1. TREATY OF VERSAILLES motivations/ aims of Big Three
terms of the treaty
German reactions
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2. Timeline Nov 1918: armistice (or ceasefire)
Jan 1919: Paris Peace Conference
Jun 1919: Treaty of Versailles
Dominated by ‘Big Three’, the leaders of France, Britain and the USA.
Germany was banned from the talks.
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3. Big Three
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5. Millions of dead, wounded or homeless people
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6. France: Georges Clemenceau
Suffered great destruction; invaded twice by Germany
Revenge and very harsh punishment
Wanted to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine, lost to Germany in 1871
Wanted to make Germany pay heavy reparations for damage caused in war
Wanted Germany to accept total blame for war
Wanted to cripple Germany so that it would not be strong enough to attack France again.
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7. Britain: David Lloyd George
A just peace that would be tough enough to please the British public who wanted to 'make Germany pay'.
Didn’t want treaty to be too harsh as Germany might seek revenge later
Wanted German navy to be weak in order to safeguard British naval superiority
Wanted Germany to recover economically to trade with Britain and prevent rise of communism
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8. USA: Woodrow Wilson
Not at the forefront of the war; did not suffer heavy casualties.
Wanted to use Fourteen Points as a basis for lasting peace
To champion self-determination/ independence for the people of Europe – the right to rule themselves (Points 10,11,12, 13)
To set up a League of Nations to provide collective security for all nations. (Point 14)
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9. What did the Germans get?
The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles:
Territorial losses
War guilt clause
Military restrictions
Reparations
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10. War guilt clause
Germany had to accept complete blame for causing WW1 (Article 231)
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11. Article 231, Treaty of Versailles
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 Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected to as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies… Germany has to pay compensation to the Allies,… failing which the Allies will have the right to occupy its territories.
New German government to accept and bear the responsibility for the war.
Germany totally responsible for the war.
Germany to be responsible for the losses of the Allied Powers.
Thus Germany has to pay compensation.
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12. German territorial losses
all overseas colonies.
Alsace-Lorraine and the Saar coal region to France
Polish Corridor to Poland
Not allowed to unite with Austria.
A dismembering of German territories by the Allied Powers?
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13. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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14. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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15. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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16. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
The Polish Corridor to Poland
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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17. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
The Polish Corridor to Poland
Part of Upper Silesia to Poland
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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18. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
The Polish Corridor to Poland
Part of Upper Silesia to Poland
Danzig, to be administered by a new international organisation
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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19. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
The Polish Corridor to Poland
Part of Upper Silesia to Poland
Danzig, to be administered by a new international organisation
Hultschin to Czechoslovakia
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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20. German territorial losses
Germany had to give up:
German territorial losses
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
The Polish Corridor to Poland
Part of Upper Silesia to Poland
Danzig, to be administered by a new international organisation
Hultschin to Czechoslovakia
Memel to Lithuania
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations.
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21. Demilitarisation (military restrictions)
Size of German army  Restricted to 100,000 men; conscription was banned.
War machines  Not allowed to have an air force, submarines or tanks; Navy was limited to six battleships.
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22. Demilitarization of Rhineland
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Demilitarization of Rhineland
Not allowed to station troops in Rhineland
Allied troops would occupy it for 15 years
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23. Financially-crippling and kept Germany poor for many years
Reparations
Germany was to pay reparations of £6,600 million.
Financially-crippling and kept Germany poor for many years
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24. Self-determination
People belonging to Austria-Hungry in Central Europe with common identity were given the right to rule themselves
E.g. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
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25. League of Nations League of Nations was set up to maintain world peace
Through collective security and disarmament
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26. How did the Germans react?
Outrage!
Injustice!
Humiliation!
“The Allies have taken away everything I own.”
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27. We wanted a fair treaty and got nothing of the sort
We wanted a fair treaty and got nothing of the sort. The German population feels angry and humiliated by the terms. This treaty does not stand for right. It is a dictated peace that will provoke fresh hatred between the nations.
German President Friedrich Ebert
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28. Why were the Germans angry?
1. War Guilt Clause:
Germans felt greatly humiliated and wronged as they did not think that they deserved total blame for causing war
The Allies had also contributed to the chain of events that led to the war, so it was very unfair to push all blame to Germany.
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29. Why were the Germans angry?
2. Territorial reductions:
Reduced Germany’s standing/ reputation in the world and injured the pride of German people
Damaged Germany’s economy as it was stripped of resources for industrial production
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30. Why were the Germans angry?
3. Military restrictions:
Weakened the defence of Germany in the event of military attack from its neighbours
Injured the pride of Germany as it was reduced from a first-rate to third-rate military power
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31. Why were the Germans angry?
4. Economic penalties:
Reparations burdened Germany with huge debts
Impoverished the country and impeded economic recovery
More hardship for the people.
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32. Why were the Germans angry?
4. Self-determination and creation of new boundaries:
Segments of Germany’s population were divided by new borders and forced to join other nations
Germans were deprived of self-determination.
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33. Was the Treaty of Versailles a fair treaty?
