World War I had a devastating effect on the entire world. Germany however, might have suffered the most from a war that claimed the lives of 9 million combatants.
Germany lost more men in this war than any other nation involved. An entire generation of Germans was slaughtered, almost 2 million were killed, and the total number of casualties was over 7 million. The German army suffered a casualty rate of nearly 65%. Germany suffered its first major defeat in war in the history of the nation. The German Empire had been destroyed.
The monarchy, which had been a part of Germanic history for centuries, was in destroyed and would never recover.All of these losses pale in comparison with the biggest deprivation the Germans suffered. The German economy lay in ruin. The Allies demanded huge war reparations of billions of dollars that the Germans could not possibly pay. Inflation rose so much that money was burned for fuel because it was almost useless. Millions of Germans suffered and died from the famine that followed and from the influenza outbreak that spread around the world. Rebuilding the economy would be almost impossible much of the workforce had been killed or maimed in the war and there was no stable government to show leadership and begin rebuilding Germany.
Riots broke out all over Germany and had to be put down with force. The Allies forced the Germans to sign a treaty that forbid them form keeping an army of any size. In fact the German leaders were not even allowed to take part in establishing the terms of the treaty they were only allowed to sign it without objection. This further demoralized the German people who took great pride in there once great military.
The Germans wanted some stability in their government and they also wanted revenge for the humiliation they had suffered. Unfortunately this led to the rise of the fascist government and even more bitterness towards the Allied countries, which would, ultimately to the outbreak of the Second World War. World War I was probably the most influential event of the 20th century, millions of people had been killed and the stage for World War II had been set.
