Introduction

By 1918 it was clear that Germany was being defeated in many areas

of the war. Defeat was only a matter of time.

In January 1918, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States,

offered the Germans a plan for peace. This plan was called The 14

Points.

The Germans refused to accept the 14 Points in January 1918. They still believed that the

war could be won. However, when the war ended in November 1918, the Germans expected

peace to be based on the 14 Points. In the end, the final treaty included some, but not all of

the 14 Points. The British and French leaders believed that the 14 Points were not a

sufficient base for peace. They said nothing about the future of Germany or reparations.

The three leaders met in Paris in January 1919. Their aims were very different.

TO WHAT EXTENT WERE THE PEACE TREATIES OF 1919-23 FAIR?

MAKING PEACE

FACT

FILE

THE COST OF

THE WAR

8 million troops dead

21 million wounded

France lost 250,000 buildings, 8,000 sq. miles of farmland

60% of France’s young men were killed or wounded.

Britain spent £9 billion on the war.

The empires of Germany, Austria and Russia collapsed.

A flu epidemic spread through Europe in 1918-9 killing 20 million

THE 14 POINTS

1. No more secret treaties

2. Freedom of the seas

3. Free trade between countries

4. Multilateral disarmament

5. A review of the future of colonies

6. Russian territory should be left

7. Germany should leave Belgium

8. Alsace-Lorraine to go back to

France

9. Re-draw the Italian border

10. Self-determination for the people of

Austria-Hungary

11. Balkan states to be left.

12. Self determination for people in the

Turkish Empire.

13. Poland to be re-created with access

to the sea.

14. A League of Nations to be set up to

prevent future wars.

These had helped

cause the war.

This would stop

arguments over

weapons.

These 2 areas had

been taken from

France in an earlier

war.

Self-determination – the

right of people to choose who

rules them

This would mean taking

land from Germany

Wilson thought that an organisation of all countries could talk about

problems rather than going to war.

Who were the Big Three? What were their aims and attitudes

Views of the Big Three

LLOYD GEORGE CLEMENCEAU WILSON

1. Rebuilding Germany is

essential to the future of

British trade.

2. Germany should pay some

reparations.

3. Germany will want revenge

if we are too harsh.

4. People at home expect me

to be harsh and demand high

reparations.

1. Germany must pay very

high reparations.

2. The Rhineland should be

given to France.

3. Alsace-Lorraine should be

returned.

4. Germany should not have

any military forces.

5. Germany must be severely

weakened to prevent any

future attack on France.

6. Germany was harsh on

Russia at Brest-Litovsk.

1. Lloyd George and

Clemenceau are too selfish.

2. Germany will want revenge

if we too harsh.

3. We must have a peace

without winners and losers.

4. We should all reduce our

armies and navies.

5. Self-determination for all

people.

6. The League of Nations will

bring future peace.

I want a fair peace that will

last. We need peace in

Europe to rebuild trade. It

would be nice to have some

of Germany’s colonies.

I want revenge for

the damage Germany

has done to France. I

want security and

reparations to rebuild

the country.

I want a fair peace.

Germany should not be

punished too harshly.

Self-determination is

very important. A

League of Nations too!

DAVID LLOYD GEORGE British Prime Minister He wanted a fair treaty but the British people wanted him to be harsh.

GEORGES CLEMENCEAU French Prime Minister Obsessed with making France secure from a future German attack. Demanded high reparations

WOODROW WILSON President of the USA He want the USA to set an example to the people of Europe. He is too idealistic, thinking he can make the world a safer place.

The Treaty of Versailles, 28th June 1919

After months of discussion and argument the final treaty was presented to the Germans.

They were given the chance to complain, but they knew that any complaints would be

ignored. In this way, the Germans saw the treaty as a diktat. This means it was dictated to

them!

WILSON CLEMENCEAU LLOYD GEORGE

THE SIGNING OF THE TREATY IN THE HALL OF MIRRORS AT VERSAILLES, 1919

Northern Schleswig

This was returned to

Denmark. Germany kept

Southern Schleswig.

