Paris 1919 The Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of WWI Ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers Signed on 28 June 1919 Other Central Powers were dealt with in separate treaties Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty

The Big Four Woodrow Wilson President of the United States David Lloyd-George Prime Minister of Great Britain Georges Clemenceau Prime Minister of France Vittorio Orlando Prime Minister of Italy

Security – Clemenceau wanted to make sure that Germany could not invade France in the future. Reparations – Germany should be made to pay for the damage that had been caused in northern France by the invading German armies. Revenge – The Germans were most hated in France and most of the fighting in the west had been done in France. France also had the highest causalities (after Russia) of the allies – Clemenceau had been a young man when Prussian armies had entered Paris after Prussia had defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 France –What it wanted

Great Britain – What it wanted In public: – Lloyd-George had won an election promising to punish Germany and make it pay 300 billion dollars in reparations to Great Britain – The British people were intensely anti-German by the end of the war In private – Lloyd-George knew that Britain needed Germany to recover because she was an important trading partner – He also worried about the spread of communism after the Russian Revolution – a strong Germany could act as a barrier against that spread

USA – What it wanted Wilson wanted the treaty to be based on his Fourteen Points – Most of the world embraced the 14 points and saw it as a great hope – Those who did not embrace it were the winning Powers (France, Great Britain, Japan, Italy) Wilson believed that Germany should be punished but not severely. He wanted a just settlement that would not leave Germany feeling resentful and looking for retribution years later Most of all Wilson wanted to set up The League of Nations which would settle future disputes before they became wars Wilson did not have much support for these ideas from Americans. They were becoming fed up with European affairs and America was becoming increasingly isolationist.

Europe in 1914

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles German army was reduced to: – 100,000 men – No tanks – No air force – No submarines or large battleships Germany and Austria were forbidden to unite Rhineland was to be de-militarised Alsace-Lorraine was given to France (having lost it during the Franco-Prussian war) Eupen and Malmedy given to Belgium North Schleswig given to Denmark Posen given to Poland cutting off Germany from East Prussia Saar coalfields given to France for 15 years Danzig made a Free City under control of the League of Nations

The War Guilt Clause "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm, and Germany accepts, the responsibility of Germany and her Allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associate Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of a war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her Allies." -Article 231 Germany accepted responsibility for starting the war and agreed to pay for the damage caused by its armies during the war – a sum to be determined later £6,600 million

German Reaction to the Treaty Germans thought the Treaty was a “diktat”: a dictated peace. They had not been invited to the peace conference at Versailles and when the Treaty was presented to them they were threatened with war if they did not sign it. The Treaty was NOT based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points as the Germans had been promised it would. Most Germans believed that the War Guilt Clause was unjustified. The French and British had done just as much to start the war The loss of territory and population angered most Germans who believed that the losses were too severe. Many Germans believed the German economy would be crippled by having to pay reparations...they were correct