KQ1: Were the peace treaties of 1919-23 fair?

Question 1

What was the state of Britain after WW1?

Answer 1

-At war since 1914
-At the point of exhaustion
-Economy in a bad way
-950,000 casualties
-Civilians faced medicine and food shortages
-However didn’t have extensive fighting on home soil

Question 2

What was the state of France after WW1?

Answer 2

-At war since 1914
-At the point of exhaustion
-Economy in a bad way
-1.6 million casualties
-Civilians faced medicine and food shortages
-Extensive fighting on home soil

Question 3

What was the state of the USA after WW1?

Answer 3

-Been at war since April 1917
-Weren’t at the point of exhaustion
-Lent money to France and Britain and wanted repayment
-Suffered 120,000 casualties
-Civilians didn’t face medicine and food shortages
-Didn’t have extensive fighting on home soil

Question 4

Why did the Big 3 arrive at the Paris Peace Conference with different views on how Germany should be punished?

Answer 4

They had all suffered differently from the war, so wanted different things from the peace treaty

Question 5

What did Britain want from the ToV?

Answer 5

-Get stability
-Wanted reparations as their economy was suffering
-Public wanted severe treatment
-DLG wanted punishment but not as harshly as France wanted (to prevent G revenge and to continue trade with G)
-Confiscate G colonies and navy - strengthen Br empire

Question 6

What did France want from the ToV?

Answer 6

-Revenge, reparations, and the guarantee that a war like this would never happen again as they had had land flattened, businesses destroyed, country wrecked and massive amount of casualties.
-Cripple Germany
-Wanted Alsace-Lorraine back - province taken by Germans in 1871. -Wanted to destroy Germany militarily and economically
-Wanted new state in the Rhineland so there would be no direct border between Germany and France

Question 7

What did the USA want from the ToV?

Answer 7

-Lasting peace
-14 points
-Punish G but not too harshly
-Continue trade with Germany
-Wanted Br and Fr to get reparations to pay the USA back their loans
-LoN for international cooperation
-Self-determination
-Multi-lateral disarmament

Question 8

What was the French attitudes towards the Germans?

Answer 8

-Very cautious - share a border which isn’t defined by a natural border like mountains, and had been invaded by G twice in 50 years

-Bitter - G had deliberately caused damage in the final stages of the war (destroyed bridges, railways, and small towns and villages)

-Threatened and vulnerable - G had larger population, larger army and more industrialised

Question 9

What disagreements and compromises were there at the Paris Peace conference between the Big Three?

Answer 9

-W had to agree to Fr plans for Rhineland and Saar - USA had not suffered as badly as Fr
-C and LG had to agree to W plan for self determination despite reservations
-C criticised Br for being too lenient on G in Europe and only harsh when it came to Empire and Navy
-LG unhappy about W insistence of access to the sea for all nations. Also uneasy about S-D
-None of big 3 were entirely satisfied - compromise
-Too lenient for C, LG described as a “great pity”, and W disappointed- thought it too harsh

Question 10

What were the main terms of the ToV?

Answer 10

-War guilt - Article 231 -Germany accept blame for starting war
-Reparations - figure set at £6.6 billion in 1921
-German territory - Alsace-Lorraine to France, Eupen and Malmédy to Belgium, northern Schweslig to Denmark (plebiscite), Saar run by League for 15 years then a plebiscite, West Prussia and Posen to Poland (Polish corridor), Upper Silesia to Poland, Danzig made free city and run by League, Anschluss forbidden
-Overseas colonies - confiscated and run by League, but essentially controlled by Br, Fr and others. German East Africa to Br, Cameroon to Fr, New Guinea to Austr, Samoa to New Z
-Demilitarisation - army limited to 100,000 men serving for 12 years, conscription banned, no armoured vehicles, submarines, aircraft or heavy artillery, only 6 battle ships, demilitarisation of Rhineland (and allied troops occupy)

Question 11

How much of its land did Germany lose?

Answer 11

10%

Question 12

How much of its population did Germany lose?

Answer 12

12.5%

Question 13

How much of its coalfields did Germany lose?

Answer 13

16%

Question 14

How much of its iron and steel industry did Germany lose?

