What were the consequences of the first world war. Summary: Causes and consequences of the First World War. Formal cause for conflict

The First World War accelerated many internal state-political processes in the countries of Europe and Asia. She pushed the formation of new political regimes, the modification of the right-state structure in the direction characteristic of all modern times: for some it was the strengthening of government power, for others it was the democratization of the political system, for others it was the growth of political totalitarianism. The impact of the consequences of the war on the countries of Asia was especially significant. There, the formation of national states, the collapse of semi-feudal monarchies, and the release from colonial domination began at an accelerated pace.

The First World War put an end to the European supranational empires - Russia and Austria-Hungary. On their ruins - both in the state and in the geopolitical sense - up to a dozen new independent states have developed. Including a qualitatively new type with a socialist law-state structure - the RSFSR (since 1922 - the USSR).

The World War, especially for countries that emerged from it defeated or semi-defeated (Germany, Italy, Russia), also led to significant deformations of state and legal structures. As a result, social phenomena that existed before the war in a purely ideological field (fascism, totalitarian democracy, the socialized state) came into the field of practical politics and state building, forming in the future regimes of military dictatorships or even a special party-totalitarian state.

Western State Organization Changes

During the First World War, partly due to adaptation to the new conditions of state regulation of society, partly due to the use of emerging state and legal problems by individual ruling groups in their political interests, new features appeared in the state organization of many Western countries. These features reflected important patterns in the evolution of government power and central administration, as well as legal policy, both in parliamentary republics and in constitutional monarchies that developed throughout the 19th century.

World War I caused a significant militarization of state administration in most countries, and even in some, the militarization of the entire right-state order. This was due not only to the quantitative growth of the army (the number of active armies reached 30 million people, in total up to 74 million people were put under arms), the expansion of the military organization, the increase in the weight of the economy serving military needs and, accordingly, the sphere management. Military discipline was introduced into public administration, military-administrative responsibility of officials for the conduct of affairs was established. All this to a small extent contributed to the reduction of corruption and embezzlement, but far removed state building from the generally accepted parliamentary order. Military administration began to dominate in the general political, national sphere; this was accompanied by a reduction in the state role of parliamentary and constitutional institutions. Germany became the most indicative variant of the militarization of the state. With the outbreak of war, in August 1914, the emperor's declaration was made public that "all power" in the country had passed to him. In reality, the last powers of the Reichstag were realized by voting on confidence in the government and on the provision of war loans. Germany's military failures were used by the Supreme Military Command (General Staff) to directly subordinate the main civilian departments to it. Since 1915, departments and departments arose in the structure of the VVK, parallel to civilian departments, but guided by a military model: internal affairs, press, economics, agriculture, etc. They interfered in the activities of civilian ministers, issuing directives to them. Thus, by 1916, in the reality of the political and administrative system, the dictatorship of the VVK was established, almost equivalent to the power of the monarch. The undermining of "confidence" in the VVK began to be regarded as a crime.

During the war, there was a significant increase redistribution of state powers in favor of government institutions. In most of the belligerent European states, parliaments have granted emergency powers to governments by special laws (in Germany, by the law of August 4, 1914, in Great Britain, by the Defense Act of 1914, etc.). In accordance with these acts, governments even received the authority to restrict civil rights and certain aspects of the operation of constitutions, in particular, "prohibit any considered dangerous" social activities, any organizations and corporations. It was during the First World War that the formation of the institution of delegated legislation was completed in the form of no longer special cases, but a general rule of government activity (the right to issue legislative and normative acts in some area or on some issue on the basis of a special order of parliament). The main share of laws began to be governmental acts. On the one hand, this was a natural manifestation of an increase in the level of centralization and efficiency of state activity (which is natural for the period of the war). On the other hand, this was a manifestation of the trends in the evolution of state activity towards the prevalence of government power over parliamentary and legislative power, which were already indicated from the end of the 19th century.

The war also helped restriction of political rights and civil liberties even within the accepted constitutional framework. Military censorship was introduced everywhere, which extended its activities not only to purely military, but also to political issues, to the possibility of criticizing the activities of governments. Restrictions on the freedom of movement of citizens were introduced, and rallies and meetings not authorized by the government were prohibited.

During the First World War, the level of the economic and regulatory role of the state increased significantly, up to the transition to a direct distribution system based on administrative regulation. Specialized regulatory bodies arose (such as the Supreme Economic Council in Germany), which either coordinated their work on managing the private economy with the military authorities, or were directly under their subordination. In the interests of overcoming military difficulties, coordinating bodies and government departments were instructed to carry out "any economic measures to restore damage to the economy." One of the most typical was the forced cartelization of enterprises related to the military or especially economically important industries. Special ministries were created to manage state industries (for example, in Norway - the Ministry of Food, 1916; the Ministry of Industry Supply, 1917). The circulation of basic necessities, mainly foodstuffs, was subjected to special state control. With the outbreak of the war in Sweden, for example, the right to forcibly requisition private property for food products was established by law (October 1914), and licensing and quotas for food exports were introduced. In Norway, a single law was issued (1917) on state regulation of prices. In the overwhelming majority of the belligerent countries, monopolies were introduced for the sale of individual products. In some cases, quota distribution among the population of certain foodstuffs (card and coupon systems) was introduced with a parallel restriction of the free market.

The regulatory role of the state also extended to the social and labor sphere. During the war years, the restriction of the right to strike and the system of compulsory state arbitration in labor disputes with entrepreneurs became more widespread. Often the recruitment of workers and the schedule of production were subject to military rules.

The collapse of the empire in Europe

The First World War accelerated the internal processes of the state-political disintegration of two supranational empires in Europe - Austria-Hungary and Russia. The defeats and the economic and economic difficulties caused by the war provoked powerful social conflicts, stimulated the ideological and political aspirations for the national isolation of the peoples who, in various ways, became part of these states. The result turned out to be the same for both empires: in place of Austria-Hungary and the western part of the Russian Empire, about ten new nation states, and some of these peoples did not previously have their own historical tradition of statehood.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire (preserving an unchanged political system in the form of a semi-absolutist monarchy since 1867, after the granting of state autonomy to Hungary) in World War I took the side of the Triple Alliance (together with Germany). The defeat in the war and significant military losses for the country prompted revolutionary actions on a democratic basis in Austria (October-November 1918). The result was the overthrow of the Habsburg monarchy and proclamation of a republic(November 12, 1918). Simultaneously with the fall of the centralized monarchy, there was a fragmentation of a single state in which the majority of the population belonged to the Slavic peoples and did not enjoy political rights on an equal footing with the dominant Austrians and Germans. National contradictions have become an additional accelerator of the desire to revive their own statehood. Convened in October 1918, the National Assembly proclaimed the self-determination of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in November 1918 - the People's Council of the Yugoslav peoples declared their complete separation from the empire and joining Serbia, which had restored its independence; at the same time, the independent Hungarian Republic separated itself.

