The Economic, Political, and Social Changes in Europe After World War 1

Post World War 1, Europe was a changing continent. 3 empires crumbled and many grew stronger, but many things stayed the same in Eastern Europe. The inability to address potential issues and not cripple in an economic, political or social way aided those who ultimately sought to exact their revenge is a re-occurring continuity that leads up to even more turmoil in World War 2.

With the empires crumbling, different cultures looked to carve the landscape of Eastern Europe to make their respective nations. In place of the Ottoman Empire, the new nation of Turkey rose in its place with Istanbul being the capital. Austria-Hungary became Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and Greece and Romania expanded to cover the new available land. National borders changed, while strong western states were made to control infant nations, such as France and Lebanon. The Paris Peace Settlements of 1919 were positive in the sense that they helped establish nations and attempted to rebuild Europe, but they ultimately lacked in what was needed for future peace. The League of Nations was ignored entirely, although many could argue it wasn’t a strong piece of legislation since the creators of the pact, the US, weren’t even in it. Japan invaded China, Germany rearmed in the 30’s and the Spanish Civil War all took place, proving that what happened in Versailles added to the continuity of war and power hungry nations in the world. These two examples are clear evidence for the changes to the future of post World War 1, and eventually the rest of the world.

The end of the war brought many economic changes. For example, Russia established equal pay for men and women, which in turn helped settle their debts with other nations. This was considered a huge leap at the time, but was ultimately not enforce very well. Women were given more freedoms, such as maternity leave and abortion rights. This is a clear example of a change, because it shows how progressive Russia is being by adapting to the new western culture. One major downfall in post war reconstruction was the fact that Russia wasn’t able to grasp the new movement of industrialization and nationalism. This had been a continuity within the previous empire, and their inability to adapt and move forward would prove to be detrimental to their growth and development as a nation. Both of these examples are clear indications of the progression that Russia was making, but also what they were being plagued by for not moving forward and adopting western ways.

Finally, there were many socialist outcomes to the war. Apart from women being given more freedoms, eastern nations, predominantly Russia, looked to make the female work force a much bigger part of society, not just having women work at home. For example, 70,000 women served in the Red Army, as transportation became easier to access. This led to more women joining the work force. This also however created a double-edged sword, as this meant women were to look harder to find food and the necessary supplies for their families. Many political leaders took to what the Russians were doing and saw it as a great plan to building a successful power. The continuity is with the fact that Russia still isn’t producing the goods for its ever growing nation, and without this, the impact on Eastern Europe is very important.

All in all, with the changing landscape of the continent, Europe was going through many changes. At the time, what seemed to be a good fit worked short term, but the sanctions and the inability for some states to cope with the progressiveness of western nations made it an increasingly larger continuity. This is all due to the inability to address potential issues that would arise in the future. Even though there seemed to be many changes, the continuities seemed to outweigh them all.

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