History KQ1: Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

Aims of Lloyd George

- Public pressure for a harsh treaty (750,000 killed in WW1)

- 'Hang the Kaiser',. 'Make Germany pay' rhetoric used in 1918 election

- Dismantle German colonies and navy

- Strong Trading Europe (Germany was 2nd largest trading partner pre-war)

- Against French domination

Aims of Georges Clemenceau

- French public wanted crippling terms (1.5 million killed, NE France devastated)

- Remove German threat (crippling reparations, demilitarisation)

- Regain Alsace-Lorraine, independent Rhineland

- Split Germany into small states

Aims of Woodrow Wilson

• international cooperation

• self-determination

• disarmament

• Punish Germany but not too harshly (like Britain he wanted a strong trading partner)

What were Wilson's 14 points?

(Choose 4 to learn for a 4-marker)

1. Open Diplomacy

2. Freedom of the seas

3. Removal of economic barriers

4. Reduction of armaments

5. Adjustment of colonial claims

6. Conquered territories in Russia

7. Preservation of Belgian Sovereignty

8. Restoration of French territory

9. Redrawing of Italian frontiers

10. Division of Austria-Hungary

11. Redrawing of Balkan boundaries

12. Limitations on Turkey

13. Establishment of an independent Poland

14. Creation of an Association of Nations

How far did Lloyd George achieve his aims?

Successful:

- Appeased public; Germany punished through reparations, territorial losses, demilitarisation etc; LG benefitted in elections

- Dismantled German Navy and gained their colonies and protected British Empire

- Rejected some of the 14 points which didn't benefit UK - e.g. freedom of the seas.

How far did Woodrow Wilson achieve his aims?

Successful:

- He hoped nations would achieve world peace and he achieved his 14th point in setting up the LoN

- Self-dermination established new states such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia.

How far did Georges Clemenceau achieve his aims?

Successful:

- Regained Alsace-Lorraine; Saar to France for 15 years; LoN mandates on colonies

- Weakened Germany by imposing reparations and demilitarisation

How was the Paris Conference organised?

- 32 nations, 12 months (Jan 1919-20)

- defeated nations not invited

- Big Three made important decisions

- 5 treaties were drawn up

Terms of Versailles Military terms

- Army limited to 100,000;

- Rhineland demilitarised;

-6 battleships;

- conscription banned

- No airforce

Treaty of Versailles terms

Germany (1919)

- War Guilt Clause saw that Germany tookn full blame (Article 231)

- £6 billion reparations until 1984

- No more colonies (mandates of League of Nations)

- Lost 10% of its land, 50% of its iron and 15% of its coal

- Alsace-Lorraine to France;

- Army limited to 100,000; conscription banned; no airforce and 6 battleships

Compromises between Big Three

- WW agreed to French plans for Rhineland and Saar

- GC + LG agreed on self-determination but had reservations (their huge overseas colonies)

Disagreements between the Big Three

- GC and LG wanted to secure France from German attacks and reduce German strength but LG didn't want France to be too powerful

- WW GC disagreed over Saar as Wilson more lenient on Germany than France

- WW and LG disagreed over frees sees and self-determination as Britain wanted to protect her empire and colonies

- Overall: Too lenient for GC (rejected by French electorate in 1920); A 'great pity' for LG; Too harsh for WW (Congress refused to ratify it)

Why did ToV punish Germany?

- Expected if a country lost a war (e.g. heavy punishment in 1871 Franco-Prussian war)

- Germany took first major action of the war; Schlieffen Plan involved invading Belgium

- Huge destruction of Belgium and N France

- Russia defeated in 1917, and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was immensely harsh

What were mandate plebiscites?