Austria was finally constituted as a separate state in 1919, after the decisions of the Constituent Assembly convened on the basis of universal suffrage. The Constitution of 1920, which was soon adopted,* secured the broad democratic rights and freedoms of citizens, the state system in the form of a presidential-parliamentary republic, in which the head of state was elected by parliament. The Republic of Austria was transformed into a territorial federation, in which the interests of the lands were represented by the upper house of parliament; individual lands received their own governments and their own Landtags.

* The Austrian constitution of 1920, with minor changes in 1929, remained in force throughout the 20th century.

Hungary was proclaimed a republic in 1918, but in the context of a civil war initiated by pro-socialist and communist workers' organizations, an evolution took place towards an anti-democratic regime. In 1920, a kind of parliamentary monarchy without a monarch was proclaimed there; Rear Admiral M. Horthy set himself up as interim regent (a year later, Horthy transformed his power into a lifelong and irremovable one). The constitutional system was determined by laws adopted from 1848 (on the government) to 1926 (on the establishment of a bicameral State Assembly). The political regime established by Horthy soon transformed the monarchy into a special form of military dictatorship.

Czechoslovakia(as the country began to be called after the accession of the Slovak regions to the historical Czech Republic in 1918) during 1918 - 1920. formed into a democratic republic. Universal suffrage was introduced here, socially oriented agrarian and labor laws were passed. The Constitution of 1920 (adopted after the Provisional Constitution of 1918) established a system of presidential republic - with a strong power of a president elected by both houses of Parliament, whose powers were similar to those of the President of the United States. The state institutions of Czechoslovakia, formed by the Constitution of 1920, were distinguished by a high degree of democratic guarantees of the system, in particular, for the first time in European parliamentarism, effective constitutional justice was introduced (in the form of the Constitutional Court, the rights of which were dedicated to a special law). The organization of local administration was also distinguished by a high degree of self-government.

Around Serbia (formed as an independent state in 1829 and during the First World War occupied by Austria), the regions of Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, etc. were united. Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes(1918) under the leadership of the Serbian dynasty Karageorgievich. According to the Vidovdan Constitution of 1921, the Kingdom became a constitutional monarchy on the model of pre-war Germany - with a strong governmental power of the king. (In 1929 the kingdom was transformed into Yugoslav.)

Although the Russian Empire was not among the countries proper that suffered a military defeat in the First World War and even formally belonged to the victorious alliance - the Entente, the consequences of the war and its unsuccessful course (together with internal complications) led to the fall of the monarchy (February 1917). ). The revolution that took place in October 1917 consolidated the geopolitical collapse of the empire, which most affected the western, European regions.

Finland, which was part of the empire in a special position of state autonomy since 1905, consolidated its isolation. In July 1917, under pressure from the Social Democratic Party, the parliament proclaimed complete independence from Russia; in December 1917, independence was recognized by the new socialist authorities of Soviet Russia. Under the pressure of foreign policy circumstances, especially under German influence, in 1918 the Finnish parliament decided to establish the country as a monarchy on the German model. However, soon the new constitution of the country (July 17, 1919) secured the creation of a presidential republic - with a unicameral parliament and with a strong power of the president, elected by the population of the country*.

* The Finnish Constitution of 1919 also remained in force throughout the 20th century.

As a result of the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the division of Russia, the Polish state(1918). The basis of the territory of the state was formed by the regions that were part of Russia, Austria-Hungary, as well as the western Russian regions, torn away from Soviet Russia after the unsuccessful Soviet-Polish war of 1920 (as part of the Commonwealth until the divisions of the 18th century). The leader of the revival was the prominent military figure J. Pilsudski, who secured his status as “head of state” in the transitional Small Constitution of 1919. According to the new Constitution of 1921, Poland was constituted as a presidential republic - with a bicameral parliament and presidential powers modeled on the German constitution of 1919. The Polish constitution fixed a high level of democracy of citizens, political and social freedoms, a special social and regulatory role of the state (also modeled on the German constitution - see § 81).

The former Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire, which had been part of it since the beginning of the 18th century, in the context of German occupation and revolutionary unrest in Russia, proclaimed the formation of their own national states. In 1920 - 1921 Soviet Russia recognized the independence and sovereignty of these states - the first historically for the Eastern Baltic peoples. Lithuania and Estonia were constituted (respectively in 1920 and in 1922) as parliamentary republics - with unicameral parliaments and governments responsible to them. Although at first there were attempts in Lithuania to establish a monarchy with an invitation to the throne of a German prince. (Attempts, apparently, were not accidental and resulted in the establishment of a military dictatorship in Lithuania since 1926). Latvia(formed in February 1918) established the system of a presidential republic, using the constitutional experience of Poland and other Western states.

Socialist revolutionary movement

As a result of the First World War, the ensuing military hardships for most peoples, the growth of internal social contradictions, in most participating countries the socialist ideological and political movement (which had been growing since the second half of the 19th century, especially in France, Germany, etc.) into an independent historical factor in the state reorganization and legal transformations. Attempts to direct the social protest of the masses towards the creation of a class state based on the principles of the socialist utopia of Marxism and the deformed principles of pseudo-self-government were a natural continuation of the policies of many socialist parties that became mass, popular at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as the ideological and political delusions of the "middle class" Western democracies.

The main impetus was the socialist revolution in the largest European-Asian state - Russia (October 1917), culminating in the creation there of a special socialist state of the Soviet type, built on the principles of totalitarianism and a one-party dictatorship. The influence of the socialist revolution in Russia directly affected the wave of political uprisings (similar to the Paris Commune of 1871 in France - see § 63) that swept through the countries of Central Europe. The revolts were additionally initiated by international socialist associations in order to create an allegedly pan-European movement of the "world revolution", with the onset of which the theorists of socialism and Marxism only associated the possibility of a state victory of the class interests of workers' and workers' parties.

