Treaty of Versailles & German Reaction (Topic 1.2)

25 vocabulary flashcards covering key people, terms and concepts related to the Treaty of Versailles, its provisions (LAMB), and German reactions such as the Diktat and the ‘stab-in-the-back’ myth.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Peace agreement between Germany and the Allied powers that officially ended World War I and imposed harsh territorial, military, financial and blame terms on Germany.

Paris Peace Conference

January 1919 meeting of representatives from 32 Allied nations in Paris to draft the peace treaties; defeated nations such as Germany were excluded.

Big Three

Nickname for the three main Allied leaders—Woodrow Wilson (USA), David Lloyd George (Britain) and Georges Clemenceau (France)—who dominated the peace negotiations.

Georges Clemenceau

Prime Minister of France who demanded severe punishment, huge reparations and the permanent weakening of Germany.

David Lloyd George

British Prime Minister who wanted Germany punished and forced to pay, but also able to recover for future trade and stability.

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. President who promoted a lenient, fair peace based on his Fourteen Points and feared a harsh treaty would fuel German revenge.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson’s blueprint for lasting peace that stressed self-determination, open diplomacy, free trade and a League of Nations.

Weimar Republic

Democratic government that replaced Kaiser Wilhelm II in November 1918 and signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Diktat

German word meaning “dictated peace”; used to denounce the Treaty of Versailles because Germany had no role in drafting it.

Article 231 (War Guilt Clause)

Clause forcing Germany to accept sole responsibility for causing World War I, laying legal basis for reparations.

Reparations

Financial compensation Germany was obligated to pay—132 billion gold marks over 50 years—to repair Allied war damage.

Territorial Losses

Germany lost 13 % of its land, 12 % of its population, all colonies, Alsace-Lorraine to France, and the Polish Corridor that split the country.

Military Restrictions

Army capped at 100,000 volunteer soldiers; no conscription, tanks, aircraft or chemical weapons; navy limited to 6 battleships and no submarines.

Rhineland

Strategic region bordering France that was demilitarised and occupied by Allied troops for 15 years to protect France.

Saar Coalfields

Industrial coal-rich area placed under French control for 15 years with its output going to the Allies.

Polish Corridor

Strip of land awarded to the new state of Poland giving it sea access and physically separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany.

LAMB

Mnemonic summarising the treaty’s four key impacts on Germany: Land, Army, Money, Blame.

Money (Economic Terms)

Extensive reparations, loss of overseas trade, 50 % of coal output to Allies, and confiscation of German merchant shipping—all creating severe economic crisis.

Blame (Moral Terms)

The War Guilt Clause humiliated Germans by branding them as sole instigators of the conflict.

Stab-in-the-Back Myth

False belief that the Weimar politicians betrayed an undefeated German army by surrendering and signing the treaty.

November Criminals

Nationalist nickname for the politicians who accepted the November 1918 armistice and later signed the Treaty of Versailles.

Freikorps

Paramilitary groups of demobilised German soldiers formed after the war, partly because army downsizing left many men jobless.

Self-Determination

Principle that peoples choose their own government; many Germans felt denied this when ethnic Germans were placed under foreign rule.

League of Nations

International organisation proposed by Wilson to maintain peace; it took control of Danzig and other mandates but Germany was initially excluded.

Marshal Ferdinand Foch’s Warning

French commander’s prediction that the treaty was merely a 20-year armistice, foreshadowing future conflict.