Treaty of Versailles Flashcards
Why were the Big Three under pressure to deal severely with Germany?
They felt (especially Britain and France) that Germany was responsible for the war and should be punished.
Felt that Germany should pay for all the damage and destruction caused by the war.
What were the total BR and FR casualties?
Probably over 9 million
What was the view of the Br public regarding Germany?
Huge casualties left mark on British public.
DEMANDED A HARSH PEACE settlement with Germany
When was the case for treating Germany harshly strengthened?
Germany had treated Russia HARSHLY in the ToBL in 1918. Allies felt that this is what Germany would have done to them had they lost the war.
- Stripped Russia of lots of land
- 25% of population
What were the differing aims of the PPC?
punish Germany
cripple Germany so that it could not start another war
reward winning countries
establish a just and lasting peace
What was Clemenceau’s character?
tough, harsh and uncompromising
Why did Clemenceau demand a harsh peace treaty with Germany?
France had suffered enormous damage to land, industry and people. 2/3 of men fighting in the army had been killed/injured.
Compared with France, Germany seemed as powerful and threatening as ever. German land and industry had not suffered as much as France’. French population was also in decline compared to Ger.
What did France see the Treaty as?
an opportunity to cripple Germany so that it could not attack Fr again
What did Fr President Poincaré want?
to split Ger into a collection of smaller states
What did Clem need to do as the PM of France?
demand a harsh peace settlement despite him knowing that Br and USA wouldn’t agree to show that he was AWARE of public opinion in France.
What was Wilson like?
an idealist and reformer
What were Wilson’s aims?
To build a better more peaceful world from the ruins of war.
He didn’t want to punish Germany too harshly otherwise it would recover and want revenge.
He wanted to strengthen democracy in the defeated nation so that its people would not let its leaders cause another war.
What did Wilson want all nations to do and how did he contribute?
COOPERATE to achieve world peace
He published his Fourteen Points
What did Wilson strongly believe in that contrasted very much with Clemenceau and LG?
SELF-DETERMINATION
Br and Fr felt it would be too difficult to give this to the peoples of E.Europe as they were scattered among many countries.
They felt that he didn’t really know what was going on there.
What was LG’s character?
realist
What did LG want in the treaty?
Germany to be punished but not too harshly. Didn’t want Ger to seek revenge and start another war.
Wanted Ger to lose overseas colonies b/c they threatened the Br empire.
Wanted to trade with Ger again: Ger was Br’s 2nd largest trading partner before the war and trade with Ger meant more jobs for the public.
What were LG’s public pressures at home?
He had won the 1918 election by promising to make Germany pay but he realised the dangers and losses to Britain with this course of action.
What were 4 of the 14 Points?
Free trade between countries
Free access to the seas in peacetime or wartime
Self-determination for the people in the Turkish Empire
League of Nations to be set up
Why did Clemenceau clash with Wilson?
USA had not suffered nearly as bad as France.
Clem resented W’s generous attitude towards Germany.
Disagreed over what to do with Saar coalfields and Rhineland.
Where did the Big Three clash at the PPC?
Clemenceau resented both BR and USA for being too lenient and felt Lloyd was only working for Britain’s advantage. Also others hadn’t suffered as much as France so therefore differing views on the Rhineland and Saar coalfields.
Lloyd George was unhappy with Wilson’s 14 Points as point of self-autonomy was threatening to the British Empire.
Why did Clem clash with LG?
LG also like Wilson didn’t want to punish Germany too harshly but Clem felt Br was only self interested:
Happy to treat Ger fairly in Br where Fr was more under threat but less happy to allow Ger to keep navy and colonies that threatened the British Empire.
Why did Wilson and LG disagree?
LG was unhappy with Wilson’s point of allowing all nations access to the sea. Also that of self-determination threatened the Br Empire and thus Br’s strength and world prowess and power.
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
War guilt Reparations of £6600 million Ger lost all overseas colonies No Anschluss with Austria Demilitarisation of the Rhineland
League of Nations created but Ger couldn’t join unless shown it was a peace-loving country
Armed forces limited:
100,000 men
6 battleships
no aircraft, submarines, armoured vehicles
What were the losses of Land of Germany in Europe?
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Rhineland demilitarised
Saarland run by LoN and plebiscite after 15 yrs
Upper Silesia to Poland
Danzig - free city run by the LoN to give Poland a sea port
North Schleswig - to Denmark after a plebiscite
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are independent states
What did Germany lose in the ToV?
