Were the peace treaties of 1919-23 fair? (Chap 1)

Question 1

When did WW1 start?

Answer 1

28th July 1914

Question 2

When did WW1 end?

Answer 2

11th November 1918

Question 3

Who was part of the Big Three?

Answer 3

• Woodrow Wilson (USA)
• David Lloyd George (Britain)
• George Clemenceau (France)

Question 4

What were Wilson’s ideas? (Card 1)

Answer 4

• Don’t be too harsh on Germany: He did believe Germany should be punished, but if it was treated too harshly, some day it would want revenge.
• He was concerned that extremist groups like the communists might seize power in Germany as they had in Russia 1917.
• Strengthen democracy in defeated countries: Democracy was a key to peace in Europe.
• If leaders in defeated nations had to listen to the views of their people and win their votes those people wouldn’t let their leaders cause another war.

(WIlson was against communism)

Question 5

What were Wilson’s ideas? (Card 2)

Answer 5

• Give self-determination to small countries that had once been part of the European empires: He wanted the various peoples of eastern Europe (e.g. Poles, Czechs and Slovaks) to rule themselves rather than be part of Austria-Hungary’s empire.
• International co-operation: The League of Nations
• He was an idealist

Question 6

What is self-determination?

Answer 6

The right for people to rule themselves.

Question 7

What was the League of Nations?

Answer 7

The League was Wilson’s dream for a new world order - a new way of conducting foreign affairs that would abolish war and keep the world safe.

Question 8

What are Wilson’s Fourteen Points?

Answer 8

1. No secret treaties.
2. Free access to the seas in peacetime or wartime.
3. Free trade between countries.
4. All countries to work towards disarmament.
5. Colonies to have a say in their own future.
6. German troops to leave Russia.
7. Independence for Belgium.
8. France to regain Alsace-Lorraine.
9. Frontier between Austria and Italy to be adjusted.
10. Self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe (they should rule themselves and not be ruled by empires).
11. Serbia to have access to the sea.
12. Self-determination for the people in the Turkish empire.
13. Poland to become an independent state with access to the sea.
14. League of Nations to be set up.

Question 9

When and where did the Paris Peace conference take place?

Answer 9

1919-1920
Palace of Versailles near Paris

Question 10

How many represented Nations were there?

Answer 10

32 Nations and the defeated countries weren’t invited.

Question 11

What were Clemenceau’s ideas?

Answer 11

• France had suffered enormous damage to its land, industry and people. Over two-thirds of the men who served in the French army had been killed or wounded.
• The French people wanted a treaty that would punish Germany and weaken it as much as possible
• Clemenceau was a realist and knew he would have to compromise on some issues, but he also had to show he was aware of public opinion in France
• Overall, Clemenceau wanted to completely crush the Germans

Question 12

What were Lloyd George’s ideas?

Answer 12

• Germany should be punished but not too harshly (agreed with Wilson on that)
• He didn’t want Germany to seek revenge and start another war
• He was deeply concerned a harsh treaty would lead to a communist revolution like the one in Russia in 1917
• He wanted Britain and Germany to begin trading again because before the war, Germany had been Britain’s second largest trading partner
• He wanted Germany to lose its navy and colonies because they threatened the British empire

Question 13

How did Clemenceau clash with Wilson?

Answer 13

• USA hadn’t suffered as badly as France
• Clemenceau resented Wilson’s more generous attitude to Germany
• Disagreed over what to do about Germany’s Rhineland and coalfields in the Saar
• In the end, Wilson gave way on these issues
• In return, Clemenceau and Lloyd George did give Wilson what he wanted in eastern Europe; self-determination

Question 14

How did Clemenceau clash with Lloyd George?

Answer 14

• Clashed over Lloyd George’s desire not to treat Germany too harshly
• Clemenceau thought that Lloyd George should try and make colonial, naval or commercial concessions if they really want to make peace with Germany
• He felt that the British were quite happy to treat Germany fairly in Europe, where France was under more threat
• However, they were less happy to allow Germany to keep its navy and colonies, which would be more of a threat to Britain
• Clemenceau thought Britain was being selfish

Question 15

How did Wilson clash with Lloyd George?

Answer 15

• Lloyd George was unhappy with point 2 of the 14 points, allowing nations access to the seas
• Wilson’s views on people ruling themselves were threatening to the British government since the British empire ruled millions of people all across the world

Question 16

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 16

28th June 1919

Question 17

What was the first term of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 17

1. War Guilt: (Article 231) Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war.

Question 18

What was the second term of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 18

2. Reparations: Germany had to pay £6,600 million. If the price hadn’t been changed under the Young Plan in 1929, Germany wouldn’t have finished paying this bill until 1984.

