1.  Starter
28 June 1919 Germany signed up to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles formally ending WWI. Who do you think the people are in this picture? What can this picture tell us about reactions of Germans to the way the war was ended ?  Why might some Germans have felt optimistic before the Treaty?

2. ? Reasons for optimism Abdication of Kaiser New democratic govt
Expectations the Allies would help the new Weimar Govt
President Wilson’s desire for fairness – 14 Points
Other countries were not blameless
What do you think Chancellor Ebert was thinking on the eve of the Paris Peace Conference?

3. Why did the Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles?
LOs
To identify the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles and to assess how different Germans reacted to them

4. ‘Big Three’, Lloyd-George, Clemenceau & Roosevelt
 Watch the film ‘Make Germany Pay’ and answer the questions your teacher provides
‘Big Three’, Lloyd-George, Clemenceau & Roosevelt
Clemenceau
Wilson
Lloyd-George

5.  Your task Reparations War Guilt Territorial losses
p in your books
Reparations
War Guilt
Why did Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles?
Territorial losses
Germany’s colonies
Military restrictions

6. Why did many Germans resent this clause?
War guilt
Article 231 of the Treaty stated that Germany was to blame for causing the war.
Why did many Germans resent this clause?

7. Reparations
Why did many Germans complain about reparations?
As Germany was held responsible for the war, the allies could claim reparations for the damage caused
In 1921 a special commission fixed a sum of £6,600 m. to be paid in annual instalments
The Treaty also took away 10% of Germany’s industry and 15% of its agricultural land

8. Germany’s colonies
Germany’s colonies were handed over to the League of Nations, who gave them to Britain and France to run
Why did many Germans resent the League of Nations running their colonies?

9. Military restrictions
Air force was disbanded
Army limited to 100,000 soldiers
Navy limited to 15,000 sailors, six battleships and no submarines
Which country was keen to restrict Germany’s navy? Why?

10. Military restrictions
Rhineland occupied by the Allies for 15 years
No German troops allowed in this area
Why were the Germans especially unhappy about these terms?

11. Which of the territorial losses would have angered the Germans most?
Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
West Prussia and Posen (Polish Corridor) lost to Poland
Saarland taken over by the League of Nations for 15 years
Which of the territorial losses would have angered the Germans most?

12.  Your task
Read p.18 and list 3 reasons why ordinary Germans felt betrayed by the Treaty of Versailles, in other words ‘stabbed in the back’

13. Stabbed in the back
New government of Germany was weakened by the Treaty
Army leaders felt Germany could have won the war
The country had been betrayed by politicians and Communists
Traditionalists felt this would not have happened under the Kaiser

14.  Your task
Read about the Kapp Putsch from the History Learning website.
Who was Kapp?
Why did he stage an uprising?
Why did it fail?
What does it reveal about the Weimar Government?
 How similar / different was it to the Spartacist Uprising?

15. Wolfgang Kapp

16. Reasons for failure of Kapp Putsch
Kapp: right-wing journalist, hated Ebert
Aims: establish strong leadership & opposed Versailles
Reasons for failure:
lack of leadership - General Ludendorff supported Kapp, but other army leaders did not
putsch centred on Berlin – didn’t spread to rest of Germany
Weimar Government continued - able to relocate to Dresden
people tired of revolution - Spartacist Uprising occurred 1919
general strike

17.  Extension
Can you list any similarities between the Spartacist Uprising and the Kapp Putch?
Rosa Luxemburg
Wolfgang Kapp

18. SIMILARITIES
Led by charismatic, political extremists
Disliked govt & aimed to overthrow it
Centred on Berlin
DIFFERENCES
Spartacists were anti-War, Kapp Putsch supported the army
Kapp was a monarchist, Spartacists wanted a Communist revolution
Kapp enjoyed support of Freikorps

19.  Your task
Try to match one of the captions on p.19 (SHP) with one of the sources on p
Study the German sources and add the reasons why they felt angered by the Treaty to your list
Explain why Germans found it so hard to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

20. Hold a press conference with members of Ebert’s new Social Democrat government. Try to find out whether the Treaty of Versailles really was the right solution for Germany’s woes.

21.  Your task
Work in small groups. Write a short speech to deliver to the new German Parliament explaining why you hate the terms of the Treaty of Versailles so much. You may wish to include points in your spider diagram as well as those referred to in the sources. Try to explain why you feel ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Treaty.

22.  Plenary
Why do you think the Germans felt stabbed in the back? Give 5 reasons.
 Extension. Who were these people? Can you explain the cartoon? What are some of the problems with this source?

23.  Homework
Write a speech explaining why you hate the treaty of Versailles. Refer to the key terms of the treaty, explain what is making you angry about them and refer to the reactions of ordinary Germans like Kapp. It should be one side of A4
Extension. Produce a counter-speech by a supporter of the Treaty