SURVEY Flashcards
Armistice
- signed at 5am to come into effect at 11am, 11 NOV 1918
- came as a complete shock to German civilians & army who were convinced (largely through propaganda) they were winning the war.
Dolchstosslegende - HOW & WHAt
- The German home front was on the brink of collapse with starvation (due to British Naval Blockade), unemployment, disease, inflation & war-weariness creating potential for a revolution.
- German High-Command hands control back to civilian government.
- –>By doing this they avoid being directly involved in the surrender.
- —>The army avoids the humiliation of defeat, maintains honour, & idea that the German army was not defeated on the battlefield.
-Stab-in-the-back legend (dolchstosslegende) – German army betrayed by people on the homefront (pacifists, communists, Jews). —>This belief was encouraged by right-wing conservatives and the army.
Creation of the Weimar Republic
The new democratic German republic was formally established in February 1919 – the Weimar Republic. It’s constitution was one of the most democratic in the world.
Peacemaking treaties issues
- maintaining international peace & security
- solving disputes between nation states
- upholding the rights of minorities
- strengthening international law
- WAR AIMS → WW1 used to further own geopolitical interests through war aims
___>WA & their treaties signed between govs during war = secret as were NOT THE SAME WA promoted to their own POPULATIONS
___> WA at odds w/ high-minded public declarations of what these nations were fighting for - Peacemakers then had to juggle the expectations from the secret treaties from the secret WA and the idealistic statements of principle in Public declarations EG 14 Point Point Plan
- Each of the 32 diplomatic delegations were looking out for own nations GEOPOLITICAL INTERESTS
- Things were hotly contested and perceived winners & losers
Who were the Big 4
[PEACEMAKING THE BIG 4 - Britain, Italy, US, France]
Most of the decisions made by the 4 biggest victorious powers - USA, France, Britain, Italy
Initially, council of 10 BUT progress = slow & really big q’s yet to be resolves SOOOO in Late March the group was cut down to
- British PM David Lloyd George
- Italian PM Vittorio Orlando
- French PM Georges Clemenceau
- US president Woodrow Wilson
TREATIES:
- T of Versailles
- T of Saint-Germain
- T of Sèvres
- T of Trianon
- T of Nuilly-sur-Seine
Treaty of versailles
- 28 June 1919
- Allied powers & Germany
TOV Key Terms
- The loss of 13% of territory to the east, the north and the west
- The Rhineland was demilitarised & an Allied occupation army was to remain there for 15 years (A 42)
- forbidden from joining Austria (A80)
- The loss of all overseas colonies to the French & British as ‘mandates’ (A 119)
- Army limited to 100,000 volunteers; conscription was forbidden (A 160)
- ownership of tanks, submarines or aircraft was forbidden (A181, 198)
- Navy was allowed to have only 6 battleships (A 181)
- The Payment of Reparations to be determined by the Reparations Commission at a later date (A 232) - 132 Billion gold marks
- GERMANY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CAUSING ALL THE LOSS AND DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE WAR - (A 231)
- not allowed to join the league of nations (A 1-26)
- Alsace-Lorraine handed to French
TOV why was the loss of territory & the demilitarisation/Allied occupation of the Rhineland important
LOT
- loss of citizens = loss of taxes = harder to pay off the reparations
D/ACOTR
- important because of natural resources there that the other countries wanted to exploit
T of Saint-Germain - date, between & Key terms
- 10 Sept 1919
- Austria & Allies
KT - Austria & Hungary separated
- had to give up territory to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland , & Italy.
- Reduced to a small & barely viable nation, yet were forbidden to unite with their fellow Germans
- armed forces were reduced in number, & were forced to pay reparations to the Allied nations
- 30,000 volunteers
- NO NAVY
Treaty of Sèvres - date, between & Key terms
-10 August 1920
- Turkey & Allies
KT
- Confiscated most of its European-held territory & the Ottoman Empire was broken up, ( most going to Britain & France to be governed as mandates of the LoN )
- The Dardanelles strait was put under control of the LoN, & French, British & Italian troops were to occupy Turkey itself
- Limited Army & Navy personnel & ships/submarines
Treaty of Trianon - date, between & Key terms
- 4 June 1920
- Hungary & Allies
KT - Confiscated parts of Hungary’s territory to give to neighbouring Romania, Czechoslovakia & Yugoslavia.
- Hungary forced to pay reparations to the Allied nation and its army was limited to 35,000 volunteers
- 3 patrol boats
-200 million gold crowns in reparations
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine - date, between & Key terms
- 27 Nov 1920
- Bulgaria & Allies
KT - This treaty with Bulgaria confiscated parts of its territory to give to neighbouring Yugoslavia and Greece
- The Bulgarian Army as limited to 20000 personnel and Bulgaria forced to pay reparations to Allied nations.
TREATY OF VERSAILLES - 28 June 1919
TIMELINE/ COURSE OF ACCEPTANCE
7 may 1919, the German delegation was presented with the Treaty of Versailles as a fait accompli and were expected to sign
They refused, and the head of the first democratically elected gov of germany Philipp Scheidemann, resigned rather than sign it
The Allies refused to listen to German complaints and refused to compromise the terms of the Treaty
The blockade of Germany by the British and US navies continues, preventing the importation of vital materials and food
The germans were given a deadline to sign with the Allies threatening and INVASION FROM THE WEST if they continued to refuse
The German PResident Friedrich Ebert, checked with his generals to see if the army could withhold/ stop a Allied invasion, and when informed they could not, he had General Groener inform the German Government of this
The German National Assembly then voted 237-138 in favour of signing the treaty
Hermann Müller and Johannes Bell went to Versailles and signed the treaty on behalf of Germany on 28 June 1919
Germans were NOT involved with the conditions of the Peace Treaty
INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
US
When Pres WW returned from P Con, he made a public campaign for the League of Nations.
19 November the ToV was defeated in the US Senate [refused to allow US to become a party to the Treaty]
As a result, US never signed the Treaty BUT in 1921 US Congress passed resolutions that formally ended hostilities with Germany & Austria, making official end of WW1 between US & Germany