In Germany, a series of insurrections was particularly stimulated by the political chaos in the period following the military defeat, the fall of the monarchy and therefore the shattering of government. The revived aspirations for the isolation of individual German regions (formerly independent monarchies and cities) also played a role. The attempts to form a self-governing pseudo-state on the basis of class democracy were actively influenced by the radical left movement, as well as the organizational efforts of emissaries from Russia. The most significant were the riots in Bremen and Munich. As a result of the first, a temporary Bremen Soviet Republic(January 10 - February 4, 1919), which declared independence from the all-German government, created its own administration in the form of the Council of People's Commissars. As a result, the second one developed Bavarian Soviet Republic(April 7 - May 8, 1919), founded under the influence of semi-anarchist movements. The creation of allegedly independent republics was a natural continuation of the movement towards the widespread formation of councils of workers' and soldiers' deputies in Germany, trying to take government powers, especially in the distribution of food resources, into the hands of only the lower social classes. The republics extended their influence (like the Paris Commune) to the city and the nearest district and limited themselves mainly to the creation of elected representatives from the population, who were simultaneously entrusted with government functions, and the proclamation of populist economic measures. These “republics” had no objective grounds for turning into full-fledged statehood. Both of them fell under the pressure of the punitive operations of the all-German government, sometimes (as in Munich) quite bloody (up to 1 thousand dead).

The socialist uprising in Hungary became somewhat longer. In the context of the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the actual acquisition of independence by the former state autonomy, the government that was formed (October 31, 1918) failed to fully maintain control over the country. A significant Communist Party took shape in Hungary. In the atmosphere of incessant workers' strikes, the leaders of the party initiated the resignation of the government, declaring the establishment of "the power of the proletariat." Hungarian Soviet Republic(March 21 - August 1, 1919) was constituted on the model of the party-Soviet state: at first the Revolutionary Council, which merged with the leadership of the Communist Party, led, then the Constitution of 1919 was adopted, repeating the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918. The only real institutions of the new government were the Red Army , built according to the militia principle from the working population, and revolutionary courts-tribunals, which unleashed extra-legal terror against the "bourgeoisie". The scope of the activities of the socialist government was significant, its economic decrees (on the nationalization of land, confiscation of housing, privileged supply of workers) provoked an open civil war. The suppression of Soviet power took place in an atmosphere of bloody military terror. This became another source of the rapid evolution of the Hungarian statehood to a semi-monarchist military dictatorship.

In the very first years after the end of the World War, the socialist movement turned from an ideological movement into a state-revolutionary movement. This stimulated the transformation of many former socialist parties into communist ones. During 1918-1921. In most European and then Asian countries, independent communist parties who set themselves the goal of accomplishing socialist revolutions in their countries and creating statehood of class democracy on the principles of the doctrine of Leninism. Over the next decades, these parties have become significant figures in the socio-political life of their countries and parliamentary struggle. Insignificant in terms of influence, communist organizations have developed even in Latin America and the United States. In 1919, most of the Communist Parties united in the so-called. 111th International headquartered in Moscow. III International became not only the coordinating body of the world communist movement, but also an instrument of subversive political activity in some European countries, which for various reasons were of particular interest to the socialist government in Russia in order to promote the "world revolution". Initiated by the Third International in the 1920s. internal crises and even armed rebellions became an important factor in the rejection of the population in Western countries from the communist movement, as well as the general evolution of regimes towards authoritarianism.

The birth of the fascist movement. Authoritarianism

Another important state-political result of the First World War was the appearance fascist movement- initially in the form of political parties of a new totalitarian type, then in the form of a special law-state structure, established in a number of European countries.

The historical and social roots of fascism were basically the same as those of the movement towards socialist statehood. The source was the desire to build a "people's state" (which would guarantee the social and legal unification of the nation), which gradually dominated the political evolution of Western countries throughout the 19th century. The ubiquitous assertion from the 1900s also played its part. and especially after World War I, universal suffrage. The history of the transformation of the parliamentary system into various kinds of authoritarian regimes during the 19th century. invariably testified to the fact that the main political source of authoritarianism was the institutions of immediate broad democracy, not supported by other constitutional checks and guarantees. Similar to the movement towards socialist statehood was the social base of fascism - in particular, the presence of an influential layer of the peasantry.

Almost immediately after the end of the First World War, political parties of the fascist type were formed in a number of European countries: the National Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (1920), the National Fascist Party of Italy (1921), the Spanish Falange, etc. * In their programs, the parties used as socialist ideas (especially economic and legal), as well as various kinds of geopolitical, nationalist and racial dogmas that spread in Western Europe during the First World War (including those that seemed to be the most refined research in the field of politics from the standpoint of the spiritual aristocracy). In the main, the programs of the fascist parties started from the theses about the preference of the interests of the nation to the rights of the individual, about the unconditional tasks of uniting the nation and “defending its interests”, about the state as a purely national organism based on strong power and totalitarian aspirations to fulfill some kind of “nation’s mission”. In the social and legal sphere, the revolutionary transformations of fascism provided for the preference for small and medium-sized property, the transformation of private property into a kind of "family property", widespread nationalization and total state control, and the formation of a "class world". An important motive was the open anti-clericalism of fascist programs, ignoring the Christian worldview.

* In the proper sense fascist there was only the Italian movement of fascia Italian combat detachments! di combattimento (the program was made public on March 23, 1919). Later, the name became conditionally generalizing, typological.

The birthplace of the organized fascist movement was Italy, where in 1919 the former activist of the Socialist Party B. Mussolini formed the "Italian Union of the Participants in the War", which proclaimed a consistently fascist program of state reform. In October 1922, in an atmosphere of social discontent and using the methods of military rebellion, Mussolini's organization was brought to power. In Italy, a totalitarian state-political regime was established (which lasted until 1943). The institutions of the parliamentary monarchy, established in the country since its national unification in the middle of the 19th century, were transformed into a military dictatorship with strong government power, replacing democratic republican institutions with a system of social corporations, the leading core of which was represented by the fascist party.

The fascist movement acquired its greatest scope and worldwide significance in Germany, which soon led to the creation of a completely totalitarian state with a special legal structure (see § 82).

Aspirations for political totalitarianism also embraced a number of other European states. In 1926 a military coup took place in Poland. The later amended constitution of the country (of the 1935 model) concentrated practically “single and indivisible power” in the hands of the president, who is responsible “before God and history for the fate of the state.” At the same time in Lithuania, the institutions of the parliamentary republic were deformed by the actual military dictatorship of A. Smetona, who concentrated the main state powers. The reforms of the government of General Rivera in Spain, which came to power after a military coup organized by him (1923), led to the practical elimination of civil liberties and parliamentary democracy.

By the mid 1930s. Fascist-type movements already existed in 39 countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America. A peculiar fascist international was formed, the first congresses of which were held in 1934-1935 in order to work out unity of action.

