Treaty of Versailles Flashcards
When was the Armistice of WW1
11th Nov 1918
Who were the Big Three?
USA, Britain, and France
When was the Paris Peace Conference and what did it entail?
January 18th 1919, the winning powers met to discuss what to do with Germany.
How was the issue of war guilt resolved, and was it fair?
- A ‚War Guild Clause’ is put in, forcing Germany to take full responsibility for the war
- Not fair, Austria-Hungary was the first country to go to war
How was the issue of German army size resolved, and was it fair?
- Reduced to 100k troops
- No subs
- No airforce
- No tanks
- 6 battleships
Fair enough: no real need for defence, they had already lost
How large were German reparations?
$6.6 Billion, $134 Billion today
What were the names of German coal-rich regions?
Alsace-Lorraine and Rhineland.
How was the issue of Rhineland/Alsace-Lorraine resolved, and was it fair?
- German troops forbidden from Rhineland Territory and anything within 50km east of the Rhine
- Colonies lost
- Much of Silesia, East Prussia, and Pomerania Lost to poland
- Alsace Lorraine returned to France
What additional tings were established by the Treaty of Versailles
- League of Nations
- Union with Austria banned
What were Wilson’s 14 points? (name 5)
- Open diplomacy without secret treaties
- Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace
- Equal trade conditions
- Decrease of armaments in all nations
- Adjustment of colonial claims
- Evacuation of all central powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence
- Belgium to be evacuated and restored
- Return of Alsace-Lorraine and all French territories
- Readjust Italian borders
- Austria-Hungary to be provided opportunity for self determination
- Redraw borders of Balkans, creating Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro
- Create a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade with Dardanelles
- Creation of independent Polish state
- League of nations
What wasn’t mentioned in Wilson’s 14 points? (name three)
- No mention of reparations, only reduction in size of German army
- German colonies supposed to have ‚right to self-determination’, colonies actually just given to France
- Germans not expecting a harsh treaty, and were shook
Some statistics on the Versailles Settlement:
Germany lost 13% of land, 48% of iron production, and 6 million citizens
Reaction of Big three
- France rlly happy, lands etc.
- Britain mid, more money ig
- America: concerns of extreme severity, and unhappy that European colonial territories not reduced
Leaders of Big Three personal thoughts:
- British PM Lloyd George most satisfied due to gain of German colonies and free trade with Germany
- President Clemenceau unhappy, thinks should be more strict (e.g. no army and greater reparations). He is voted out partially for being TOO SOFT on reparations
- Wilson: miserable
How was the Treaty perceived by the German public:
- Named a dictated peace (diktat)
- Army had been stabbed in the back by politicians (Dolchstoßlegende), and the politicians were known as ‘November Criminals’
What was the Political Crisis of June 1919?
- Chancellor Scheidemann wanted to reject the treaty and resigned
- New coalition government
- President tells General that he would accept military action if effective, Groener is realistic, and says that there is no alternative
What was the impact of WW1 on the German economy?
- Reparations: inflationary pressures, dominating government spending
- A massive loss of productive industrial areas, and a consequent reduction in industrial capacity, resource extraction.
- Lack of investment
- Poor demography, less men, and thus less workers, and less children
- PTSD and political instability
What was the German post-war debt?
- 144bn gold marks (double check), held by the German people, War Widow pensions
What was the impact of reparations on the economy?
- Germany didn’t have enough gold to fulfil obligations
- Treaty demanded some reparations to be payed in coal, which was problematic due to the loss of the Saarland and Silesia
- Weren’t allowed to pay in certain goods
- Couldn’t trade much as entire merchant fleet taken and high tariffs on German goods
Why was inflation a problem in the post-war German economy?
- People didn’t save money, so it had to be borrowed from foreign banks
- Impoverishes people
- Makes ppl lost faith in the currency which damages all forms of investment
What did politicians do in response to inflation?
- They just let the prices rise, as it suited industrialist who had taken out loans, as they could pay them back at much lower prices.
Why did France and Belgium invade the Ruhr, and when?
Germany had fallen seriously behind in reparations payments by the end of 1922, and the French were convinced that Germany was holding out on them.
9th JANUARY 1923
How did Germany respond to the invasion?
- Passive resistance
- Army sabotage of French operations
- Stopping of all reparations
What was the economic impact of the invasion?
- Hyperinflation
- Had to import coal using limited foreign reserves
- Shortages of goods
- Output of the Ruhr in May 1923=1/5 of year prior
Who were the winners of hyperinflation?
- Black marketeers, who bought up food stock and sold it at vastly inflated prices
- Those with debts
- Cheap loans helped small business
- Those who leased property at a fixec rate
- Foreign currency owners
- Farmers, where money was less important, but food was in constant demand
Who were the losers of hyperinflation?
- Pensioners, war widows on fixed pensions
- Patriots, who bought war bonds
- Landlords with fixed rents
- Non-unionised workers
How was inflation solved?
- New currency (Rentenmark) introduced, backed by land
- Backed by US Gold Reserve, loans from US
- Calling off of passive resistance
Who were the leaders of the Spartacist movement?
- Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemboug
How long did the Spartacist uprising last?
8 days
Who told the two Freikorps units of the Kapp Putsch to disband?
The defence minister, Gustav Noske
Who was the commander general of the two Freikorps units told to disband?
Commanding General Walther von Lüttwitz.
Who were the people that supported the Kapp Putsch?
General Hans von Seeckt and Ludendorrf, but didn’t voice their support.
How many people were convicted of the 12000 that participated in the Kapp Putsch?
705 prosecuted, one person punished. Failure of judicial class to prosecute shows sympathies.
Who were the men that right wing nationalists were intent on eliminating as figures that had ‘betrayed’ Germany?
- Hugo Hasse: USPD member, member of Council of People’s commissars, shot in front of Reichstag in October 1919
- Matthias Erzberger: Former finance minister, assassinated in Black forest, by members of terrorist organisation consul, already shot in January. Led German delegation for armistice, signed TofV.
- Walter Rathenau: 24th June 1922, popular, leading minister in Republican gov, negotiated to improve TofV
Who are the Organisational Consul?
An ultra-nationalist, anti-semitic terrorist group formed mostly of disbanded Freikorps. Formed after failure of Kapp Putsch. Particularly active in Berlin. Wanted to install a right-wing dictatorship.
How many people were part of the Organisational Consul?
Approximately 5000
