What were consequences of WWI?

Question

The impact on the nations of Europes, and the connections to World War II.

Answer 1

The seeds were laid for the next world war....

Answer 2

I took a college course devoted to WWII alone, and the bottom line is that WWI directly led to or caused WWII. [Spartan gives a good explanation above.]
WWI caused the fall of four European/Middle eastern empires:
Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and the centuries old Ottoman empire. Turkey was all that was left to the former Ottomans. New nations were created in the Middle East including present day trouble spots such as Iraq, Iran, and Syria - all largely invented by Britain and France after the first "Great" war.
Other new nations were created in Europe: Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. (Poland had ceased to exist ~ 1796, but it was recreated after WWI.) Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were freed from Russian control - for a while anyway. The USSR gobbled them up again under Stalin in 1939-40 when the Russians and the Germans were actually allies.
Britain and France were strapped financially after the war - owing vast sums to American bankers in New York and Chicago. With treasuries depleted, Britain began to decline from world power status - a decline completed by the end of WWII as the world became bi-polar, a two power world of the USSR and the US.

Answer 3

The Great Depression resulted from overproduction of goods resulting from WWI. Capitalists did not realize that spending would slow. They kept producing and demand was falling. Products stockpiled, production stopped, plants closed and people lost jobs enmass.
Germany was charged with repaying other countries for their war expenses as they caused the war. This led to animosity and spite. Hitler was a soldier in WWI, and felt angry at the provisions imposed on Germany. He felt that the German's were destined to rule Europe, and his expansionist actions led to WWII. His belief that Jewish people were his biggest obstacle to European domination. This belief led to the "final solution", the Holocaust.

Answer 4

Germany lessened in size and prestige (the Rhineland and Alsace and Lorraine went to France, most of Prussia was used to create a new country) Austia-Hungary was broken up, and its constituent areas made into new countries The Ottoman Empire was ended and its constituent zones and states taken over by British and French The League of Nations was created (although, since the US did not join, it was effectively useless) The Tsar was deposed New countries were created: Poland (out of most of Prussia and parts of Russia) Austria Hungary Yugoslavia Albania Bulgaria Romania Czechoslovakia Turkey Iraq Iran Bahrain UAE Saudi Arabia Palestine Jordan Egypt Algeria Morocco Tunisia Libya

Answer 5

John Maynard Keynes wrote a very accurate estimation, The Economic Consequences of Peace--in 1920. He nailed it exactly. Read for yourself: http://books.google.com/books?id=yEcOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA114&dq=Keynes+%2BArmistice