Posen (The Polish

Corridor)

This area was given to

re-create Poland. It

was to give Poland

access to the sea.

Many Germans lived in

this territory under

Polish rule!

Alsace-Lorraine This was returned to

France.

Other land losses

DANZIG – made a free

city under League control

GERMAN COLONIES –

taken away from Germany

and given as mandates.

The R

hineland

Dem

ilit

aris

ed

MILITARY Army reduced to

100,000

No conscription

No submarines

No tanks

No aircraft

WAR GUILT Article 231 of the treaty made Germany accept that they

were to blame for causing the war. This allowed the allies

to impose reparations.

REPARATIONS

The final figure was not agreed on until 1921! The final

figure was calculated as £6.6 billion.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The League of Nations was set up. It was intended to be

like an international police force to keep peace in the

future, but Germany was not allowed to join!

…And Germany was not allowed to unite with Austria

An easy way to remember the terms of the treaty:

G is for Guilt (war guilt, 231, blame) A is for army (reduced to 100,000, no tanks, no aircraft) R is for reparations (set in 1921 at £6.6 billion) G is for German land losses (Alsace-Lorraine, Posen) LE is for League of Nations (Germany banned)

Woodrow Wilson – What happened to my 14 Points?

Not achieved 1. A ban on secret treaties

2. Freedom of the seas 3. Free trade

4. Multilateral disarmament

5. Independence for colonies 6. Non-interference in Russia

12. Independence for non-Turks

Achieved in full 7 Germany to leave Belgium 8 Alsace-Lorraine to France

10 Independence for Austria-Hungary 13 Independence for Poland

Partially achieved

9 Italian borders to be settled

11 Invading armies to leave the Balkans

14 An effective League of Nations

HOW SATISFIED WERE THE BIG THREE?

How did different countries react to the Treaty?

LLOYD GEORGE

Satisfied Germany weakened

Trade

Colonies given as

mandates

Public happy

Danzig made a free

city.

Not satisfied Germany may seek

revenge

Reparations not

decided on time

WILSON

Satisfied Alsace-Lorraine

Germany punished

League of Nations

set up

Not satisfied Too harsh

Reparations too

much

Not based on 14

Points

Self determination

not applied fairly

CLEMENCEAU

Satisfied Germany weakened

Reparations set

Army reduced

Alsace-Lorraine

given back

War guilt

Not satisfied Reparations too low

Rhineland not given

to France

Germany not

weakened enough

FRANCE

Most people were very enthusiastic. There were celebrations on the streets of

Paris. Many believed that the threat from Germany no longer existed.

Clemenceau was seen as a great patriotic hero.

BRITAIN

Most thought that Germany got what they deserved. Lloyd George was greeted

by the King on his return from Paris. Some people were more cautious though,

they thought that Germany might look for revenge

U.S.A.

President Wilson returned to the USA very disappointed. The Congress (US

parliament) refused to sign the treaty. Many Americans disagreed with

Wilson’s views and wanted to be isolated (away from Europe).

10% of German land was

lost

12. 5% of Germany’s

population was lost

War Guilt – they did not

start the war on their own

Army restrictions

were humiliating.

Germany had

always been very

proud of their

army.

The Treaty was a diktat.

They had no say in it!

Millions of

Germans were

now living under

foreign rule.

East Prussia was cut off

from the rest of Germany

THE TREATY IS ONLY A

SCRAP OF PAPER! We shall seek revenge for the shame of 1919.

What was the impact of the Treaty of

Versailles on Germany up to 1923?

Between 1919 and 1923 Germany suffered; 1923 was a crisis year. Historians can make

some direct links between the crises Germany suffered and the Treaty of Versailles.

This is an overview chronology of those years:

11. November 1918 WW1 ends. The new German government

(The Weimar Republic) signed the armistice.

Defeat comes as a huge surprise to most

Germans.

