THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES ( JUNE 1919)

 The armistice that was signed on 11th November 1918 later led to a treaty
that was signed on 28th June 1919.
 The treaty was signed in the Versailles Palace (The Hall of mirrors) in France
and hence was called the Versailles treaty.
 The conference lasted 12 months.
 The Allies (Victors) were to agree on the fate of the Central powers
(defeated powers), mainly Germany.
 32 countries were supposed to be represented except the defeated powers.
The fact that Germany was never represented in the negotiations made
Germans view the treaty as a dictated peace (Diktat).
 Though 27 countries met at the Paris peace conference, the key decision
making was done by the Big Three. They were:

i) George Clemenceau- Prime minister of France

ii) Woodrow Wilson- President of the U.S.A
iii) Lloyd George- Prime minister of Britain.

 Each leader represented a major world power at the time, and each one had their
own interest. The main problem at the Paris peace conference was that the big
three had conflicting interests. *interest- specific goal that each country wants to
achieve in international relations.

a) George Clemenceau
 He represented France. France had suffered the most
damage among the big three, because most of the war was
fought there. Also, about 1.4 million French soldiers had
been killed and more than twice the number wounded.
 Clemenceau wanted ;
 A weak Germany that would not cause a threat to France in
future. He wanted to revenge on Germany.
 Germany to pay reparations for all the damages caused by
the war.

b) David Lloyd George

 He represented Britain.
  Britain had also suffered damages during the war but not
as bad as France. The British public wanted the Kaiser to
be hanged and Germany to pay for the reparations.
 However, Lloyd Gorge viewed Germany as a possible
trading partner. So he wanted Germany to be strong
enough to enable Britain conduct trade in Europe. He
believed that a weak Germany would paralyse trade in
Europe.
Lloyd Gorge wanted;
 To end the German threat to the British navy and empire.
 To make Germany a non aggressive country without
colonies.
 To prevent Germany from becoming too weak for the
revival of the European industry.
 To prevent Germany from becoming too poor that they
would turn to communism.
 To avoid humiliating Germans that they would not want to
revenge in future.
 To help secure France against Germany but to ensure
France did not become too powerful.

c) Woodrow Wilson
 He was the USA president. He was an idealist who
believed in finding perfect solutions to every problem.
 America had not participated much in the war and had only
joined the war in 1917. It did not suffer as much as Europe.
 Wilson also believed in democracy and wanted to promote
democracy in all the defeated nations.
 He listed what he wanted in the 14 points.
Wilson wanted
 Germany to be punished but not too harshly. He
believed that if Germany was punished too harshly,
someday it would recover and want revenge. He also
feared that punishing Germany too harshly might
make it resort to communism.
 Self determination- Wilson wanted small countries
that were once part of the European empire, to rule
themselves and determine their system of
government.
 International co- operation- he believed that
nations should co- operate to achieve world peace.
He proposed that a League of Nations should be
 formed to achieve this. This was the most important
point of the fourteen points.

THE TERMS OF THE TREATY

 FOCUS QUESTION: WAS THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES FAIR?

 After a series of negotiations, the big three finally came to an agreement.

 The treaty was signed on 28th June 1919. German delegates were summoned to
Versailles palace, in the Hall of Mirrors, to sign the treaty.
 None of the Big Three was happy with the eventual terms. None of them achieved all
their interests and had to compromise on some of their aims.
 The terms can be divided into five clauses.
 To the Germans, the treaty was a Diktat because they were not involved in the
negotiations and were simply forced to accept the terms.
Study the source above. What is the big message of the source?

i) War Guilt ( Article 231)

 It forced Germany to accept full responsibility for starting the war.

 Germans hated the ‘War Guilt’ clause. They felt that the blame should be shared.

ii) Reparations

 Germany had to pay compensation to the Allies for all the damage caused by the war.
The exact figure was agreed upon in 1921. A sum of 6.6 million pounds was
announced and it was to be paid off in a period of 42 years.
 iii) Territorial terms

 Regarding territories, Germany lost all its colonies in Africa. They were given to
either Britain or France.
 Secondly, the Rhineland became a demilitarised zone.
 Alsace and Lorraine were given back to France.
 Saarland was run by the League of Nations and a plebiscite was to be done after 15
years.
 Austria and Germany were forbidden to join forces (Anchluss)

iv) Military terms

 Germany’s military was a key concern for both France and Britain.
 The treaty greatly reduced the size of German armed forces.
 The following was agreed under this term:
 The army was limited to 100,000 men.
 Conscription was banned. All soldiers had to be volunteers.
 The navy could only have six battleships.
 Germany was not allowed tanks (armoured vehicles), submarines or military
aircrafts.
 The Rhineland (boarder between Germany and France) was demilitarised. No
German troops were allowed into the Area.
v) The League of Nations

 This was a major concern by Woodrow Wilson.

