Studied by 5 people
How long was the Paris Peace Conference?
12 months from Jan 1919 to Jan 1920
Who was the conference for and who was not invited?
The conference was for the victors and the defeated nations were not invited
Who chaired the conference?
Georges Clemenceau
How was the Council of Ten organised?
2 members from 5 leading countries: USA, Britain, France, Italy, Japan
Who made the important decisions?
The Big Three: USA, Britain, France
Who was there to support the heads of states?
Diplomats and advisers
How many advisery commissions were set up?
Over 50
How many times did the Big 3 meet informally?
Over 140 times
How many treaties would be drawn up?
5
How many nations were represented?
32
Who wanted to be in the Big 4, and was he successful?
Orlando, the Italian PM, but to little success
Who were there to advise the Big 3? Did they listen?
Diplomats, lawyers, and experts but they were often ignored
How did the public feel in 1919?
They were bitter and hateful
What did the people back home want from the Big 3?
They wanted the big 3 to deal with Germany severely
What did the British and French people think and want?
They thought Germany was responsible for the war and should be punished, including having to pay reparations
How many men did Britain lose during the war and how much money did they borrow?
Britain lost 750 000 men and borrowed £9 billion
What slogans did Lloyd George win the election on?
Lloyd George won the 1918 General Election on the slogans ‘Hang the Kaiser’ and ‘Make Germany Pay’
How many men did France lose and what area of France was devastated?
France lost 1.5 million men and North East France was devastated
Why did demands for harsh treatment of Germany increase?
The public found out how harsh the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had been
What did Clemenceau want at paris? What kind of leader was he? [7]
Cripple Germany so it couldn’t attack France again (1870 and 1914) by taking land, weakening industry and reducing army
Compensation for damage suffered to land, industry and people (reparations)
Return of Alsace-Lorraine
Split Germany into smaller states
Germany to lose Saarland, Upper Silesia, Danzig, East Prussia
Germany to lose all colonies
Tough and uncompromising
What did Wilson want at Paris? What kind of leader was he? [8]
No more wars
Punish Germany but not too harshly so they didn’t want revenge and could still trade
Strengthen democracy in defeated nations to avoid war
LoN to promote international co-operation
Self-determination
Better and more peaceful world through 14 points
Disarmament
Idealist and reformer
What did Lloyd George want at Paris? What kind of leader was he? [7]
Punish Germany but not as harsh as France
Confiscate German colonies and navy to strengthen British Empire
Begin trading with Germany ASAP
Did not want France to become too powerful
Did not want free and open access to the seas which was one of the 14 points
Wanted reasonable reparations
Realist - knew compromise was necessary
What did Wilson have to compromise with Clemenceau on?
He had to agree to French plans for the Rhineland and Saar
What did Clemenceau and Lloyd George have to compromise with Wilson on?
Self-determination for Eastern European countries
What did Clemenceau criticise Britain for?
Being too lenient on Germany and only harsh on the colonies and navy
What was Lloyd George unhappy with Wilson for?
Wilson’s insistence on access to the seas and self-determination as Britain ruled many overseas colonies
Who took the first major action of WW1 and what was it?
Germany by following the Schlieffen Plan and invading Belgium and France
What was the War Guilt Clause?
Germany had to accept blame for starting the war
What were the reparations?
£6.6 billion - Germany to pay until 1984
What were the territorial changes under ToV? [7]
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
Northern Schleswig to Denmark (plebiscite)
Saarland run by LoN for 15 years, followed by plebiscite
West Prussia, Posen, Upper Silesia to Poland
Danzig made free city, run by LoN
Union of Germany and Austria forbidden
ToV demilitarisation terms? [5]
Army limited to 100 000 men
Conscription banned
No armoured vehicles, submarines, aircraft, heavy artillery
6 battleships
demilitarisation of Rhineland
What was a mandate?
A territory taken from the defeated powers and controlled by LoN
What was a plebiscite?
A popular vote taken to determine which country the population wanted to be a part of
Why did Germany sign ToV? [5]
Britain and France threatened to continue the war
Germany could not continue to fight
British naval blockade in place
Germany afraid that continuing the war would lead to communism
Germany running out of resources
What did the German public think of the War Guilt Clause?
Hated because it justified reparations
German public thoughts on reparations?
Threatened to destroy German economy and many Germans were already starving
German public reaction to disarmament?
Upset as Germany had a proud military, and no other countries were disarmed despite 14 points
German public reaction to Territorial losses?
Blow to pride and economy
Were Germans right to resent ToV? [5]
Less harsh than treaty of Brest-Litovsk which they created
Many believed Germany would have been just as harsh on Britain and France
German economic problems were partly their own fault
Germans did not think Germany was solely responsible for the war and should not have had to pay reparations
Germany was not represented at Paris
Consequences of ToV for President Ebert?
Made him and his government very unpopular and contributed to the Kapp Putsch
Could the Treaty of Versailles be justified? [3]
Too harsh on Germany and contributed to rise of Hitler and Nazis - hindsight
Probably true that Germany would have been just as harsh if they won
A more generous treaty would have been declined by British and French public
How far did peace settlements reflect Wilson’s aims? [5]
LoN was established
Some new states were established: Poland, Latvia… (self-determination)
Weimar Republic established (Strengthen democracy in defeated nations)
Lloyd George resisted freedom of seas
Germany treated harsher than he wanted
Why was Clemenceau disappointed? [5]
Germany was not broken up into small states and had to abandon claim to Saar
Unhappy that reparations were not paid immediately
Lost public support as was not harsh enough
Wanted Germany to lose military strength, but was only limited to 100 000
Wanted the Rhineland to be independent
Why was it difficult for Clemenceau to achieve his aims? [2]
Unacceptable to Wilson and Lloyd George
Lloyd George did not want France to be too strong
What was Danzig before the war?
A thriving German sea port
Why did the Allies have difficulty deciding what to do with Danzig?
The population was mainly German but Poland needed a sea port
Extremist attempts to overthrow Weimar?
Spartacist League and Freikorps
Why did the German mark lose its value?
The government kept printing money
What year did German steel production pass Britain?
1923
Why did Hitler become attractive?
He promised to abolish the treaty
Note 
Flashcard (27)