Treaty of Versailles Knowledge

Question 1

Land terms

Answer 1

• the areas of Alsace & Lorraine were returned to France (symbolic humiliation)
• the areas of Eupen & Malmedy were given to Belguim
• the territories that Germany gained during the war was reduced by 10%
• colonies around the world were taken from Germany and given to the Allies temporarily
• colonies around the world such as Belguim, Czechoslovakia and Poland were taken from Germany as well as their colonies in China, Pacific and Africa were given to the Allies temporarily, therefore reducing Germany’s power and territory.

Question 2

Military terms - left Germany feeling vulnerable

Answer 2

• conscription was forbidden and the army was reduced from 13 million men to 100,000 troops because France sought to limit Germany’s potential to regain their economic superiority and preventing them from buillding up their army
• no tanks, submarines or airplanes allowed in Germay’s military force as well as the manufacturing of these vehicles
• the area of Germany known as the Rhineland was to be demilitarised

Question 3

Blame terms

Answer 3

Article 231 - Germany had to accept all the blame for causing and starting the war as well as the damage caused to the Allies due to Germany’s aggressive nature in the war.

Question 4

Political terms

Answer 4

• Anschluss with Austria was forbidden which limited Germany’s future relationships if there was to be any world conflict, therefore limiting Germany’s allies and resources
• in 1919, Germany was not allowed to join the League of Nations, which caused the Allies to decide to exclude Germany from being a part of the international community

Question 5

Money terms

Answer 5

• in 1922, it was set that Germany had to pay £6.6 billion to the Allies to pay for the damage suffered by Britain and France caused by the war
• the reparations were to be paid in small chunks, where 2% was paid every year, for the next 92 years
• Saar coalfields, which were located between France and Germany, were given to France for 15 years, which caused a decrease in Germany’s economy as the coalfields were a huge part in providing money for the country

Question 6

The reaction was justified

Answer 6

• the creation of the Polish Corridor divided Germany and took away German territories. It also left Germans trapped in what became Polish territory and therefore under a foreign government
• war guilt was damaging for Germans psychologically because it meant that German troops, sailors and airmen had died in vain and were dishonoured
• Germans believed that the causes of the war were international and that no one country was to blame or should be blamed
• the Rhineland was demilitarised to create a buffer zone between France and Germany and allowed for France to invade Germany easily if the German government breached the terms of the treaty

Question 7

The reaction was not justified

Answer 7

• although Germany lost a significant amount of territory in the east and the west and her overseas colonies, the country was otherwise intact
• Germany encouraged Austria to go to war with Serbia and failed to understand that Britain would defend Belgian neutrality
• the territorial losses Germany suffered was nothing like the territorial confiscations imposed by Germany on Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of March 1918
• German aggression was also evident in their attempt, from 1908, to overtake Britain in the building of Dreadnoughts
• Germany was supposed to pay about 7% of their annual income per annum but in fact never paid more than 3%
• after the war and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, middle and eastern Europe was a junkie of chaotic, politically weak states none of which presented any threat to Germany at all