Treaty of Versailles Flashcards
What were the military terms of the ToV?
Germany was only allowed an army of 100,000 Only 6 Naval ships No tanks No submarines No aircraft Conscription was banned
What happened to the Rhineland in ToV?
Germany was not allowed weapons or soldiers in the west of the Rhine or 50km East of it
The allies would occupy the same distance for 15 years
What land was given to Belgium and France?
Alsace-Lorraine was given to France (after they had taken it 47 years before from France)
Eupen-Malmedy was given to Belgium
What land was put under the control of the league of Nations?
All Germany’s overseas territories
Danzig became a ‘free’ port and was also placed under the control of the LoN
The Saar (rich coal fields) put under control of the LoN
What land was given to Russia and Poland?
The rich farmland in Posen was given to Poland
Land taken in Brest-Litovsk given back to Russia, some of this made into new states, eg Estonia
What percentage of iron production, territory and population did Germany lose?
48% of iron production
13% of 1914 territory
12% of population
What was done to keep Germany’s economic growth to a minimum?
Banned from uniting with Austria, known as Anschluss
What number was the water guilt clause?
231
What was the war guilt clause?
Germany had to admit responsibility for the war, and therefore had to pay reparations, set later in 1921 at £6,600 million, or 132 billion gold marks.
How many clauses dealt with the LoN’s organisation?
The first 26 clauses
Why did America not join the LoN?
Members of congress wanted to stay out of European affairs and believed the LoN would use America’s resources and army unnecessarily
What was the LoN?
It was set up with the aim of stopping war by setting up a global organisation to judge disputes between countries
How many members did the LoN have by 1920?
48 members, but Germany was not allowed to join
What were the terms of Brest-Litovsk?
Russia lost 1/3 of it’s population or 55million people.
Had to pay 6 billion German gold marks.
When was the treaty signed?
28th June 1920
How was Germany treated during the negotiations?
If Germany refused to sign it, the allies planned on invading, the blockade of Germany continued during negotiations and Germany was excluded from all negotiations.
How long were the Germans given to comment on it?
They were given just over 2 weeks to submit their official complains- only two minor amendments were made.
How did the Reichstag react to the treaty?
All parties disagreed with it
Schiedemann resigned when his cabinet could not agree on it
Reichstag agreed to the terms and foreign minister Müller signed the treaty.
By what majority did the Reichstag agree to the treaty?
237:138
How was Germany in a potentially strong position after the treaty?
France failed get a permanently weakened border
The break up of the Austro-hungarian empire meant Germany was surrounded by smaller weaker states
Germany’s economy never failed.
What was Lloyde George and Britain’s view on the treaty?
George believed Germany should be punished to an extent, but not completely weakened so they could stop the spread of communism
This would have been political suicide to go public however, so to stay in office had to take popular view that Germany had to be punished.
What was George Clemenceau and France’s view on the treaty?
Both believed Germany should be punished harshly.
What happened to Italy during negotiations?
Often sidelined, as before WW1 Italy had had an alliance with Germany and Italy wasn’t a ‘great’ power
What was Woodrow Wilson, and the USA’s views on the treaty?
Believed Germany should be punished in a way that allowed European conciliation.
American’s believed the US should stay out of European politics.
