Chapter 2 - the impact of the Versailles settlement Flashcards
1
Q
The peace settlement of Versailles 1919
A
- The war had ended with the armistice agreement on November 11th 1918
- Although Germany was on the brink of defeat, this was not a surrender, but an agreement to stop fighting and withdraw German forces from occupied territory
- A conference to settle the peace terms between the allied powers and Germany was held at the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris, in January 1919
- The Germans were not invited to attend the conference or allowed to see the terms of the treaty until May 7th
- The German government suggested change to the treaty, but the allies agreed to very few
- On June 16th, the allies gave Germany 7 days to accept the treaty which provoked a political crisis in Berlin and led to the formation of a new coalition government (on the 20th of June)
- Finally, on the 28th of June, the Treaty of Versailles was signed by all powers. After the Reichstag voted on June 22nd
- The treaty imposed much harsher conditions on Germany than most Germans had expected or were prepared to accept
- Moreover, because Germany had not been allowed to participate in the conference or to negotiate over the terms, the treaty was regarded by Germans of all political view points as a Diktat (an order or decree imposed by someone in power without popular consent)
- Hatred of the treaty, and of the politicians who had signed it, would continue to cause political divisions throughout the life of the Weimar republic
2
Q
terms of the treaty - war guilt
A
- Under article 231 of the treaty, Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war
- This “war guilt” clause made Germany liable to pay reparations to the allies to cover the costs of damage suffered during the war
- The final amount of reparations was fixed by a commission in 1921 at £6.6 billion
- Germany also had to hand over to the allies most of its merchant shipping fleet, railway locomotives and rolling stock, patents and overseas investments
- This was quite humiliating for Germany as they had to accept that they had lost the war and that they were to blame for starting the war
• This would have caused problems within the country as people looked for someone to blame
• This caused resentment towards France and the Weimar republic - As a result of the war guilt clause and reparations, Germany was now in debt to the allies and would be for many years
- The handing over of shipping fleet, railway locomotives and overseas investments would have reduced Germany’s trade and therefore reduced the country’s income
3
Q
terms of the treaty - territorial losses
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- The treaty removed over 70,000 km (13%) of German territory and all of Germany’s overseas colonies
- With many regions being returned to other countries or handed over to other countries, Germany lost many of its resources
- Germany lost 75% of its iron ore, 68% of its zinc ore, 26% of its coal and 15% of its arable land (land suitable for crop growing)
- All of Germany’s overseas colonies in Africa and the Far East were placed under League of Nations’ control and then divided between the allies
- This was a major economic loss as it massively reduced the amount of resources which Germany had
- This also resulted in Germany no longer having its powerful empire
- This also caused an identity crisis for those countries who had changed from being German to other nationalities
- As a result of Germany losing the majority of its resources and overseas colonies, trade would have reduced causing the countries income to massively reduce
4
Q
terms of the treaty - disarmament of Germany
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- Germany had to surrender all heavy weapons and dismantle reinforcement in the Rhineland and on the island of Heligoland
- Conscription (compulsory enrolment for state service) to the German armed forces was forbidden and the German army was limited to a maximum of 100,000 men
- The German army was forbidden from using tanks or gas
- The German navy was limited to 15,000 men and was allowed a maximum of 6 battleships but no submarines and only a small number of coastal defence vessels
- Germany was forbidden from having an air force
- As a result of the disarmament clause, Germany’s armed forces were significantly weaking and would therefore struggle to cause much damage if another war broke out
- Germany also lost their sense of militarism as they no longer had a very powerful army
- Many soldiers also became unemployed as the number of men employed as soldiers significantly decreased
5
Q
terms of the treaty - the Rhineland
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- The left region of the Rhine (western side) and a 50km strip on the right part (eastern side) was permanently demilitarised
- An allied occupation was based in the Rhineland to ensure Germany fulfilled its treaty obligations
- This caused major economic problems for Germany due to reduced resources
