Humanities History Notes- World War 1 PDF

Humanities History Notes- World War 1 8.3 - Background to WW1 Franco-Prussia War The last major war fought between France and Germany in 1870-71. Germany won and claimed territory in Alsace-Lorraine unifying its kingdom into the German Empire. Germany made more powerful alliances with other European powers to make sure the German empire had a place in politics and changed way the European countries interacted with each other Alliances before world war Germany’s growth in empire caused 2 major alliances to be formed. All of Europes most powerful countries were in one of the alliances. If one of the alliance countries were attacked, the others would help them This is known as balance of power (when a country tries preventing a war by creating alliances which would make other countries not want to declare war) Alliances made before WW1 Triple Alliance (central powers): Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy Triple Entente (allied powers): France, Russia and United Kingdom - entente is a French word meaning understanding or agreement, indicating a friendly relationship and mutual support Europe in the lead up to the war In 1901, Europe was peaceful as Queen Victoria was ruling for over 60 years and many of her descendants were closely related and married other royals Tsar Nicholas 2 (Russian King), George V (England king) and Kaiser Wilhelm were all ﬁrst cousins. Although tensions and rivalries existed beneath the surface Europe seemed prosperous during this time as Industrial Revolution (a time where advances in technology, healthcare, sanitation and transport improved living standards, especially for working and middle classes Yet many harsh conditions (women not allowed to vote and working environments for working class) left the government in fear of socialism and anarchism. 8.4- Causes of WW1 Factors of Main M= militarism: when countries build strong armed forces to protect and defend the country or promote national interests. To the lead up to WW1, many countries began building up their empires and armies and compete with each other for it. 1870 & 1914 Military spending increased by 300 per cent After 1871 all major European countries (except Britain) introduced conscription (men age of 18 had to serve in military for minimum amount of time) By 1900, Britain had largest and strongest navy in the world so Germany started build up its own navy. Both started a race to see who could build the most powerful battleships called ‘Dreadnoughts’ Even though most leaders were talking about peace, it was clear their was an arms race (countries compete to build a stronger army) A= Alliances Alliance system (alliances made with countries) was a key factor to ww1. From 1870’s onwards, Europe grouped themselves into 2 groups which later became legally bonded Germany was scared France would seek revenge for the Franco-Prussia war so they made alliance with Austria-Hungary (in 1879) and in 1882 Italy joined making it Triple Alliance Britain felt threatened by Germany’s naval buildup (they became 2nd but Britain still 1st) and formed the Triple Entente in 1907. It was made so that Germany had to ﬁght on both sides (Russia was on Right, France on Left) Japan and Bosnia-Herzegovina had to help Triple Entente because they helped them Alliances were formed so that neither sides wanted to ﬁght as both were powerful. Any conﬂict would quickly result in a widespread war I=Imperialism Is when countries gain power by taking control of new territories to expand or create an empire. It is usually done for ﬁnancial or strategic (military) reasons Britain, Spain, Portugal and France had many colonies around the world since the 15th century. They had claimed most of North and South America. Germany had started later then everyone else, causing it to be much harder and more trouble to gain land N= Nationalism nationalism is a sense of pride and love for one’s nation. At worst, it could be that you believe your nation is superior to other countries. It can be based oﬀ language, culture and history It can either help or destroy a nation (maybe examples Scramble For Africa In the late 18th century and early 19th, most parts of Europe wanted to take over Africa for their resources and land 8.5- Outbreak of WW1 The Balkan States Balkans is an area of south-eastern Europe made up of many countries like Romania, Serbia, Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria. Balkan States were politically very unstable in lead up to ww1 Major imperial powers (Austria-Hungary, Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire) made it have a complex relationship and made it a potential crisis point Assassination of Archduke Franz In 1908, Austria-Hungary took control of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the ethnic groups didn’t want to identify with one another They (Bosnia-Herzegovina) started a national movement to gain independence and the Russian Empire supported them (Serbian Nationalist) The emperor of Austria-Hungary was aware of the tensions and believed a royal