1. Were the peace treaties of 1919-23 fair?

Question 1

What did Woodrow Wilson want from / think of Germany in the ToV?

Answer 1

• Blamed Germany
• Wanted reparations
• Feared Germany would seek revenge if overpunished
  MAIN AIM - Just and lasting peace in all of eastern Europe! (he was an idealist)

Question 2

What did Woodrow Wilson want in the ToV? (not related to Germany)

Answer 2

• LoN established
• Democracy strengthened
• Self determination in Europe
• The rest of the 14 points

Question 3

What did Georges Clemenceau want from / think of Germany in the ToV?

Answer 3

• Blamed Germany
• Wanted reparations
• Wanted mass destruction and punishment to Germany so it couldn’t ever attack France again
• Knew the other countries wouldn’t agree to completely obliterating Germany
  MAIN AIM - Revenge on Germany for ruining Europe

Question 4

What did David Lloyd George want from / think of Germany in the ToV?

Answer 4

• Get rid of Germany’s navy
• Don’t punish Germany too harshly - good for trading and jobs and also so they don’t seek revenge…
  MAIN AIM - Democratic but stable Germany for trading and jobs - he mostly wanted to benefit the UK

Question 5

What did David Lloyd George think of self determination in Europe? Why?

Answer 5

• Unreasonable
• Complained to an official that Wilson came to Paris like a “missionary to rescue the European savages with his little sermons and lectures”
• Peoples spread throughout Eastern Europe - difficult to achieve

Question 6

Clemenceau -> Wilson attitude during peacemaking process - which disputes did he win

Answer 6

Clemenceau thought that Wilson was being too generous towards Germany and that Wilson was ignorant about Eastern Europe and what went on there and how peace worked. Got what he wanted with Germany’s Rhineland and coalfields in the Saar.

Question 7

Wilson -> Clemenceau attitude during peacemaking process

Answer 7

Wilson thought that Clemenceau was stuck in the past and didn’t get that Germany would be bitter and vengeful if punished too harshly. Got what he wanted with Eastern Europe and self determination.

Question 8

Clemenceau -> Lloyd George attitude during peacemaking process

Answer 8

Thought Lloyd George should treat Germany more harshly, and that they were being selfish (treating Germany fairly in Europe where they could attack France, but wanting to get rid of the navy where they could attack Britain) - Clemenceau said that “if the British are so anxious to appease Germany they should look overseas and make colonial, naval or commercial concessions”.
- Be more harsh
- Stop being selfish (fair in Europe when France could be in danger, wanted to get rid of the navy so Britain couldn’t be in danger)
- “If the British are so anxious to appease Germany they should look overseas and make colonial, naval, or commercial concessions

Question 9

Lloyd George -> Clemenceau attitude during peacemaking process

Answer 9

Thought that Clemenceau should make more concessions to the Germans

Question 10

Lloyd George -> Wilson attitude during peacemaking process

Answer 10

Didn’t like how Wilson wanted to give all nations access to the sea and how he wanted self determination in Europe - this would threaten the British government/empire

Question 11

Wilson -> Lloyd George attitude during peacemaking process

Answer 11

Thought he was too anxious to preserve his empire to want self determination for colonies

Question 12

How was Germany doing while the TOV was being drafted?

Answer 12

• Germany had a communist revolt that failed - communists were jailed and murdered
• Weimar republic (democratic) (led by Ebert) struggles to keep control
• Lots of resistance
• Overall trash

Question 13

What was the Locarno Pact/Treaties?

Answer 13

After France and Belgium left Germany, they signed these - basically saying that they will respect each others’ borders - helped Germany get into LON, signed in 1925

Question 14

Terms of TOV (B)

Answer 14

BLAME - Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war (though other places were also looked at with suspicion - another term was no anschluss with Austria)

Question 15

Term of TOV (R)

Answer 15

REPARATIONS - Germany had to pay £6,600 million (6.6 billion) to the allies for war damage - number agreed in 1921.

Question 16

Term of TOV (A)

Answer 16

ARMS - Wanted to weaken Germany’s armed forces so they couldn’t attack anyone anymore.
- Army limited to 100,000 men
- Conscription banned - soldiers had to be (paid) volunteers
- No armored vehicles, submarines, or aircraft
- Only 6 battleships
- Rhineland (border between France and Germany) demilitarized - no German troops allowed

Question 17

Term of TOV (T)

Answer 17

TERRITORY - Germany lost a lot of its land (which they previously had and which they took during WW1) - former colonies were called mandates and dealt with by the LON’s mandates commission - 10% of European land, 12.5% of population, 16% of coalfields, nearly 50% of iron and steel industry
- Overseas empire -> LON (-> France and Britain)
- Alsace-Lorraine -> France
- West Prussia and Posen/Polish corridor -> Poland so they could have sea access
- Latvia, Lithuania, & Estonia became free
- Upper Silesia -> Poland
- North Schleswig -> Denmark
- Saarland -> LON - Plebescite after 15 years
- Eupen-Malmady -> Belgium

Question 18

Was the ToV fair? Pros and Cons

Answer 18

YES - Germany stayed together, they probably would have made it worse for the allies if they had won (like the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Russia in 1918 - that was pretty harsh), and the bad government situation caused problems as well since they didn’t raise taxes to pay for the war
NO - It kinda started WW2, it punished the wrong people (Weimar republic instead of dead Kaizer), placed war guilt on Germany alone, wasn’t good or bad enough - caused resentment, left them strong enough to seek revenge

Question 19

What did Germany think of their representation during the making of the ToV?

