When did WW1 end? It wasn’t when you think…

Описание: WW1 ended with a peace treaty that only promised more bloodshed, says historian, meaning that peace was far from guaranteed. Subscribe here: bit.ly/subhistoryextrayoutube

In the final episode of our series on WW1 Myths and Misconceptions, Alexandra Churchill explains how the Armistice signed on 11 November 1918, was not a true end to the war but a fragile pause in violence, leading to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. That treaty, widely seen as unjust by many – including a young Adolf Hitler – sowed the seeds of World War II.

Elsewhere, the ‘end’ of the conflict had a global fallout, she explains: Italy felt betrayed by its allies and called the war a "hollow victory"; the Arab world, promised independence, saw their lands divided by the British and French; and the collapse of empires like the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, German, and Russian created massive power vacuums and civil wars. Meanwhile in Russia, civil conflict raged between Bolsheviks and their opponents; in the Balkans, ethnic and territorial disputes flared.

There was also the staggering human cost to consider; soldiers with lifelong injuries and trauma, nations struggling to reintegrate veterans, and the rise of remembrance culture through war memorials, the Unknown Soldier, and the two-minute silence.

Alexandra Churchill is a historian and presenter who specialises in 20th-century history. Her latest book, co-authored with Nicolai Eberholst, is Ring of Fire: A New Global History of the Outbreak of the First World War (Bloomsbury, 2025).

Find more episodes in this HistoryExtra Academy series at https://www.historyextra.com/academy/...

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00:56 How peace was finally achieved
03:11 What did Europe look like after WW1?
09:52 How do we remember WW1 today?

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