Aftermath of WWI Main Idea: The peace talks and changes in society during WWI lead the world into a depression where communism and socialism can take over.

Costs of World War I Human Costs Financial Costs Political Costs Many people died from fighting in the war and the total death count increased greatly by a pandemic of the flu Over 20 million people died world wide from the flu alone Financial Costs Countries were destroyed leaving them with a lot of rebuilding to do Some countries were blamed for the war and had to pay reparations Political Costs Countries were in chaos from the war and many radicals tried to take over

Paris Peace Conference Following the end of fighting, a peace conference was held to officially end the war Russian and the Central Powers had no say The Allies leaders could not agree whether to move on or punish the losers

Disagreements at the Conference Italy had a secret pact to get Austria-Hungary after World War I But, many of these nations wanted to govern themselves President Woodrow Wilson brought a 14 point plan to the meeting He called for creating a League of Nations that would help countries negotiate instead of going to war

The Treaty of Versailles This treaty blamed Germany for the war They were forced to pay large amounts of reparations to other countries This limited their military size The treaty also took away German land and their colonies Finally, it order that anyone that moved during World War I had to move back to Germany The Germans hated this treaty but were forced to sign

The League of Nations Woodrow Wilson’s plan was created as the League of Nations 40 nations joined and it seemed hopeful BUT the US never joined! Politicians back home disagreed about the League of Nations and refused to allow the US to join This caused the League of Nations to lose a great deal of power

Final Outcomes Self-Determination Many countries that had been ruled by Russia, Austria-Hungary, or other areas wanted to rule themselves Many of these nations were declared independence

Final Outcomes (cont.) Troubles in Russia Germany felt attacked The Tsar was overthrown after the family rules for 300 years The people had lost faith in the Tsar after WWI didn’t go well for them Communism is able to take over the nation Many of the same problems continued in Russia under the new government Germany felt attacked Germany did not agree that the war was their fault and felt attacked by the other nations