Impacts and Reactions of the Treaty of Versailles

Question 1

What do many historians believe the Treaty of Versailles gave Hitler an excuse to do?

Answer 1

Invade other countries to reclaim what had been unfairly taken from Germany.

Question 2

What was Britain’s overall attitude towards Germany about the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 2

-There was little sympathy towards Germany
-Politicians campaigned on their promises to be harsh on Germany
-There was a general feeling it was fair

Question 3

How had people in Britains been convinced to think badly of the Germans?

Answer 3

Propaganda made out the Germans to be barbarians.

Question 4

Give 2 reasons why British people were unsympathetic towards the Germans:

Answer 4

-There was barely a single family in Britain who had not lost a son, brother or husband to the war
-Civilians had suffered food shortages too

Question 5

What was a common headline used about Germany in Britain?

Answer 5

‘Hang the Kaiser’.

Question 6

What was Lloyd George considered as after the war?

Answer 6

A hero.

Question 7

What were 2 things Lloyd George was pleased with about the treaty?

Answer 7

-The British Empire gained extra colonies and now covered a third of the globe
-The German navy was restricted so that Britain could ‘rule the waves’ without competition

Question 8

What were 4 things Lloyd George was concerned with about the treaty?

Answer 8

-The loss of German land and people to Poland would cause huge problems in the future
-He felt the reparations were too harsh
-Britain would lost an important trade partner
-People of Germany would resent the treaty so much it could lead to more war

Question 9

Why were the French people so determined for Germany to be severely punished?

Answer 9

Most of the fighting took place in France and the country was very badly affected by the war.

Question 10

Give 2 reasons why France was pleased with the Treaty of Versailles:

Answer 10

-They were no longer threatened by the German army in the Rhineland
-Germany were receiving reparations
-France was given control of the Saar for 15 years, which would help them financially

Question 11

Why were many French people furious with the treaty?

Answer 11

They felt their suffering during the war had been much greater than Germany’s, so the treaty should be much tougher.

Question 12

What are 4 reasons why Clemenceau was unhappy and angry with the agreements in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 12

-He was angry Germany were allowed to retain an army, even a small one
-He felt the Rhineland should’ve been taken away permanently and made into a small, powerless and independent state
-He felt that France should’ve been given the Saar permanently
-He felt the sum of reparations were too small, as he wanted to see Germany financially crippled

Question 13

Why did many people in America feel the treaty was unfair on Germany?

Answer 13

America had only joined the war in 1917 and were not near any battle sites.

Question 14

People in America favoured isolationism. What does this mean?

Answer 14

They felt the US should not get involved in affairs in Europe as it did more harm than good.

Question 15

Why could Wilson and America not join his beloved League of Nations?

Answer 15

The Republicans (Wilson’s rival party) argued that since the Treaty had not been based on the Fourteen Points, it was not in America’s best interests and they refused to ratify (agree) it. This also meant that Wilson and America could not join his beloved League of Nations.

Question 16

What problem did America face after the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 16

Wilson was devastated that he couldn’t join the League of Nations and the rest of his Fourteen Points had been ignored. He desperately toured America, campaigning for America to join the League of Nations. His efforts tired him and he died of a stroke in 1924, leaving the Republicans to dominate American politics for the next decade, based on policies of isolationism. This separated the US from the rest of the world.

Question 17

What part of the treaty did many Germans hate the most?

Answer 17

Article 231 - the war guilt clause.

Question 18

How many civilians did the German government claim die of starvation?

Answer 18

763,000.

Question 19

What percentage of coal did Germany lose after the treaty?

Answer 19

16%

Question 20

What percentage of steel did Germany lose after the treaty?

Answer 20

48%

Question 21

How many German nationals found them themselves living in different countries?

Answer 21

Nearly 6 million

Question 22

How many men was the German army limited to after the Treaty?

Answer 22

100,000

Question 23

How did Germany feel after the loss of their army?

