KQ1- Was The Treaty Of Versailles Fair Flashcards
Who attended the Paris peace conference 1919-1920
- 32 nations represented
- Main decisions taken by big three (Woodrow Wilson, Clemenceau, Lloyd George)
- Orlando, Prime minister of Italy, had ambitions to be one of the big four, little success
- Big three were advices by diplomats, lawyers and experts, but often ignored their advice
- Representatives of defeated countries were not invited
What was the public mood like in 1919
- The war was over but much bitterness and hatred remained
- The big three were under pressure from people back home to deal severely with Germany
- British and French people especially though Germany was responsible for the war and should be punished including paying reparations
- Britain had lost 750000 men and borrowed £9 billion. Lloyd George fought the 1918 General election on the slogans ‘Hang the Kaiser’ and ‘Make Germany pay’
- France had lost 1 1/2 million men, North France devastated
- Harsh treatment demands increased for Germany when it became known how harsh the treaty of Brest-Litovsk had been in 1918
How did the big three differ in their aims at Paris
George Clemenceau
- cripple Germany so could not attack France again
- receive compensation for damage suffered to land, industry and people
Woodrow Wilson
- make the Great War ‘the war to end all wars’
- punish Germany but not too harshly (otherwise revenge, couldn’t be useful trading partner)
- strengthen democracy in defeated nations to prevent leaders causing war
- League of Nations to promote international co-operation and self determination
- Fourteen points
David Lloyd George
- middle ground between France and USA
- punish Germany not too harsh
- confiscate German colonies and navy to strengthen the British empire
Why were there disagreements and compromises between the big three?
- Wilson had to agree to French plans for the Rhineland and Saar - USA had not suffered as badly as France, which explains Clemenceau’s harsher attitude towards Germany.
- Clemenceau and Lloyd George had to agree to Wilson’s plans for self-determination for eastern, european countries, despite reservations.
- Clemenceau criticised Britain for being too lenient on Germany in Europe, and only harsh when it came to German colonies and the navy.
- Lloyd George was unhappy about Wilson’s insistence on access to the sea for all nations, and was uneasy about self-determination (as the British Empire ruled lots of overseas colonies).
- None of the Big Three was entirely satisfied - too lenient for Clemenceau, who was rejected by the French electorate in 1920; Lloyd George later described it as ‘a great pity’ though it made him popular in the short run; Wilson was disappointed, thinking it too harsh on Germany, and the US Congress refused to ratify it.
What were the mean terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
- The war guilt clause (article 231) Germany accepts blame for starting the war
- Reparations- exact figures at £6.6 billion in 1921 with Germany continuing to pay u til 1984
- German territory- Alsace Lorraine to France, Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium, northern Schleswig to Denmark, Saarland run by league for 15 years then plebiscite, West Prussia and Posen to Poland, Upper Silesia to Poland, Danzig made a free city run by league, union of Austria and Germany forbidden.
- Oversea colonies- confiscated and made ‘mandates’ controlled by the league
- Demilitarisation- army limited to 100,000 men, serving for 12 years, conscription banned, no armoured vehicles, submarines, aircraft, heavy artillery, only 6 battle ships, demilitarisation of Rhineland with occupation by allied troops
How did Germany react to the treaty of Versailles
- Germany lost - 10% of its land; 12.5% of its population; 16% of its coalfields; 50% of its iron and steel industry; 100% of its overseas colonies.
- War Guilt Clause - especially hated, because it justified reparations.
- Reparations - threatened to destroy the German economy, when Germans were already starving.
- Disarmament - upsetting as Germany had a proud military tradition; and no allied powers disarmed, despite Wilson’s call for this in the Fourteen Points.
- Territorial losses - a blow to pride, and the economy (Saar and Upper Silesia were important industrial areas.
- Anger in Germany that they were treated as the defeated power - many believed they had merely agreed to a ceasefire rather than surrendered (no allied troops had entered Germany):
-The myth of ‘the stab in the back’ - the German army had been betrayed by the politicians, and Germany could have fought on and won (NB because of the British naval blockade and US entry into the war, they could not have).
-Anger that Germany was not represented at the talks, and the Treaty was a ‘diktat’.
German government initially refused to sign, but eventually agreed on 28 June 1919.
- Double-standards - self-determination for some, but not for many Germans (e.g. in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria); disarmament only for Germany; creation of a League of Nations, but Germany not allowed to join
Were the Germans right to resent the Treaty of Versailles?
- It was harsh, but much less harsh than the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (imposed by Germany on Russia in 1918).
- Many believed Germany would have been harsh on Britain and France.
- The famous British economist J.M. Keynes wrote ‘The Economic Consequences of the Peace’ arguing that the reparations settlement was too severe.
- German economic problems were partly their own fault - Britain and France had raised taxes to pay for the war, whereas Germany planned to pay for it by means of reparations from defeated states
Impact of the Versailles Treaty on Germany
- It made President Ebert and his government very unpopular, and contributed to the Kapp Putsch, which was only defeated by a general strike, causing chaos and disruption.
- Occupation of the Ruhr by French and Belgian troops after Germany fell behind with reparations, resulted in a strike, which was bad for the economy and provoked a harsh reaction by the French (100 killed, 100,000 expelled).
-Many blamed the hyper-inflation of 1923 on reparations, though the truth is more complex.
Could the treaty of Versailles be justified at the time?
-Some historians say too harsh and contributed to the rise of hitler and therefore ww2
- most non-Germans said it was fair or not harsh enough
- Germany would have been harsh if they won
- more generous treaty would’ve annoyed France and Britain
- treaty was a hard task best they could’ve done in those circumstances
What did the other peace treaties say?
-Treaty of St Germain (Austria) - pay reparations, austro-Hungarian empire broken up and land redistributed to form ‘succession states’. Much Austrian industry went to Czechoslovakia causing economic problems; Italy wanted more.
- Treaty of Trianon (Hungary) - Transylvania to Romania: Slovakia and Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia: Slovenia to Yugoslavia: three million Hungarians ended up in other states: industry and raw materials lost. Never paid reparations because economy was weak.
-Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria) - lost lands to Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia and access to Mediterranean Sea; reparations; treated less harshly because played smaller part in war
- Treaty of Sèvres (Turkey) - formal acceptance of break up of Ottoman Empire: lost control of the Straits connecting Mediterranean and the Black Sea: Smyrna to Greece; Turks outraged treaty was challenged by Turkish nationalists- renegotiated as the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923
Impact of Paris Peace Treaties on central and Eastern Europe
-Creation of new countries
- Czechoslovakia- from old austro- Hungarian empire
- Poland - potential war dog on Germany barrier to future communism expansion
- Yugoslavia- merging of Serbia with former states of Austro- Hungarian empire
