Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles

Delight and anger

Aims of the lesson

By the end of the lesson you will

• Understand how the big three felt about the decisions made at Versailles

• Understand how the Germans felt about the treaty

• Evaluate the Treaty’s effectiveness in keeping the peace after WW1

Lloyd George and Britain

• DLG felt that the treaty was too harsh• Worried about another war and the German

Communists using resentment at it in order to take power

• Could see where France was coming from but would have preferred lower armed forces and reparations

• Could not go too easy on Germany due to his promised at the General Election of 1919

Clemenceau and France

• Wanted Germany to suffer – not bothered about fairness

• Thought Germany had got off lightly and the French agreed

• Voted out in 1920 – too soft on Germany

• Foch (general) called it a peace for 20 years – realised it was too harsh and that Germany would want revenge

Wilson and the USA

• Too harsh – made a later war more likely

• Reparations too high and would lead to economic problems not just for Germany

• Put his hopes in the League of Nations – rejected by the American people

• Predicted another war within 20 years if the USA did not join the LoN

• Did not sign the treaty or join the League

German reaction (1)

• Delegation arrived in April and presented terms on 7th May

• Chancellor and head of delegation refused to sign the treaty

• Supposed to give 74 ships to British – scuppered them instead at Scapa Flow

• New Weimar government had no choice but to sign the treaty – the allies would have blockaded the country - starvation

German reaction (2)

• Reichstag passed the Treaty and it was signed on the 28th June

• Government blamed for the Treaty• Some claimed that the army had been

tricked into an armistice – the stab in the back theory – November criminals

• Blamed the Liberals and Socialists• Treaty allowed Hitler to feed off it in order

to come to power