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Aftermath of WWI

The effects World War One left on Germany were devastating for the

German people. The German people were mislead by their government via

propaganda, so they thought throughout the war that they were winning. When

the war finally came to a close the Germans were in havoc. They went from being

a rich nation winning the Great War to a poor wrecked nation struggling to

survive.

The Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war, and marked the German

defeat. The Treaty of Versailles limited Germany in several ways.They were not

allowed to have any military weapons, such as: tanks, airplanes, warships, or

poison gases. They also had to demilitarize the Rhineland, which is a strip of land

that separates Germany from western Europe. Germany had to limit their army to

100,000 men and their navy to 15,000 men. They were forced to cede all colonies

to the Allied forces and Alsace-Lorraine to France. Germany was also forced to

give up the "Polish Corridor." The "Polish Corridor" was very important to

Germany because it was their access to the Baltic Sea for trade purposes.

Germany had to pay huge reparations in the form of coal, trucks, a quarter of

their fishing fleet, and 20 billion gold-marks. All of these policies were put into

place to make sure Germany never started another war again. The policies were

hard on the German people and sent them into economically hard times, but the

most demoralizing part of the treaty was the War Guilt Clause. The War Guilt

Clause stated that Germany was completely responsible for the war. This clause

deeply wounded the pride of the Germany.

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The signing of the Treaty of Versailles brought on humiliation and poverty

for all classes of Germany. As in all wars there is a high demand for workers, and

the same went for WWI. But once WWI ended the big question was 'will there be

enough jobs?' While other countries seemed to be doing okay Germany was a

seemingly endless recession. In 1921, French troops invaded Germany to take

supplies and materials because the had stopped paying their war reparations. In

1923, Germany wanted to pay off their reparation fast, so they started printing

more money. This caused a massive inflation of prices in Germany. People were

such difficult situation that they were have said to burn their money for fuel

because it was cheaper than buying wood. This was one of the main effects of the

overprinting of money. This hyperinflation caused the German people to lose their

life savings.

Like the rest of the world Germany gained strength again through 1924 to

1929, also known as the "Golden Years." During these years Germany's economy

turned around and their unemployment rate decreased. But also like the rest of

the world Germany fell again during the Great depression. This lead again to

poverty and unemployment.