Was The Treaty of Versailles fair?

Question 1

On which day of the year was both Franz Ferdinand shot AND the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 1

28th June

Question 2

‘I was seated between Jesus Christ and Napoleon’ - said who, and why?

Answer 2

David Lloyd-George, British PM, because the French leader (Clemenceau) was being very harsh and aggressive, while Woodrow Wilson, the US President was very keen to not be too harsh on Germany.

Question 3

Who were the Big Three (full names)?

Answer 3

David Lloyd George
Georges Clemenceau
Woodrow Wilson

Question 4

What were 4 key aims of the British leader at Versailles?

Answer 4

1) Gain some of the defeated powers’ colonies
2) Maintain the British Empire
3) Not destroy Germany completely so that Britain could continue to trade with her
4) Gain some reparations from Germany

Question 5

What were 4 key aims of the French leader at Versailles?

Answer 5

1) Punish Germany harshly for the damage they inflicted on French countryside.
2) Gain some of the defeated powers’ colonies.
3) Restrict Germany’s military to ensure they don’t attack France again.
4) regain Alsace-Lorraine

Question 6

What were 4 key aims of the American leader at Versailles?

Answer 6

1) Self-determination for colonies of the defeated powers and for Eastern European countries.
2) LON to be set up.
3) Free access to the seas in war time
4) No secret treaties.
(Wilson’s 14 Points!!)

Question 7

What was the name of the Treaty between Germany and Russia in 1917?

Answer 7

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Question 8

How many casualties did the Big Three suffer in WW1? (UK, France, USA)?

Answer 8

France: 6.16 million
USA: 364,000
UK (British Empire): 3,190,235

Question 9

How many casualties did Germany suffer during WW1?

Answer 9

7,142,558

Question 10

What word did the Germans use to refer to the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 10

Diktat

Question 11

What is the alternative name for Clause 231 of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 11

The Guilt Clause

Question 12

Give 4 military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles:

Answer 12

1) no conscription.
2) Army limited to 100,000 men
3) only 6 battleships (the largest type of ship).
4) no submarines

Question 13

When were reparations agreed on for the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 13

1921

Question 14

Give 4 economic punishments of the Treaty of Versailles

Answer 14

1) £6.6bn reparation fee.
2) Germany lost Saarland for 15 years to LON.
3) Massive territory loss - reduction of working population and tax base.
4) Loss of all overseas territory

Question 15

What are some arguments for why the Treaty of Versailles was fair?

Answer 15

1) Germany’s Schlieffen Plan (where they drew up a plan for European war in 1905-6) showed they had planned for WW1 and were therefore largely responsible for causing it as they thought they’d win.
2) Their backing of Austria in their confrontation with Serbia emboldened Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia, the initial military conflict.
3) Germany invaded neutral Belgium - which is what brought the UK into the war.
4) The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Russia in 1917 showed how Germany planned to punish the Allies if Germany had won, which was much harsher than TOV.

Question 16

What are some arguments for why the Treaty of Versailles was unfair?

Answer 16

1) The reparation burden was enormous - would not be paid off until 1984, so punishing future Germans who had nothing to do with the war.
2) The build up of European tensions that caused WW1 was not solely Germany’s fault - e.g. the naval race and the imperial rivalries were as much the UK’s fault.
3) Germany was left largely defenceless and surrounded by strong countries (some of which hated them) - France, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
4) Just because the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was unfair on Russia - two wrongs don’t make a right.

Question 17

Name 4 European regions lost permanently by Germany (and who they went to) under the Treaty of Versailles:

Answer 17

1) Alsace-Lorraine lost to France
2) Eupen-Malmady lost to Belgium
3) West Prussia and Posen lost to Poland
4) Upper Silesia lost to Poland

Question 18

When and why did French soldiers enter the Ruhr?

Answer 18

1923 French and Belgian soldiers entered the Ruhr (the industrial region of Germany) to take reparation payments in the form of raw materials after Germany did not pay any reparations in 1922 (they had paid £50million in 1921).

Question 19

How did the Germany government immediately try and deal with the French invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 19

Ordered the workers in the Ruhr to go on strike

Question 20

How did hyperinflation occur in Germany after the French invade the Ruhr (in 3 stages):

Answer 20

1) the Germany government continue to pay the striking workers in the Ruhr.
2) The German government isn’t earning any money from the Ruhr and aren’t producing anything to trade.
3) The German government prints money in order to pay the striking workers, leading to more and more German Marks into circulation.

Question 21

Why was the idea of the League of Nations being established contentious among the Big Three?