visit would ﬁx the problem. He sent his son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife a Sophia to visit Sarajevo On June 28 1914, as crowds greeted Franz, a 19 year old Serbian nationalist named Gabriel Princip shot and killed Franz and his wife. The July Crisis The results in Balkan ‘sparked’ the European war. The trains of the spread of conﬂict was due to the complex alliance systems. Immediately after the assassination, Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia. The following month was a confusing and frantic period of threats and negotiations between key powers. This was known as the ‘July Crisis’ The Austrians issued 10 harsh demands to Serbia and Serbia agreed to 9 of the demands but if they accepted it meant that Serbia would lose its independence which led to a breakdown in negotiations A month after, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Serbia then asked Russia for help which they agreed too On July 31, Germany told Russia to stop war preparations and when they didn’t, Germany declared war on Russia. Germany asked France about its plans but as they are on diﬀerent alliances, gave vague answers but started preparations as well. The Schlieﬀen Plan Germany was worried about enemies on both sides of both its eastern and western borders. After the triple Entente formed in 1907, Alfred von Schlieﬀen made this plan The plan was to avoid ﬁghting France and Russia at the same time. Germany would launch an all-out attack on France, going through Belgium (neutral), they thought they could defeat France before Russia could form an army to send to France. After defeating France, Germany would ﬁght Russia. The main problem with the Plan was that Belgium was neutral but had a treaty with Britain in 1839 to defend each other when needed. So when the German invasion of Belgium began, Britain was forced to get involved. 8.6- Australia’s Entry into WW1 Most people in Europe had no experience of war and what it meant as it was peaceful for 40 years and only a few soldiers stray fought in Africa (from Britain) Australia responds to Europe + The Great Adventure Australians were excited to the idea of war and they seen it as glorious, exciting and heroic. Both political sides of Australia agreed to join On 31 July 1914, opposition leader (who later became prime minister) Andrew Fisher said “Should the worst happen, after everything has been done that honour will permit, Australians will stand beside the mother country (Britain) to help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling”. On 3 August 1914, Joseph Cook (then prime minister) promised Britain Australian Navy vessels and 20,00 men In 1914 the war began and Australia had only been federated (United) for 13 years. Although it was a self-governing country, it was still under the British empire. So when British declared war on Germany, Australia was automatically involved (plus all other countries part of British Empire) Many men (aged 21-35) rushed to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as they were worried the war would end before they arrived at Europe. Most men wanted to prove and show oﬀ what their nation can do and others wanted to be loyal to the ‘mother country’ as they were British before going to Australia Although some wanted to get away from family or their jobs, changing their names to escape Australia promised 20,000 men but by the end of 1914, 50,000 men enlisted Women also encouraged their loved ones to enlist, admiring the bravery and as war progressed, propaganda highlighting German atrocities fuelled enlistment although many were exaggerated and pay matched to average wage (6 shillings a day) People who had fought in the Boer War (1899-1902) knew the brutality of war but others saw it as an adventure First Nations Australians Only 1000 First Nations were excepted and rest were rejected as they were ‘not of substantial European origin or descent’ Most didn’t even want to join to help their colonisers but others saw it as a chance to gain equal rights After the war most Australian were given beneﬁts to readjust with life but First Nations soldiers were denied those beneﬁts Questioning Voices Not everyone supported the war as some people thought it was Britain’s problem and not Australia’s Vida Goldstein who led the women’s peace army protested against war From 1914 to early 1915 war was supported enthusiastically but once they saw the harsh realities their minds changed Conscientious objectors (people who opposed to war and refused to do military services because it goes against their belief, religion or conscience) 8.8 - The Nature of warefare in WW1 Arms race had led to increase in weapon army and technology Over the course of ww1, many new military vehicles and weapons were improved and developments in long-range weapon are like machine guns and heavy artillery, chemical gasses were important and also a signiﬁcant development. When one country introduced a new weapon, another would develop a version of its own Many of this technology is blamed for extending the war as it became evenly a