Core content - Peace treaties of 1919-1923

2025 Spring term

What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

War guilt clause

Reparations

The Rhineland

Anschluss

Disarmament

League of Nations

What territory was returned to France?

Alsace-Lorraine

What happened to the Saar basin?

Administered by the League for 15 years, where a plebiscite would be held 15 years later to decide whether it should belong to France, Germany or remain under League control

Which territory became a free city and add details

Danzig became a free city administered by League, and Poland could also use the part and strip of land known as the “Polish Corridor”

What countries were transferred to Britain?

Eupen, Malmedy, Moresnet

What territories were transferred to Denmark?

North Schleswig

What territories were transferred to Poland?

West Prussia, Posen, and parts of Upper Silesia

What territories were transferred to Lithuania?

Memel

What territories became independent states?

Estonia, Lativa and Lithuania

What happened to German colonies?

They became mandates of the League of Nations

List everything Germany lost after WWI

13% of land and 6 million people

army restricted to 100,000

conscription banned

reparations of £6.6 billion

lost 16% of coal production and 48% of iron industry

Why didn’t Wilson get what he wanted?

Treaty was too harsh on Germany

Principle of free navigation of the seas was abandoned due to Britain

Britain, France and Japan took Germany's former colonies

Self-determination failed to apply in some places like Sudetenland

US Congress did not approve the treaties and the League

Why didn’t Clemenceau get what he wanted?

Had to abandon reclaiming Rhineland

Germany’s reparations were lower

Danzig wasn’t given back to Poland

French did not claim the Saar Basin

Germany was not split up into smaller states

Wilson’s 14 points

1. League of Nations

2. Disarmament

3. Self-determination esp for Eastern Europe/empires

4. Free trade

5. Freedom of the seas

6. No secret treaties

What was the Kapp Putsch?

Right winged opponents of Ebert’s government could not bear the treaty. 1920 Kapp Putsch tried to overthrow government, but failed due to a strike that paralysed essential services.

Political violence in Germany

In 1922 Walther Rathenau, Germany’s foreign minister, was murdered by extremists.

November 1923 Adolf Hitler’s rebellion in Munich (Munich Beer Hall Putsch) tried to establish a dictatorship and overthrow the Weimar Republic.

Conflict in the Ruhr

Germany was unable to pay back reparations in time, despite Ebert trying to negotiate with the French but they ran out of patience.

1923 French and Belgian soldiers entered the Ruhr and took what was owed in raw materials and goods.

German government instructed workers to go on strike so they did not produce anything for the French to take, but 100 workers were killed and 100,000 protesters expelled.

Occupation meant that Germany had no goods to trade so no money, which led to hyperinflation.

Hyperinflation in Germany

The government printed more money to pay back loans.

Those in debt were able to gain from the crisis, as they could be paid off, but those who had savings saw all their wealth disappear overnight.

In 1921, a loaf of bread costed 1 mark, but by November 1923 it costed 200 billion marks.

What treaty affected Austria?

Treaty of St Germain

• E: Empire broken up – Austria-Hungary dissolved.

• CIPY: Austria lost land to Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.

• A: Army limited to 30,000 men.

• A: Anschluss (union with Germany) banned.

• L: Austria was now landlocked, with a weak economy.

What treaty affected Bulgaria?

Treaty of Neuilly

• GRY: Bulgaria lost land to Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

• 2: Army limited to 20,000 men.

• 100: Had to pay £100 million in reparations.

• AS: Lost access to the Aegean Sea, weakening trade.

What treaty affected Hungary?

Treaty of Trianon

• 2/3: Lost two-thirds of its land and population.

• CRY: Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia.

• 35: Army limited to 35,000.

• R: Reparations agreed but never paid due to Hungary’s economic collapse.

What treaty affected Turkey?

Treaty of Sevres

• GBF: Lost most of its empire – land given to Greece, Britain, and France.

• S: Straits controlled by Allies.

• A: Armed forces restricted.

• R: Harsh terms led to rebellion → Kemal Atatürk overthrew the government and replaced it with the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which reversed many terms.