International Treaties

Question 1

What were the economic effects of World War 1?

Answer 1

• Britain, Russia and France were effectively bankrupt relying on money from the USA as the war had cost billions.
• There was a shortage of fuel and food in Germany
• Germany’s currency had collapsed driving a black market in goods

Question 2

What were the social effects of World War 1?

Answer 2

• Millions of refugees were displaced across Europe, carrying sickness and disease with them as they made their way home
• The flu alone killed 50 million people
• 6 million people had been killed from the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy and Austro-Hungary) and 4 million from the Triple Entente (France, Britain and Russia)

Question 3

What were the political effects of World War 1?

Answer 3

• Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and fled to the Netherlands
• Friedrich Ebert a politician was now in charge of what became called the Weimar Republic
• The empires of Russia, Austro-Hungary and Turkey had collapsed

Question 4

What did Clemenceau and France want from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 4

• Clemenceau wanted revenge
• Germany had attacked France twice, one in 1871 and again in 1914. He wanted to cripple Germany economically and militarily
• He wanted a treaty which would weaken Germany forever
• He wanted Germany to pay for the damage it had caused in the war
• He wanted the return of Alsace Lorraine
• He wanted Germany to be broken up into smaller, weaker states

Question 5

What did Lloyd George and Britain want from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

• Lloyd George wanted trade
• He wanted the German Navy reduced so Britain continued to have Naval supremacy
• He wanted Germany to lose its colonies which he saw as a threat to the British Empire
• He was keen to make sure Germany wasn’t crushed economically as Germany had been a key trading partner of Britain prior to the war and was key to Britain’s economic recovery
• Public opinion in Britain show hatred towards Germany. He had promised to “squeeze Germany until the pips squeaked” and promised to make Germany pay when he won the 1918 election
• He was often caught in the middle of Clemenceau and Wilson’s opinions

Question 6

What did Wilson and the USA want from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 6

• Wilson wanted a fair and lasting peace
• He was an idealist which is someone who represents things as they might or should be rather than as they are
• His aim was to rebuild a better, more peaceful Europe
• He believed Germany should be punished but not too harshly to avoid revenge
• He wanted democracy to be strong so the German people wouldn’t allow their leaders to go to war
• He wanted his Fourteen Points to be the basis of the Treaty
• He strongly believed in “self-determination” where people can decide who they are ruled by

Question 7

Why did the Big 3 Disagree?

Answer 7

• The USA had not been as affected by the war as Britain and France. Wilson’s aims were therefore much more idealistic
• Clemenceau felt Britain and the USA didn’t want to treat Germany as harshly as he did
• Lloyd George wanted to protect British interests but knew he needed trading partners. He was in a tricky situation as he had promised the British people, he would be harsh on Germany but didn’t actually believe it was best
• Lloyd George was also uneasy about Wilson’s “self-determination” as this could cause problems for the British Empire
• Wilson was weakened by the lack of support and interest in the Treaty of Versailles in the USA

Question 8

What Were the “Guilt” Terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 8

• Article 231 stated that Germany had to accept blame for starting the war

Question 9

What Were the “Reparation” Terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 9

• Germany had to pay £6,600 million / £6.6 billion. This was taken in the form of valuable coal and iron ore resources as well as gold
• However these reparation payments were later renegotiated by the Young Plan in 1929

Question 10

What Were the “Military” Terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 10

• The army was limited to 100,000 men
• Conscription was banned meaning soldiers had to be volunteers
• Germany was not allowed any tanks, submarines or aircraft
• The Navy was limited to six battleships giving Britain Naval supremacy
• The Rhineland became demilitarised, however in March 1936 Hitler marched into the Rhineland

Question 11

What Were the “Territorial Losses” Terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 11

• Germany lost its colonies which became mandates of the League of Nations
• North Schleswis was given to Denmark
• Danzig became a Free City run by the League of Nations
• Poland was given a corridor of land giving access to the Baltic. East Prussia was cut off from the rest of Germany
• Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France
• The Saarland was given to France for 15 years by the League of Nations, after which there would be a vote
• Anschluss with Austria was forbidden