matched battles of technology and tactics and neither side were able to break In past wars, soldiers had to move around constantly but now they had to dig trenches for protections bringing to stalemates (when both sides are stuck and cannot push the enemies back) Guns and Artillery Australian and British soldiers manufactured riﬂes at the start of ww1 with a bayonet (a blade) for close range ﬁghting Machine guns (ﬁrst used in American civil war) were improved for use in ww1. Many were capable for ﬁring 600 rounds of ammunition (bullets) per minute.Facing one was like facing 250 soldiers with riﬂes. But machine guns overheated and were heavy to move through mud Heavy artillery was also ﬁrst used in ww1, like cannons (guns that could ﬁre large shells over long distances) but they were also diﬃcult to move and were mounted on wheels that were often stuck in mud or bombed craters. Shells often contains shrapnel (metal pieces) which were scattered on enemies when exploded. Gas In April 1915, Germany introduced ﬂame-throwers and poison gas as a weapon of war Chlorine was blown over enemy trenches which burned and destroyed respiratory tracks (airways) when inhaled by someone without gas mask. Causing terrible pain and death Other gasses were introduced aswell like mustard gas and tear gas which causes blisters both internally and externally. Gas was so horriﬁc that it was banned under a treaty signed in 1925 known as Geneva Protocol Tanks First introduced by British on September 1916, in battle of Somme in France Were originally called land ships They were successful at overcoming barbed wire and trenches First design was quickly built so it kept breaking down or stuck in muddy trenches. Crew inside had to endure unbearably hot and noisy conditions End of 1917, improvements are made and tanks were more eﬀective Aircrafts Large scale aerial warfare was conducted ﬁrst time in ww1 At ﬁrst small planes were used to scout enemies positions and later they were armed with machine guns. This type of of aerial warfare was called dogﬁghts German zeppelins (large hydrogen-ﬁlled airships) conducted ﬁrst aerial bombing raids over England in 1915 War at Sea In 1914, sea was used for transportation, trade and communications. Protecting sea lanes of yours and striking the enemies was essential part of war eﬀort Submarines were widely used in ww1 They were initially used by Germans to attack or sink trading ships for allied forces (carrying food and vital goods). They were commonly known as U-boats (Unterseeboote/ Undersea boat) and they caused fear amount those travelling by sea Another problem were underwater mines (explosives), in the North Sea. Although agreements had been made for where they could be placed, neither side (strictly) followed them and became trouble for neural nations Communications Helped commanders receive battle reports faster Telephones and radios allowed quick decisions Despite advances in technology, soldiers still tan messages and sometimes used motorbikes, pigeons and dogs to carry orders Telephone lines gave away positions and would be damaged by artillery Wireless radios were very heavy and diﬃcult to move 8.9- The Western Front Western front Most important area of the war, it stretched from Belgium to Switzerland Most common known part with trenches, barbed wire, blood and features of the war was on the western front At start of August 1914, Germans had marched through Belgium into France but faced ﬁerce resistance from British and French stopped them from moving further into France. Allies were unable to drive Germans back and by Christmas 1914 there was a deadlock (same as stalemate) Many historians see the western front as a deﬁning experience as new technology was introduced (tanks, gas) but millions of lives were lost on both sides aswell Breaking the stalemate - Between 1915 and 1918 many attempts to break stalemate of trench conﬂict There would be long and sustained artillery attacks like trenches being bombarded with explosive shells. These would go on for hours of days and it was believed that this would force defending troops underground, destroying fortiﬁcations (defence bases) and clearing ways for troops to cross no man’s land (area of land between two opposing armies that is unclaimed) - Struggling through mud-ﬁlled shell holes created by their own artillery, they might learn that bombardment had not destroyed the barb-wired obstacles between the lines. Often as soldiers made their way across no man’s land, the enemy would emerge from deep, bunkers to ﬁre them with machine guns - nothing really ﬁxed the issue of the stalemate The Battle of Somme It happened along the banks of the Somme river in northern France and happened between July- November 1916 One of the most costly attempts to break stalemate known as ‘war of attrition’ War of attrition (a strategy where each side tries wearing down the other through continuous losses in personnel and materials) Major oﬀence launched by triple entente in an eﬀect to break German forces Battle began with massive artillery so it could soften German defences