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.