Chap 1 PPC+LoN

Question 1

What were the aims of the Big Three in the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 1

USA(Woodrow Wilson):
- The fourteen points and setting up of an international body (LoN) to create an association of nations to resolve disputes peacefully
- Strengthen democracy in Germany to prevent another war
- Self-determination (Nations to rule themselves)
Britain(David Lloyd George):
- Protect Britain and rebuild Britain’s economic prosperity (Germany was Britain’s second largest trading market)
- Maintain the British empire ( Against USA’s self-determination of countries)
- Germany to recover economically and act as a buffer against the rise of communism in Europe
France(Georges Clemenceau):
- To economically cripple Germany, as it had suffered the most in WW1 with 1.7Mil/ 4 percent of the population dead. Germany had a younger and larger population and its industrial regions were undamaged which can allow it to recover quicker economically.

Question 2

What were the key terms in the Treaty of Versailles? Why did this cause resentment in Germans?

Answer 2

1. War Guilt Clause
   - Germany to accept total blame for starting the war
2. Reparations
   - 6.6 billion pounds to the allies for war damage
3. Territory Changes
   - give up territories to various neighbouring countries, lost 10% of land, 12.5% of population, forbidden to form alliances with Austria(forming an Anschluss)
   - Give up its overseas empire
4. Armed Forces
   - army limited to 100,000 men, conscription banned, No armoured vehicles, submarines or aircraft allowed, navy limited to 6 battleships, Rhineland (border bt Germany and France) demilitarised
5. Not allowed to join the LoN
6. Germans did not feel like they alone started the war
7. feared it would ruin the economny as they already had huge debbts from the war effort(it did)
8. Losing territory was a blow to German pride and economy, thousands of Germans would have to live under the rule of other governments
9. 100,000 men was very small for Germany’s size and it was a blow to their pride. Other countries were also not disarmed to this level
10. felt like a further insult to be left out of an international body

Question 3

What were the impacts of the ToV on Germany?

Answer 3

Shot term:
- Felt backstabbed by the Jews, communists, and weak politicians for signing the Treaty causing a wave of bitterness against the new democratic system of government

Mid term:
- faced political and economic crisis.
-1923 French&Belgain invasion of the Ruhr. Germany fell behind on reparations in 1922 so they(France & Belgium)took what was owed in the form of raw materials and goods. This was legal under the ToV and led to the death of 130+ civilians and was humiliating to Germany.
- Hyperinflation as the government printed money to pay off reparations, wiping germans’ savings overnight and caused poverty. This increased resentment towards the government

Long term: It became a festering sore to the Germans and was blamed for Germany’s problems. (This feeling was later exploited by the Nazi Party)

Question 4

What were the aims of the League of Nations? Why was it a struggle to achieve them?

Answer 4

1. Disarmament
   - Members feared that they would be unable to protect their territories and intersts
2. Stopping Agressor countries
   - Members were to stop trading with agressor countries
   - However, this could cause an impact on their economies
   - The league had no army of its own so it was difficult to take military action against agressor countries

• Membership of the League
• USA refuses to join the LoN and USSR was excluded as it was communist
• two of the world’s major powers were not part off the LoN, decreasing its power and significance.