before infantry assault (specialised military) Over 1.5 million shells in a weeklong attack, British deaths in the ﬁrst day was estimated around 19,000, 35,000 injured and 2000 missing. French casualties were 7000 On July 23 to August 8 1916, Australia suﬀered 23,000 casualties Australia’s engagement on western front Australia fought on the western front from 1916 to 1918 and were engaged in numerous battles which got them over 50 Victoria crosses (highest commonwealth declaration) Australia’s distinguished themselves in battle and earned a reputation for courage and toughness especially in 1918 of leadership of Sir John Monash Many towns were destroyed Most destructive Battles involving Australia were one in northern France and at one closer to Paris in 1917. An attack designed to take German attention away from an onslaught was unsuccessful and resulted in 3600 killed and injured. This even was described ‘worst 24 hours of Australia’s entire history’ Because Germans had recover land they lost quickly, Australia had no time to bury the dead, Germans buried them in mass pits and commonwealth reburied them in war grave cemeteries (one was discovered in 2007) Commonwealth had identiﬁed over 250 Australians and British soldiers which are now being buried as more are being identiﬁed Nurses on western front At the start of the war, a small amount of women wanted to join the military but was told it was ‘no place for ladies’. Only women were allowed to enlist as nurses and serves overseas. Nurses worked under appealing conditions, especially on western front where they makeshift ﬁeld hospitals in trenches behind the lines. Over the course of ww1, 2562 Australian nurses joined the AIF and 2139 served overseas in the Middle East and on the western front. 25 lost their lives while serving and 388 received military honours 8.10- Trench Warfare Trenches at Western front were approx 700 kilometres (from Belgium to Switzerland) Most trenches are 2 metres deep and 2 metres wide Soldiers took turns on front lines, sometimes they were there for 8 days and then for 4 days on the support trenches During major battles soldiers would be in frontlines for much longer Soldiers were aware conditions could change at any time. Artillery from enemies meant death and injury could come at any time Front line trenches: The front of the army where all machine guns and soldiers stand to ﬁght Support trench: Behind frontlines Men with supplies to assist those on frontlines Reserve trench: Behind support had more emergency supplies and men Communication trenches: Connected trenches and allowed movement of messages, supplies and men 8.11- The Gallipoli Campaign Gallipoli Campaign was an attempt to break the stalemate on the Western Front Winston Churchill (in charge of Royal Navy) decided to attack the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) who was an allay of Germany It took place on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey It became the ﬁrst major battle for Australian troops Formations of the Anzacs and training in Egypt When war began, Australia and New Zealand were seperate military forces (Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) & New Zealand Expeditionary Force) In 1914, Australian and New Zealand were sent to Egypt to train due to overcrowding camps in England Soldiers trained near iconic sights like the Pyramids and Sphinx and would pose and send postcards back to create the illusion that war was an adventure and opportunity to go abroad Australian troops were highest paid in the Allied forces and when not training they would enjoy trips into Cairo, visit the pyramids (you can see their graﬃti on the walls) and visit restaurants (many renames to attract Anzac soldiers) While they anticipated action in Europe against Germany, they are deployed against Turkish forces instead The Gallipoli Landing Was launched because Britain and France needed to move troops, equipment and weapons to Allied troops in Russia and to do that they needs to travel across the Mediterranean Sea and pass through Turkish waters to get to the Black Sea into Russia But the plan required Turkey (part of Ottoman Empire) to be forced out of the war First part of campaign began in March 1915 with an attempted navel assault on the Dardanelles (narrow strait in northwestern Turkey that forms a natural boundary between Europe and Asia) The navel attack failed due to underwater mines, leading to 3 Allied battleships destroyed and 3 badly damaged The plan was to launch an attack on Gallipoli Peninsula to secure control of the Dardanelles and eventually take Constantinople (now Istanbul) from the Ottomans and open up desired supply lines through Russia to help the Allies ﬁght Germany and Austria from the east on April 25 1915, ground troops from Britain, France, New Zealand, India, and Newfoundland (Canada) landed on Gallipoli Peninsula. It was trouble from the start, boats arrived 1-2km north from expected landing because it was too dark and covered by large waves. They arrived in the morning so they could have more time to ﬁght