wwi presentation 2
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By: 20th Century Europe
Imperialism and competition between European nations, growing feelings of nationalism and the desire for self-determination in imperial territories, as well as a complex set of military alliances brought 20th Century Europe into the “Great War”--World War One.What is imperialism?What is nationalism? Self-determination?What is a military alliance?
How could all of these things present problems for 20th Century Europe?
The “Great War” redrew the map of Europe and the Middle East, shifting empires and creating new national boundaries and identities that will set the stage for the political events of the 20th Century.
Palestine, formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire, suddenly finds its fate shifted to the hands of the British, whose decisions will play a major role in the shaping of the modern state of Israel.
The Ottoman EmpireTies to Islamresponsible for much of Islamic expansion in
Southeastern Europe (though Islam itself had been in North Africa and West Asia for centuries)
At the height of its power, in the 16th and 17th centuries, it controlled territory in southeast Europe, western Asia, and North Africa.
Over time, the empire loses many of its territories to growing European military powers, especially the growing Austro-Hungarian Empire.
A growing sense of ethnic nationalism sweeps Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries, causing the people in its remaining territories to seek sovereignty or self-determination.
As the Ottomans lose control over the Balkans, European powers, as well as the people of the region, fight over what to do with it!
Step one to chaos: In 1914, Austria-Hungary decides to officially annex
(incorporate) Bosnia Herzegovina, which they had already occupied for years but still somewhat shared with other powers.
PROBLEMS: Russia ALSO wants a piece of the pie and wants to
protect Slavic national identity in the region. Bosnia-Herzegovina has several different ethnic groups
that want different things. The Serbs, a majority group in the region, identify with Russian Slavic culture and either want complete self-determination or Russian leadership. Either way, they DO NOT WANT AUSTRIA-HUNGARY!!
In reaction to the annex, a Young Serb nationalist assassinates the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo
This gives Austria-Hungary what it needs for all out war on Serbia.Issues ultimatum and
declares WAR
Just a war between two little countries? No big deal? EXCEPT FOR….
EUROPE’S MESSY ALLIANCE SYSTEM
Central Forces Surrender
•If it hadn’t been for the alliance system, Serbia would probably have lost to A-H, but the opposite came to be and the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empires cease to exist.
•Empires are broken up and divvied up amongst European powers
CONSEQUENCES•New national borders and identities formed:
•Austro–Hungarian Empire= Austria,Hungary, Czechoslo-vakia, and Yugoslavia (the former territories of Serbia, Bosnia, etc.)
• The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917 after the October Revolution, lost much of its western frontier to the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland
• Ottoman Empire loses territory and Republic of Turkey created.
•Ottoman Territories in the Middle East divided between Britain and France, with Britain in primary control of PALESTINE.
Germany is hit hard with the peace Treaty of Versailles, which (unfairly, according to the Germans) forces it to accept all responsibility for the war.
“The Great Stab in the Back” causes hatred of new German government and increases anti-semitism.
The call for a Jewish state is amplified as fascism begins to take form in Germany.
Commences the Age of GenocideDuring the war, Ottoman
Turks commit one of the first genocides of the 20th century against Armenian Christians who side with Russia during the war.
Still unrecognized and becomes a benchmark for the Nazi regime.
Communist Revolution of 1917 in Russia sparks distrust and pogroms against Jews reach death tolls of thousands.
Europe is ravaged by the war’s social and economic effects. Of 60 million European soldiers who were
mobilized from 1914 to 1918:8 million were killed7 million were permanently disabled15 million were seriously injured
Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria–Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost 10.5%
Everyone lost someone. Bitterness seeks blame.Call of Zionism becomes louder as Europe become
s increasingly hostile to its Jewish population
League of nations formed as a precursor to the united nations, but is ruled by competing interests and ultimately fails to keep peace. The United States emerges as a reluctant peacemaking power on the world stage, despite its absence from the League.In the meantime, it must deal with
a newly divided world and help Britain search for a solution to it’s “Palestine problem.”
Before the war was over, Britain took control of Palestine and heard the calls of its varied peoples. It begins to make conflicting promises.
In an effort to persuade the United States to join the war and perhaps gain Jewish support, the British draft a letter that will have a dramatic affect on the shaping of the future state of Israel.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 (dated 2 November 1917) was a letter from the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.
The statement was issued through the efforts of Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow, the principal Zionist leaders based in London; as they had asked for the reconstitution of Palestine as "the" Jewish national home, the declaration fell short of Zionist expectations.
Source: United Kingdom2 November 1917
Foreign Office, November 2nd, 1917.
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of the object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious' rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Arthur James Balfour
What do you see in the text that could possibly be important in negotiating the terms of the Israeli state?