Key Issue 1 Flashcards
Motives and aims of Clemenceau (TOV)
- to ensure the future security of France as Germany had attacked France twice in the previous 50 years
- to punish Germany severely, leaving it weak
- the permanent disarmament of Germany
- a very high level of reparations to pay for the destruction caused by Germany
- the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
- the Rhineland to become an independent state so that France no longer shared a common border with Germany
- the Saar Basin to be transferred to France
Motives and aims of Wilson (TOV)
- a fair and lasting peace to prevent Germany seeking revenge
- aimed to allow nations to decide their own political future (self-determination)
- international cooperation with countries working together to settle disputes peacefully in the future
- his ‘Fourteen points’
Motives and aims of Lloyd George (TOV)
- a “just and firm” peace which avoided Germany seeking revenge but satisfied the British people
- a share of Germany’s colonies
- the economic revival of Europe and the German economy so trade would be re-established
- to reduce the threat of the spread of communism from Russia
- to maintain the strength and power of the British navy to protect Britain’s colonies
- to persuade Clemenceau to make key concessions to ensure France did not become the dominant power in Europe
Key terms of the Treaty of Versailles
War guilt (Article 231) Reparations The Rhineland Anschluss Disarmament League of Nations
Description of war guilt (TOV)
Germany was forced to accept total responsibility for starting the war
Description of reparations (TOV)
Germany had to accept liability for the damage caused by the war and pay reparations. The figure for reparations was not decided at Versailles. It was agreed on in 1921 and was set at 6.6 billion pounds
Description of the Rhineland (TOV)
The Rhineland was to be demilitarised zone. German troops were not allowed in the area as it formed the border between Germany and France. In addition, there was to be an Allied army of occupation on the west bank of Rhine for 15 years.
Key word: Demilitarised - no troops, armaments or fortifications present
Description of Anschluss (TOV)
Germany and its former ally Austria were not allowed to unite
Description of Disarmament (TOV)
Army - 100,000 soldiers, no conscription No tanks No submarines 36 warships 6 battleships 15,000 sailors
Description of League of Nations (TOV)
An international police force was to be set up to prevent future wars
What was to happen to Alsace-Lorraine under the TOV?
Returned to France
Clemenceau’s satisfied demands (TOV)
- demilitarisation of the Rhineland secured its eastern frontier
- Germany’s economic power and military capacity was reduced
- Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
- France was to be a major recipient of reparations
- France was to gain some of Germany’s colonies
Clemenceau’s unfulfilled demands (TOV)
To avoid France becoming a dominant power in Europe, Lloyd George persuaded Clemenceau to:
- abandon the idea of an independent Rhineland state
- avoid giving the scale of reparations in the treaty
- abandon the idea that Danzig be given to Poland
- abandon the French claim to the Saar Basin
- abandon the French President’s idea of splitting Germany into a collection of smaller states
Wilson’s satisfied demands (TOV)
- reference to a League of Nations was included in each of the peace treaties
- there was partial satisfaction with the requirement that the defeated nations should disarm
- the Rhineland was to remain part of Germany, allowing a return of economic strength and trading possibilities
Wilson’s unfulfilled demands (TOV)
- he thought that the Versailles Treaty was too harsh on Germany
- the principle of free navigation of the seas was abandoned at Britain’s insistence
- Britain, France and Japan had rewarded themselves with Germany’s former colonies
- self-determination failed to apply in some areas such as the Sudetenland
- the US congress failed to approve the treaties and the League of Nations
