Home > Aftermath of World War I
: This article, the Aftermath of World War I, continues from the main World War I article due to the length of the text.Fighting in World War I ended when an armistice took effect at 1100 hours on November 11, 1918.
1 The blockade of Germany
Throughout the armistice the Allies maintained the naval blockade of Germany begun during the war. This blockade is estimated to have caused the death of 800,000 German civilians from malnutrition during the final two years of the war. The continuation of the blockade after the fighting ended, as Leckie wrote in Delivered From Evil , would "torment the Germans… driving them with the fury of despair into the arms of the devil". Some historians have since argued the harsh post-war treatment was one of the primary causes of World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough, others have advocated the Allies should have been even harder on Germany.
ChurchillChurchill" redirects here. For other meanings, see Churchill (disambiguation). The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG, OM, CH, FRS ( November 30, 1874 January 24, 1965) was a British politician, best known as Prime Minister of the U referred to the blockade during his March 3March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). There are 303 days remaining. Events 1400-1899 1431 Eugenius IV becomes Pope. 1791 The United States Mint is created by the United States Congress. 1820 The United States, 1919Events January January 1 Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company January 5 Spartacist uprising Socialist demonstrations in Berlin turn into attempted communist revolution with Spartacist League in the forefront January 9 Spartacus, speech to the British House of CommonsThe House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 659 members, who are known as "Members of Parliamen: "We are holding all our means of coercionPsychological abuse Coercion is the use of force or the threat of force, including violence, to dictate the actions of others. It usually has a pejorative connotation, implying that such force is unjustified or misapplied. It is distinguished from persuas in full operation… we are enforcing the blockade with vigour… Germany is very near starvationThis article is about nutritional starvation. For the computer science term, see resource starvation. In living organisms, starvation is a severe reduction in vitamin, nutrient, and energy intake, and is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, p. The evidence I have received… shows… the great danger of a collapse of the entire structure of German social and national life, under the pressure of hungerHunger is applied literally to the need or craving for food; it can also be applied metaphorically to cravings of other sorts. It is an extreme of a normal appetite. The term is commonly used more broadly to refer to cases of widespread malnourishment or and malnutrition."
The blockade was not lifted until June of 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed by most of the combatant nations.
2 The Treaty of Versailles
After the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919 officially ended the war. Included in the 440 articles of the treaty were the demands Germany officially accept responsibility for starting the war, and pay heavy economic reparations. The treaty also included a clause to create the League of Nations. The US Senate never ratified this treaty and the US did not join the League, despite President Wilson's active campaigning in support of the League. The United States negotiated a separate peace with Germany, finalized in August 1921.
