Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Question 1

What happened at the end of WWI?

Answer 1

• After Vimy Ridge, German nationalism decreased
• The arrival of Fresh European soldiers in 1918 sealed their fate (German soldiers were depleting and more soldiers were coming)
• Surrendered in 1918
  11th month, 11th day, 11th hour
• This is Armistice Day (remembrance day) (this was not a peace treaty, merely a ceasefire)

Question 2

What did the Big 4 do after the war?

Answer 2

• “Big 4”: Georges Clemenceau (France), Woodrow Wilson (USA), David Lloyd George (Britain), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
• Britain wanted reparations and the disengagement of Germany’s army to ensure their colonial success
• France wanted revenge against Germany and protection from future aggression. Clemenceau fought to ensure that Germany would be crippled
• Italy wanted the land that was promised when they joined the Allies: Trieste, Trentino, and the Dalmatia Coast
• The US was the opposite: Wilson felt that humiliation and punishment were not the way to ensure long-term peace. Wilson wanted to create a humane treaty with Germany
• Punishment and revenge won out over a fair and just peace
  The Big 4 chose national interest over international interests
  Italy did not receive the land it was promised
• Germany was basically forced to sign → goal was to weaken Germany so they could not wage war again

Question 3

Who took the blame for WWI?

Answer 3

• Germany had to sign the War Guilt Clause
• War Guilt Clause: Stated Germany and its allies were responsible for the outbreak of the war
• Could not join the League of Nations

Question 4

Reparations of WWI

Answer 4

• Reparations: Making amends to things you have done wrong by paying those who incurred loses as a result of your wrongdoing
• Germany had to pay $33 billion in reparations for damages caused by the members of the Entente
  Approx $850 billion in 2017 (close to a trillion now)
• Unable to pay them as a result of territorial loses and post war recession, they borrow money from the USA

Question 5

What happened to Germany’s army/navy?

Answer 5

• Germany’s army was to be reduced to 100 000 men and no tanks
• Germany’s navy was to be reduced and they could not build submarines
• No German air force at all
• Rhineland was to be demilitarized

Question 6

What happened to Germany’s territory?

Answer 6

• Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
  Lost all colonies
• Had to recognize new countries of Poland and Czechoslovakia
  What impact would this have on nationalism? Why?
• Union with Austria was forbidden

Question 7

What were Wilson’s 14 points?

Answer 7

• Wilsons’s 14 Points: Statement of principles for World Peace after WWI
  Outlined in a speech to US congress
  Focused on progressive, foreign policy like free trade, open agreements, democracy, and self-determination
  Generally welcomed by Europeans but not the other members of the “Big 4”

Question 8

What was the result of the Treaty?

Answer 8

• Germany was humiliated due to their reparations, loss of land, demilitarization, etc.
• The causes of war were not settled (M.A.N.I.A)
• The League of Nations was formed to ensure that war never broke out again (would later become the United Nations)

Question 9

League of Nations

Answer 9

• League of Nations: Intergovernmental organization created to maintain world peace - based on collective security, disarmament, and peaceful negotiations
• A dream of Woodrow Wilson’s (so many dreams so little time, the league of nations was based on his 14 points)
  The US, however did not join the League and instead entered into isolationism
  Precurser to the United nations

Question 10

What were the positive and negative results of the treaty?

Answer 10

Positive Results of the Treaty:

1. Officially brought peace into the region
2. Territorial provisions were mild compared to what Germany would have imposed if they had won
3. Provided certain guarantees to Germany
4. Enforcement disarmament
5. Compensated war debts of the Allies

Negative Results of the Treaty:

1. Believed to wrongfully enforce Germany to accept responsibility
2. Too harsh to be effective
3. Imposed Carthaginian peace (doing everything you can to cripple one side, bringing upon a fake peace)
4. Was not fully enforced (Germany broke the rules but the world turned a blind eye because they were all walking on egg shells because they didn’t want to cause the chain reaction that cause WWI)

Question 11

How did the map of Europe change?

Answer 11

• The peace treaties changed existing boundries in Europe
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire no longer existed.Its place was taken by the independent nations of Hungary and Austria and by the new nations of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Other changes also occurred when territory was ceded (give up power or territory) to different nations

Question 12

What is the Legacy of WWI?

Answer 12

• The Treaty of Versailles caused enormous bitterness in Germany, which nationalist movements, like the Nazis, exploited
  German National Socialist Party become radical and this appealed to Germans whp were looking to see Germany return to her former glory
  Anger over the Treaty of Versailles helped give support to the radical agenda of ultranationalist parties within Germany → this lead to the rise of Adolph Hitler as the German people were looking for a hero to restore Germany’s former glory