Treaty Of Versailles Flashcards
What was the purpose of the Paris peace conference?
To allow the leaders of the victorious powers to meet in order to decide how to deal with defeated powers
Where was the treaty of Versailles drawn up?
At the Paris peace conference, which was held in Versailles in France
When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
June 1919
Who was Georges Clemenceau?
The prime minister of France
A hard, tough politician with a reputation of being uncompromising
Who was David Lloyd George?
The prime minister of Britain
A realistic and very experienced politician
Who was Woodrow Wilson?
The president of the USA
An idealist and a reformer
What was Frances aims for the Treaty of Versailles?
- France had suffered very badly in terms of damage to the country and loss of life in WW1, which they were determined not to allow such damage happen again
- they wanted Germany to pay for all the damage
- they wanted German to lose all the land they had gained and more
- they wanted the German army to be destroyed
- wanted Germany to be crippled so they couldn’t attack again
What did Britain want from the Treaty of Versailles?
- Britain had suffered during WWI, but not to the same extent as France
- wanted Germany punished justly (not too harshly)
- main aim was to stop Germany having a navy so that Britain could ‘rule the seas’ so they could maintain their empire
What did America want from the a Treaty of Versailes?
- the USA only joined the war late, and no fighting took place in their country, so they did not suffer much
- Wilson proposed 14 points which he believed would prevent future wars
- the main two ideas were self- determination for countries of eastern Europe and the League of Nations
What did France think of the Treaty of Versailles?
- liked the harsh things > reparations > small German army > de-militarised zone in the Rhineland > France got Alsace-Lorraine, and some German colonies
- Disappointed with the treaty, because:
> wanted it to be harsher
> wanted Germany to be split up into smaller countries
How did Britain react to the a Treaty of Versailles?
- wanted Germany to pay so liked:
> the fact that Britain got some German colonies.
> small German navy - disappointed because:
> thought the treaty was too harsh and ruin Germany
> thought it would cause another war in 25 years time
What did the USA think of the Treaty of Versailles?
-they achieved:
> league Of nations
> self-determination
Disappointed because?
> some of the ‘14 points’ did not get into the treaty
> when Wilson when back to America! the Americans refused to join the League of Nations, and refused to sigh the treaty
How did Germans react to the Treaty of Versailles? U BRAT
UNFAIR:
- thought it was unfair that they weren’t represented at the treaty, so they had to accept a harsh treaty without a choice, also weren’t allowed to join the League of Nations
BLAME:
- believed that the blame for the war should be shared
REPETATIONS:
- Germany were crippled by reparations, the country was already economically destroyed after the war and people couldn’t afford food
ARMY:
- with such a small army Germany would be unable to defend themselves. Germany’s pride was also damaged
TERRITORY:
-loss of so much land damaged Germany’s pride. Also damaged the economy
What did Germany do when the treaty was first created?
- they refused to sign the treaty at first as they thought it was unfair.
- rather than hand over ships, they sank them in protest
- when it looked like war would break out again, Ebert had to sign the treaty as Germany could not survive another war
What country was created by the Treaty of Versailles? And why
Czechoslovakia
The allies had hoped that it would provide a country which would be economically and politically stable in Eastern Europe
