1 Demographic consequences More than 8 million soldiers died in the First World War. A further 20 million soldiers were injured in the conf lict. (17) There were also many civilian deaths caused indirectly by the war. Furthermore, the lack of food and poor health ser vices facilitated the spread of a f lu pandemic in 1918. The pandemic caused 22 million deaths. The high number of dead soldiers meant there were more women than men in the post-war population . This led to a drop in the birth rate in subsequent generations. It also brought about a reduction in the active working population and meant there were fewer consumers buying products. Economic consequences There were significant material losses. Towns, mines, factories, roads, railways and farmland were destroyed . (19) The war was ver y expensive, and many countries borrowed money abroad, especially from the USA. At the end of the war, European debt was at an extremely high level . The fight for women's rights During the war, women filled the jobs that had previously been done by men . By the end of the conf lict, 35 % of the industrial workforce in the UK and Germany was female. The massive presence of women in the world of work made women more aware of their social importance. When the war ended , the struggle for women's liberation became even more determined . Women won the right to vote in several countries, such as Germany (1918) and the USA (1920). (18) Define: Wilson's Fourteen Points, Paris Peace Conference, League of Nations. List the demographic, economic and social consequences of the First World War. What do you think were the psychological effects on the population of the high number of deaths and injuries caused by the war? K E Y Q U E S T I O N S 19. Verdun (France) in 1916 17. Demographic losses caused by the First World War 18. Women voting for the first time in the USA in 1920 35
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