 |
| A
close-up of the region around Germany in
1920, after the end of WWI. Austria-Hungary
has been divided into several new countries.
Though more difficult to see, land has also
been taken from Germany as punishment. |
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Panel
2: The War to End all Wars?
World
War I is the "war to end all wars"
(1914-1918). Nine million young men die in ditches
and in the freezing cold and millions of others
are traumatized. Cities everywhere in Europe
are reduced to rubble.
Germany is punished severely at the end of the
war by the US, Great Britain and France. The
Treaty of Versailles, in 1919, takes away much
of Germany's power. Germany is forced to disarm
almost completely, give up territory, surrender
all its overseas possessions, and pay reparations
for war damage.
As a result, Germany is devastated. Germans
suffer from poor housing and health care, a
lack of electricity and running water, and no
money to buy enough food for the family. Buildings
and roads fall into ruin.
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