Treaty of Versailles Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about the Treaty of Versailles.

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty signed in June 1919, consisting of 440 articles outlining Germany's punishment after World War I.

Reparations

Payments Germany was required to make to Allied countries to cover the cost of damages caused during World War I; eventually set at £6.6 billion.

League of Nations

An international organization established to promote cooperation and peace among nations; Germany was initially not allowed to join.

Armistice

An agreement to cease fighting; signed on November 11, 1918, which ended the fighting of World War I but was not a peace treaty.

Self-determination

The principle that people should have the right to rule themselves; advocated by Woodrow Wilson in his 14-point plan.

War Guilt Clause (Article 231)

Clause in the Treaty of Versailles that declared Germany responsible for causing all the loss and damage of World War I.

Rhineland

Area bordering France that was demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles to prevent future German invasions.

Alsace-Lorraine

Territory returned to France as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

Mandates

Former German colonies taken and given to France and Britain to administer.

Big Three

Britain, France, & USA that met informally 140+ times to determine what would happen, the rest would ratify what had been agreed.

David Lloyd George

British Prime Minister, seeked to punish Germany appropriately however leaving it strong enough to trade & resist communism.

Georges Clemenceau

French Prime Minister who wanted Germany crippled so that they could never invade France again.

Woodrow Wilson

US President who advocated for a 14-point plan for lasting peace and was against punishing Germany too harshly.

Diktat

A dictated peace; term used by Germans to describe the Treaty of Versailles because they were forced to sign it under threat of war.

Fontainebleau Memorandum

Document issued by Lloyd George in March 1919, expressing concerns that a harsh peace settlement would result in a hostile Germany.

Treaty of Saint-Germain

One of the treaties drawn up at the Paris Peace Conference, dealing with Austria (September 1919).

Treaty of Trianon

One of the treaties drawn up at the Paris Peace Conference, dealing with Hungary (June 1920).

Treaty of Neuilly

One of the treaties drawn up at the Paris Peace Conference, dealing with Bulgaria (November 1919).

Treaty of Sevres

One of the treaties drawn up at the Paris Peace Conference, dealing with the Ottoman Empire (August 1920), later replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923).

Self Isolationism

American population didn’t want to get involved with European politics