- A mandate was territory taken from the defeated powers and controlled by LoN

- Effectively controlled by UK and France but some went to Japan, Australia, South Africa

- German East Africa to Britain; Syria to France; German SW Africa to S. Africa

- A plebiscite is a popular vote to determine which country a population goes to

- N. Schleswig voted to join Denmark, Saarland plebiscite in 15 years

German Reaction to ToV

- Germany lost 10% land; 12.5% of population; 50% iron and steel industry; 100% overseas colonies; reparations threatened to destroy economy

- Territorial losses and disarmament were blow to pride

- Anger that the Treaty was a 'Diktat'; many believed it was merely a ceasefire than a surrender (no allied troops entered Germany)

- 'Stab in the back' myth; German army betrayed by SDP, politicians, Jews, etc.

- Double standards; disarmament only for Germany; not allowed to join LoN; self-determination not for many Germans (e.g. Sudetenland)

Status of Danzig?

- Pre WW1 Danzig was a thriving Sea port with mostly German pop.

- Danzig was to be transferred to Poland causing resentment and political instability

- Allies couldn't agree, so it was made a LoN mandate

Why did Germany sign ToV?

- Britain and France threatened to continue war

- Hindenburg said that Germany could not continue to fight effectively; Navy already scuttled in Scapa Flow

- No more resources; British naval blocakde still in place

- Afraid of communist uprisings; e.g. Kiel mutiny

Impact of ToV on Germany - political

- SPD and Ebert in power; very unpopular

- Social and political unrest: general strikes,

- Spartacists rising in 1919,

- 1920 Kapp Putsch to overthrow government

- 1923 Hitler's Munich Putsch

- Drastic reduction of army led to security problems and severe unemployment

Was the ToV justifiable?

Justifiable

- Difficult for a Treaty all sides could agree on; more generous treaty would be unacceptable to British and French public

- Harsh but better than Treaty of Brest-Litovsk; Russia lost 54% of industry and fined 300m gold roubles.

Not justifiable

- Too harsh; J.M. Keynes argued that reparations too severe; Article 231 placed blame solely on Germany

- A treaty of revenge; Clemenceau fought in 1870 and saw France humiliated; in turn, defeated countries were bitter and determined to get their own revenge

- Defeated nations not able to negotiate; a 'diktat'

- Failed in Central Europe; states were too small, weak, and divided; Treaty of Sèvres only lasted 3 years

How far did Germany accept ToV by 1923?

Accept

- Weimar government signed it; reparations (mostly) paid; army reduced; territory ceded; etc.

- Industrialists knew it wasn't soo harsh; production rapidly recovered; by 1923 steel production surpassed UK

Not accepted

- Military leaders blamed 'stabbed in the back'; referred to signees as 'November Criminals'; Kapp putsch

- Many didn't accept as it seemed to punish ordinary people rather than leaders who caused the war; 1923 general strike

- Many hoped the treaty would be revoked; rise of Hitler due to promise to abolish Treaty

Self-determination

Rights of countries to rule themselves, say Czech as own country not part of Habsburg Empire...

Lloyd George unsuccessful

- Too harsh; left defeated countries bitter and determined for revenge

- Germany and other new nations too weak to form substantial trading partners - their economies collapsed

Wilson unsuccessful

- Self-determination unsuccessful as Britain and France had vast colonial empires; people ended up being ruled by other nationalists (e.g. Germans in Sudetenland)

- Failed to persuade GC so treaty was too harsh and punished Germany too severely; they wanted revenge.

- 14 points failed; e.g. LG resisted freedom of the seas

Clemenceau unsuccessful

- Territorially he wanted Germany broken up and an independent Rhineland so it would never pose a threat; also had to abandon claim on Saar Basin

- Unhappy with reparations not being paid immediately; commission only reported until 1921

- Concerned with 100,000 men

Impact of ToV - Economic

- First reparations payment in 1921 contributed to economic destruction and hyperinflation in 1923

- Occupation of Ruhr in 1923 over unpaid reparations in 1922 led to hyperinflation

- Loss of Saar's coalfield for 15 years, Silesia hindered economic recovery