Treaty of Versailles

Question 1

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 1

Peace treaty between Germany and their opponents in WWI. Signed in 1919

Question 2

What was the nickname given to the politicians who signed the armistice in November 1918 which ended the war?

Answer 2

‘November Criminals’. They were scapegoats for Germany’s defeat.

Question 3

What is the stab-in-the-back myth?

Answer 3

The view that the army had not really WWI and unpatriotic groups like socialists, democrats and Jews, had undermined it. Unsurprisingly, this view was popular with army leaders such as Ludendorff and right-wing groups (like Nazis) who used it to attack Weimar democracy and shift the blame away from the Germnay army

Question 4

What did the the Treaty of Versailles (ToV) order Germany to do its military?

Answer 4

• Abolish conscription and reduce its army to 100,000 men.
• Demilitarise the Rhineland
• Limit Germany’s navy to six battleships, no submarines
• No air force

Question 5

How much did Germany have to pay the Allies in reparations?

Answer 5

£6600 million in Gold Marks

Question 6

Where did Germany lose territory?

Answer 6

Overseas colonies, West Posen, West Prussia (became part of Poland), Alsace and Lorraine (to France)

Question 7

What did the ToV forbid Germany to do in relation to Austria?

Answer 7

Anschluss (political reunification) was forbidden

Question 8

Name 4 reasons why Germans hated the Tov?

Answer 8

1. Territory that was seen as ‘German’ was put under foreign rule - e.g. Austria, Danzig, Sudetenland, Saar. This went against the principle of self-determination.
2. Germans did not accept full blame for the war (War Guilt) - they argued they were defending Germany in 1914
3. Believed the reparations were too high - signing a black cheque to the Allies
4. Diktat - Allies felt that the treaty had been imposed on them without any regulation

Question 9

What was the significance of the ToV for the Weimar government?

Answer 9

Because the new Weimar democracy as forced to accept the armistice and later sign the ToV - it was associated with defeat/humiliation. The stab-in-the-back myth severely weakened Weimar democracy from the start by undermining popular support for Weimar government.