EUH - Cultural Characteristics of Europe (Lesson)

Cultural Characteristics of Europe

Introduction 

What are some developments in Europe after WWI? Europe saw many political, social, and cultural changes after World War 1. Four of the largest empires in Europe collapsed after the war including the German empire, Austro-Hungarian empire, Ottoman empire, and Russian empire. New countries were formed and old countries were reorganized, the lines between nations were redrawn, international organizations were developed, and many new ideas became well-known in European culture. World War I had the effect of bringing political transformation to Germany and the United Kingdom. Both nations were transformed into electoral democracies for the first time in history.

 

World War I

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World War 1 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. France, Italy, and Great Britain were the allies and Germany was the opponent. The Treaty of Versailles asserted that Germany caused the war. As a result, Germany had to take full responsibility and pay reparations. The Treaty of Versailles limited the number of German troops and reduced the size of its military to 100,000. Germany was prohibited from possessing major military armaments such as tanks, warships and submarines or developing new ones.

• Economic Consequences - World War 1 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. France, Italy, and Great Britain were the allies and Germany was the opponent. The Treaty of Versailles asserted that Germany caused the war. As a result, Germany had to take full responsibility and pay reparations. The Treaty of Versailles limited the number of German troops and reduced the size of its military to 100,000. Germany was prohibited from possessing major military armaments such as tanks, warships and submarines or developing new ones.
• Geographical Consequences - Because German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman empires broke-up after the war, suddenly there were numerous new smaller states in eastern Europe. These new states had a large ethnic minority population. These ethnic minorities wanted to unite with neighboring states where their ethnicity dominated. Czechoslovakia had Germans, Poles, and Ukrainians while Slovakia had Slovaks and Hungarians. Ethnic minorities made the frontiers generally unstable. Where the frontiers have remained unchanged since 1918, there has often been the expulsion of certain ethnic groups. Economic and military cooperation among these states was minimal. This ensured that Germany and the Soviet Union were unable to dominate the region once again.

 

The Russian Revolution

Towards the end of WWI, Russia began fighting its own revolution. While other countries in Europe gradually changed from rule by a king or monarchy to rule by the people or democracy, the Russian czars held on to absolute power. Russian Czar Nicholas II practically owned the country of Russia. Peasants worked on farms, but did not own the land. Workers produced goods but did not share in the profits. The czar saw no need to change what had already been established for hundreds of years. After being defeated by Germany in one of the bloodiest battles of World War I, Russian workers began to protest the Russian government. In 1917, a revolution broke out in St. Petersburg, Russia. The cause for the revolution was the lack of food and bread within the country. Thousands of workers began to strike. The Russian military sent soldiers to stop the protests, but many soldiers joined the striking workers. Czar Nicholas II's advisors advised him to give up or abdicate the throne. A temporary government was established that was led by Vladimir Lenin. Lenin shut down the old system of government and gave land and power back to the workers. The government established guidelines for the people. People were no longer considered rich or poor. All power would be held in common. This type of government is also known as Communism.

 

Germany

After World War I, Germany experienced a socialist revolution that briefly established a small number of communist political systems in urban areas throughout Germany. On November 9, 1919, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was the last German emperor and King of Prussia, gave up his power to the throne. The Weimar Republic, or a federal republic was established.

The collapse of the German empire caused Germany to lose several of its territories and colonies after the war. Parts of the German empire were transferred to Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and France. The largest portion of land was transferred to Poland. Germany's overseas colonies were divided between Allied nations. England received most of the colonies in Africa.

Germany's empire was severely downsized after the war. The greatest loss to Germany was the newly formed Poland, the city of Danzig, and East Prussia. Germany became outraged from the loss of these territories. Some political groups such as the Nazis began to feed on German's views of the Treaty of Versailles. They viewed the reparations that they had to pay back from the war as unfair. Adolf Hitler was the first politician to speak out against the conditions placed on Germany following World War I.

 

The Rise of Nazi Germany

After World War I, the newly formed Weimar Republic in Germany faced many weaknesses. These weaknesses came from within the democratic state. The National Socialist German Worker's Party, also known as the Nazi party, became more attractive in the eyes of many dissatisfied Germans who wanted a stronger more unified German state. Nazis appealed to German nationalism by calling for a larger military and an increase in German territory though this was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. In addition, the Nazi party offered solutions for Germany's economic problems.

The Nazi Party's leader, Adolf Hitler, described ideas to strengthen and unify Germany. He was an excellent speaker and an extreme advocate of German Nationalism. Hitler believed that Aryans, or Germans, were the "master race or pure race". He had racist feelings about Jews, Slavs, gypsies, and blacks and blamed them for Germany's problems. Under Hitler's rule, Jews and others deemed undesirable were persecuted or murdered. In addition, anyone who was in opposition to Hitler's rule was suppressed. Members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or forced into exile.

In 1933, Germany began to rebuild its military and add a Navy to its military force. Hitler wanted to expand the German territory eastward. Hitler demanded the return of the city of Danzig and the Polish corridor back to Germany. This was the area taken from Germany at the end of World War 1. Great Britain promised to aid Poland if attacked by Hitler's army. On September 1st 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War II had begun.

 

Map showing the Nazi control of Europe during 1941-1942. Dark Grey is Nazi Germany, medium grey is Nazi occupied lands, light grey is Nazi allied lands. White shows neutral nations and red and green are allied lands.

Map by Morgan Hauser, CC-BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Germany was heavily defeated and suffered severe damages and casualties in World War II. Resulting from the defeat of Nazi Germany, Germany was divided between East and Western political factions. West Germany became a parliamentary democracy with a capitalist economy, and East Germany became a Communist state under the leadership of a totalitarian dictatorship.

After World War II, a growing rift between the United States and the USSR (Soviet Union) led to the Cold War from 1947 to 1991. This period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was caused by political and military tensions. The Cold War split the temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the USSR and the United States as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences over communism and democracy.

In 1989, there was a revolutionary wave across Europe that began to overthrow communist states throughout Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union. In 1991, the Communist Soviet Union fell apart and was further divided into 14 individual sovereign countries.

 

Test Yourself!

Click here to download the Reading Check quiz. Links to an external site. Use the information in this module to answer the questions.

 

 

 

 

As you have learned, World War I and the Russian Revolution changed Europe’s cultural and economic characteristics forever. The Treaty of Versailles left Germany bitter and economically and militarily broken. The Germans were forced to pay reparations in the midst of an economic crisis, which led to resentment that would eventually lead to World War II. In Russia economic instability led to the Russian Revolution, which led to the end of the czars and ushered in a period of civil unrest that finally ended with the establishment of the Communist government of the USSR. The rise of Nazi Germany led Europe into another violent conflict that eventually engulfed not only Europe, but the world. World War II and the Holocaust changed Europe yet again forever. At the end of the war the United States and the USSR entered the Cold War that would last until 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

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