1-WWI+Famine

The Central European Famine of 1919-20


 * What were the primary causes and processes of the famines in the former German & Austro-Hungarian territories at the end of the war? **

At the very beginning and throughout the war, Britain and France using their superior navies blockaded the Germans and their allies. Germany relied on imports of food and other essentials to run their army and their country. Most of these imports were from the Americas. Though America initially protested, after the lusitania sinking supported the blockade. The effects of this blockade was nearly 700,000 civilian deaths and disorders from lack of nutrition. This blockade also hurt Austria-Hungary tremendously as well. They were allied with Germany and they were questioning their ally as their citizens starved.


 * What efforts were undertaken to alleviate the famine, and what were the motivations for them? **

To combat the blockade of over half of all German imports, Germany implemented a strict rationing program and economic mobilisation. The rationing system gave citizens around 1000 calories a day which left many malnourished but was enough to keep casualties from the starvation to a minimum. Their motivation was to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. When 55% of Germany's imports were stopped they had to make up the difference with domestic production. They tried to raise the productivity of the country with the Hindenburg Programme by making every man from age 17 to 60 to work. The motivation behind this was to keep the German war machine alive. They needed raw materials and had to create it domestically to continue to fight the war.


 * To what extent could the famine experience in Central Europe be linked to the Versailles Treaty? To the Allied blockade through 1919? To the rise of fascism in most of these areas after 1922? **

The blockade continued 8 months after the Germans signed the armistice in 1918 which kept the famine in Germany till they signed the treaty of versailles. Germany claims that this extended time of allied control over Germany's imports cost them an additional 100,000 lives. Signing the Treaty ended the blockade and allowed for imports to come through and ended the famine.

The allied blockade through 1919 was directly related to the famine. It stopped over half of German exports to get by. This caused a deficit in important raw materials and also necessary materials like fertilizer. This caused there to be a decrease in agriculture in Germany as well. Many historians say that this blockade helped starve Germany and the central powers into losing the war.

During the Famine, the german revolution took place which was a socialist revolution that led to a few communist areas of Germany. They took power from Wilhelm the third and created the Weimar Republic. They were then forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles which stopped the blockade but also had Germany as the reason for the war and in debt of many countries in Europe. This caused hyperinflation and a stall in the German economy. The Citizens of Germany were desperate and gave control to Adolf Hitler. The blockade was a big part of why Germany signed the Treaty which caused the rise of fascism in Germany and that part of Europe.

__ Citations __ "The National Archives | Exhibitions & Learning Online | First World War | Spotlights on History." The National Archives | Exhibitions & Learning Online | First World War | Spotlights on History. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.

"The Treaty of Versailles." The Treaty of Versailles. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.

** Russian Famine of 1921 **
The Russian Famine of 1921 originated from the Russian Civil Wars of 1918-1921. During this conflict, the various conflicting groups including the Bolsheviks, Whites, and the Anarchists needed large amounts of food to support their armies. To ensure that they had sufficient resources, each of the factions took food from the peasants which grew it. At the time, most of the Russian population was comprised of rural peasants who grew barely enough food to sell. When the factions began to take food from them, the peasants decreased their growth rate, because they knew that the Bolsheviks were likely to come take whatever they grew anyways. Lenin took this as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Bolshevik war effort, and called for increased emphasis on the securing of food resources for the army. The Bolshevik forces secured almost all of the food grown by the peasants, and left very little for the general population. This causes large scale peasant revolts, which the Bolsheviks responded to with force. The populations most affected by the famine include the lower class, mostly the peasants who grew the food. When the food they grew was taken from them, the peasants were left with little to no food left to eat. Likewise, more urban peasants were also greatly affected as they could not afford to buy what little food made it to the market. This is due to the fact that the general decrease in food available at the market meant that there was much more competition to acquire it.

The American Relief Administration, founded during World War I by Herbert Hoover, intended to help the starving citizenry of Russia on one condition; the United States wanted complete control of the Russian rail system and the ability to hand out food to the entire population rather than only those who supported Lenin. Initially, Lenin refused to accept the American conditions on the ground of them being interference in Russian internal affairs. Lenin wanted to keep the United States and most European countries out of Europe as much as he could. However, the population continued to starve and rebellions began to arise from the discontent population. Knowing that the country could not maintain its current condition and that things would continue to worsen if he did not act, Lenin agreed to allow assistance from the United States ARA and other European aid resources. In this sense, the Russian Famine of 1921 was an opportunity for the western countries to gain a stronger position in Russia, as the country as a whole was weakened and needed aid from outside sources. The objective of the American Relief Administration was not only to help the Russians in need, but also to take advantage of the opening provided by the famine and gain popularity in Russia.

Not only did the ARA successfully provide food for over one million Russian citizens every day, it also it also allowed the US the gain popularity among the Russian population, as the United States government had allocated $20,000,000 to helping those affected by the famine. The Russian Famine was originally a result of the factions at war within Russia taking food from the population, and in the end the famine helped to further the cause of the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, claiming that the land was needed to help feed the population, confiscated a large amount of land from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922. The Bolshevik government also confiscated large amounts of church property and sold the valuables to raise money needed for the relief effort. In a sense, then, the famine was a very useful political tool in the advancement of the Bolshevik government. The famine had also weakened the factions which opposed the Bolsheviks such as the Whites and the Anarchists.

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