Topic 2: The Versailles Settlement

Question 1

What was the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 1

• The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I.
• It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect on January 10, 1920.
• The treaty as a diktat, which meant that Germany wasn’t allowed to negotiate the terms.
• The Germans were devastated by the final terms, and the Big Three weren’t all that satisfied with it either.

Question 2

What were the terms that Germany had to agree to?

Answer 2

• Article 231: the war guilt clause, (they had to take full responsibility
  for initiating WW1)
• Article 232: Reparations: The amount was set at £6,600 million in
  1921.
• German navy was restricted to 15,000 men, with only 1500 officers.
• Anschluss was forbidden. (Anschluss was the political union of
  Germany with Austria)
• The German navy army was allowed only 6 battleships.
• The League of Nations was formed, but Germany wasn’t allowed to
  join.
• Germany wasn’t allowed tanks, submarines or an air force.
• Danzig was taken from Germany.
• The German army was limited to 100,000 men.
• Germany was split in 2 by the Polish corridor.
• Conscription wasn’t allowed. (Conscription is compulsory enlistment
  for state service, typically into the armed forces.)
• The Saar was given to the League of Nations to control for 15 years.
• The Rhineland was demilitarised.
• Germany’s colonies were given to the League of Nations as mandates. (A mandate is territory be assigned to another power) .