Geopolitical+Restructuring+of+Europe+-+WWI

=Welcome to Molly and Danielle's Wikispace! = // As you examine the geopolitical restructuring of Europe after the First World War further and read our page, you'll learn that this topic shaped Europe as a whole and paved the way for future events. // Europe Before and After media type="file" key="GLOBAL MOVIE, KNOCHE.wmv" align="center" width="300" height="300" **Click above to listen to how Europe ****was ** **shaped at the conclusion of the war! ** __Demographic Changes__:
 * These changes are some of the most closely examined components of the war and the period succeeding this time.
 * Casualties were the main cause of demographic changes.
 * The majority of fighting forces were men aged 18 to 30, so the highest percentages of deaths at this time were of the men of these ages.
 * During this period, the populations in European countries consisted of a higher ratio of women, children, the sick, and the old, resulting in a disruption of starting families and job placement due to the lack of young men.
 * Another important part of the change in demographics that is frequently overlooked is the change in minorities. New states were based on what once were ethnic minorities, so those minorities moved to the various states where their ethnicity was dominant.
 * The Allied Powers (France, Great Britain, and Russia) lost 52% of their fighting force.
 * The Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) lost approximately 66% of their fighting force.
 * Austria-Hungary, who specifically lost about 90% of its total population, was the largest contributor to these losses and significant population changes.

__Territorial Changes __:
 * Before the war, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy comprised the Central Powers with the help of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Although Italy was considered a member of the Central Powers at the start of the war, it never actually fought on the Central Powers' side. Partway through the war they switched sides and teamed up with the Allied Powers.
 * The Allied Powers consisted of Great Britain, Russia, and France with the help of Belgium, Serbia, and later the United States and Italy.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Russia suffered significantly. They lost a substantial amount of territory along the Baltic Sea. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland all declared independence from Russia at the conclusion of the war.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Austria-Hungary was dissolved into Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. The remaining land was distributed among Italy, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Germany was forced to give up its towns of Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine to France. It had to give parts of West Prussia and Posen to Poland in addition to giving East Prussia to Lithuania. Furthermore, Germany was required to give back northern Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark.

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Germany Suffers Immensely: __
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Some of the most closely examined aspects studied by historians are the reparations that Germany was faced with at the conclusion of the war.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Many countries, including Poland, France, and Belgium, chose to vote themselves out from under German influence. Germany also lost its Chinese territory to Japan.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">The main German reparations were:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Giving its coal mines to France.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">It renounced 100% of its overseas colonies, 13% of its 1914 territory, and much of it original territory.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Military forces were demobilized and Germany was not allowed to comprise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry, in addition to being prohibiting from exceeding 100,000 total men.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Germany was not allowed to exceed 6 battle ships of the Deutschland or Lothringen type, six light cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, or no other ships of equal or greater value. The Army was completely devoted to maintenance and order within the territory.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">The Navy was not to exceed 15,000 men and submarines were strictly forbidden.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Germany paid additional reparations in coal, livestock, ships, timber, and other resources as well as cash payments.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">In the beginning, 132 billion gold marks were requested. Later, the cost was reduced to between $10 and $100 billion, or the equivalent of 20 billion gold marks in the resources listed above.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 23px;">The Dawes Plan was a response to Germany's inability to afford the reparations it was faced with. Americans felt "sorry" for the Germans. They viewed the reparations as crippling rather than punishing, as was the intended purpose. America reduced the German payments to 1 billion gold marks annually for five years and 2.5 billion marks annually thereafter.

<span style="color: #6700ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 180%; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">Treaty of Versailles Limits on German Military

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Podcast __: //<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">For some incredibly unusual reason David and Stephanie's podcast got onto our Wiki (as well as some other people's as we have noticed). We apologize greatly for this mishap and we are working to fix this problem as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience! //

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sources: __

<h[|__ttp://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Articles_159_-_213>.__] <[|__http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Articles_231_-_247_and_Annexes__]>. "Europe and Asia Minor in 1914 and 1924." 28 June 1919: The Peace Treaty of Versailles. Web. 14 Feb 2011. <[|__http://www.gwpda.org/versailles.html>.__]
 * "Articles 159 - 213 -- Military, Naval and Air Clauses ." WWI Document Archive. MediaWiki, 07 Jul 2009. Web. 14 Feb 2011.
 * "Articles 231 - 247 and Annexes - Reparations." World War I Document Archive. Media Wiki, 7 Jul 2009. Web. 11 Feb 2011.
 * "BBC News | Europe's Changing Borders." BBC News - Home. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. [|__<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/europe/02/euro_borders/html/4.stm__]>.
 * Birn, Donald S. "Reparations." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. [|__<http://go.grolier.com__] >.
 * Gilbert, Martin. Atlas of the First World War. New York: Hippocrene, 1970. Print.
 * Stokesbury, James. A Short History of World War I. New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1981. 309-23. Print.
 * "Treaty of Versailles, Table No. I." Web. 14 Feb 2011. <[|__http://www.gwpda.org/versa/chart1.gif>.__]
 * Wawro, Geoffrey. "Versailles, Treaty of." World Book Student. World Book, 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. <[|__http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?] [|id=ar583780&st=german+reparation__]>.
 * Wright, Quincy. "Versailles, Treaty of." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 8 Feb. 2011. [|__<http://go.grolier.com__]>.