The aspirations for state-political authoritarianism, combined with a special program of social reforms, became one of the most important factors in the entire world state and legal process between the First and Second World Wars, although their direct impact on the state institutions of different countries was different.

Omelchenko O.A. General History of State and Law. 1999

The First World War (1914-1918) was of great importance for the subsequent development of world history. The main result of the First World War was the collapse of the four largest empires of the Old World - Russian, Ottoman, German and Autro-Hungarian. A new stage in the development of civilization began in the world.

Results of the First World War for Russia

Already a year before the end of hostilities, Russia for internal reasons withdrew from the Entente and concluded the shameful Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. The revolution carried out by the Bolsheviks changed the course of history for Russia, which will now never have access to the Mediterranean.

The First World War had not yet ended, as the Civil War flared in the territories of the former Russian Empire until 1922.

Rice. 1. Map of the Civil War in Russia.

The new government set out to build communism through socialism, which led to international diplomatic isolation.

Let's take a look at the points, what were the consequences of participation in the First World War:

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

• The outbreak of the Civil War claimed more than 10 million people killed and crippled even more people.
• During the Civil War, more than 2 million people emigrated abroad.
• Russia concluded the shameful Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, according to which it lost vast territories in the west.
• Foreign intervention took a heavy toll on the frontier regions of the former empire.
• The formed USSR fell into diplomatic isolation due to its opposition to capitalism, which took a course towards building socialism and proclaimed the idea of ​​a world revolution, which turned the entire world community, including former allies, away from itself.
• The USSR was not admitted to the League of Nations for many years, which happened only in 1933.
• Russia forever lost the chance to take possession of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
• The USSR, formed on the territory of the Russian Empire, refused the historical continuity of the empire's heritage, which was the reason to exclude it from the list of victorious countries. The Soviet Union did not receive any dividends after the victory over Germany.
• The huge economic damage caused to the country from 1914 to 1922 had to be restored for several decades.

Rice. 2. Territories of Soviet Russia following the results of the Brest peace.

While in exile, the Russian army of Baron Wrangel for many years did not lose hope of returning to Russia and continuing the struggle against Bolshevism. The White Guards fought against the Bolsheviks during the revolution in Bulgaria, in Bizerte (Tunisia) the White Guard fleet was on alert for more than ten years, and the Russian army, being in Gallipoli (Turkey) and the same Bizerte, held reviews every day and demonstrated high combat readiness . Not a single state has been able to disarm the White émigré military formations. They did it themselves when there was no hope of returning to Russia to continue the struggle.

Briefly about the results of the First World War

The result of the victory of the Entente was the solution of the main tasks that the victorious countries set for themselves. The United States entered the course of the war in 1917, choosing for itself the policy of entering world wars at the very last moment in order to receive maximum dividends as one of the main participants and positioning itself as a state that decided the outcome of the war.

Rice. 3. Territorial changes in Europe after the war.

In total, after the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, the following territorial changes took place in the world:

• Britain received new colonies in Southwest Africa, Iraq, Palestine, Togo and Cameroon, Northeast New Guinea and a number of small islands;
• Belgium - Rwanda, Burundi and other small territories in Africa;
• Greece was given Western Thrace;
• Denmark - Northern Schleswig;
• Italy expanded into Tyrol and Istria;
• Romania received Transylvania, Bukovina, Bessarabia;
• France took control of the desired Alsace and Lorraine, as well as Syria, Lebanon, and most of Cameroon;
• Japan - German islands in the Pacific Ocean;
• Yugoslavia was formed on the territory of the former Austria-Hungary;

In addition, the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles and the Rhine region were demilitarized. Germany and Austria became republics, as did many nation-states on the territory of the former Russian Empire.

The military results of the war include the acceleration of the development of new weapons and tactics of warfare. The First World War gave the world submarines, tanks, gas attacks and a gas mask, a flamethrower, anti-aircraft guns. New types of artillery appeared and rapid-fire weapons were modernized. The role of the engineering troops increased and the participation of the cavalry decreased.

The huge loss of life was mourned around the world - more than 10 million people among the military and more than 12 million civilians.

The prolonged First World War caused enormous damage to the economies of countries that had been working for the needs of the front for 4 years. During this time, the role of the military-industrial complex, state economic planning has increased, a network of paved roads has developed, and dual-use products have emerged.

What have we learned?

The end of the war forever changed the world order and the political map. However, not all the lessons she taught were taken up by the victors, which would later lead to the Second World War.

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The topic is boundless, gallons of ink have already been written on it.

Probably, to say that before the WWI and after there were two different "worlds" is too general and pathetic. On the other hand, the format of the resource will not allow naming all the changes to the last. Therefore, I will give the most important, as I think. However, it seems that they cannot be considered separately; they constitute a complex, since one pulls the other.

1) Politics. The First World War plowed up the political map of Europe and the Middle East, and in the future - the colonies. Previously, only the Napoleonic Wars a century earlier went through Europe with such a plow, but the consequences of WWI were deeper. Before WWI, there were 21 states in Europe (including Russia, Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire, but not counting dwarf ones like Andora), of which 4 - Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire - were empires. After the war, only the British Empire survived, and new small states formed in place of the collapsed powers. After the war, there were already 26 countries in Europe (as well as new states in the Middle East after the collapse of Ottoman Turkey) (assuming that Belarus and Ukraine were relatively quickly absorbed by the future Soviet Union). Some old countries have completely changed their political structure.

A new system of international relations was formed - Versailles-Washington. It turned out to be extremely unbalanced, unfair and unreliable, which ultimately made the Second World War inevitable, because. the system from the very beginning contained time bombs and did not take into account the interests of new political actors and losing participants in the war.

For the first time, an international organization was created that was supposed to extinguish conflicts in the future before they entered the "hot" phase - the League of Nations. It is believed that the League was ineffective from the very beginning, because it did not have the right to send troops, but in fact it was able to prevent a large number of clashes until the late 1930s.

2) Economic. The shifts were colossal, especially if we remember that approx. 74 million people, approx. 10 of whom died and 20 were injured. Europe lay in ruins, because even where WWI bypassed the front, there were later civil wars - remember Russia, Ukraine, Poland. Economic changes also affected the colonies, where production was transferred and developed, and from where even more resources were pumped out. Most of the countries abandoned the gold standard, and in many states the monetary system found itself in a deep crisis - this is well described by the example of Germany by E. Remarque. The only country where there has been economic growth is the United States, because until 1917 they remained neutral and placed orders from the warring countries.

