Treaty of Versailles (28th June 1919)

Question 1

Name examples of land terms from the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer 1

• Danzig was taken from Germany and made a free city under the League of Nations.
• Lost 13% of its land: Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, Eupen and Malmedy was given to Belgium and North Schleswig was given to Denmark.
• Germany was split in two by the Polish Corridor, forming a new country, Poland.
• Germany’s colonies in Africa were given as mandates to the League of Nations, where Britain and France controlled it.
• Anchluss (union between Austria and Germany) was forbidden.

Question 2

Name examples of army terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer 2

• Army was limited to 100,000 men and conscription was not allowed.
• The Rhineland was demilitarised which meant that it was easy for France to invade Germany, due to the lack of armed forces.
• The navy was limited to 15000 men, 1500 officers and 6 battleships.
• The army was not allowed tanks, submarines or an airforce.

Question 3

Name examples of money terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer 3

• Article 232: In 1921, Germany had to pay £6.6 billion in reparations to France and Belgium.
• The Saar, an industrial part of Germany, was put under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years.

Question 4

Name examples of blame terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Answer 4

• Article 231: Germany had to take full responsibility for starting the war.
• Germany was not allowed to join the League of Nations.

Question 5

What was Germany’s reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

• “November Criminals”: German politicians who negotiated and signed the Treaty of Versailles which ended the war in November 1918. They had to sign this as Germany was starving due to the Naval Blockade. The public was not aware of this and thought the government was “back-stabbing” the army and stopping their chance of winning the war.
• The Germans called the Treaty of Versailles a “diktat” which is an order imposed by someone in power without popular consent. Popular propaganda convinced Germans that Germany was doing well in the war, so they believed the government was “back-stabbing” Germany by retreating.

Question 6

4. Territorial loses were the worst punishment faced by Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. How far do you agree?

Answer 6

I disagree with this statement to a certain extent as blame was the biggest issue for Germany due to the humilitating defeat it set upon Germany as a whole. This is evident through Article 231, which was where Germany was made to accept full responsibility for starting the war and for all the loss and damage done. This was an outrage for Germany as they had to take the blame for a war that had originated from Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

On the other hand, territorial losses were also a significant punishment as the Treaty of Versailles meant that 13% of their land was given away. For example, Alsace Lorraine was given back to France and North Schleswig was given to Denmark. Due to this, Germany would have to indure in the humiliation and defeat of losing parts of their country to other countries as well as their empire, which was given as mandates to the League of Nations and was controlled by Britain and France. In protest to this, some Germans would cause issues with the public as their country dramatically started to lose income.

In addition to that, another term that Germans hated from the Treaty of Versailles was the army terms as it meant that Germany’s army was reduced significantly to only 100,000 men which could not possibly fight off an invasion or threat. As well as that, the Rhineland, which is on the border of Germany and is a significant industrial area, was demilitarised which gave France easy access to invade Germany.

Question 7

4. France was the happiest with the Treaty of Versailles. How far do you agree?

Answer 7

I agree with this statement to a large extent as most of Georges Clemenceau’s aims were achieved to a certain extent. For example, Germany was made to pay £6.6 billion as reparations to both France and Belgium as a result of Article 232. This meant that France was able to get the money they needed to rebuild France after the damages they endured due to the war. Eventhough this was not the amount they desired, it was still quite a lot of money. In addition to this, another example of an aim France got out of the Treaty of Versailles is having their armed forces reduced. Germany’s army was reduced significantly to only 100,000 men. This meant that Germany could not possibly be able to attack France again without being defeated. As well as that, this also meets their aim to cripple Germany so that they would never be able to invade France again.

On the other hand, Britain would also be quite happy with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles as they were able to protect their navy. Germany’s navy was restricted to 1,500 men, 6 battleships and no submarines. This meant that Britain’s navy still remained the best and the strongest where Germany was not able to create a threat on that position. As well as that, all of Germany’s colonies in Africa were given to Britain and France as mandates from the League of Nations. Britain was happy with this and they were able to develop their already great empire and remain the strongest. Britain, however, was not as happy as France with the terms of the Treaty o f Versailles as it did have some terms which were too harsh such as the War Guilt Clause which was where Germany had to take full responsibility for all the loss and damage done from the war, then leading to Article 232 where they were made to pay £6.6 billion as reparations. This is significant as David Lloyd George did not want the terms to be too harsh as he didn’t want Germany to want to seek revenge in the future.

Meanwhile, America was happy to a small extent as through the Treaty of Versailles, Poland was able to become a free country and have a port at Danzig (which would become the Polish Corridor). This meant America was happy as one of their aims was for countries to achieve self determination. However, they were less satisfied than Britain and Fance as they believed that most of the treaty was too harsh as Germany weren’t able to achieve the freedom to rule themself due to the restriction of the army, loss of land and empire. They would have not wanted Germany to have such a harsh punishment as they joined late in the war, didn’t see the physical effects the war had on their own soil and gained money from selling weapons to the allies.