28. June 1919 Treaty of Versailles is signed

1921 Reparations are fixed at £6.6 billion

1922 At the end of 1922 the Germans missed a

reparations payment to the French

1923 France and Belgium invade the Ruhr

Hyperinflation

The Nazis attempt the Munich Putsch

I am Frederick Ebert. I was

President of the new Weimar

Republic. My government was very

unpopular. The people blamed us for

signing the Treaty of Versailles.

What they didn’t understand was

that we didn’t have any choice.

I was also left with the debts that

the old government had. This caused

Germany huge financial (money)

problems. The French invasion of the

Ruhr in 1923 only made matters one

hundred times worse.

A Diagram explaining the events of 1923

1919 – TREATY OF

VERSAILLES SIGNED

This treaty humiliated the

Germans by taking away

land and the armed forces.

Reparations were decided

on but a figure was not set.

1921 – REPARATIONS

FIGURE DECIDED

A figure of £6.6 billion was

agreed. Germany was

already in serious debt

from the war. This was an

added burden.

1922 – GERMANY

MISSES A PAYMENT

At the end of 1922,

Germany missed a

reparations payment. This

was the first instalment

they had missed.

1923 – FRANCE AND

BELGIUM INVADE THE

RUHR

The French invaded the

industrial heart of Germany

and began taking coal and

iron ore as reparations.

REACTION OF THE

GERMAN GOVERNMENT

The govt. continued to pay

its workers. They printed

more paper money. This led

to inflation which got out

of control, causing

hyperinflation. People lost

their life savings overnight.

The govt. was blamed.

1923 – MUNICH PUTSCH

The small Nazi Party tried

to take advantage of the

crisis. They attempted to

take over the government

in Munich. Although this

failed, it showed how

unpopular the Weimar

government had become.

Were the peacemakers ‘very

stupid men’?

Harold Nicolson was a British diplomat. He was at the Paris Peace Conference and kept a

diary throughout. After the treaty had been written, he wrote:

Some historians agree with this view. They argue that the treaty just stored up problems

for the future.

There are those who disagree with this view. They say that the peacemakers faced an

impossible job and that they did the best they could.

It is important not to be affected by hindsight. We know that the treaty helped Hitler

come to power and that it helped cause the Second World War.

Here are the arguments that the two opposing historians would use:

The historian , will come to the

conclusion that we were very stupid

men. We arrived determined to get a

fair peace….We left feeling that the

terms were neither fair nor wise.

THE TREATY STORED UP PROBLEMS FOR THE FUTURE

It punished the wrong people. The government of

the Kaiser that took Germany to war was not the same government that made peace. The treaty should have helped the new Weimar Republic become strong.

Germany was not alone in causing the First World War. It was a mistake to include the war guilt clause (Article 231)

The treaty damaged Germany, caused hatred, but did not weaken Germany enough so they could not seek revenge.

THE TREATY WAS FAIR. IT WAS AN IMPOSSIBLE JOB. THE

PEACEMAKERS DID THEIR BEST

Public opinion in France and Britain demanded a

much harsher treaty. The peacemakers held back from making it even harsher.

The Germans would have been just as harsh if they had won. In 1918 Germany had imposed a very harsh treaty on Russia at Brest-Litovsk.

Germany had planned to pay its debts by making the countries it defeated pay reparations.

Bad government caused Germany problems not the treaty. Germany could easily have paid reparations. Germany sorted out its problems very quickly after 1923.

Deutsche Zeitung

28 June, 1919

Today in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles the

Disgraceful treaty is being signed. Do not forget it! The German people will press forward to re-conquer the place among nations to which it is entitled. Then will come revenge for the shame of 1919!

CARTOON QUESTIONS

To help you get the meaning of a cartoon follow this procedure:

1. Look carefully at all the details of the cartoon.

2. Imagine the cartoon is a clock face. Go round all the numbers labelling the features.

3. Use the features to get the MESSAGE.

4. Back up the MESSAGE with DETAILS from the cartoon.

5. Use your own KNOWLEDGE to judge whether the cartoon is accurate.

A worked example

‘1940 CLASS’

This child will

be old enough

to fight by

then.

