inter war years-peace making Flashcards
what were George Clemenceau’s aims for the tov?
to punish Germany and ensure they were too weak to attack France again, wanted huge reparations to France to be paid as France suffered the most damage during the war, wanted to entirely disband Germanys military so that there was no threat of them attacking ever again, finally wanted Germany to accept all blame for the war
why was George Clemenceau the harshest of the big three?
Clemenceau was the prime minister of France and therefore knew that France suffered the most damage during the war as most of the fighting was on French land
France also bordered Germany meaning if there was another war they would be affected the most again and s wanted to completely minimise this threat.
france lost over 1.3 million people during the war.
what was David Lloyds Georges aims of the treaty?
did not want to punish Germany too severely-feared it would cause more conflict
wanted Germany strong enough to trade-Britain had important trade links with Germany before war-wanted to restore these.
also wanted reparations-had to please electors-promised to make Germany pay during election
wanted Germanys navy to be limited and weakened-wanted naval supremacy.
what were the three shared aims of the big three?
to punish germany
prevent war
establish order and prevent spread of communism in europe
what was Woodrow Wilsons aims of the treaty?
wanted to base treaty off of his 14 points
didn’t want to punish Germany harshly/blame them for war-thought it would lead to more conflict if Germany resented treaty
wanted all countries to reduce armaments and military-ensure lasting peace and prevent future wars(no arms races creating resentment)
what were the two keys points of wilsons 14 points?
to set up a league of nations to prevent future wars by settling disputes before they escalate and for countires to have self determination(free themselves from national rule)
what four groups can the terms of the treaty be classified into?(LAMB)
land
army
money
blame
when was the treaty of Versailles signed?
28th june 1919
what was article 231 in the tov?
the war guilt clause
how did the allies believe article 231 would help?
they believed this provided moral justification and also ensured that Germany was solely responsible for all the loss and damage caused by the war
how much did Germany have to pay in reparations?
6.6 billion
3 military terms of the treaty?
-German army restricted to 100,000 men and conscription banned
-German navy restricted to 6 battleships and no submarines
-Germany are banned from having an air force
3 terms of the tov linked to land?
-the Rhineland was demilitarised(allied occupied for 15 years)
-the Saar(land rich with materials e.g. coalfields )was given to France for 15 years
-Germany is forbidden to unite with Austria(Anschluss)
how was the treaty of versailles viewed in germany?
-the tov caused outrage in Germany(army had already been demobilised and had no means to resist)
-called it a “diktat”-dictated peace which unfairly saddled them with complete responsibility for war
why was the treaty viewed as a diktat?(3)
-German representatives were not allowed to take part in any of the discussion of the terms(objections were largely rejected)
-shocked by treatment, expected to be treated as an equal after the armistice
-argues treaty was unfair, not based on Wilsons 14 points(self determination was not applied)
three consequences of the tov
-political unrest began in Germany-attempts to overthrow government with violence(1920 putsch)
-hyperinflation began in Germany-reparation repayments were far too high and would cripple the economy
-bitterness between Germany and Europe(allies mainly)-allowed Hitler to rise to power
3 strengths of the treaty of Versailles
-temporarily brought peace to Europe-eliminated Germany as a threat
-created the league of nations-attempt at peacekeeping
-terms/reparations could of been harsher-nothing compared to Brest Litovsk imposed on Russia-reparations still allowed Germany to rearm and rebuild and start another war within 20 years
3 weakness of the treaty of Versailles
-helped create conditions for future war-anger towards allies-allowed rise of Hitler
-caused economic and political instability-increased support for extremist groups (Nazis)
-German representatives not allowed into discussion of tov-allowed Hitler to brand it a “diktat”-could’ve had less harsh terms if Germans were allowed to object.