3) Demographic. The figures cited for the mobilized population alone are enormous. But we must remember that demography is affected not only by the number of those called up, but also by the number of those who were not born, died from the consequences of the war, and so on. - so-called. hidden losses. Europe was bled dry. When Marshal A. Pétain addressed the nation after the defeat of France in 1940, he said that "we lost too many and did not have time to recover."

4) Social. Naturally, when men are en masse taken to the front, their places in production are taken by women and children, which overturns the system of social relations in society. Women's emancipation before WWI was extremely superficial and in many ways rather intellectual. Only after the WWII, the female half of the population was able to really declare itself in a new capacity.

The hardships of the war created a very strong tension in society, and in some countries, including ours, there were revolutions that also had social and political consequences. For example, in fact, the working class in the 1920s was able to win back significant rights compared to 1914. Somewhere this happened right in the course of revolutions, and somewhere the industrialists themselves yielded, observing the examples of neighboring countries. In Italy in the early 1920s, the slogan was known: "Let's do it like in Russia!"

5) Intelligent. It cannot be said that pacifism did not exist before WWI, just as after WWI all of humanity as one spoke out against the war. However, for the first time ever, the idea emerged that war is not a means of conducting politics. Yes, of course, even before WWII there were a large number of military clashes, but in general, the world community for the first time adopted the meme of condemning the aggressor, whatever his motives. If before WWI, war was considered a normal means of resolving a political conflict that had reached a dead end, and, for example, a wounded party considered itself in the right to start hostilities, then after WWI such an idea disappeared. Please note that in the interwar period, for all military undertakings, not just a pretext was sought, but always a pretext from a defensive position. Even the military ministries in most countries have become "defense". Very indicative is the attitude towards war as a generally normal phenomenon described by Kuprin in "Duel" (1905), where the main character dreams of how he will distinguish himself in battle - he does not even doubt that there will be a war.

6) Ideological. The catastrophe of the war raised a question among the population, but how did our politicians bring us to this? It was answered by newly emerging ideologies, primarily fascism, or old ones that had taken on new positions, especially, of course, socialism. Since WWI was the first real mass war, universal suffrage won in most countries, qualifications were either abolished or softened, and in such conditions the left currents received a second wind. And, of course, without the First World War, there would be no fascism. Researcher E. Fromm has well demonstrated how, in conditions of total war and its consequences, human consciousness softens and becomes ready to accept totalitarian ideologies, which, alas, happened.

7) Technological. The war, no matter how cynical it may sound, was an important stimulus for technological progress, and first of all, of course, in the military sphere (see expert.ru here), but not only. Many things familiar to us today were either invented or were widely used at that time. For example, canned goods. Or bouillon cubes. Various methods of manufacturing literally everything have been invented or improved - from casting steel to making buttons. Production has reached a new scale and for the first time has become truly massive.

8) Cultural. They are, of course, inextricably linked with point 6. The war gave rise to a number of new plots never seen before, raised or exacerbated a certain number of philosophical and existential problems. For many ordinary soldiers, it was often incomprehensible why they were fighting at all, what they were fighting for. On the other front line, the same workers or peasants froze and got wet in the trenches. This phenomenon was even in the French and German parts, whose peoples historically did not like each other, and the French so simply dreamed of avenging the Franco-Prussian war.

But man does not live by philosophy alone. The 1920s saw a huge explosion of hedonism, the desire to live and prosper. After years of deprivation and restrictions, the population finally gave free rein to strive to succeed, especially since the industry was diversified and production facilities were optimized for civilian needs. In the US, this era is called Prosperity - "prosperity". Watch or read The Great Gatsby or Chicago to get in that spirit.

Of course, I only superficially listed the very, very basic changes, you will find many more of them. It can be said that if the world of the 19th century entered the war, then the world of the 20th century already left it.

As a starting point for further study of the issue, I propose the materials of I. Zhenin on PostNauka postnauka.ru and postnauka.ru as well as the channel "The Great War" youtube.com

I can also suggest speculating on the topic of alternative war scenarios here

World War I is one of the longest
bloody and significant in consequences in
the history of mankind. It went on for more
four years old. 33 countries out of 59 participated in it,
who at that time had state
sovereignty. The population of the warring countries was
over 1.5 billion people, that is, about 87% of all
inhabitants of the earth. Under the gun was put in total
complexity of 73.5 million people. More than 10 million were
killed and 20 million wounded. casualties among the peaceful
population affected by epidemics, famine,
cold and other wartime disasters also
numbered in the tens of millions.

political results.

Six months later, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles (28
June 1919), compiled by the victorious states at the Paris Peace
conference that officially ended the First World War.
Peace treaties with
Germany (Treaty of Versailles)
Austria (Treaty of Saint Germain)
Bulgaria (Treaty of Neuilly)
Hungary (Trianon Treaty)
Turkey (Sevres Peace Treaty).
The results of the First World War were the February and October revolutions
in Russia and the November Revolution in Germany, the elimination of four
empires: Russian, German, Ottoman empires and Austria-Hungary, and
the last two were separated.
Germany, ceasing to be a monarchy, was cut down territorially and weakened
economically. Difficult for Germany conditions of the Treaty of Versailles
(payment of reparations, etc.) and the national humiliation she suffered
gave rise to revanchist sentiments, which became one of the prerequisites
The rise of the Nazis to power unleashed the Second World War.

Territorial changes.

Territorial changes.
As a result of the war:
annexation
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
England - Tanzania and Southwest Africa, Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine,
parts of Togo and Cameroon, Northeast New Guinea and Nauru;
Belgium - Burundi, Rwanda, Eupen, Malmedy districts, annexation of Moresnet territory;
Greece - Western Thrace;
Denmark - Northern Schleswig;
Italy - South Tyrol and Istria
Romania - Transylvania, Southern Dobruja, Bukovina, Bessarabia;
France - Alsace-Lorraine, Syria, Lebanon, most of Cameroon and Togo;
Japan - German islands in the Pacific Ocean north of the equator
(Caroline, Marshall and Mariana);
French occupation of the Saar;
annexation of Banat, Bačka and Baranya, Slovenia, Croatia and
Slavonia, Montenegro to the Kingdom of Serbia with the subsequent creation of Yugoslavia;
accession of South West Africa to the Union of South Africa.
proclaimed the independence of the Belarusian People's Republic, the Ukrainian People's Republic
republics, Hungary, Danzig, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland;
Republic of Austria founded;
The German Empire became a de facto republic;
the Rhine region and the Black Sea straits were demilitarized.

military results.

