Versailles Settlement Flashcards
Why did Germany sign
Germany was told the Allies would resume the war if the government refused to agree the terms.
Aims of the treaty
Punish Germany, prevent them attacking France again by weakening them, give the winning countries compensation so they could rebuild their countries
Terms of the Versailles Treaty
German navy limited
German army limited
War Guilt clause
Rhineland to be demilitarised
Pay reparations
Anschluss
A League of Nations to be formed
No tanks, submarines or air force
Loss of land
No secret treaties
Freedom of the seas
Alsace and Lorraine returned to France
Self determination in Ottoman and Turkish empires
Independence for Serbia, Romania and Montenegro
Independent Pollsh state with access to the sea
Treaty- navy limits?
German navy limited to 15,000 men, 1500 officers and only 6 battleships; size and number of battleships also limited.
Treaty- war guilt clause
Article 231 of the Treaty was the war guilt clause: Germany and their allies had to take full responsibility for starting the war - the term Germany hated the most.
Treaty - Rhineland
Rhineland, a strip of land on the border between Germany and France, to be demilitarised - ie Germany could not put an army or defences in this area.
Treaty - Reparations: Article 232
In 1921 the figure was agreed at £6,600 million to be paid in annual instalments; it was estimated it would take until 1988 to pay it back
Treaty- Anschluss
Anschluss ( union) between Germany and Austria was forbidden
Treaty- League of Nations
League was formed but Germany was not allowed to join it
Treaty - limit on German army
Army limited to 100,000 men and conscription not allowed.
Tanks, submarines or an air force not allowed.
No poison gas.
Navy limited to 15,000 men.
Rhineland not to have German troops for 15 years.
Treaty- loss of land
*Germany was split in two by the Polish corridor, a strip of land given to Poland to allow them access to the sea. West Prussia (called the Polish Corridor) - later starts WWII
*Danzig taken from Germany and made a free city under League of Nations control
*The Saar placed under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years. Given to France for 15 years. The Saar was an important industrial part of Germany as it contained most of Germany’s coal mines
*Germany’s colonies in Africa given as mandates to the League of Nations meaning Britain and France controlled them.
*Alsace Lorraine returned to France
*Eupen and Malmedy given to Belgium
*North Schleswig given to Denmark
What percentage of its land did Germany lose in the treaty
13 % of land and 6 million German people lost
10% of industry taken
15% of agriculture taken
Impact of the loss of territory
Anger and Hardship
Germans felt their land and people were being stolen. Some Germans were now living in other countries like Poland or France.
Created huge financial problems as a big portion of industry and agriculture was taken from an already bankrupt country.
Impact of the army restrictions
Humiliation
Germany was no longer a strong country to be feared, but a weak one at the mercy of the allies.
German had a strong military tradition so losing their military was very humiliating to many Germans
Millions of soldiers now out of work and had to join the Freikorps
Impact of the Reparations
Economic crisis
Germany was already nearly bankrupt from the war. The Weimar Governemt believed they had almost no chance of being able to meet the payments.
Loss of land made it even harder to make the money to pay.
Repartions meant Germany unlikely to recover and become an important country again.
Impact of the War Guilt clause (Article 231)
Anger
Germans believed they were not the only ones to blame for the war- they felt the Treaty of V had been forced on them by evil allies and weak politicians
Impact of not being allowed to join the League of Nations
Anger
This told the Germans they could never be trusted again and were isolated from Europe
Article 231
War guilt Clause
Article 232
Reparations
Diktat mean
Forced treaty
How did the German people react to the Treaty
They hated it. Called it a Diktat as Germany was not allowed representation at the Paris Peace Conference and were forced to accept the blame for the start of the war.
Guilt clause led to Germany having to take the blame and pay reparations to the Allied Powers.
Reparartions came at a tough time for German civilians who had faced starvation during WWI due to Allies using naval blockades to prevent supplies.
German Govt claimed 763,000 civilians had died of starvation and couldn’t afford to suffer anymore.