Question 12

What Were the League Of Nations terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 12

• The League of Nations was established using Wilsons 14 points
• Germany was not invited to join until it would prove it was peaceful

Question 13

What was the German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 13

• The Treaty was labelled a “Diktat” as Germany felt it was being dictated to them
• The Government of the Weimar Republic were labelled the “November Criminals” for signing the Treaty of Versailles
• Many Germans believed they had been betrayed as they felt that the Jewish politicians had betrayed the military. This was known as the “Stab in the back” myth
• The War Guilt clause caused particular hatred
• Germany believed at the Armistice that the Treaty would be based on Wilson’s 14 points. They were therefore shocked and felt betrayed when it wasn’t

Question 14

What were the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles? – Kapp Putsch

Answer 14

• Right wing groups like the army hated the Weimar Republic for signing the Treaty of Versailles and supported the “Stab in the back” myth
• In 1920 after crushing the Spartacists and left-wing threat, Ebert tried to reduce the size of the army and disband the Freikorps which caused uproar
• The leader of the Freikorps and Berlin politician Wolfgang Kapp took government buildings using the army and declared a new right-wing government
• The Weimer Government ordered the army to stop the Putsch, but they refused
• Ebert then called on the workers of Berlin to not support the Putsch and go on strike, they agreed and supported a strike bringing the city to a standstill
• The Kapp Putsch failed but no-one involved was punished as the Government needed to retain the support of the Army

Question 15

What were the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles? – Invasion of the Ruhr

Answer 15

• While Germany paid its reparations in 1921, they had fallen behind in 1922 and by 1923 the French and Belgian armies invaded the Ruhr valley and took what they felt was owed to them
• This led to the workers in the region going on strike in “Passive Resistance” (refusing to work), crippling the German economy and infuriating the French and Belgians
• The French reacted by killing 100 workers and expelling 100,000 workers from the region
• Now Germany was creating no goods and but still having to pay the workers
• This led to hyper-inflation in 1923 as the Government was printing more money to pay its debts and workers. German marks became worthless, and prices spiralled out of control

Question 16

What were the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles? – Who was Gustav Stresemann

Answer 16

• Gustav Stresemann became leader of the Weimer Republic in August 1923. In 100 days he called off the passive resistance and reformed the currency. He negotiated loans with the USA called the Dawes plan in 1924 to enable reparation payments to restart

Question 17

What were the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles? – Munich Putsch

Answer 17

• In 1923, Hitler attempted to overthrow the Government in what became known as the Munich Putsch
• He marched on Berlin with the SA hoping the army and people would join him
• Neither joined him and the Bavarian police ended up shooting the Nazi revolters, resulting in Hitlers arrest and imprisonment

Question 18

What are the justifications for the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 18

• The Treaty of Brest Litovsk signed when Russia lost the war to Germany was more harsh
  o 34% of its population
  o 32% of its agricultural land
  o 54% of its industry
  o 89% of its coal mines
  o Payment of 300 million gold roubles
• During WWI the German Finance Minister claimed he would make the allies pay for the war if they won, therefore it was only fair that if they lost Germany would pay for the war
• Germany had rejected Wilson’s 14 points in June 1918 when they looked like they would win the war
• Germany played a large part in starting the war
• France had lost 2/3 of its army to death and injury in WWI, Clemenceau needed to be sure they weren’t going to be attacked again
• By 1925 German steel production was twice as large as Britain’s production

Question 19

What are the justifications against the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 19

