World War I

Understanding World War I and its effects is crucial to the understanding of why we were destined to enter into World War II. The peace settlements at the end of World War I combined with severe economic problems created widespread discontent across Europe. Democratic rule in many states gave way to fascism, authoritarianism, and the totalitarianism of Stalin and Hitler. Using the internet and the following links define and/or answer the following questions on WWI.

View the following video for a brief overview of World War I

World War I Summary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXqppJ-L88U

After watching the video answer the following questions:

1. Who was fighting during World War I? List the countries and who they were aligned with.

2. What was event that sparked the outbreak of World War I?

3. When did World War I begin and end?

4. Where did the majority of World War I take place? Why did the fighting last for so long in this particular area?



Define the following terms on a piece of paper:

Fascism
Totalitarianism
Authoritarianism
Woodrow Wilson
Treaty of Versailles
Reparations

Read the following paragraph:

With the end of WWI came strict consequences for the Germany under the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty ended the fighting of WWI. Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required Germany to accept sole responsibility for causing the war and, under the terms of articles 231–248 (later known as the War Guilt clauses), to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. The total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks (then $31.4 billion, £6.6 billion) in 1921[1]. This was a sum that many economists deemed to be excessive because it would have taken Germany until 1988 to pay.[2] The Treaty was undermined by subsequent events starting as early as 1932 and was widely flouted by the mid-1930s.[3]
The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was compromise that left none contented: Germany was not pacified or conciliated, nor permanently weakened. This would prove to be a factor leading to later conflicts, notably and directly the Second World War.[4] Many Germans forgot that they had applauded the fall of the Kaiser, had initially welcomed parliamentary democratic reform, and had rejoiced at the armistice. They recalled only that the German Left -- Socialists, Communists, and Jews, in common imagination -- had surrendered German honor to a disgraceful peace when no foreign armies had even set foot on German soil. This Dolchstosslegende (stab-in-the-back legend) was initiated and fanned by retired German wartime military leaders, who, well aware in 1918 that Germany could no longer wage war, had advised the Kaiser to sue for peace. It helped to further discredit German socialist and liberal circles who felt most committed to maintain Germany's fragile democratic experiment.


View the following video on the Treaty of Versailles:

http://www.history.com/videos/treaty-of-versailles-end-world-war-i#treaty-of-versailles-end-world-war-i

Also view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CR0oDuW33c


Answer the following:

List two reasons why the Treaty of Versailles lead to the start of WWII.

After reading and watching the video's why might Germany have been so willing to place blame on their countries loss on Socialists, Jew's and Communitsts?