Peace Treaty

(Versailles) on

the floor

Clemenceau’s

nick-name Caption

suggests that

he doesn’t

realise why the

child is crying

Sarcastic title. Peace

should not produce

future cannon fodder

What soldiers

going to their

deaths were

called

Lloyd George

Orlando (Italy)

Wilson

Clemenceau

What is the cartoonist suggesting about

the Treaty of Versailles? (6)

REMEMBER: M. D. K.

Message – Details - Knowledge

The cartoonist is suggesting that the Treaty

of Versailles will not bring peace. In fact it

will cause another war by 1940. Clemenceau

is seen as the main figure in causing this.

This message is clear because in the cartoon the artist has drawn a small child crying, the treaty at his feet. The child has ‘1940 class’ above his head. This means that by 1940 the child will be old enough to be a soldier in another war. The title of the cartoon supports this – the child is future cannon fodder. In the cartoon, Clemenceau is the biggest figure, dominating the scene which suggests that the cartoonist believes Clemenceau was most to blame.

My own knowledge supports what the cartoon

shows. The treaty was very harsh – war guilt,

reparations and land losses caused resentment

in Germany. The people desired revenge. Also,

Clemenceau was the leader who pressed for a

harsh peace. This artist of 1919 predicted

that the treaty would cause another war. He

was right. War broke out again in 1939.

This is the message of the

cartoon.

Stating an accurate message will get you 2/6.

Here, the details of the cartoon are explained to show how the message was arrived at.

Explaining how you worked out the message by using details will get you a further

two marks.

Now, knowledge is used to explain how accurate the cartoon is. This explains why the cartoonist drew things the

way he did.

Using your own knowledge gives you the

final 2 marks.

The Treaty of Versailles was only one of the treaties signed in 1919-20. Treaties also had

to be made with other defeated countries.

If you look carefully at these two maps you will see how much Europe changed after the

peace treaties had been signed. This map (pre-1919) shows the countries that treaties were

signed with and the names of those treaties:

The other treaties

Treaty of Versailles

(Germany)

Treaty of St Germain

(Austria)

Treaty of Trianon

(Hungary)

Treaty of Neuilly

(Bulgaria)

Treaty of Sevres

(Turkey)

= new countries

The Treaty of St Germain (with Austria)

Land lost to Italy, Czechoslovakia (e.g. Bohemia), Poland and Yugoslavia (e.g. Bosnia)

No anschluss with Germany

Army reduced to 30,000 men

Reparations set

The Treaty of Trianon (with Hungary)

Land lost to Romania (e.g. Transylvania), Czechoslovakia (e.g. Slovakia) and Yugoslavia

(e.g. Slovenia)

3 million Hungarians ended up living under foreign rule.

Army reduced to 35.000

Reparation set but Hungary was to weak to pay.

The Treaty of Neuilly (with Bulgaria)

Land lost to Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania.

Army restricted to 20,000 men.

Reparations set at £100 million

The Treaty of Sevres (with Turkey)

Lost land to Greece (e.g. Smyrna)

Countries of the Turkish empire became independent or mandates (e.g. Iraq)

Reparations set

The Turks refused to accept the Treaty of Sevres. Turkish leader, Mustafa Kemal

challenged the treaty with force. Another treaty was negotiated. This was the Treaty of

Lausanne. It returned Smyrna to Turkey.

What were the impact of the treaties on

central and eastern Europe?

C Z E C H O S L O V A K I A

Czechoslovakia was made from the states of the old Austrian Empire. It was made

economically strong. However, it was a mix of nationalities.

P O L A N D

Poland had existed before but it been

swallowed up by Russia, Germany and

Austria in the late 1700s.

Poland was recreated to keep an eye on

Germany and act as a barrier to

Communist Russia.

Poland soon became involved in fighting

with Russia over borders.

Y U G O S L A V I A

This country was formed by merging

Serbia with some of its neighbours.

The allies hoped that Yugoslavia

would become a strong stable state

in the region where the First World

War had its origins.

Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s.