Answer 14

50%

Question 15

How much of its overseas colonies did Germany lose?

Answer 15

100%

Question 16

How did Germany react to ToV?

Answer 16

-Hated Article 231 as it justified reparations
-Reparations threaten to destroy G economy when Germans were already starving
-Disarmament was upsetting - G had proud military tradition. No allied powers disarmed - angry
-Territorial losses - blow to pride, embarassing, important parts of economy gone
-Anger as many believed they hadn’t surrendered, so shouldn’t have been treated as a defeated power
-‘Stab in the Back’ myth - army betrayed by politicians. Many believed G could have fought on and won
-Anger that Treaty was a diktat and G wasn’t represented
-Double standards - self determination for some but not for many Germans, unilateral disarmament, creation of LoN but G can’t join

Question 17

Were Germans right to resent ToV?

Answer 17

-It was harsh, however less harsh than Brest-Litovsk (imposed by G on Russia in 1918)
-Many believed G would’ve been harsh on Br and Fr
-G economic problems were partly their fault - Fr and Br raised taxes to pay for war but G planned to pay for it by reparation from defeated powers

Question 18

What was the impact of ToV on G?

Answer 18

-Made Ebert and Weimar Govt. unpopular - November Criminals. Caused chaos, uprisings and disruption
-Occupation of Ruhr after G default on payments. Causes strike - bad for economy, and harsh reaction by French - 100 killed, 100,000 expelled
-Many blamed hyperinflation of 1923 on reparations

Question 19

Could ToV be justified at the time?

Answer 19

-Some say it was too harsh on G, and contributed to rise of Hitler and Nazis
-At time, most non-Germans thought it was fair or even not harsh enough
-G would probably be just as harsh
-Public opinion in Fr and Br would hate a more generous treaty
-Some see the ToV as the best that could be done in the circumstances - hard task to agree settlement

Question 20

What did the Treaty of St Germain say?

Answer 20

-Austria
-War guilt
-Accept break-up of Austro-Hungarian empire
-Had to pay reparations
-Austrio-Hungarian empire broken up
-Land redistributed to form ‘succession states’ (Bohemia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to Yugoslavia)
-Anschluss forbidden
-Much Austrian industry to Cz - causes economic problems
-Italy wanted more Austrian territory
-Army limited to 30,000 men

Question 21

What did the Treaty of Trianon say?

Answer 21

-Hungary
-War guilt
-Accept break-up of Austro-Hungarian empire
-Transylvania to Romania, Slovakia and Ruthenia to Cz, Slovenia to Yugoslavia
-3 million Hungarians end up in other states
-Much industry and raw materials were lost
-Supposed to pay reparations, but economy so weak it doesn’t

Question 22

What did the Treaty of Neuilly say?

Answer 22

-Bulgaria
-War guilt
-Lost lands to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia and access to Mediterranean Sea
-Reparations (£10 million)
-Army limited to 20,000
-Treated less harshly than others - it played only a small part in the war

Question 23

What did the Treaty of Sèvres say?

Answer 23

-Turkey
-Formal acceptance of break up of Ottoman Empire
-Egypt to Britain; Syria, Tunisia and Morocco to France, Smyrna to Greece
-Lost control of the Straits connecting Mediterranean and Black Sea
-Army limited to 50,000, no air force and navy strictly limited
-Turks outraged and treaty challenged by nationalists. Renegotiated as Treaty of Lausanne in 1923

Question 24

What terms did the other peace treaties have in common with the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 24

-War guilt clause
-Supposed to pay reparations (however some did not end up doing this)
-Reduction in armaments
-Acceptance of League of Nations
-Loss of Land

Question 25

What was the impact of the Paris Peace treaties on central and Eastern Europe?

Answer 25

-Created new countries - Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia - meant to be politically and economically stable:
-Cz - industrial areas from Austro-Hungarian empire so it could be economically strong. Included wide range of nationalities
-Pol - potential watchdog on G, barrier to future Communist expansion, no natural frontiers making it vulnerable to attack by G and Ru. 30% population non-poles, and Polish corridor which G resents
-Yu - merging of Serbia with former A-H empire states (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia). Meant to be large powerful state that brings stability to turbulent Balkans