1. Were the peace treaties of 1919-23 fair? Flashcards
(40 cards)
What did Woodrow Wilson want from / think of Germany in the ToV?
- Blamed Germany
- Wanted reparations
- Feared Germany would seek revenge if overpunished
MAIN AIM - Just and lasting peace in all of eastern Europe! (he was an idealist)
What did Woodrow Wilson want in the ToV? (not related to Germany)
- LoN established
- Democracy strengthened
- Self determination in Europe
- The rest of the 14 points
What did Georges Clemenceau want from / think of Germany in the ToV?
- Blamed Germany
- Wanted reparations
- Wanted mass destruction and punishment to Germany so it couldn’t ever attack France again
- Knew the other countries wouldn’t agree to completely obliterating Germany
MAIN AIM - Revenge on Germany for ruining Europe
What did David Lloyd George want from / think of Germany in the ToV?
- Get rid of Germany’s navy
- Don’t punish Germany too harshly - good for trading and jobs and also so they don’t seek revenge…
MAIN AIM - Democratic but stable Germany for trading and jobs - he mostly wanted to benefit the UK
What did David Lloyd George think of self determination in Europe? Why?
- Unreasonable
- Complained to an official that Wilson came to Paris like a “missionary to rescue the European savages with his little sermons and lectures”
- Peoples spread throughout Eastern Europe - difficult to achieve
Clemenceau -> Wilson attitude during peacemaking process - which disputes did he win
Clemenceau thought that Wilson was being too generous towards Germany and that Wilson was ignorant about Eastern Europe and what went on there and how peace worked. Got what he wanted with Germany’s Rhineland and coalfields in the Saar.
Wilson -> Clemenceau attitude during peacemaking process
Wilson thought that Clemenceau was stuck in the past and didn’t get that Germany would be bitter and vengeful if punished too harshly. Got what he wanted with Eastern Europe and self determination.
Clemenceau -> Lloyd George attitude during peacemaking process
Thought Lloyd George should treat Germany more harshly, and that they were being selfish (treating Germany fairly in Europe where they could attack France, but wanting to get rid of the navy where they could attack Britain) - Clemenceau said that “if the British are so anxious to appease Germany they should look overseas and make colonial, naval or commercial concessions”.
- Be more harsh
- Stop being selfish (fair in Europe when France could be in danger, wanted to get rid of the navy so Britain couldn’t be in danger)
- “If the British are so anxious to appease Germany they should look overseas and make colonial, naval, or commercial concessions
Lloyd George -> Clemenceau attitude during peacemaking process
Thought that Clemenceau should make more concessions to the Germans
Lloyd George -> Wilson attitude during peacemaking process
Didn’t like how Wilson wanted to give all nations access to the sea and how he wanted self determination in Europe - this would threaten the British government/empire
Wilson -> Lloyd George attitude during peacemaking process
Thought he was too anxious to preserve his empire to want self determination for colonies
How was Germany doing while the TOV was being drafted?
- Germany had a communist revolt that failed - communists were jailed and murdered
- Weimar republic (democratic) (led by Ebert) struggles to keep control
- Lots of resistance
- Overall trash
What was the Locarno Pact/Treaties?
After France and Belgium left Germany, they signed these - basically saying that they will respect each others’ borders - helped Germany get into LON, signed in 1925
Terms of TOV (B)
BLAME - Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war (though other places were also looked at with suspicion - another term was no anschluss with Austria)
Term of TOV (R)
REPARATIONS - Germany had to pay £6,600 million (6.6 billion) to the allies for war damage - number agreed in 1921.
Term of TOV (A)
ARMS - Wanted to weaken Germany’s armed forces so they couldn’t attack anyone anymore.
- Army limited to 100,000 men
- Conscription banned - soldiers had to be (paid) volunteers
- No armored vehicles, submarines, or aircraft
- Only 6 battleships
- Rhineland (border between France and Germany) demilitarized - no German troops allowed
Term of TOV (T)
TERRITORY - Germany lost a lot of its land (which they previously had and which they took during WW1) - former colonies were called mandates and dealt with by the LON’s mandates commission - 10% of European land, 12.5% of population, 16% of coalfields, nearly 50% of iron and steel industry
- Overseas empire -> LON (-> France and Britain)
- Alsace-Lorraine -> France
- West Prussia and Posen/Polish corridor -> Poland so they could have sea access
- Latvia, Lithuania, & Estonia became free
- Upper Silesia -> Poland
- North Schleswig -> Denmark
- Saarland -> LON - Plebescite after 15 years
- Eupen-Malmady -> Belgium
Was the ToV fair? Pros and Cons
YES - Germany stayed together, they probably would have made it worse for the allies if they had won (like the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Russia in 1918 - that was pretty harsh), and the bad government situation caused problems as well since they didn’t raise taxes to pay for the war
NO - It kinda started WW2, it punished the wrong people (Weimar republic instead of dead Kaizer), placed war guilt on Germany alone, wasn’t good or bad enough - caused resentment, left them strong enough to seek revenge
What did Germany think of their representation during the making of the ToV?
Hated it - mad that their government wasn’t represented at the peace talks and about being forced to accept the ToV
ToV Consequences - it made Germany…
- Poor - Reparations and lost territory
- Angry - Blamed for War
- Aggressive - Lost land to neighbors
- Humiliated - Lost land and armed forces
What was the Kapp Putsch?
Political violence caused by ToV in 1920 - Revolution attempted by Free Corp (returning soldiers/right wing opponents of Ebert’s government). Army didn’t want to fight them so the rising was defeated by a general strike by Berlin workers/people - paralyzed essential services like power and transport
What was the Munich (Beerhall) Putsch?
Political violence caused by ToV in 1923 (putsch means rebellion) - Led by Hitler. Defeated but Hitler was let off lightly because a lot of people agreed with his treaty hatred (he still went to jail though - that’s where he wrote Mein Kampf).
What caused the conflict in the Ruhr?
In 1922 Germany failed to pay reparations (whether they could have is debated by historians). Ebert tried to negotiate but France and Belgium didn’t care. They entered and occupied the Ruhr in 1923, taking goods and raw materials from Germany to make up for the reparations - legal under TOV.
How did Germany react to the occupation of the Ruhr?
German government ordered workers to go on strike - passive resistance so they wouldn’t have anything for the French to take. France retaliated by killing 100+ workers and expelling 100,000 protesters from the region. Also, having nothing for the french to take meant that there were no goods to trade and no money to buy things with, so the government printed more money which led to hyperinflation.
