Chapter 1:Were The Peace Treaties Of 1919-23 Fair?

Question 1

1. In what year was the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 1

As soon as WW1 came to an end in November 1918, plans were made for a Peace Conference in Paris in 1919

Question 2

2. What were the six treaties that made up the Versailles Settlement?

Answer 2

They produced a number of treaties known collectively as the Versailles Settlement

Treaty. Date. Country affected
Versailles. June 1919. Germany
Saint Germain. Sept 1919. Austria
Neuilly. Nov 1919. Bulgaria
Trianon. June 1920. Hungary
Sevres. August 1920. Turkey
Lausanne. June 1923. Turkey

Question 3

3. Which major country was not invited?

Answer 3

Soviet Russia was not invited

Question 4

4. Were defeated powers allowed a say?

Answer 4

defeated powers were allowed no say in negotiations

Question 5

5. Which three countries dominated the Conference?

Answer 5

The main peace-makers were France, Italy, USA, Britain and Japan. Of these, ‘The Big Three’ dominated USA , France and Britain

Question 6

6. What was Clemenceau’s main aim?

Answer 6

His main aim was to ensure the security of France.

Question 7

7. Why was ensuring the security of France Clemenceau’s main aim?

Answer 7

He wanted to weaken Germany to prevent that nation being a threat to European peace again. He feared an attack from Germany because they shared a common border without a natural frontier such as a river. France had been invaded by Prussia (which later joined with other states to form Germany) in 1870 and by Germany in August 1914.

Question 8

8. Give one or more figure for the damage done to France during the war.

Answer 8

France had suffered 1.4m military and 300,000 civilian deaths in the war as well as great damage to the land including the destruction of bridges, railways, towns and villages by the retreating German army in 1918.

Question 9

9. List 6 specific demands Clemenceau had

Answer 9

Clemenceau demanded:
• Disbanding most of Germany’s army, navy and air force
• Very high reparations
• The return of Alsace-Lorraine taken by Germany after the Franco-Prussian War
• Many German colonies to be handed to France
• The Rhineland to be made an independent state so France and Germany no longer shared a common border
• The Saar Basin to be transferred to France

Question 10

10. What was Woodrow Wilson’s main aim?

Answer 10

He was an idealist who wanted to make the ‘world safe for democracy’,

Question 11

11. How many points did Woodrow Wilson have as his proposed basis for the peace?

Answer 11

He had 14 points

Question 12

12. Give two specific reasons why Woodrow Wilsons aims differed from Clemenceau’s

Answer 12

He had different motives to Clemenceau partly because:

• The US had not declared war before April 1917 and wasn’t fully involved until 1918
• The USA had relatively light casualties of 100,000 men and less than 800 civilians and no territorial damage
• The war had provided good business for US manufacturers, merchants and financiers

Question 13

13. Give 5 specific examples of Woodrow Wilson’s aims

Answer 13

• Open diplomacy and no secret treaties (as had caused WW1, in his view)
• Disarmament for all states to a level just enough to keep basic defence
• Self-determination, allowing national football groups such as Slavs, Czechs and Poles to form independent states
• A general association, or League, of nations
• Settlement of colonial disputes taking the interests of colonial populations into account

Question 14

13. Give four specific examples of his aims

Answer 14

Y

Question 15

14. Give five particular examples of why David Lloyd George began wanting harsh peace terms

Answer 15

• Britain had suffered attacks on her mainland to Yorkshire coastal towns in 1914 and Zeppelin raids on London, Edinburgh and elsewhere, 1915-18
• 900,000 military and 100,000 civilian deaths
• Britain’s economy, especially exports, had been severely disrupted
• Britain was concerned about France’s eastern frontier which was effectively Britain’s outer defence
• The public demanded vengeance. Lloyd George promised this in the general election of November 1918, saying Germany should pay the full cost of war and Britain should be given many German colonies

Question 16

15. Give five reasons why Lloyd George changed to wanting more moderate (less harsh) terms

Answer 16

• He came to realise that the future economic well-being of Britain depended largely on the economic revival of Europe which in turn depended on the revival of Germany, previously Britain’s most important European customer
• If Germany was deprived of the Rhineland, where much of its industry was located, it wouldn’t be wealthy enough to buy British goods on the same scale as before
• High reparations would deprive Germany of money that could be invested
• A weak Germany would provide an inadequate barrier against the spread of communism
• A very harsh treaty would lead to intense grievance and attempts to overturn it

Question 17

16. Give three examples of ways Lloyd George influenced Clemenceau

Answer 17

He persuaded Clemenceau to:

• Abandon the idea of an independent Rhineland
• Abandon the idea of naming a definite and very high figure for reparations
• Abandon the idea that the Saar Basin be transferred to France
• Abandon the idea that Danzig be handed to Poland

Question 18

17. What else did Lloyd George fear if Germany was made too weak?

Answer 18

Lloyd George had also been motivated by wanting to stop France becoming too strong – Britain could remain a world power if the balance of power in Europe was maintained

Question 19

18. What was Article 231?

Answer 19

War Guilt Clause (Article 231) – Germany and her allies had to accept total responsibility for starting the war

Question 20

19. What were reparations?

Answer 20

Reparations – Germany had to accept liability for reparations with the amount to be decided later by a Reparations Commission (in 1921 a figure of £6,600m was set)

