holocaust. Springfield, NJ: Behrman House, Inc. Nosotro, R. (n. d). Comparing the effects of WWI on Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. Hyper History. Retrieved from: http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw30wwiafricalatamerpacific.htm Read More