 The League was an international organisation that was supposed to maintain

international peace and security. It was supposed to prevent a future war from
breaking out.
 Germany was not invited to the LoN until it had proven to be a peace- loving country.

Question: each of the three leaders achieved something out of the discussions
at the hall of mirrors on 28th June 1919. Discuss what Lloyd George and
Woodrow Wilson achieved. (6 marks)

2. George Clemenceau achieved the most under the terms of the Versailles
treaty. How far to you agree with this statement? Give reasons for your
answer.
(8 marks)

German reactions to the treaty of Versailles

 Germans were horrified when they discovered the terms of the treaty of Versailles.
 They referred to the treaty as ‘The Diktat,’ especially because they were not involved
in the negotiations.
 They were particularly horrified by the following;
 The war Guilt- they hated having to accept full blame of causing the war.
They felt that the blame should have been shared.
 Reparations- they were bitter that Germany was expected to pay for all the
damage caused by the war even though the German economy was severely
weakened. They claimed that the Allies were trying to bankrupt them.

 German

Territories- the Germans were bitter that as they were losing colonies, Britain
and France were expanding theirs by taking control of their previous colonies.
This was a blow to Germans pride.
  Demilitarisation- Germans army was limited to 100,000 soldiers, with no air
force and a small navy. They felt that this was unfair especially because none
of the Allies was disarming in a similar way.

EFFECTS OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES ON GERMANY

 The Treaty of Versailles had extreme effects on Germany, especially politically and
economically.
 Political violence
 The right wing opponents of the Weimar government could not bear with the treaty.
 They launched an uprising in 1920, called the Kapp Putsch. Led by Dr. Wolfgang
Kapp, and done in Berlin the capital city of Germany.
 The right wingers were made up of the Freikorps (Paramilitary volunteers in Weimar
Germany) who had witnessed the successes of the Kaiser. They blamed the Weimar
government officials for agreeing to the terms and eventually signing the treaty.
 The uprising was defeated by the General strike of the Berlin workers, that halted
social services in Berlin like water, power and
 In November 1923, another rebellion was on, the Munich Putsch. It was led by Adolf
Hitler in Munich, Germany.

ECONOMIC EFFECTS
 The reparation clause had demanded that Germany had to pay off 6.6 billion
pounds, as payment for the war damages. The results were economic chaos in
the republic. There was bankruptcy and inflation.

Occupation of the Ruhr

 1n 1921, the first instalment of 50 million pounds was paid. But in 1922,
nothing was paid. President Ebert tried his best to buy time and negotiate for
concessions from the Allies, but the French were impatient as they too had to
pay off war debs to the U.S.A
 As a retaliation, the French and Belgian governments sent troops on 23rd
January 1923, to occupy German’s Ruhr industrial area. They took what
was owed to them inform of raw materials and finished goods.
 The occupation of the Ruhr industrial area was disastrous for Germany. The
government urged the workers to go on strike so that there would be nothing
for the Allies to take.
 The French reacted by killing over 100 workers and expelling over 100,000 of
the protesters from the industries. Germany’s restricted army of 100,000
soldiers couldn’t resist the French.
 The occupation of the Ruhr did little good to the French, but it almost crippled
Germany. Many factories and Germany’s coal were based here. The
occupation increased Germany’s debts, unemployment and the shortage of
goods.

Hyperinflation
 Is when the prices of goods and services rise uncontrollably in a certain
period of time.
 As Germany was facing a crisis in payment of loans, the Weimar
government simply resorted to printing more money to pay off the reparation
debts.
 This made it easier for the government to pay off its debts, but on the other
hand, worsened the inflation, making the prices of goods to go up.
 The more the prices rose, the more money the government printed, which
again led to more rise in prices. It ended up being a vicious circle.
 By 1923, a loaf of bread which went for 1 mark in 1919, was being sold at 1
billion mark. People had to carry money in wheelbarrows in order to buy
goods.
 As a result, there were long queues to buy goods, and prices of goods could
simply change as one was waiting on the queue.
 Hyperinflation brought about benefits for some people and losses for others.

Those who benefited

 Farmers benefited from the rising food prices, though they had to pay high
prices for other goods.
 Those with loans could easily pay off their loans as the loans lost value.
 Those with big businesses could easily buy off small businesses very
cheaply.

Those who suffered

 Everyone suffered as the German mark became worthless in comparison to
other foreign currencies. They found it difficult to buy basic goods.
 People with savings especially the middle class, found their savings
worthless. E.g a saving that could have bought a house in 1921, could not
buy a loaf of bread in 1923. The pensioners also realised that all their
savings during the years could not afford a cup of coffee.
 The effect of this was that, the government lost the support of the middle
class.