- Germany now no longer had control of their main industrial area. This meant their trade reduced resulting in decreased income for the country
- This occupation was also humiliating for Germany and angered them, especially as the French soldiers occupied these regions
6
Q
terms of the treaty - the Saarland
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- This area of South-Western Germany, which contained rich reserves of coal, was separated from Germany, and placed under League of Nations’ control for 15 years
- Germany was therefore forced to supply France, Belgium and Italy with free coal as part of the reparations agreement
- France was allowed to exploit the coal mines in the area
- Germany had lost the area which contained rich reserves of coal which caused major economic problems, especially due to a lack of trade during a time of debt already
- The coal they had access to was also further reduced by Germany having to supply coal to the allies which was also humiliating
7
Q
other terms of the treaty
A
- Austria was forbidden from uniting with Germany
- Germany was not allowed to join the new League of Nations
- The Kaiser and other Germans were to be put on trial for war crimes
- As a result, Germany was unable to form good foreign relations meaning if further conflict broke out they would have no international support
8
Q
German reaction to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
A
- The terms of the treaty, and the decisions by the government to sign it, was greeted with horror and disbelief by the majority of Germans
- Until 1914, Germany had been one of the greatest military powers in Europe
- For most of the war, and especially in the early months of 1918, victory in the war only seemed to be a matter of time
- This idea that Germany would win the war was portrayed in official propaganda, even after the allies began to force the German army to retreat after halting its advance in France in the spring of 1918
- Neither ordinary soldiers nor the civilian population were told how desperate Germany’s military situation on the western front had become by autumn 1918
- The war efforts’ support was still very strong, despite the hardship caused by the allied blockade
- As a result of all this, the abdication of the Kaiser and the subsequent signing of the armistice came as a shock to millions of Germans
- When the signing of the humiliating and “dictated” peace treaty (Treaty of Versailles) took place, there was almost universal resentment at the harsh terms and few Germans would accept moral responsibility for fulfilling the terms of the treaty
9
Q
Justified German reaction
A
- German objections to the treaty focused, in particular, on a number of its provisions
• Whilst Wilson’s 14 points stressed the importance of the right of national self-determination as a basis for just peace, this right was denied to the Germans. Millions of people who spoke German and considered themselves to be German were now living in non-German states such as Czechoslovakia and Poland. The separation of East Prussia from the rest of Germany by the so called Polish corridor was a major source of resentment
• The “war guilt clause” was seen as unjust and as a national humiliation as the Germans believed they had been forced into a war against the Allies, who had attempted to encircle Germany
• Reparations were a major cause of anger, partly because Germany felt that the levels were too high and would cripple Germany economically and they did not accept the “war guilt clause” which justified the reparations
• Allied occupation of parts of western Germany, and French control of the Saarland Coal mines, led to continuing friction. German nationalists were outraged by the outlawing of nationalist groups and banning of German patriotic songs and festivals in areas under French control
• The disarming of Germany and its exclusion from the League of Nations were seen as unjust discrimination against a proud and once-powerful nation
10
Q
Potentially unjustified German reaction
A
- It is possible that we can sympathise with the German reaction, but in some ways their reaction was based on unrealistic expectations
• Wilson’s fourteen points and the armistice agreement made it clear that Alsace-Lorraine would be returned to France, that a new state of Poland with access to the sea would be created, that Germany would be expected to hand over some of her assets and that considerable disarmament would be expected. This means Germany agreed to, and had time to prepare for, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, prior to it being officially signed
• The treaty was not as severe as it might have been. Had Clemenceau had his way, he would have extended the French border to the Rhine or annexed (to add land to your own) the Saar coalfields and created an independent Rhineland. The French wanted to ensure that Germany could not threaten them again, but the other allies resisted this as they wanted Germany to remain strong enough to withstand the spread of communism from Russia.