Anzacs landed at a place (now called) Anzac Cove, they faced cliﬀs up to 100 m high with heavy gunﬁre from Turkish forts and harsh weather conditions but Anzacs secured the beach and made limited progress up the cliﬀs Plan was to take 7km of land but Anzacs barely achieved 1km and approx 16,000 soldiers landed on the beach and by the evening, 2000 soldiers were killed or wounded When the British Commander heard this news, General Sir Hamilton said to the troops “You have got through the diﬃcult business, now you dig,dig,dig until you are safe” His persistence was because of the successful news of the AE2 (Australian Submarine) which was the ﬁrst allied warship to penetrate the Dardanelles (really big boats) on same day (25 April 1925) In May 1915, Anzacs launched two famous diversionary attacks (Battle of Lone Pine and Battle of the Nek). Despite these the situation on Gallipoli remained unchanged for 8 months Overtime, respect grew between Turkish and Anzac troops on the battleﬁeld as they saw each other as honourable and agreements were made to hold ﬁre and bury the dead respectfully. Conditions at Gallipoli Living conditions were tough for Anzacs as the Turkish soldiers had higher ground so the Anzacs were always in danger The hot summer and freezing winter made things even worse as trenches would ﬂood and the battleﬁelds would turn into a muddy mess Water was scarce and had to be rationed Food was limited as most rations consisted of canned meat, corned beef and hard biscuits (NOT Anzac biscuits) as fresh food was rare Disease was a big problem as more soldiers got sick then got injured by the enemy ﬁre Parasites in their clothing caused itching, and there was no way to wash clothes properly Illness was spread by rats,lice,ﬂies and mosquitoes Due to bombings of Australian ships, soldiers were under-resources Soldiers had tactics like using old jam, razors, bully-beef tin and stones to make grenades. (Legend says that some soldiers used their cricket skills to catch and throw back Turkish grenades. A risky feat indeed) Withdrawal December 1915, Anzacs were ordered to withdraw from Gallipoli and to hide they were leaving they rigged up riﬂes to ﬁre at random (using string and tin cans attached to trigger when water would ﬁll tin) This tactic was called “Ghost guns of Gallipoli” Soldiers muﬄed sound of their leaving by wrapping horse hooves cloth Last Australian soldier evacuated overnight on 19-20 December and because of its eﬃciency, the silent withdrawal is usually remembered as the most successful part of the campaign Turkish Perspective Turkish soldiers, many of them came from rural areas with little formal training, showed great courage and determination in defending their homeland Campaign was a major victory for Turkey and helped boost reputation for their leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who later became founder of modern Turkey 8.12- The end of the war After failed of Gallipoli campaign, stalemate on western front lasted through 1916,1917 and with little change in 1918 Russia’s withdrawal In 1917, Russia was getting ready to leave the war as they had mobilised (sent) the most troops in ww1 and had the greatest casualties, mostly on eastern front In 1917, Russia became swept up in a internal revolution. The new communist government wanted to focus on the internal troubles, looked for a way to remove Russia from ww1. Russia negotiated separately from the rest of the allies and signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany on 3 March 1918 The Brest-Litovsk is when Russia gave land (Poland and Ukraine which were states of Russia at the time) to Germany in exchange for their right to leave the war. But when the war ended and Germany lost, they were ordered to give back the land to Russia (hence, why Russia still owned them) With the end of the war against Russia, Germany could divert its troops to the east in order to face the new American soldiers who joined the war in 1917 The United States Involvement Even though USA didn’t declare war on Germany until 1917, they were involved in the war from the beginning as they helped supply the allies (Britain and France) with weapons and supplies After Germany sank a ship carrying American civilian, American was outraged and put pressure on the government to enter the war. On April 6 1917, the USA oﬃcially declared war in Germany and American troops joined France and Britain in the summer of 1918 Events on the western front The freshness and enthusiasm of the American troops made a huge diﬀerence to the allied forces on the western front After years of almost constant defeat and huge number of casualties, by early 1918 the allies slowly gained the upper hand on the central powers Battle of Amiens On 8 August 1918, the allied forces advanced over 11km on the ﬁrst day and from then German defences were continually penetrated and forced to retreat. For this reason this day is seen as the ‘Black day for the German army’ and also marked the end of the trench warfare of the western front as ﬁghting became mobile again 26 September 1918, from