What was the impact of WWI on Germany 1914 – 1918?

Key QuestionsWhat were the social & economic effects in

Germany of WWI?How did the war polarise Germany politically?

Starter

Use just 5 words to demonstrate German feeling on the eve of war in Europe in 1914.

Now, use 5 words to describe the feelings 4 years later.

Learning Objectives:To understand how Germany was affected by

the First World War

Success Criteria: To ascertain what the main problems for Germany were in two areas: War plans &

Home Front

What does this image show us about the German experience of war?

Triptychon Der Krieg (War Triptych) by Otto Dix, painted between 1929 & 32

Overview

WWI was a catastrophic event for Germany. The beginning of the war in 1914 was welcomed by a broad spectrum of public and political opinion in the country.

However, the war effort was managed by a chaotic bureaucratic system which highlighted Germany’s

shortcomings. Huge casualties drained morale as did food shortages at home. Strikes and a restless

Reichstag challenged the military leadership of Hindenburg & Ludendorff. The last two years of war

were marked by growing political polarisation. By 1918, the nation was exhausted by war and faced

defeat.

German reaction to the outbreak of war

Odeonsplatz, Munich, 2nd August 1914

Initially, the feeling around Germany as war approached was one of dread leading to huge demonstrations against this course of action. However, once war had broken out and the Government portrayed it as a defensive action against Slav agression, the mood changed.

On the 4th August, the Kaiser addressed the nation, summarising his feelings of national unity said

‘I know no parties any more, only Germans’.To the relief of the political nation, the socialists also fell into line. The political divisions of

the pre-war era were over. On the same day as the Kaisers announcement, the Reichstag also passed an enabling act known as Burgfrieden. The terms of this act were to reinforce the pre-war institutional structures rather than challenge them, although there were some differences.

The Reichstag delegated all of its legislative powers to the Bundesrat, which was to rule the Home front by emergency legislation. The Reichstag had the power to review that legislation, but not once in the duration of the war, and 800 laws, did it change anything.

The War Ministry took over the bureaucratic function of running the war, which very much strengthened the hand of traditional bureaucracy.

Corporations were set up under the control of the War Materials Section of the War Ministry to ensure the supply of raw materials for the war effort. Also under the wing of the War Ministry, the War Committee for German Industry advised the bureaucrats on industrial policy. Despite this raftof initiatives, most enterprises stayed in private hands for the duration of the war because it was felt the economy would be more efficiently run that way.

War 1914On the night of August 4th the Germans launched the Schlieffen Plan.Throughout August the German armies made strong progress,

advancing through Belgium and all but wiping out the British Expeditionary Force. However, the advance slowed as supplies failed to keep up with the armies progress, limiting the effects of the Schlieffen Plan.

In the East, they won two great battles at Tannenburg & the Masurian Lakes, under the command of Hindenburg & Ludendorff.

The defining moment came at the end of Sept. At the first battle of the Marne the German armies were halted within shelling distance of Paris. They withdrew to the River Alsne and started to dig in. For the rest of the year, both sides attempted to outflank each other. The result was a stalemate: hundreds of miles of trenches and around 650,000 German casualties on both fronts by the end of 1914.

Germany’s best opportunity for military victory had passed.

War 1915• With the Schlieffen Plan a failure, new Chief Commander of the

General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, had the responsibility to devise an alternative strategy.

• He knew that fighting on two fronts was a war Germany could not win.

• The decision was to win a decisive victory on either of the fronts and it was chosen to be the east.

• While successful victories over the Russian army forced them back 250 miles it was not enough to put them out of the war.

• On the western front, the Allies had suffered greatly for little gain and Falkenhayn saw that German victory lay in knocking the British out of the war using an aggressive submarine campaign. Eventhough the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 drew America closer to the war.

• At the end of 1915, German troops were stretched across Europe and deployed in Asia & Africa.

Questions

1. After two years of war, what military problems did Germany face for the future?

2. Why did the Schlieffen plan fail?

Food

The German war effort was hampered throughout by the shortage of raw materials and consumer basics. On the 4th Feb 1915, the German government announced a submarine blockade of Britain. The British responded by ordering the Royal Navy to sieze all goods presumed to be destined for Germany.

Germany was not self-sufficient and imported 25% of what it consumed.

With the military taking priority meant suppiles to the cities were hit. The states response was to assume control for the regulation and distribution of food.

German responses• In Jan 1915, the Imperial Grain Corporation was set up to

administer the rationing and distribution of grain.• This was followed by the creation of over 40 different

Imperial Corporations who competed with federal, state and regional governments to administer the food supply.

• To try to bring order, the War Food Office was set up in 1916 but they did not have the power to exert control over all the other organisations and agencies.

• The chaos that ensued, led to counter-productive decsisions being made.

• In early 1915, the bureaucracy decided to kill 9million pigs, primarily because they were a major cosumer of grain. The consequences were less pork and less fertiliser, both of which were to have a damaging effect on food production.

Shortages• There was also a shortage of labour in the countryside. • Mobilisation in 1914 led to a loss of a third of its workforce and by the end

of 1914 around half its workforce had been called up, impacting further on the production of grain.

• The conservative nature of the state meant they did not consider using women to remedy this problem and they were not conscripted to work.

• This didn’t mean they didn’t work. By the end of the war, a third of all industrial workers were women who sought work in indusrty due to better pay.

• In Jan 1915, the state introduced the rationing of bread and other items soon followed. This led to the introduction of Ersatz (substitute) goods.

• Ersatz Coffee – Tree Bark; Ersatz Sausages – No meat. • Those who lived in the countryside suffered no immediate effects due tot

their access to food. For urban Germans, the black market provided some relief.

• Added problems were shortages in animal fats (government took them for the manufacture of glycerin for explosives).

Task:Put yourself in the position of civil servants running the Home Front in Germany during

1915.

1. From your point of view, what are the main problems facing Germany?

2. What could you do about them?

Plenary

Draw a flow chart mapping out the war so far for Germany highlighting successes and

problems for the years 1914 & 1915.