THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
Who were the 'Big Three'?
Georges Clemenceau- France
Woodrow Wilson- USA
David Lloyd George- Britain
Georges Clemenceau- France
Woodrow Wilson- USA
David Lloyd George- Britain
What did they want?
France had suffered the most damage and losses during the war- World War I had been fought mostly in France. Clemenceau wanted to crush Germany, both as a punishment and to prevent it from attacking France ever again,
Woodrow Wilson was keen to promote international peace and cooperation and self-determination. This was included in his '14 points'. Although he believed Germany needed to be punished, he did not want them to punished too heavily as he believed a healthy Germany was vital for a prosperous Europe and therefore world peace.
Lloyd George's goals lay somewhere in between Clemenceau and Wilson. He had promised the British public, during a re-election campaign, that he would seek a harsh punishment of Germany. After he won re-election, he became calmer on the issue of punishing Germany as recognized, like Wilson, that Germany would be an important trading partner for Britain and in helping to create a stable Europe. He played an important role in mediating between Wilson and Clemenceau.
France had suffered the most damage and losses during the war- World War I had been fought mostly in France. Clemenceau wanted to crush Germany, both as a punishment and to prevent it from attacking France ever again,
Woodrow Wilson was keen to promote international peace and cooperation and self-determination. This was included in his '14 points'. Although he believed Germany needed to be punished, he did not want them to punished too heavily as he believed a healthy Germany was vital for a prosperous Europe and therefore world peace.
Lloyd George's goals lay somewhere in between Clemenceau and Wilson. He had promised the British public, during a re-election campaign, that he would seek a harsh punishment of Germany. After he won re-election, he became calmer on the issue of punishing Germany as recognized, like Wilson, that Germany would be an important trading partner for Britain and in helping to create a stable Europe. He played an important role in mediating between Wilson and Clemenceau.
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What happened at Versailles?
B- Blame. Germany was made to sign the War Guilt Clause, accepting responsibility for starting the war. After this point, it could reasonably expect to receive any punishment handed down to it by the 'victors'.
R- Reparations. Germany was ordered to pay $6.6 billion in compensation for damages caused during the war.
A- Armed Forces. Germany was ordered to reduce the size of its armed forces. The army was capped at 100,000 men and they were not allowed to have tanks. The navy was only permitted to have 6 battleships and not allowed submarines. Germany was not allowed an airforce.
T- Territory. Germany sustained many territorial losses. Its overseas colonies were granted to Britain, France and Japan. Alsace- Lorraine was returned to France and the Rhineland, a wealthy industrial region, was demilitarized.
BRAT
B- Blame. Germany was made to sign the War Guilt Clause, accepting responsibility for starting the war. After this point, it could reasonably expect to receive any punishment handed down to it by the 'victors'.
R- Reparations. Germany was ordered to pay $6.6 billion in compensation for damages caused during the war.
A- Armed Forces. Germany was ordered to reduce the size of its armed forces. The army was capped at 100,000 men and they were not allowed to have tanks. The navy was only permitted to have 6 battleships and not allowed submarines. Germany was not allowed an airforce.
T- Territory. Germany sustained many territorial losses. Its overseas colonies were granted to Britain, France and Japan. Alsace- Lorraine was returned to France and the Rhineland, a wealthy industrial region, was demilitarized.
BRAT
| the_terms_of_the_treaty_of_versailles.docx |
Was the Treaty fair?
Was the Treaty justified?
Was the Treaty effective?
- Depends on whether you think Germany should have taken responsibility for starting the war
- Germany imposed a similarly harsh treaty on the Russians at Brest-Litovsk in 1918, in similar circumstances
- Wilson upheld that self-determination should be a vital principle for the Paris Peace Treaties. The peoples of Eastern Europe were given self-determination but not Germans (and also, as we shall find out, the Arabs). Germans suddenly found themselves living in newly-created countries such as Czechoslovakia and Poland. German colonies in China were also given to the Japanese, so there was no self-determination for those people either.
Was the Treaty justified?
- Britain and France had suffered huge losses- Clemenceau and Lloyd George needed to please voters
Was the Treaty effective?
- Hitler cited it as one of the reasons for his aggressive foreign policy in the 1930's. While we should not and cannot excuse Nazi foreign policy, it created problems that would only be resolved with another world war.
- The new countries created by the Paris Peace Treaties were unstable and many had become authoritarian dictatorships by the 1930's.