their retreat position at the Hindenburg Line, Germans were inﬁltrated by allies in only hours and German commanders began accepting defeat. The Armistice 5am on 11 November 1918, the head of German delegation, Matthias Erzberger signed the Armistice (an agreement made by countries to stop ﬁghting to negotiate peace) that marked the end of ‘the war to end all wars’ The ruler of Germany (emperor), Kaiser Wilhem decides to abdicate (resign monarchy) on November 9 1918, he escapes to Netherlands (they were neutral in ww1) and 2 low level politicians sign the treaty The treaty (Armistice) took eﬀect on 11am (Paris time) on 11th hour, 11 day of the 11 month. But up until 11am intense warfare still continued until the very last minute Henry Gunther (23 yr old US sergeant) was last recognised soldier to be killed in ww1 (at 10:59am) Armistice only lasted 30 days (did not guarantee peace) and a ceaseﬁre was made permanent the following year when commonwealth and future leave of nations signed the treaty of Versailles Treaty of Versailles= binding agreement to end ww1 and Germany was forced to accept responsibility for starting the war and pay reparations 8.21- The impact of Ww1 on Europe As time passed, both people and governments started to understand the enormous cost of the 4 year conﬂict The impact of ww1 and far beyond immediate loss of life and extended into economic, social and political challenges that would aﬀect Europe for years to come Cost of life The loss of life in ww1 was enormous In every country, many soldiers died or were injured, just like in Australia However, in Europe, many civilians also died because much of the ﬁghting happened in their towns and cities It’s hard to know the exact number, but around 40 million civilians died during ww1, especially in places like England,France,Germany and Belgium and other places the battles took place Redrawing the map Postwar treaties meant that many boarders were redrawn and new countries were established From the Russian empire = Poland, Baltics and Finland Austria-Hungary Empire = Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia Ottoman Empire = Turkey Many colonial powers lost territory overseas to other countries (Germany lost all overseas colonies) or to colonial revolution. This is where countries seek independence, particularly in Asia, Middle East and Africa Economic cost of war Ww1 had an economic cost after the war in the form of war reparations (paid by the defeated countries (e.g.Germany)) It was the cost of rebuilding, clearing battleﬁelds or explosives and weaponry, establishing war cemeteries, shipping troops home and helping sick and wounded soldiers. In addition, paying back loans for wartime expensive (many countries hoped they would repaid through reparations if they won) Number of countries were left in economic ruin and dependent on other ruined countries to pay reparations Unemployment rose in most European countries. Servicemen who were employed in the army returned home to ﬁnd they couldn’t preform their previous jobs because of mental and physical health conditions, or their jobs had been adapted during wartime and no longer existed Shifts in power After ww1, a shift in colonial and monarchial power that had ruled Europe for many centuries. Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Russia experienced revolutions that needed their monarchies and made new governments New nations like Poland, Austria and Turkey made new government and systems. This was a diﬃcult time, with governments struggling to build something new while dealing with the costs of war Globally, countries like Britain and France lost power as they faced challenges in rebuilding and losing colonies Meanwhile, the USA and Japan became more powerful on the stage war The Russian Revolution At the start of the ww1, Russia was a vast (big) empire led by Tsar Nicholas II, they lived in strict social hierarchy that didn’t allow much movement Largest group was peasantry, who in 1914, found themselves forming most of the army. They were undertrained, under equipped and often without boots or guns on the battle front At home in Russia, many peasants found themselves starving to death as resources were sent to the war front and used to support the rich and elite In March 1917, after a series of defeats, Russian soldiers refused to shoot workers striking for food rations Riots began as peasants on the war and home front revolted against the monarchy Tsarist Nicholas II abdicated (steps down) in 1918 and his family was executed later A new government called Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin took control and began to gain support from people with their promise of “Peace,Bread and land” October 1917, the Bolsheviks led the revolution against the government and took power and this marked the beginning of the Soviet Union, run on the system of communism which proved to be a new global power 1917 Bolsheviks took over major Russian cities forcing Russian civil war and kings supporters started ﬁghting but in 1918 Tsar stepped down from king to lessen