topic 1 - the treaty of versailles

what was the treaty of versailles?

the treaty that ended the war between Germany and the allies

when was it signed?

June 28th, 1919

how many months of negotiations did it take for the terms to be agreed upon?

6 months

what was the main term of the treaty?

the war guilt clause

what was the war guilt clause?

Germany had to take full responsibility for the war which also meant that they were responsible for paying the full cost of the war

how much of its territory did germany lose in the treaty?

13%

gemrnays territorial losses also meant they lost…

over 1 million square miles of land

what were notable areas that they lost?

the saar, the Sudetenland and the city of Danzig which cut off germanys access to the sea

what happened to germanys overseas colonies?

they were annexed by the allies and either became independent or controlled by the allies

germany had to give back the land they had taken from…

France and Belgium

Germany was also forced to recognise the independence of…

Poland and renounce any rights to the land

how did the treaty restrict gemrnays military?

germany had to demobilise its army and could have no more than 100,000 soldiers, conscription was abolished and all paramilitary groups were banned

what was the German army not allowed?

an air force or submarines

what happened to the Rhineland?

it was demilitarised and occupied by French soldiers

why was the treaty so harsh towards germanys military?

they wanted to ensure that they were incapable of offensive action

what was the economic cost of the war like for Germany?

because they had agreed to the war guilt clause, they were responsible for paying the total cost of the war

what was the total cost of the war?

£6.6 billion

hese reparations could not be paid in German marks and instead had to be paid in…

gold or goods (raw or manufactured)

what did the germany economy have to do onto of paying for reparations?

recover from the war