1.4. Treaty of Versailles

Question 1

What were the French objectives for the Treaty?

Answer 1

Rhineland buffer zone (possible annexation)
Disarmament of Germany
Crippling reparations

Question 2

Why did the allies not allow France to annex the Rhine and Saar coalfields?

Answer 2

Needed Germany to be strong enough to resist Communism

Question 3

What were the US objectives for the Treaty?

Answer 3

Multilateral disarmament
Self determination
League of Nations

Question 4

What were to British objectives for the Treaty?

Answer 4

Naval supremacy

Question 5

What was contained within Wilson’s 14 points?

Answer 5

The right to national self-determination

Question 6

Over what period was the Treaty of Versailles negotiated?

Answer 6

January-June 1919

Question 7

Give 3 reasons why Germany would have expected a fair peace

Answer 7

Wilson’s 14 points
Censorship gave Germans bloated sense of strength
Kaiser had abdicated

Question 8

Which territories were stripped from Germany?

Answer 8

Alsace Lorraine to France
Northern Schleswig to Denmark
Polish corridor gave Poland a route to the sea
Danzig became a free state

Question 9

What percentage of Germany was annexed?

Answer 9

13% (70,000km^2)

Question 10

What percentage of iron ore was lost due to annexations?

Answer 10

75%

Question 11

What percentage of coal was lost due to annexations?

Answer 11

26%

Question 12

How many troops were Germany limited to?

Answer 12

100,000

Question 13

What was done to Germany’s navy?

Answer 13

Limited to 15,000 men
6 battleships
No submarines

Question 14

What was done to Germany’s Airforce?

Answer 14

Forbidden

Question 15

What was Article 231?

Answer 15

Acceptance of war guilt

Question 16

What did Article 231 mean for Germany?

Answer 16

They were liable to pay reparations (£6.6 billion decided by a committee in 1921)

Question 17

What happened to the Rhineland?

Answer 17

Demilitarised

Question 18

What was forbidden to happen between Germany and Austria

Answer 18

Anschluss

Question 19

What was to happen to the Kaiser and other Germans?

Answer 19

Put on trial for war crimes

Question 20

What was significant to Germany about the loss of the Saarland for 15 years?

Answer 20

Main producer of coal

Question 21

What did John Maynard Keynes say about the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 21

“All the elements of ancient tragedy were there”

Question 22

Why was Versailles doomed to failure?

Answer 22

Neither brought Germany into the community of nations not best Germany into submission

Question 23

Why were negotiations between Germany and the allies virtually non existent?

Answer 23

Too busy negotiating between themselves

Question 24

What did Ebert propose to Groener in June 1919 and what was the reaction?

Answer 24

Continued military conflict which Groener rejected as he knew it would mean Germany’s destruction

Question 25

Give 3 political consequences of Versailles

Answer 25

Chancellor Scheidemann resigns
Turned moderates against Weimar
Rise of nationalism

Question 26

How was the Treaty described by Germans?

Answer 26

As a diktat

Question 27

What policy did the SPD take towards the Treaty?

Answer 27

Erfullengspolitik

Question 28

Give 3 ways in which the Treaty was not that bad

Answer 28

Could impose informal hegemony in Central and Eastern Europe to combat Russia
Reparations were possibly within Germany’s ability to pay (Peukert Vs Keynes)
Alsace Lorraine and Polish corridor were not historically Germany
Colonies were valueless

Question 29

How much did Keynes reckon was the maximum amount of reparations Germany could pay?

Answer 29

£2 billion