Answer 21

USA - totally in favour (Wilson’s idea).
UK - worried it might infringe on the British Empire’s power, and that the LON might interfere in the Empire.
France - liked the idea of a powerful military force to keep Germany in check, but didn’t like the idea of mutual disarmament as France was worried about weakening itself.

Question 22

Give some examples of German African colonies lost as mandates to the Allies.

Answer 22

Tanganyika (lost to Britain).
British Cameroons (lost to Britain)
French Cameroons (lost to France)
British Togoland (lost to Britain)
French Togoland (lost to France)

Question 23

What promise had Lloyd-George run on in the 1918 UK General Election in relation to the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 23

To make Germany pay - so he knew that the public expected a harsh treaty.

Question 24

What proportion of Germany’s (European - i.e. not colonial) population did it lose?

Answer 24

12.5%

Question 25

Give three examples of political unrest in Germany 1919-1923:

Answer 25

1) Spartacist uprising (1919)
2) Kapp putsch (1920)
3) Munich putsch (AKA the beer hall putsch).

Question 26

Give 4 ways in which the Treaty of Versailles caused political unrest in Germany:

Answer 26

1) The ex-German soldiers (now the army was limited to 100,00 men) formed gangs of armed men (the Freikorps) who were used by Dr Wolfgang Kapp to take over Germany.
2) the massive reparation sums (and general unhappiness) caused Germans to turn to radical alternatives - such as the Communists (Spartacist uprising) and right-wing authoritarians (Kapp putsch).
3) The humiliation of the German army, a symbol of national pride, led to Germans spreading rumours about the new Weimar Government having ‘stabbed the Germany army in the back’ - this weakened the new German government.
4) As well as the Weimar government ‘stabbing Germany in the back’ minority groups such as Jews were also blamed, leading to the rising popularity of extremists like Hitler (Munich putsch).

Question 27

What were the key events of the Kapp putsch?

Answer 27

1) On the 29th February 1920, Defence Minister Noske ordered the disbandment of two of the most powerful Freikorps.
2) This set in motion a series of events led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp and several high ranking German military personnel. Dr Kapp and his followers united various Freikorps and seized Berlin.
3) The Weimar government tried to use the army to suppress this new threat, however almost all army units refused to fight their old comrades (the Freikorps). Faced with no way to resist this threat the official German government fled Berlin, and Dr Kapp declared himself Chancellor (leader) of Germany.
4) In a last attempt the German government appealed to the workers of Berlin to resist the Kapp putsch and they responded. A general strike was declared in Berlin, so that all workers ceased working
5) Faced with this complete opposition and a city at a standstill Kapp and his supporters fled – Kapp was arrested and died awaiting trial.

Question 28

What were the key events of the Spartacist uprising?

Answer 28

1) The Spartacist Uprising was a general strike against the Weimar Government from 4th-15th January 1919 led by Communists Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht. They were inspired by Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, in 1917, which had overthrown the Russian government and replaced it with workers’ councils (Soviets).
2) The Spartacists were supported by some soldiers and sailors, who felt that the Communists represented their interests the best; however, this was not the case with all soldiers.
3) Faced with this uprising the leader of Germany, Freidreich Ebert was forced to bring in the Friekorps to help put down the rising, because of the reductions in the Germany army. (The Freikorps were groups of ex-soldiers, who had not disarmed (or had refused to disarm) and so kept their weapons).
4) The Freikorps were not the greatest supporters of the new democratic government, but they hated Communism more than they disliked Ebert. The Spartacists proved no match for the recently demobbed soldiers and the rising was crushed, and both Luxembourg and Liebknecht shot with other left-wing leaders.

Question 29

What were the key events of the Munich putsch?

Answer 29

The Munich Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt by the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler to seize power in Bavaria during 8th-9th November 1923.

Hitler surprised other right-wing leaders at gunpoint during a political meeting and demanded their support. But his stormtroopers were no match for the regular army, who had been warned in advance by right-wing conservative members of the Bavarian government opposed to Hitler. The putsch was easily put down with little loss of life – 16 Nazis and 4 policemen died.

Despite the revolt’s failure and his imprisonment, Hitler received public support at his trial for presenting his revolt as an attempt to undermine the Treaty of Versailles and make Germany great again. He used the trial as an opportunity to broadcast his message, and was never shut down during his speeches.

Hitler’s crime of treason could carry life, despite the severity of his crime he was only sentenced to 5 years in prison; of this he only served 9 months. This shows a clear favouritism for such nationalist parties among the officials in Germany, despite the fact that Hitler had clearly attempted to overthrow the government.

While in prison he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which set out a large number of his political and ideological views, including his attitude towards Jews.