Entering the war, the general staffs of the warring states and, first of all,
Germany proceeded from the experience of previous wars, the victory in which was decided
crushing the army and military power of the enemy. This war showed that
from now on, world wars will be total in nature, involving everything
population and the strain of all moral, military and economic
states' capabilities. And this war can only end
unconditional surrender of the vanquished.
The First World War accelerated the development of new weapons and means
conducting combat. Tanks were used for the first time, chemical
weapons, gas mask, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, flamethrower. wide
planes, machine guns, mortars, underwater
boats, torpedo boats. The firepower of the troops increased sharply. New
types of artillery: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escorts. Aviation
became an independent branch of the military, which began to be subdivided into
reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. There were tank
troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, naval aviation. Increased role
engineering troops and reduced the role of the cavalry. Also appeared "trench
tactics" of waging war with the aim of exhausting the enemy and exhausting him
economy working for military orders.

Economic results.

Economic results.
The grandiose scale and protracted nature of the First World War
wars led to an unprecedented industrial
states militarizing the economy. This has had an impact on
the course of development of the economy of all major industrial
states between the two world wars: strengthening
state regulation and economic planning,
formation of military-industrial complexes, acceleration
development of nationwide economic infrastructures
(power systems, paved road network, etc.), growth
share of production of defense products and dual
destination.

Consequences of the First World War for Russia.

The effects of the First World War on
Russia
For our country the First World War
acted as a destructive catalyst
leading to the collapse of the Russian
empire, revolution and subsequent
civil war.
Autocracy in the eyes of the people has become
associated with continuous fighting,
million losses, devastation,
famine, epidemics. It's all set up
broad sections of the population against the king. V
which resulted in the February
revolution and the advent of the Provisional
government.
Then the October Revolution of 1917,
coming to power of the Bolsheviks, execution
royal family, civil war.
The Russian Empire fell. Economics
countries of the winners, with the exception of
The US has also been hit hard. have fallen
standard of living, national economy.

The First World War was a catastrophe for the whole world:
instead of the unjust system of the world order, which caused
war, an even more unjust
The Versailles-Washington system, which gave rise in 20
years of even more devastating World War II; /
4 world empires collapsed and collapsed -
Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman;
the whole of Europe was destroyed, the standard of living decreased.
Great Britain was the only winner in the war.
insular territory of Great Britain (as opposed to
France, Germany, Russia, etc.) almost did not suffer from
military operations;
the economy on military orders has become even stronger;
main competitors (as allies - France and Russia,
and opponents - Germany) were destroyed and
thrown back in development;
Great Britain to the existing extensive colonies
new colonies were added (former German and Turkish
- Egypt with the Suez Canal, Iraq, Oman, Palestine,
Namibia, Cameroon, Papua New Guinea, etc. - almost 1/4
part of the Earth). Essential products disappeared
(on the eve of the February Revolution in the capital of Russia -
Petersburg, there was no bread, like in many others
cities:
finally fell the authority of the king and his entourage -
the war showed the people the whole truth of life;
society was militarized;
a large number of armed men appeared,
who have lost the habit of working and have learned to fight, have become
take war and murder calmly - the future
The Red Army and the White Guards, who sent their
energy into the revolutionary process and civil war.

According to the British historian Eric Hobsbawm, the 19th century begins in content in 1789, that is, with the French Revolution, and ends in 1913. In turn, the 20th century - not a calendar, but a historical 20th century - begins in 1914, with the First World War, and continues until 1991, when global changes took place in the world, primarily the unification of Germany in 1990 and the collapse of the USSR in 1991 -m. Such a chronology allowed Hobsbawm, and after him many other historians, to speak of a "long 19th century" and a "short 20th century."
Thus, the First World War is a kind of prologue to the short twentieth century. It was here that the key themes of the century were identified: social disagreements, geopolitical contradictions, ideological struggle, economic confrontation. This is despite the fact that at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries it seemed to many that the wars in Europe had sunk into oblivion. If there are collisions, then only on the periphery, in the colonies. Development of science and technology, refined culture Fin de siecle, according to many contemporaries, did not envision the "carnage" that cost millions of lives and buried four great empires. This is the first war in the world that has a total character: all social strata of the population, all spheres of life were affected. There was nothing left that was not involved in this war.

balance of power

Crown Prince of Prussia; Photography from the Finckh – inheritance – See more at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/contributions/445#prettyPhoto

The main participants: the countries of the Entente, which included the Russian Empire, the French Republic and Great Britain, and the Central Powers, represented by Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

The question arises: what united each of these countries? What were the aims of each of the parties to the conflict? These questions are all the more important because after the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty on June 28, 1919, all responsibility for unleashing the war will fall on Germany (Article 231). Of course, all this can be justified on the basis of the universal principle Vae victis. But is Germany alone to blame for this war? Was it only she and her allies who wanted this war? Of course not.

Germany wanted war just as much as France and Great Britain wanted war. Slightly less interested in this were Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, which turned out to be the weakest links in this conflict.

Interests of participating countries

In 1871, the triumphant unification of Germany took place in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. A second empire was formed. The proclamation took place against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War, when France was suffering a catastrophic defeat. This became a national disgrace: not only was Napoleon III, emperor of all the French, captured almost immediately, only ruins remained of the second empire in France. The Paris Commune arises, another revolution, as often happens in France. The war ends with France agreeing to the defeat that Germany inflicts on it, signing the Frankfurt Treaty of 1871, according to which Alsace and Lorraine are alienated in favor of Germany and become imperial territories.

In addition, France undertakes to pay Germany an indemnity of 5 billion francs. To a large extent, this money went to the development of the German economy, which subsequently led to its unprecedented rise by the 1890s. But the point is not even in the financial side of the issue, but in the national humiliation experienced by the French. And more than one generation will remember him from 1871 until 1914.

It was then that the ideas of revanchism arise, which unite the entire Third Republic, born in the crucibles of the Franco-Prussian war. It becomes unimportant who you are: a socialist, a monarchist, a centrist - everyone is united by the idea of ​​revenge on Germany and the return of Alsace and Lorraine.

Britannia

Britain was preoccupied with German economic dominance in Europe and the world. By the 1890s, Germany ranks first in terms of GDP in Europe, pushing Britain into second place. The British government cannot accept this fact, given that for many centuries Britain was the "workshop of the world", the most economically developed country. Now Britain is seeking some sort of revenge, but economic.

