The treaty of Versailles 1919 - Aims and expectations. Flashcards
why did germany agree to armistice in 1918?
they believed that the terms proposed by the allies would be based by those outlined by Woodrow Wilson(US) stated:
“Peoples are not to be handed about from one sovereignty to another by an international conference………..national aspirations must be respected, peoples must now be dominated and governed only by their own consent”.
what did George Clemenceau (french PM) want from tov?
revenge for the previous five years for example. His country was decimated by war and suffered from over 1,358,000 dead. He was determined to ensure Germany would never be in a situation where it could threaten France again
what did David Lloyd George (british PM) want from TOV?
promised the British public he’d squeeze the German Orange ‘until the pips squeaked’. Yet in reality he took more of a moderate line, stating that his aim was;
“Not to gratify vengeance, but to vindicate justice’.
Britains dead stood at a million with over seven million tons of merchant shipping lost, estimating a £75 billion loss for the British.
what were the terms of tov?
Terms;
* Alsace-Lorraine (given to France).
* The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.
* Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one super state, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.
* Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)
* She was not allowed an air-force.
* Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)
* Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)
* West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)
* She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines.
* The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.
* A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.
* The League of Nations also took control of Germany’s overseas colonies.
* Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land.
* Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks
* The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone (DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone.
* Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was Clause 231 – the infamous “War Guilt Clause”.
what were the reparations?
responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. She had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to rebuild. Payment could be in kind or cash. The figure was not set at Versailles but eventually set at put at £6.6 billion
what was the impact of tov on Germanys resources?
Because of the treaty, Germany lost 13% of her land and 12% of her population. The land lost represented 48% of her iron production and a sizeable amount of her coal resources.
when was the tov signed?
treaty was finally signed on behalf of Germany from members of the SPD and centre party, Hermann Muller and Johannes Bell, on the 28th June 1919