Question 21

20. Give 5 examples of military restrictions placed on Germany.

Answer 21

• German army restricted to 100,000 men, with no conscription
• No tanks, armoured vehicles or heavy artillery
• No military or naval air force allowed
• Navy restricted to six battleships, 12 destroyers, six light cruisers, 12 torpedo boats, no submarines
• The Rhineland to become a demilitarised zone with no German troops or fortifications. An Allied army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years

Question 22

21. Give five examples of territories taken from Germany and given to other countries

Answer 22

• Germany to lose all colonies in Africa and the Far East
• Alsace and Lorraine to be returned to France
• Eupen, Malmedy and Moresnet to be transferred to Belgium
• Northern Schleswig to be transferred to Denmark
• West Prussia, Posen and parts of Upper Silesia to be transferred to Poland
• Hultschin to be transferred to Czechoslovakia

Question 23

22. What decision was made about the Saar Basin?

Answer 23

The Saar Basin to be administered by the League of Nations for 15 years. A plebiscite would then be held to decide its future. Profits of its coal mines were to go to France

Question 24

23. What happened regarding the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer 24

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk imposed by Germany on Russia was cancelled. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were taken from Germany and established as independent states

Question 25

24. What union in particular was forbidden?

Answer 25

Union between Germany and Austria was forbidden

Question 26

25. What decision was made about Germany and the League of Nations?

Answer 26

• Germany had to accept the Covenant of the League of Nations although she wasn’t allowed to join at first

Question 27

26. Give three reasons why Germany objected to the Treaty.

Answer 27

Germany’s general objection was that it was too harsh.
Many felt Germany was being punished twice over – they had to pay reparations, but were being deprived of the resources such as coal and iron ore needed to pay them.
Germany also objected that the war was a ‘Diktat’, or a dictated peace.

Question 28

27. Which new body did many German people blame for signing the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 28

Weimar German Government signed the treaty under duress. Although they had little option but to sign it, doing so made them instantly unpopular. It was a symbol of humiliation and dishonour that they had agreed to

Question 29

28. What happened after Germany failed to pay the second instalment of reparations in 1922?

Answer 29

Germany paid the first instalment of £100m in 1921, but failed to pay in 1922. The French and Belgians decided to take direct action by invading and occupying the Ruhr, Germany’s most valuable industrial area, to seize coal and other resources to the value of the missed payments.

Question 30

29. What complaint did Germany have about the disarmament clauses?

Answer 30

Germany objected about the disarmament clauses in particular because they claimed 100,000 soldiers was not enough for border defence and it would be difficult to deal with revolts and uprisings.

Question 31

30. Give three examples of how Germany felt Wilson’s 14 Points had not been followed

Answer 31

• Reparations were not mentioned in the Fourteen Points
• Wilson had proposed disarmament and an assembly of nations, but only defeated powers were disarmed and Germany were not allowed to join the League of Nations.
• The Fourteen Points stressed self-determination, yet in the treaty this didn’t apply to Austria, Alsace-Lorraine or the Saar Basin (for 15 years)

Question 32

31. What four general points applied to each of the treaties with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey?

Answer 32

• A war guilt clause
• An obligation to pay reparations
• Reduction in armaments
• Acceptance of the Covenant of the League of Nations

Question 33

32. Give 4 specific points of the Treaty of St Germain with Austria

Answer 33

• The new Republic of Austria had to accept the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Austria had to recognise the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland
• Territory from the former Empire was transferred to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Italy and Romania
• Union between Austria and Germany was forbidden

Question 34

33. Give three specific points of the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary

Answer 34

• Hungary to accept the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Hungary had to recognise the independence of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia
• Territory from the former Empire was transferred to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania

Question 35

34. Give two specific points of the Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria

Answer 35

• Bulgaria had to recognise the independence of Yugoslavia

* Bulgaria lost territory to Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania

Question 36

35. Give three specific points of the Treaty of Sevres with Turkey

Answer 36

• Turkey had to recognise the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz (which later became part of Saudi Arabia) and Armenia
• Turkey’s provinces in the Middle East were given to Britain and France
• Turkey lost territory to Greece and Italy
• The Dardanelles Strait became an international waterway

Question 37

36. Give 5 specific points of the Treaty of Lausanne with Turkey

Answer 37

• Turkey confirmed the loss of its provinces in the Middle East
• Turkey received back most of its European territory
• The Dardanelles Strait was returned to Turkish sovereignty
• Restrictions on armed forces were removed
• Turkey was no longer to pay reparations

Question 38

37. Give an example of a view that the overall Versailles Settlement was too harsh

Answer 38

Those who thought the Versailles Settlement was too harsh
E.g.
‘The criminal madness of this peace will drain Germany’s national life-blood. It is a shameless blow in the face of common sense. It is inflicting the deepest wounds on us Germans as our world lies in wreckage about us.’
From a speech made by a member of the German Reichstag in 1919

Question 39

38. Give an example of a view that the overall Versailles Settlement was not harsh enough

Answer 39

2. Those who thought it wasn’t harsh enough
   E.g.
   ‘This is not a peace treaty, it is an armistice for twenty years.’
   Frenchman Marshal Foch at the signing of the Treaty, 1919

Question 40

39. Give an example of a view that the overall Versailles Settlement was fair

Answer 40

3. Those who thought it was fair
   E.g.
   ‘ … empires cannot be shattered and new states raised upon their ruins without disturbance. To create new boundaries is always to create new troubles … While I should have preferred a different peace, I doubt whether it could have been made.’
   Edward M House, a US diplomat, June 1919

Question 41

40. Create a single page mind-map to represent main points from numbers 1-39.

Answer 41

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