Russia

For Russia, the key topic was the question of the Slavs, that is, the Slavic peoples living in the Balkans. The ideas of pan-Slavism, which gain momentum in the 1860s, lead to the Russian-Turkish war in the 1870s, this idea remains in the 1880s and 1890s, and so it passes into the 20th century, and is finally embodied by 1915. The main idea was the return of Constantinople, to put a cross over Hagia Sophia. In addition, the return of Constantinople was supposed to solve all the problems with the straits, with the transition from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. This was one of the main geopolitical goals of Russia. And plus everything, of course, to push the Germans out of the Balkans.

As we can see, several interests of the main participating countries intersect here at once. Thus, in considering this issue, the political, geopolitical, economic, and cultural levels are equally important. Do not forget that during the war, at least in its first years, culture becomes the basic part of the ideology.

The anthropological level is no less important. War affects a person from different sides, and he begins to exist in this war. Another question is whether he was ready for this war? Did he imagine what kind of war it would be? People who went through the First World War, lived in the conditions of this war, after its end became completely different. Not a trace will remain of beautiful Europe. Everything will change: social relations, domestic policy, social policy. No country will ever be the same as it was in 1913.

Formal cause for conflict

The formal reason for the start of the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife were shot dead in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The killer turned out to be a terrorist from the Serbian nationalist organization Mlada Bosna. The Sarajevo assassination caused an unprecedented scandal, in which all the main participants in the conflict were involved and to what extent interested.

Austria-Hungary protests Serbia and asks for an investigation with the participation of the Austrian police in order to identify terrorist organizations directed against Austria-Hungary. Parallel to this, intense diplomatic secret consultations are taking place between Serbia and the Russian Empire on the one hand, and between Austria-Hungary and the German Empire on the other.

Was there a way out of the current impasse or not? It turned out that no. On July 23, Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, giving it 48 hours to respond. In turn, Serbia agreed to all the conditions, except for one related to the fact that the secret services of Austria-Hungary would begin to make arrests and take out terrorists and suspicious persons to Austria-Hungary without notifying the Serbian side. Austria, reinforced by the support of Germany, declares war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. In response to this, the Russian Empire declares mobilization, to which the German Empire protests and demands to stop the mobilization, in the event of non-cessation, the German side reserves the right to start its own mobilization. On July 31, a general mobilization was announced in the Russian Empire. In response, on August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. The war has begun.

On August 3, France joins it, on August 4 - Great Britain, and all the main participants begin hostilities.

It is important to note that when announcing mobilization, no one talks about their selfish interests. Everyone proclaims the lofty ideals behind this war. For example, help to the fraternal Slavic peoples, help to the fraternal German peoples and the empire. Accordingly, France and Russia are bound by allied treaties, this is allied assistance. This also applies to Britain.

It is interesting to note that already in September 1914, another protocol was signed between the Entente countries, that is, between Great Britain, Russia and France - a declaration on the non-conclusion of a separate peace. The same document will be signed by the Entente countries in November 1915. Thus, we can say that among the allies there were suspicions and significant fears in matters of trust in each other: what if someone breaks loose and concludes a separate peace with the enemy side.

World War I as a new type of war

Germany waged war in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, developed by the Prussian Field Marshal General and member of the German General Staff von Schlieffen. It was supposed to concentrate all forces on the right flank, inflict a lightning strike on France, and only after that switch to the Russian front.

So, Schlieffen develops this plan just at the end of the 19th century. As we can see, his tactics were based on blitzkrieg - delivering lightning strikes that stun the enemy, bring chaos and sow panic among the enemy troops.
Wilhelm II was sure that Germany would have time to defeat France before the general mobilization in Russia ended. After that, it was planned to transfer the main contingent of German troops to the East, that is, to Prussia, and organize an offensive operation already against the Russian Empire. This is exactly what Wilhelm II meant when he declared that he would have breakfast in Paris and dinner in St. Petersburg.

Forced deviations from this plan began already from the first days of the war. So, the German troops moved too slowly through the territory of neutral Belgium. The main blow to France came from Belgium. In this case, Germany grossly violated international agreements and neglected the concept of neutrality. What will then be reflected in the Versailles Peace Treaty, as well as those crimes, primarily the export of cultural property from Belgian cities, and is regarded by the world community as nothing more than "German barbarism" and savagery.

To repel the German offensive, France asked the Russian Empire to hastily launch a counteroffensive in East Prussia in order to pull part of the troops from the Western Front to the Eastern. Russia successfully carried out this operation, which largely saved France from the surrender of Paris.

Retreat in Russia

In 1914, Russia won a number of victories, primarily on the Southwestern Front. In fact, Russia inflicts a crushing defeat on Austria-Hungary, occupies Lviv (then it was the Austrian city of Lemberg), occupies Bukovina, that is, Chernivtsi, Galicia and approaches the Carpathians.

But already in 1915, a great retreat began, tragic for the Russian army. It turned out that there was a catastrophic lack of ammunition, according to the documents they should have been, but in fact they were not. In 1915, Russian Poland, that is, the Kingdom of Poland (Privislinsky region), was lost, the conquered Galicia, Vilna, modern western Belarus were lost. The Germans are actually approaching Riga, leaving Courland - for the Russian front it will be a disaster. And since 1916, in the army, especially among the soldiers, there has been a general fatigue from the war.

Discontent begins on the Russian front, of course, this will affect the disintegration of the army and play its tragic role in the revolutionary events of 1917. According to archival documents, we see that the censors, through whom the soldiers' letters passed, note decadent moods, the lack of fighting spirit in the Russian army since 1916. It is interesting that the Russian soldiers, who for the most part were peasants, begin to engage in self-mutilation - shoot themselves in the leg, in the arm in order to leave the front as soon as possible and end up in their native village.

The total nature of war

One of the main tragedies of the war will be the use of poisonous gases in 1915. On the Western Front, at the Battle of Ypres, for the first time in history, chlorine was used by German troops, resulting in the death of 5,000 people. The First World War is technological, it is a war of engineering systems, inventions, high technologies. This war is not only on land, it is under water. So, German submarines dealt crushing blows to the British fleet.

This is a war in the air: aviation was used both as a means of finding out the positions of the enemy (reconnaissance function), and for delivering strikes, that is, bombing.

The First World War is a war where there is no longer much room for valor and courage. Due to the fact that the war already in 1915 took on a positional character, there were no direct clashes when one could see the face of the enemy, look into his eyes. There is no enemy in sight. Death begins to be perceived in a completely different way, because it appears out of nowhere. In this sense, the gas attack is a symbol of this desacralized and demystified death.

