Treaty Of Versaille Flashcards
Big 3
Lloyd George - Britain
Clemenceau- France
Wilson - America
What were the aims of Clemenceau ?
- To economically cripple Germany to the point where they won’t be able to recover. Clemenceau wanted revenge for the loss that France had suffered.
- Clemenceau wanted to make sure Germany was too weak to ever pose a threat to France ever again. In his lifetime Clemenceau had seen France invaded by Germany twice once in 1870 and another time during the First World War in 1914. This came both through economically crippling Germany but also completely disarming her too.
-Clemenceau also wanted enough reparations so that France could recover economically. France had suffered heavy losses in the war war and was keen to recover and move on. - He wanted Alsance-Lorraine back
- He wanted to take colonies from Germany to take away from their wealth and add to Frances
What were the aims of Wilson?
Wilson was convinced that terms that were too strict and too harsh would lead to unrest and resent in Germany and may cause another conflict in the future, maybe even another war and therefore he was keen to follow his 14 points:
- No more secret treaties
- Free navigation of sea in times of peace and in war
- Removal of economic trade barriers
- Disarmament for all countries
- Impartial settlements of colonial disputes taking into account the interests of both the governing country AND the colonial populations (national self determination)
- German troops to leave Russia
- Independence for Belgium
- Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
- Readjustment of Italian frontier in line with nationality
- Self-determination for peoples of Austria-Hungary
- Establishment of the LoN
What were the aims of Lloyd George ?
- Preserve the supremacy of the British navy
- Prevent a settlement which was too harsh and Germany would never accept
- Prevent pushing Germany towards communism
To not completely shrivel German economy as Britain needed it to trade with - Public opinion wanted someone to blame and so wanted Germany harshly punished. As there were upcoming elections, Lloyd George had to punish Germany in order to stay in power.
- High reparations as Britain was hugely in debt
How satisfied was Clemenceau ?
Not very as….
-They wanted Germany to be economically ruined and completely disarmed
-They wanted higher reparations
-Wanted to have the Rhineland and the Saar to themselves.
However he was satisfied with…
- The colonies the received
- The banned Anschluss between Australia and Germany as it limited German power
And they could cope with…
- A buffer zone in the Rhineland
- And 15 years of use in the Saar coal mines
How satisfied was Wilson?
Unsatisfied with…
- The lack of disarmament
- The War Guilt Clause (article 231) as he believes it will lead to resentment in Germany
- The ban on the Anschluss between Austria and Germany as he believed it was against national self determination
- The colonies as they went against national self determination
- The high reparations as he believed it would lead to resentment and another war and is also worried about their economy
Satisfied with …
- The formation of the LoN
Can make peace with…
- The ban on Anschluss as he is afraid on an alliance between Germany and Austria
-The bit of disarmament they got like in the Rhineland
- The Saar
How satisfied was Lloyd George?
Is unsatisfied with…
- The high reparations as he worries for Germany economy and his own and also the build up of resentment
- The agreement with the Saar for the same reason
- War Guilt as he believes it will lead to resentment
What were the economic impacts of the treaties on Germany?
- hyperinflation as the government rushed to print more money as they didn’t have enough
- increased homelessness , mass unemployment and starvation
- loss of key industrial areas
- Enormous reparations
- Cost of a loaf of bread was 250 marks in January 1923 and was 200,000 million marks in November 1923
What was Germany unhappy about?
- Diktat -> Germany was not given a say at Versaille and instead had terms imposed on them
- War Guilt -> Other great powers were also to blame for breakout of WWI
- Reparations -> too high and and made worse by the amount Germany spent on the War. It was impossible to pay as industrial regions such as the Saar were stripped from Germany, so that they weren’t generating any money for themselves
- Loss of Land -> 10% of German land was given away and 6-7 million people were lost. National self determination was completely ignored
- Military restrictions -> Meant that they did not have enough to defend themselves or keep order in the country. Although the 14 points asked for disarmament, France kept a substantial army.
Was the treaty of Versailles justified ?
YES
- Generous compared to what Clemenceau wanted
- Germany deserved it / were responsible
- Only way to ensure peace
- Ger. accepted blame
- Treaty of Brest Litvosk was harsher
NO
- No way of paying reparations
- Against nation-self determinations - 10% Land, 6-7 million
- Not only country that caused war
- About revenge not fairness
- Diktat -> Germany has no say and had to accept Versaille
- Not enough to defend itself
- France maintained substantial army
Other terms of Versaille
-6.6 billion pounds
- War Guilt Clause was to be accepted by Germany ( article 231)
- Treaty of Brest Litvosk was to be ignored
What were the terms of Versaille about territory?
- Saar to LoN for 15 years in which time France had control of coal mines. After time plebiscite would be held.
- Alsace - Lorraine returned
- Danzig -> free city under LoN control
- West Prussia -> Poland
- Memel -> Lithuania
- Formation of Polish Corridor -> separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany
What were the military terms of Versaille
- 6 battleships
- 100,000 men
- Rhineland demilitarised
- Banned Union between Austria and Germany
- Conscription was banned
What was the treaty of Brest-Litvosk?
- When Russia surrendered to Germany after communist revolution (1917) the treaty of Brest - Litvosk was signed and Russia lost:
- 34% of population
- 32% of agricultural land
- 54% of industry
- 26% of Railways
- 89% of Coal mines
- 300 million rubbles of reparations
What were some of the losses that France suffered after WW1?
The worst of the fighting took place in France so….
- 2 million fled their homes, 2/3 of which were now destroyed
-23,000 factories were destroyed
- 5,600 km of railway line and 48000 km of road was destroyed
- 1,400,000 French soldiers were killed and another 2,500,000 were wounded
In addition France spent $24 billion on the war