• The treaty did not punish Germany as severely as the Germans had punished Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. Then, Germany had broken up the western part of the Russian empire and annexed large areas of territory. In the Reichstag debate on that treaty, only the USDP had voted against this action
• Germany’s war aims of 1914 had included the annexation of territory from its enemies, the expansion of Germany’s colonial empire and a severe reparations bill to be paid by the defeated allies. This makes it clear that, if Germany had won the war, the peace settlement would have been very harsh on the defeated allies
• The reparations bill was much lower than demanded by the French. Although reparations were a continuing source of friction between Germany and the allies during the life of the Weimar republic, Germany had the capabilities to pay
11
Q
The political impact of the treaty of Versailles in Germany
A
- When the harsh terms of the treaty were revealed to the German government in May 1919, ministers from all parties shared Chancellor Scheidemann’s view that accepting it was not compatible with the honour Germany had
- At this stage, however, it seemed possible to Germany that they would be able to negotiate some changes to the treaty
- However, the rejection of German requests for extensive changes and acceptance of the treaty, caused a political crisis in Germany
- Scheidemann and some of his ministers wanted to reject the treaty, but the majority of the cabinet, and the majority of SPD members of the Reichstag, believed that Germany had no other choice but to sign the treaty
- Scheidemann resigned and a new coalition cabinet, led by Gustav Bauer, was formed
- Meanwhile, some high ranking officers in the German army, with the support of Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg, were discussing the possibility of resisting the signing of the treaty through military action
- President Ebert told General Groener that he would support the rejection of the treaty if there was any chance that the military action would be successful
- Groener was a realist and therefore informed Ebert that the military resistance would be futile (pointless) and Germany had no alternative but to accept the treaty
- The Bauer cabinet bowed to the inevitable and signed the treaty
12
Q
The reaction of pro-republican parties
A
- The divisions over the signing of the Treaty of Versailles continued to dominate German political life throughout the years of the Weimar republic
- The SPD and its allies in government in 1919 were well aware that signing it would rebound upon them
- The SPD were so concerned, that they asked their main opponents in the DNVP, DVP and DDP to state that those who had voted for the treaty were not being unpatriotic
- They also took the view that the most sensible course of action in the coming years was to outwardly comply with the terms of the treaty whilst negotiating modifications to it. This became known as the policy of fulfilment
- More importantly, the treaty turned some people (even former supporters) against the Weimar republic
- The treaty’s real damage was that it alienated moderates who had been happy to accept the new constitution and accept its promises of a “better” Germany, but who could not stomach politicians who appeared to have betrayed an unbeaten country
- The treaty caused political demoralisation at the very centre of the government, associating the republic with weakness and failure once again
- The politicians who agreed to the treaty were forced to become defensive
- To the majority if the public, the gains of the revolution seemed unimpressive
13
Q
Reaction on the right
A
- Right-wing resentment of the republic was intensified by the signing of the Versailles treaty
- German nationalists could not accept the fact of Germany’s military defeat, nor the establishment of the new republic
- The signing of the peace settlement was the final straw and caused many people to join groups which were committed to overthrowing the republic
- In the eyes of extreme nationalists, the politicians who now governed Germany lacked any legitimacy because they had betrayed the fatherland several times – in the dethroning of the Kaiser, singing of the armistice and acceptance of the Versailles treaty
- These politicians became known as the “November criminals” and their actions of betrayal were referred to as the “stab in the back”
- The German army bore no responsibility for the defeat of 1918
- The fact that Ludendorff had advised the Kaiser to appoint a new civilian led government in the hope that better peace terms would be secured and that the high command would avoid responsibility for the defeat and the signing of the armistice
- It was Ludendorff, and his superior Von Hindenburg, who actively promoted the “stab in the back” myth
- This myth was the justification for continued nationalist attacks on the republic, its political supporters, and on the treaty
- The myth was particularly appealing to ex-soldiers who had suffered in fighting for what they regarded as a noble cause and had then experienced insults and humiliations when they returned to Germany during the revolution
14
Q
Reactions from soldiers
A
- Not all soldiers who returned to Germany in the wake of the defeat were hostile to the new republic
- Many working-class soldiers, who had previously been members of trade unions and supported the SPD, supported the new democratic system
- Others gravitated towards the communists
- Many, however, could not adjust to civilian life, especially as they had great difficulty finding employment and had an intense feeling for the comradeship and sense of purpose that the war had given them for the previous years
- These men gravitated towards the Freikorps and right-wing nationalist groups
- As a result of this, in the early years of the Weimar republic, democratic politics was under continuous threat from violent national groups
15
Q
british reaction
A
- When prime minister Lloyd George returned to London after the signing of the treaty, he was given a rapturous reception from a large crowd
- The majority of the British public were satisfied that Germany had lost its overseas empire, along with its large fleet, and would be unable to threaten European peace for a generation
- Privately, however, Lloyd George believed that Germany should not be so weak as it would be unable to resist the expansion of the USSR westwards, and he wanted Germany to become a strong trading partner with Britain again
- Many in Britain saw the French as being greedy and vindicative (showing strong and unreasonable desire for revenge) and there was a growing feeling in Britain that Germany had been unfairly treated at Versailles
- One influential view was put forward by the economist, John Maynard Keynes, who argued that the level of reparations was too high
- Keynes believed that the level of reparations “was one of the most serious acts of political unwisdom for which our statesmen have ever been responsible”