History of the Great War, based on official documents. Medical Services, diseases of the war, volume II. London: HMSO, 1923. Map 1, German cloud gas attack April 30th, 1916. — See more at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/europeana/reco...rd_L0029690#​prettyPhoto

The First World War is a colossal number of victims, unprecedented before. We can recall the so-called "Verdun meat grinder", where there were 750 thousand killed by France and England, by Germany - 450 thousand, that is, the total losses of the parties amounted to more than a million people! Bloodshed on this scale history has not yet known.

The horror of what is happening, the presence of death from nowhere cause aggression and frustration. That is why, in the end, all this causes such bitterness, which will result in outbreaks of aggression and violence already in peacetime after the First World War. Compared with 1913, there is an increase in cases of domestic violence: fights in the streets, domestic violence, conflicts at work, etc.

In many ways, this allows researchers to talk about the readiness of the population for totalitarianism and violent, repressive practices. Here we can recall, first of all, the experience of Germany, where in 1933 National Socialism was victorious. This is also a kind of continuation of the First World War.

That is why there is an opinion that it is impossible to separate the First and Second World Wars. That it was one war that began in 1914 and ended only in 1945. And what happened from 1919 to 1939 was just a truce, because the population was still living with the ideas of war and was ready to fight further.

Aftermath of World War I

The war, which began on August 1, 1914, continued until November 11, 1918, when an armistice was signed between Germany and the Entente countries. By 1918, the Entente was represented by France and Great Britain. The Russian Empire will leave this union in 1917, when in October there will be a Bolshevik coup of a revolutionary type. The first decree of Lenin will be the Decree on peace without annexations and indemnities to all warring powers on October 25, 1917. True, none of the warring powers will support this decree, except for Soviet Russia.

At the same time, Russia will officially withdraw from the war only on March 3, 1918, when the famous Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 1918 is signed in Brest-Litovsk, according to which Germany and its allies, on the one hand, and Soviet Russia, on the other, ceased hostilities against each other. At the same time, Soviet Russia lost part of its territories, primarily Ukraine, Belarus and the entire Baltic. No one even thought about Poland, and, in fact, no one needed it. The logic of Lenin and Trotsky in this matter was very simple: we do not bargain for territories, because the world revolution will win anyway. Moreover, in August 1918, an additional agreement to the Brest Peace would be signed, according to which Russia would undertake to pay indemnities to Germany, and even the first transfer would be made - 93 tons of gold. So, Russia leaves, which will be a violation of the allied obligations that the tsarist government assumed and to which the Provisional Government was loyal.

US role

In 1917, the United States of America enters the war. Subsequently, President Woodrow Wilson will play one of the key roles in the post-war world order. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​creating the League of Nations - an international organization designed to prevent new military conflicts and clashes.

End of the war

By 1918, the need for finding a way to compromise with the Entente countries became obvious to the leadership of Germany. At the same time, I wanted to lose as little as possible. It was for this purpose that a counteroffensive was proposed on the Western Front in the spring and summer of 1918. The operation was extremely unsuccessful for Germany, which only increased discontent among the troops and among the civilian population. In addition, a revolution took place in Germany on November 9th. Its instigators were sailors in Kiel, who revolted, not wanting to follow the order of the command.

On November 11, 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne was signed between Germany and the Entente countries. It should be noted that the armistice is signed in Compiègne in Marshal Foch's carriage not by chance. This will be done at the insistence of the French side, for which it was very important to overcome the defeat complex in the Franco-Prussian War. France will insist on this place in order for an act of revenge to take place, that is, satisfaction will occur. It must be said that the carriage will still surface again already in 1940, when it will again be brought in so that Hitler accepts the surrender of France in it.

truce

Under the terms of the armistice, under which Germany ceases all hostilities, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is denounced. In addition, Germany undertakes to withdraw its troops from the territory of Belgium and gives Alsace and Lorraine to France. The troops of the Entente countries occupy the territory of the left bank of the Rhine. For the final settlement of the conflict, a conference is convened, which should put an end to the war. On January 18, 1918, the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 opened.

Second album of photos by Max Jacoby of the Eastern Front - See more at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/contributions/4206#sthash.iekWbiyg.dpuf

On June 28, 1919, a peace treaty with Germany is signed. It was a humiliating world for her, she was losing all her overseas colonies, part of Schleswig, Silesia and Prussia. Germany was forbidden to have a submarine fleet, to develop and have the latest weapons systems. The contract, however, did not specify the amount that Germany had to pay as reparations, since France and Britain could not agree among themselves due to France's excessive appetites. It was unprofitable for Britain to create such a strong France. Therefore, the amount was not entered in the end. It was finally determined only in 1921. Under the London Accords of 1921, Germany had to pay 132 billion gold marks.

Germany was declared the sole culprit in unleashing the conflict. And, in fact, all the restrictions and sanctions imposed on it followed from this.

The Treaty of Versailles had disastrous consequences for Germany. The Germans felt insulted and humiliated, which led to the rise of nationalist forces. During the 14 difficult years of the Weimar Republic - from 1919 to 1933 - any political force set as its goal the revision of the Treaty of Versailles. First of all, no one recognized the eastern borders. The Germans turned into a divided people, part of which remained in the Reich, in Germany, part in Czechoslovakia (Sudetland), part in Poland. And in order to feel national unity, it is necessary to reunite the great German people. This formed the basis of the political slogans of the National Socialists, the Social Democrats, the moderate conservatives, and other political forces.

The results of the war for the participating countries and the idea of ​​great powers

For Austria-Hungary, the consequences of defeat in the war turned into a national catastrophe and the collapse of the multinational Habsburg empire. Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, who over the 68 years of his reign became a kind of symbol of the empire, died in 1916. He was replaced by Charles I, who failed to stop the centrifugal national forces of the empire, which, coupled with military defeats, led to the collapse of Austria-Hungary.

Four of the greatest empires perished in the crucibles of the First World War: Russian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and German. New states will emerge in their place: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

At the same time, grievances and disagreements, as well as territorial claims of new countries to each other, remained.

Hungary was dissatisfied with the borders that were determined for it in accordance with the agreements reached, because Greater Hungary should also include Croatia.

Bulgaria is dissatisfied with the borders that she got, because Great Bulgaria should include almost all the territories up to Constantinople.

The Serbs also considered themselves deprived. In Poland, the idea of ​​a Greater Poland from sea to sea is gaining ground.

Perhaps Czechoslovakia was the only happy exception of all the new Eastern European states, which was happy with everything.

After the First World War, in many countries of Europe, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200btheir own greatness and significance arose, which led to the creation of myths about national exceptionalism and their political formulation in the interwar period.

It seemed to everyone that the First World War would solve the problems, but it created new ones and deepened the old ones.