Question 19

What was the third term of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 19

3. Germany couldn’t join together (Anschluss) with its former ally Austria.

• The Saar which had rich coal fields was given to France for 15 years
• Lands in East Germany and the Polish Corridor was given to Poland
• All Germany’s colonies were given to France and Britain as mandates
• Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.
• In total, Germany lost 10% of its land.

Question 20

What was the fourth term of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 20

4. The German army was limited to 100,000 men.

• Conscription was banned and soldiers had to be volunteers
• Germany wasn’t allowed armoured vehicles, submarines or aircraft
• The navy could only have six battleships
• The Rhineland was demilitarised (all military forces were removed)

Question 21

What was the fifth term of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 21

5. Germany wasn’t allowed to join the League of Nations until it had shown that it was a peace-loving country.

Question 22

How did the Germans criticise the Treaty of Versailles? (Card 1)

Answer 22

• The Germans hated the ‘war guilt’ clause (Article 231) and thought that at the very least the blame should be shared
• They were bitter that Germany was expected to pay for all the damage caused by the war even though the economy was severely weakened
• Loss of German territories was a major blow to German pride
• Thought the limited army size was very unfair and the army was a symbol of German pride

Question 23

How did the Germans criticise the Treaty of Versailles? (Card 2)

Answer 23

• Non-representation: they were angry that their government wasn’t being represented at the peace talks.
• They were forced to accept a harsh treaty without any choice or even comment.
• Felt insulted that they couldn’t join the League of Nations.
• They didn’t think the Treaty was in keeping with Wilson’s 14 points.

Question 24

What were the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany?

Answer 24

• Political violence (Kapp Putsch, murder of Rathenau, Munich Putsch)
• Conflict in the Ruhr
• Hyperinflation

Question 25

What happened with the conflict in the Ruhr? (Card 1)

Answer 25

• The first instalment of £50 million was paid in 1921, but in 1922 nothing was paid
• Ebert did his best to negotiate concessions from the Allies, but the French particularly ran out of patience since they had war debts to pay as well
• So in January 1923 French and Belgian troops entered the Ruhr (quite legally under the TOV)
• They took what was owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods

Question 26

What happened with the conflict in the Ruhr? (Card 2)

Answer 26

• Disastrous for Germany and the government ordered the workers to go on strike. That way, there would be nothing for the French to take away.
• French reacted harshly, killing over 100 workers and expelling over 100,000 protesters from the region
• The halt in industrial production in Germany’s most important region caused the collapse of the German currency

Question 27

What is hyperinflation?

Answer 27

Process of money becoming worthless, most notable instance was in Germany in 1923.

Question 28

How did hyperinflation affect Germany? (Card 1)

Answer 28

• There were no goods to trade, so the Government printed money
• This paid off debts in worthless marks including war loans
• Great industrialists were able to pay off all their debts too
• With so much money in circulation, but not enough goods to buy with it, prices and wages rocketed
• People soon realised money was worthless
• Workers needed wheelbarrows to carry home their wages!

Question 29

How did hyperinflation affect Germany? (Card 2)

Answer 29

• The price of goods could rise between joining the back of a queue in a shop and reaching the front
• Poor people suffered
• Those who lost most were probably middle-class Germans
• E.g. A prosperous middle-class family would find that their savings, which might have bought a house in 1921, by 1923 wouldn’t even buy a loaf of bread
• Pensioners found their monthly pension wouldn’t buy one cup of coffee
• Government lost support of the middle classes

Question 30

Who believed the TOV was unfair?

Answer 30

• None of the Big Three were happy with the Treaty (although for different reasons)
• Some of the diplomats (an official representing a country abroad) who helped shape the Treaty were dissatisfied
• German people felt angry that children would have to fight in a future war because of the Treaty

Question 31

Why did some people believe the TOV was fair?

Answer 31

• Many people felt that the Germans themselves were operating a double standard
• Their call for fairer treatment didn’t square with the harsh way they’d treated Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• Germany’s economic problems were partly self-inflicted
• Other states had raised taxes to pay for the war but the Kaiser’s government hadn’t done this
• That government had allowed debts to pile up because it had planned to pay Germany’s war debts by extracting reparations from the defeated states (since Germany was overly confident that they were going to win)