Yes, it was fair.
Germany inflicted widespread damage to France and Belgium
e.g. German Army attacked France through neutral Belgium;
Adopted a scorched earth policy to destroy all useful facilities to deny their use by enemy forces during retreat
Thus, TOV was fair as Germany had a moral obligation to repay and rebuild the countries destroyed by her military.
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34. Was the Treaty of Versailles a fair treaty?
Yes, it was fair.
Germany imposed harsher terms when Russia sought to pull out of war
E.g. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk deprived Russia of a third of her population, half her industries and nine-tenths of her coal mines, and imposed an indemnity of six thousand million marks
Thus, TOV was fair as it was more lenient than the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, so Germany had no right to complain.
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37. Was the Treaty of Versailles a fair treaty?
No, it was unfair.
The Treaty was a ‘diktat’
treaty was dictated peace – imposed by victors on vanquished, not negotiated by a process of give and take
e.g. Germany was banned from talks and not consulted on treaty terms
Thus, TOV was unfair because Germany had no say in the decision-making process
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38. Was the Treaty of Versailles a fair treaty?
No, it was unfair.
The terms of this treaty are too demanding – that is, more than what the Germany can bear
e.g. Germany was made to pay full costs of war even though its economy was weakened by war; loss of resources would make it more difficult to make payments on time
Thus, TOV was unfair because it failed to take into account Germany’s ability to fulfill its terms, and deprived Germany of any chance of recovery.
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39. Were the Allied Powers satisfied with the outcome?
The ‘Big Three’
Georges Clemenceau
(France)
Felt the Treaty of Versailles was not harsh enough.
Feared that France would continue to face threats from Germany.
David Lloyd-George
(Britain)
Felt that the Treaty of Versailles was harsh — ‘a great pity’.
Predicted that another war would occur because its terms had created deep resentment among the Germans.
Woodrow Wilson
(USA)
Felt the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh.
Agreed to the terms only because he needed the support of Britain and France to form the League of Nations.
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40. History Assignment 1
Question) Explain why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles. (12m)
Answer in F.E.E.L format
12m (4 factors); 8m (3 factors)
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41. What is F.E.E.L? Factor: state factor/ point
Elaboration: elaboration/definition of factor
Evidence: 2 or 3 examples to support factor
Link: explain impact of factor and link it to issue (e.g. German hatred of TOV)
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42. Reason 1
Reparations was an important reason why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles. (factor) This refers to the financial compensation that Germany had to pay to the Allies for the damage caused by the war. (elaboration) Under the treaty, the amount of the reparations was set at million pounds. Germany was in economic crisis after the war, but it had to pay the huge reparations through installments and the surrender of coal and other resources at set periods. (evidence). Thus… (link)
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43. Reason 2
Military restrictions was another important reason why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles. (factor) This refers to the tight limitations placed on Germany’s armed forces. (elaboration) For example, the size of the German army was restricted to 100,000 professional soldiers. Conscription was prohibited to prevent build-up of armed forces. In addition, Germany was not allowed to have any airforce, submarines and tanks. (evidence) Thus… (link)
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44. Reason 3
Territorial reductions was another important reason why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles. (factor) This refers to the lands that Germany gave up to the Allies. (elaboration) For example, Germany lost the Polish Corridor with its rich farmlands to Poland. The Saar, with its rich coalfields, was given to France for 15 years. Germany also lost all her overseas colonies and was forbidden to unite with Austria (evidence) Thus… (link)
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45. Reason 4
War Guilt Clause was another important reason why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles. (factor) This refers to the clause which made Germany accept total blame for causing the war. (elaboration) For example, under Article 231 of the Treaty, Germany was responsible for causing all the loss and damage caused by the war. However, the Germans felt that blame should be shared as the Allies also contributed to the chain of events that led to war (evidence) Thus… (link)
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46. Critical Thinking
Consider the intentions of the ‘Big Three’ during the Paris Peace Conference.
Were they really in line with ‘working out peace with justice and wisdom’?
Would you agree that right from the onset, the process of establishing peace in the 1920s had started on the wrong foot because of the different intentions of the ‘Big Three’ when they went to the Paris Peace Conference?
What did the people want? Punishment, compensation and harsh vindictive action for their suffering during the war. Were these in line with peace efforts? Was the pressure from the citizens politically too much to disregard?
Was it realistically possible for the new democratic German government to get the fresh start they sought?
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47. Critical Thinking
“The Treaty of Versailles played a direct role in creating the dissatisfaction that allowed for the rise of a cruel and ambitious regime in Germany that would eventually lead to World War II.”
Do you agree that the Treaty of Versailles sowed the seeds for World War II due to the perceived injustice and dissatisfaction it created amongst the German people?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was even harsher on the Russians.
The errant leaders were responsible, but the common people of Germany were the ones who bore the brunt of the punishment.
Consider these conflicting points:
These were all the doings of the former government. New democratic Germany needed a fresh start towards peace, not vengeance.
The Germans needed to be punished for the immense suffering and destruction it caused in the war.
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