The Treaty of Versailles Terms - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

what are the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 1

1. Germany was to reduce its army to 100,000 men
2. Germany could only have six battleships in its navy, and was not allowed to build any aeroplanes
3. Germany had to pay £6.6 billion in reparations to pay for the war damage
4. Germany was to accept the blame for starting the war, under the terms of the ‘War Guilt’ clause (clause 231)
5. Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria
   6.Control of Danzig was given to the League of Nations
6. West Prussia and Posen were given to Poland
7. The Sudetenland was given to Czechoslovakia
8. Alsace-Lorraine went back to France
9. The Saar was put under international control
10. Eupen-Malmedy was given to Belgium
11. Germany was to demilitarise the Rhineland
12. Denmark was given to half of Schleswig
13. All of Germany’s overseas colonies were given to France, Britain and other countries

Question 2

armed forces terms?

Answer 2

• restricted army to 100,000 men, only 6 battleships, no submarines, consricption, no air force

Question 3

why did Germany hate the armed forces terms?

Answer 3

• it made Germany weak and left it open to constant threat of invasion
• for Prussia (2/3 of Germany) the national source of national pride was their army and this was humiliating

Question 4

Rhineland demilitarised terms?

Answer 4

• no German troops allowed in the area next to French border

Question 5

why did Germany hate the Rhineland being demilitarised?

Answer 5

• Germany left vulnerable to attack from traditional enemy France
• France easily invaded in 1923

Question 6

lost/land colonies terms?

Answer 6

• gave Alsace Lorraine to France
• created Polish corridor (split Germany in two)
• gave large bits of colonies to other nations
• colonies given to victors as LofN mandates

Question 7

why did Germany hate the lost land/colonies terms?

Answer 7

• colonies were source of trade and income
• lost land also contained resources e.g. coal in the Saar
• many German people lost their German identity

Question 8

article 231/war guilt clause?

Answer 8

blamed Germany for outbreak of WW1

Question 9

why did Germany hate article 231?

Answer 9

Germany had hoped to be treated as an equal under the 14 points, this was the exact opposite of what they thought would happen

Question 10

why did Germany hate the forbid of Anschluss?

Answer 10

German speakers were being denied self-determination when others were being given it

Question 11

why did Germany hate not being allowed to join the LofN?

Answer 11

sense of exclusion

Question 12

why did Germany not like having no say in the Treaty (it being a diktat)?

Answer 12

• hated that they were being given terms of this Treaty without any say
• resented the ‘Victor’s Peace’ as it went against Wilson’s fourteen points

Question 13

what were the reparation terms?

Answer 13

• made them pay £6.6 billion
• payable in goods (i.e. natural resources) and cash
• the final figure wasn’t announced until 1921
• this is significant as Germany had two occasions where they were punished - 1919 at Versailles and two years later with the reparation bill

Question 14

why did Germany hate the reparations?

Answer 14

• the reparations crippled the economy and kept the Germans weak throughout the 1920s
• led to the invasion of the Ruhr in 1923 - this caused great humiliation