10% of its land 12.5% of its population 16% of its coalfields almost 1/2 of iron and steel industry all overseas colonies
What was the German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?
HORROR AND OUTRAGE
Stabbed in the back - They felt that they should have been represented at the PPC and they were not even aware that they were losing the war. Angry that they were being forced to accept a harsh treaty without choice/comment.
Germany’s psyche was built on their military. Lost lots of land along with their pride and economy. The treatment of Germany didn’t even agree with Wilson’s 14 Points.
How did Germany feel about the War guilt and reparations?
War guilt particularly hated. They felt blame should be shared. Forced to pay for ALL the damage.
German economy in tatters. People feared they would be crippled.
How did Ger feel about disarmament?
Army was a symbol of Ger pride - demoralising.
No one demilitarised to the level of Germany.
How did Ger feel about the loss of Ger territory?
Major blow to Ger pride. Saar and Upper Silesia were important industrial areas.
The loss of German land went to increasing both Br and Fr empires.
Why did the treatment of Germany from the ToV not tie in with the 14 POINTS AND LON?
Self-determination was given to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia but Germans were divided by the terms forbidding Anschluss and hived off into new countries such as Czech. ruled by non Germans.
NOT INVITED TO JOIN THE LEAGUE.
In what way did Germany have double standards?
They wanted fair treatment but this was not cohesive with the way that they treated Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. They also planned to pay war debts by getting reparations from defeated states - self inflicted economic problems.
What happened when Germany failed to pay?
In 1922, Ger fell behind and in 1923 French and Belgian forces invaded the Ruhr region and took what was owed to them in the form of raw materials and other goods.
How did Germany try to solve the problem of reparations? What were the consequences?
Germany printed more money. With so much in circulation the mark became worthless so prices shot up.
Was the Treaty of Versailles justifiable?
NO - reparations were too high but many officials pressed on to satisfy impulsive populations.
YES - the disarmament of Germany was necessary to prevent war. A lenient treaty would destabilize the public in Br and especially France.
Best that could have been hoped for in the circumstances
Anything more generous would have been totally unacceptable to public opinion in Br and Fr.
What happened when Gers retaliated following the French invasion of the Ruhr?
French reacted harshly killing over 100 workers and expelling over 100,000 protestors
What were the issues inflicted on Germany by their strike in the Ruhr?
Ger didn’t have any goods to trade with neither any money to buy things with.
Describe the TON
Bulgaria lost land to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia, had to disarm to 20,000 men and lost access to the Mediterranean.
Also pay £100 reparations.
Describe the ToSG
Austria lost Bosnia and Moravia to Czechoslovakia
Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia to Yugoslavia
Galicia to Poland
Land to Italy
Disarm to 30,000 men
They could also not have anschluss with Germany.
Issues with the ToSG?
Italy felt she deserved more land.
Austria economic crisis as industrial areas were lost to Czechoslovakia
Other areas suffered as they were now part of foreign states
Describe the ToT?
Hungary lost Slovakia and Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia
Slovenia and Croatia to Yugoslavia
Transylvania to Romania
BUT almost 3 million Hungarians ended up in other states and industries suffered form the loss of population and raw materials
Describe the Treaty of Sevres?
Turkey lost much land; Smyrna to Greece and Syria/Lebanon became mandates under French control.
Turkey was important b/c of its strategic position and size of its empire.
Was the ToS successful?
NO - Turks outraged and Turkish nationalist challenged the terms by driving the Greeks out of Smyrna. Treaty of Lausanne returned returned Smyrna to Turkey.
Motives of BR and FR in taking control of former Turkish land was self-interested.
What were the advantages about the new Czechoslovakia?
A chain of mountains around Bohemia provided defence and it was in proximity to many other countries so this allowed for allies to develop.
It was also economically and politically stable as it contained industrial areas from the former A-H Empire. It was therefore a strong, buffer state against Germany.
What were the disadvantages about the new Czechoslovakia?
There were risks of cultural tensions and also populations would have been outraged from being separated from former countries. The countries that the industrial areas were stripped of would have been upset.
Disadvantages and advantages of Poland
There was a lack of clarity of her borders and much of Poland was not Polish arising in cultural tensions. Also Poland did not have any natural frontiers at first so was given the Polish Corridor from Germany - ANGERED GERMANS. However, Poland was a buffer country against threat of Germany and Communist Russia.
Disadvantages with Yugoslavia
It was a mix of Slavic countries which allowed for CULTURAL TENSION. Putting Serbs with A-H Empire states was also not conducive with peace.