Answer 19

Hated it - mad that their government wasn’t represented at the peace talks and about being forced to accept the ToV

Question 20

ToV Consequences - it made Germany…

Answer 20

• Poor - Reparations and lost territory
• Angry - Blamed for War
• Aggressive - Lost land to neighbors
• Humiliated - Lost land and armed forces

Question 21

What was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 21

Political violence caused by ToV in 1920 - Revolution attempted by Free Corp (returning soldiers/right wing opponents of Ebert’s government). Army didn’t want to fight them so the rising was defeated by a general strike by Berlin workers/people - paralyzed essential services like power and transport

Question 22

What was the Munich (Beerhall) Putsch?

Answer 22

Political violence caused by ToV in 1923 (putsch means rebellion) - Led by Hitler. Defeated but Hitler was let off lightly because a lot of people agreed with his treaty hatred (he still went to jail though - that’s where he wrote Mein Kampf).

Question 23

What caused the conflict in the Ruhr?

Answer 23

In 1922 Germany failed to pay reparations (whether they could have is debated by historians). Ebert tried to negotiate but France and Belgium didn’t care. They entered and occupied the Ruhr in 1923, taking goods and raw materials from Germany to make up for the reparations - legal under TOV.

Question 24

How did Germany react to the occupation of the Ruhr?

Answer 24

German government ordered workers to go on strike - passive resistance so they wouldn’t have anything for the French to take. France retaliated by killing 100+ workers and expelling 100,000 protesters from the region. Also, having nothing for the french to take meant that there were no goods to trade and no money to buy things with, so the government printed more money which led to hyperinflation.

Question 25

How did hyperinflation happen in Germany?

Answer 25

The government solved the problem of being broke by printing more money, which caused hyperinflation. Money became pretty worthless - what might have bought a house in 1921 wasn’t enough to buy a loaf of bread in 1923, leaving the middle class and pensioners in a terrible situation. However, the government and big industrialists gained - they could pay off huge debts in worthless money.
This made Germany really angry at the TOV.

Question 26

Consequences of the TOV for Germany - Summary

Answer 26

Germany blamed the ToV for more problems than it actually caused - this resentment was exploited by extreme groups (like the Nazis) to get power and influence

Question 27

Helpfulish quote - the ToV was a blatant act of

Answer 27

Plunder

Question 28

Treaty of St Germain

Answer 28

1919 - Austria
Austria and Hungary separated, Austria no longer a leading power
Army restricted to 30,000
No anschluss with Germany
Former territory goes to Cz, Ygs, Poland, and Italy (but Italy wanted more)
Market and Economy super broken

Question 29

Treaty of Neuilly

Answer 29

1919 - Bulgaria
£100 mil in reparations
Army reduced to 20,000
Lost land to Greece, Romania, and Ygs
Lost Mediterranean (sea) access

Question 30

Treaty of Trianon

Answer 30

1920 - Hungary
Was supposed to pay reparations but never did - too weak from raw material and population loss
Lost land to Romania, Ygs, and Cz
3 million Hungarians ended up in other states

Question 30

Treaty of Sevres terms

Answer 30

1920 - Turkey
Turkey lost a ton of territory - og empire broken up. Armenia, Britain, Greece, and France got a lot of the land, and France, Britain, and Italy had zones of influence. Kurdistan and Armenia -> independent regions.
Tax system, finances, and budget to be controlled by Allies
Army limited to 50,000 soldiers
Navy restricted, no air force - humiliating

Question 31

What did the Allies want to achieve with the TO Sevres?

Answer 31

Make Turkey less powerful
Independence for people who lived in turkey (Armenians, Greeks, Arab people) - in public
Wilson wanted self determination for Armenia
Italy wanted Turkish territory
France and Britain wanted to strengthen their empires
Italy, France and Spain signed the Tripartite Agreement in August 1920 to protect commercial interests in secret
Britain made promises to Arab peoples in return for war help but didn’t keep them - wanted oilfields in Iraq

Question 32

Did it bring peace and stability?

Answer 32

No.
Turkish government was going to accept the treaty even though they didn’t like it
Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal Pasha stopped government signing treaty and began to reverse terms by force - greeks out of Smyrna, French negotiation about withdrawing
Wilson couldn’t get Armenia to be independent - they became part of the USSR instead of Turkey
Lots of alleged atrocities like the burning of Smyrna during fighting and Mass killing of Armenians - regarded as genocide by Armenians and most historians (not turkey though)

Question 33

Treaty of Lausanne

Answer 33

1923 - Turkey
Recognized the changes made by the Kamalists and accepted that as Turkey - no more violence

Question 34

What happened to Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria?

Answer 34

Lebanon + Syria go to France and stay with France. Palestine goes to Britain and then becomes the Jewish homeland without Britain.

Question 35

What did Germany think of the B in Brat in the ToV?

Answer 35

Didn’t feel like they alone should be blamed for WW1

Question 36

What did Germany think of the R in bRat in the ToV?

Answer 36

Bitter about having to pay for all the damage even though the economy was super weak

Question 37

What did Germany think of the A in brAt in the ToV?

Answer 37

Disarmament - Thought it was unfair - a blow to pride. Also, none of the other nations were being asked to disarm like Germany.

Question 38

What did Germany think of the T in braT in the ToV?

Answer 38

Huge blow to pride and economy, upset at British and French empire building with former German colonies

Question 39

What did Germany think of the 14 points and LON?

Answer 39

14 points and LON - Thought the points weren’t being followed with German people and was insulted by not being invited to join LON