The aftermath of WW2

• The Great War (as World War I is also known) left many countries across Europe devastated
• Total war


  Nations dedicated all available resources (both military and civilian) to the war effort and suffered casualties at a level never experienced before
• Over 8 million soldiers and sailors lost their lives during the war and a similar number of civilians died as a result of fighting, starvation and disease
• A further 21 million people were wounded
• Almost immediately after the end of the war was declared in 1918, the world was hit by a deadly flu pandemic (called the Spanish influenza)
• The pandemic lasted for about a year and resulted in the deaths of over 30 million people, most of them between 20 and 40 years of age
• In January 1919, the victorious nations of World War I met at the Paris Peace Conference in France to come up with a plan for rebuilding Europe and ensuring ongoing peace in the future
• Leaders who attended the Paris Peace Conference

  • British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
  • French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
  • American President Woodrow Wilson
  • Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando
• Clemenceau


  Wanted to weaken Germany so it would never be able to take up arms again
• Wilson


  Wanted to achieve lasting peace with a treaty that punished Germany, but not so harshly that they would one day want their own revenge
• The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919
• While large sections of the German public were opposed to the terms of the treaty, German representatives at the negotiations knew that if they did not sign, Allied troops would invade Germany
• With Germany's army in ruins, Germany would be powerless to stop them
• Terms of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany


  • Surrender large sections of its territory
  • Surrender all of its overseas colonies
  • Limit its army to 100 000 men who were mostly volunteers
  • Prohibited from possessing an air force, tanks, submarines or heavy artillery
  • Required to accept full responsibility for starting the war
  • Forced to pay reparations (compensation) to the Allies
• It was agreed that Germany should pay an amount close to £7 billion British pounds (the current equivalent of around $526 billion Australian dollars)
• Austria–Hungary was also required to pay reparations to the Allies, and the empire was broken up
• The borders of Austria and Hungary were redrawn and the territory lost was used to create the new nations of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia
• League of Nations


  An international organisation formed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to maintain world peace and prevent the outbreak of future wars by encouraging nations to negotiate with each other rather than engage in military conflicts
• League of Nations


  • Had the power to order countries in conflict to discuss their differences at an assembly of member countries
  • At these hearings, aggressors could be warned, punished with economic sanctions or threatened with military action
• Forty-two countries (including Australia) joined the League of Nations
• At its peak in 1935, there were 58 member countries
• Although the idea for the League of Nations had been suggested by US President Wilson, the USA did not join the league
• This was largely due to the reluctance of the American people to get involved in European affairs
• Although the League of Nations had some early successes, it ultimately failed in its principal mission of preventing the outbreak of future wars