Impact Of The Treaty Of Versailles Flashcards
The backround
The armistice on 11th November 1918 had ended the fighting in World War One.
However the peace terms and a formal treaty to end the war had to be formally worked out.
This happened in Spring 1919 at the PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
The conference took place in the PALACE OF VERSAILLES, near Paris, in the HALL OF MIRRORS. The Conference formally opened on 18 January 1919.
The choice of venue and date were symbolic, as it was the anniversary of the proclamation of William I as 1st German Kaiser in 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
This was to rub the Germans’ noses in their defeat or, to use modern language, designed to wind them up!
how the Paris peace conference worked
27 Countries were represented at the conference. However:
The five major victorious powers (France, Britain, Italy, the U.S., and Japan) controlled the Conference. Amongst the “Big Five”, in practice Japan only sent a former prime minister and played a small role; and the “Big Four” leaders dominated the conference.
the ‘big four’ leaders
Georges Clemenceau (French PM)
David Lloyd George (British PM)
Woodrow Wilson (US President)
Vittorio Orlando (Italian PM)
DIKTAT
The Germans attended the conference but were not allowed to take part in the negotiations.
They hoped for a moderate peace where they would remain a great power and avoid paying reparations.
They were in for a SHOCK…..
They later called the terms of the treaty a DIKTAT (meaning a dictated peace that was forced on them!)
the view of the big four, clemenceau
wanted to weaken Germany militarily and economically as much as possible. To break them as a major power so that they would never threaten France again. To ‘MAKE GERMANY PAY’ and take revenge.
the view of the big four, woodrow wilson
n wanted to treat Germany leniently in order to avoid resentment and a future war. His plan (Wilson’s 14 Points) emphasised creating a League of Nations – a forum through which countries could discuss their disputes and avoid war.
the view of the big view, lloyd george
was in the middle
the view of the big four, orlando
just wanted some territorial gains for Italy.
Germany losing land within the treaty of versailles
Germany lost 10% of its land, 12.5% of its population, 16% of its coal industry and 48% of its iron industry.
Germany particularly objected to losing West Prussia and Posen (the ‘Polish Corridor’. West Prussia was given to Poland so that they could have access to the sea. But it split East Prussia from the rest of Germany.
Germany also lost the city of Danzig which became an independent city run by the League of Nations (it is now Gdansk and in Poland).
Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine to France, North Schleswig to Denmark and Upper Silesia to Poland.
The Rhineland was to be a demilitarised zone (Germany was not allowed to put troops/bases there) and the French could occupy the Saar coalfield for 15 years, taking as much coal as they liked.
military restrictions
The army was restricted to 100,000 men.
The navy was restricted to 6 battleships only.
No air force was allowed at all.
The Germans were supposed to hand over most of their ships to Britain (74 ships). But instead they scuttled them (deliberately sank them) at Scapa Flow, off the coast of Scotland.
reparations, treaty of versailles
Germany was made to pay Reparations (compensation to the victors for the cost of the war).
The total amount wasn’t finalised until 1921. It was £6.6 billion .
Germany had to start paying immediately, before the final figure was worked out.
Mostly it was to be paid in goods and in instalments (certain amounts per year in different goods).
German factories were handing over between 10-20% of what they produced in reparations.
impact of reparations
Reparations led to less goods being in German shops. This contributed to causing hyperinflation later (big price rises).
Most of the reparations were paid to France.
They caused deep resentment from businesses who lost profits.
the war guilt clause, treaty of versailles
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, known as the War Guilt Clause, was a statement that Germany and her allies were responsible for beginning World War I….
The War Guilt Clause was actually added to the treaty in order to persuade the French and Belgians to agree to reduce the sum of money that Germany would have to pay in reparations from the even higher figure that they wanted.
But this is not how the Germans saw it. They deeply resented this part of the treaty as it implied that the war was a result of German aggression rather than the other long and short term causes of the First World War
the main effects of the treaty of versailles
The reparations undermined the economic recovery of Germany and therefore fuelled political extremism.
According to historian A.J Nicholls, the main political effect was on the moderate centre-right politicians and voters (conservatives). It meant that the political gains of 1918 (greater democracy etc) were superseded in their minds by the effects of the humiliating treaty and this created a false nostalgia for pre-1918 Germany (made it seem better than it was).
The far right and far left would have opposed the treaty anyway regardless of what it said.