the situation The appeal of communism Communism is a system where everything is owned collectively by the community or government It aims to create a classless society where wealth and property are shared equally amount everyone Treaty of Versailles Was signed on June 28,1919 in Versailles Palace of Paris Germany was never invited to the meetings, it was forced for them to sign rather then negotiated on The treaty aﬀected all defeated countries (Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Germany) Germany was speciﬁcally eﬀected as they were the main aggressor of the war 4 main parts of the treaty were: - forced acceptance of guilt- Article 231 - Reparations - Loss of Territory and Land - Economic and Political Sanctions Germany responses to the treaty Germany’s pride as a nation was destroyed by war guilt This also placed economic hardship on Germany since they were forced to pay for the rebuilding of other nations Many Germans felt that the average citizen were being punished for a war they didn’t want This fuelled the rise for extremist (protest) movements 8.15- Anti-German sentiment in Australia Before ww1, many Germans settles in Australia, most arises in Port Adelaide and later moved to settle in areas in South Australia, New South Wales and South-east Queensland Most Germanys found it suitable for wheat and dairy farming as well as vineyards and wine making By 1914, more then 100,000 German descents lived in Australia and many were granted Australian citizenship before 1914 (war) German Australians were well established and well liked community prior to the outbreak of the war The outbreak of the war During tensions between British and German empires, the German communities (in Australia) found themselves the subject of suspicion and hostility and when the war started in 1914, it changed to aggression At the time, many German Australians thought of themselves as Australians ﬁrst and many enlisted in the AIF (ﬁrst commander of AIF (General John Monash) had German parents) but many Australians still considered Germans a potential threat to national security Many Australians believed that the German Australians had divided loyalty (to German and British) or even were spies. Overnight many German Australians were targeted on hate campaigns and sources for anti- German propaganda which encouraged men to enlist and fanned the ﬂames of prejudice (stereotypes) and vicious rulers circulated which made life diﬃcult for anyone with a German descent 2 months after the war began, the Australian government created more tensions between British and German Australians by the introduction of the War Precautions Act. The act authorised the commonwealth government to do whatever needed to secure the safety of the national. This act and regulations (that were later made), set a number of restrictions on the lives of people with German descent. It is speciﬁed that all ‘Enemy Aliens’ (immigrants from the enemy national) had to register and report weekly to local police stations or military authorities, pledge their allegiance (loyalty) to the Australia and British empire, and inform authorities of any changes in address. Internment During ww1, the Australian government set up internment camps (prison camps to conﬁne enemy aliens, prisoners of war or political prisoners) to hold people who were considered a threat to national security like the enemy aliens (Germans and Austria-Hungarians) Nearly 7,000 people of German or Austrian descent were placed in internment camps Some of these people had lived in Australia for many years or were born in Australia but were still seen as a potential threat because of their heritage They were set up all over Australia but in July 1915, all internment camps were moved to New South Wales (Trial Bay Gaol, Berrima Gaol and Holsworthy Army Barracks). Germans not placed in camps were carefully watched by police and neighbours Hostility towards Germans or Austrians at the time was so strong that many people with their heritage voluntarily went there as most lost their jobs and couldn’t provide for families but they get free meals and shelter at the camps. 1,500 people joined voluntarily Others reaction to ‘Enemy Aliens’ The government shut down German schools, churches, German music was banned and German food was renamed Names of towns that sounded ‘too German’ were renamed such as Germantown became Holbrook, Bismarck became Collinsvale, etc Any German graders became Belgium gardens and many german descendants changed their names to stop harassment from the government and war-mad community Second conscription plebiscite in 1917 (is it good for commonwealth rules to be implemented overseas and majority voted no (4 out of 7)) failure further enraged the increase of the anti- German campaign People of German descent weren’t allowed to hold a civil position like local councillors or justices of the peace and many Australians would complain about German colleagues until they were ﬁred People refused to buy anything from German owned businesses

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