• Germany lost 12.5% of its territory and 7 million German’s to other countries. This was against Wilson’s 14 points of self determination
• Germany claimed the allies were trying to bankrupt them. At a time when the new Democratic Weimar Republic needed support it was put in huge debt
• Clemenceau was acting out of revenge for the Franco-Prussian war and a hatred of Germany
• The terms of the Treaty had been worked out in secret, it was therefore a Diktat. They had no choice but to sign or face an invasion
• Germany felt Britain and France were taking away there colonies just to add to their empires
• Germany was the only country which needed to disarm. This made them more vulnerable to attack as was demonstrated by the invasion of the Ruhr Valley. The British wanted Naval supremacy so wanted to make sure Germany lost the majority of its Navy
• Germany wasn’t invited to join the League of Nations which was meant to promote international peace and coordination

Question 20

What Was Clemenceau and France pleased with from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 20

• The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
• The imposition of reparations on Germany although he would have liked them to be even higher
• The weakening of Germany’s military
• The demilitarisation of the Rhineland as it increased France’s security

Question 21

What Was Clemenceau and France less pleased with from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 21

• The USA refusing to create an Anglo-American Treaty of Guarantee to deal with Germany if it became aggressive again
• The Saarland was under the control of the League of Nations and not France

Question 22

What Was Lloyd George and Britain pleased with from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 22

• The extension of the British Empire after the transfer of German colonies to the League of Nations
• The fact that Germany wasn’t completely economically destroyed so could play a key role in the economic future of Europe
• Britain retained naval supremacy

Question 23

What Was Lloyd George and Britain less pleased with from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 23

• Many German speaking people were not ruled by Germany and found themselves as refugees in other countries

Question 24

What Was Wilson and the USA pleased with from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 24

• The creation of the League of Nations was included in the Treaty
• The principle of self-determination resulted in the creation of new countries
• Some degree of disarmament took place

Question 25

What Was Lloyd George and Britain less pleased with from the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 25

• Self determination didn’t apply to the whole of Europe
• The treaty was much harsher on Germany than he wanted
• The USA didn’t join the League of Nations

Question 26

What was the Treaty of Trianon?

Answer 26

• The Treaty of Trianon was between the Allies and Hungary in June 1920
• Disarmament – Army was limited to a force of 35,000 volunteers and three patrol boats
• Reparations – Apart from some shipments of coal, Hungary couldn’t meet the demands for reparations. As a result, they were suspended
• Land Lost – The Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled. Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania all gained land from Germany
• Population - The population of Hungary fell from 21 million to around 7.5 million

Question 27

What was the Treaty of St Germain?

Answer 27

• The Treaty of St Germain was between the Allies and Austria in September 1919
• Disarmament – Army was limited to a force of 30,000 volunteers and no Navy or Airforce
• Reparations – Austria didn’t pay much in reparations as her economy was so weak
• Land Lost – The Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled. Tyrol was lost to Italy. Dalmatia and Bosnia Herzegovina were lost to Yugoslavia. Poland, Czechoslavvakia, Yugoslavia and Romania all gained land#
• Population - The population of Hungary fell from 22 million to around 6 million

Question 28

What was the Treaty of Neuilly?

Answer 28

• The Treaty of Neuilly was between the Allies and Bulgaria in November 1919
• Disarmament – Army was limited to a force of 20,000 volunteers, four torpedo boats and no air force
• Reparations – Reparations were set at £100 million
• Land Lost – Land was lost to Yugoslavia, Romania and Greece

Question 29

What was the Treaty of Sevres?

Answer 29

• The Treaty of Sevres was between the Allies and Turkey in August 1920
• Disarmament – Army was limited to a force of 50,000 volunteers, seven sail boats and no air force
• Reparations – The economy was to be controlled by the Allies
• Land Lost – The Ottoman Empire was broken up. Iraq and Palestine became British Mandates. Syria became a French Mandate. The Straits of the Dardanelles were placed under international control. Armenia became an independent country

Question 30

What was the Treaty of Lausanne?

Answer 30

• The Treaty of Lausanne was between the Allies and Turkey in August 1923
• The Treaty of Sevres provoked a backlash in Turkey
• Turkish Nationalists led by Attaturk rebelled against the Sultan and rejected the treaty
• The new Treaty of Lausanne was signed removing foreign control of the economy, regaining some land and some control over the Dardanelles