8/13/2019 Impact of World War 1 on Germany
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The war started in 1939
World war 2 was caused when France and Britain declared war
onGermany following Germany invasion of Poland.
How World War 1 did affected Germany
Borders were withdrawn cause them to lose territory to some
countries to France. E.g.(Alsace-Lorraine)
Reich empire dissolve and Kaiser eliminated.
They were blamed for the war and was forced to play
reparationsto others countries for their expense
Restrictions on military build up were made
New government was built on a shaky foundations(Weimar
republic)
Impact of World War 1 on Germanys economy
Many persons were left unemployed
Infrastructure was demolished by bombs
Couldnt pay allies force in sighning the treaty of
versallies
8/13/2019 Impact of World War 1 on Germany
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Food shortage
Hunger stalked the civilian populations of all the combatant
nations. Agriculture and
food distribution suffered from strains imposed by the war and
naval blockades
reduced food imports. Some countries met this threat more
successfully than others.
The war took men and horses away from farm work. Imports of
nitrate fertilizers were
hit. Reduced agricultural output forced up prices and encouraged
hoarding.
Governments responded by putting price controls on staple
foodstuffs
Germany introduced numerous government controls on food
production and sale, but
these proved to be badly thought out and worsened the effects of
the British naval
blockade. Substitute foodstuffs were produced from a variety of
unappetisingingredients, but their nutritional value was negligible
and Germans became
increasingly malnourished from 1916 onwards
Germanys campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare was intended
to expose
France, Italy and, especially, Britain to the same food crisis.
These countries relied
heavily upon imported grain and viewed the submarine campaign as
a deadly threat.
They attempted to increase their own food production, but their
main success was in
introducing successful systems of rationing. Britain introduced
rationing in London
early in 1918 and extended it nationwide by the summer. British
civilians defied
German expectations by accepting this state intrusion into their
daily lives.
British women keep cheerful while waiting in a long bread line
during food rationing.
Below: Germans wait patiently in their food line. The ongoing
Allied naval blockade kept
out the food imports that Germany had come to rely upon in the
prewar years to feed its
burgeoning population of 70 million. Shortages included butter,
margarine, cooking fat,
sugar, potatoes, coffee, tea, fruit, and meat due to the lack of
sufficient cattle feed. All
homegrown foodstuffs went first to Germany's soldiers. The
remainder was rationed to
the civilian population utilizing coupons allowing the purchase
of a particular item on its
designated day. This caused food lines as everyone lined up by
dawn at the nearby shop
to get their ration before the shop ran out. The food situation
worsened year-by-year,
becoming critical in early 1917 after the entire potato crop
failed. Ultimately the food
shortage weakened German soldiers fighting on the Western Front,
expected to exist on a
fraction of the calories, compared to their well-fed
enemies.