Answer 23

Humiliated - it was a huge source of national pride before the war.
Vulnerable and alone in a ring of hostility.

Question 24

Give 5 negative consequences of the Treaty of Versailles:

Answer 24

-Around 6 million Germans found themselves living in other countries, fearing persecution especially since Germany was forced to accept the war guilt clause
-Germany lost 13% of land. German families were forced off land they had owned for generations
-Many said it was too harsh and would lead to another war
-Germans felt vulnerable
-The treaty was a diktat, and Germany was not allowed to send representatives to the conference and had to accept the terms

Question 25

Give 3 reasons defending the peacemakers:

Answer 25

-It was only right the losing country had to pay for the most damaging war the world has ever seen
-Many say that if Germany had won would’ve treated the allies even more strictly. Germany made Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, taking away more than a quarter of their farmland and population
-Europe was falling apart; the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires made Europe unstable and the peacemakers had to act quickly.

Question 26

Name 5 other treaties that dealt with Germany’s allies:

Answer 26

-The Treaty of St Germain
-The Treaty of Neuilly
-The Treaty of Trianon
-The Treaty of Sevres
-The Treaty of Lausanne

Question 27

Who was most affected by the Treaty of St Germain and what was it?

Answer 27

-Austria was most affected
-Austria lost land to Italy and Romania
-Poland was given land
-Land was taken to create the new states of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia
-The amount was never fixed, but Austria was told to pay reparations
-Military was restricted to 30,000 men
-No conscription
-No navy
-Anshluss was forbidden

Question 28

What was the impact of the Treaty of St Germain?

Answer 28

-The Italians did not feel they were given enough land as they were promised it after supporting the allies
-Most of Austria’s industry was in land given to Czechoslovakia so Austria lost a huge source of income. Their economy collapsed in 1921
-The new states formed were a mix of nationalities which often clashed
-Eastern Europe now consisted of lots of new, small states instead of one powerful empire.

Question 29

Who was most affected by the Treaty of Neuilly and what was it?

Answer 29

-Bulgaria was most affected
-Bulgaria lost land to Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania, however Bulgaria did gain some land from Turkey
-Bulgaria had to pay £100 million reparations
-Bulgaria army limited to 20,000
-No conscriptions
-No airforce
-Only allowed 4 battleships

Question 30

Who was most affected by the Treaty of Trianon and what was it?

Answer 30

-Hungary was most affected
-Hungarian land was lost to Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslovia and Austria
-It was agreed that reparations should be set but the amount was not fixed. The Hungarian economy collapsed so nothing was ever paid
-30,000 men in the Hungarian army
-No conscriptions
-Only allowed 3 patrol boats

Question 31

Who was most affected by the Treaty of Sevres and what was it?

Answer 31

-Turky was most affected
-Turkey lost land to Greece
-In Europe, Turkey lost all its land except a small area around the capital Constantinople
-The Ottoman Empire was split up
-Turkish Army restricted to 50,000 men
-Navy was restricted to 7 sail boats and 6 torpedo boats
-Turkey must open the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits (important waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean) to other countries
-Allies were allowed to keep troops in Turkey

Question 32

What was the impact of the Treaty of Sevres?

Answer 32

-The people of Turkey were so furious about the treaty that they revolted and overthrew the government
-The new president threatened to fight the allies over the treaty. The British were not prepared to fight so agreed to overwrite the treaty with the Treaty of Lausanne.

Question 33

What was the Treaty of Lausanne?

Answer 33

A substitute for the Treaty of Sevres to stop Turkey opposing it so harshly.
Turkey regained
-Some of the land Greece had taken
-Control of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits
-The right to decide how big their armed forces were
-Reparations also cancelled and Allied troops were withdrawn

Question 34

What was the significance of the Treaty of Sevres?

Answer 34

-It proved that the other treaties were unenforceable. People were too afraid of returning to war, so they were reluctant to use force to deal with broken treaties
-When the British agreed to make a new, fairer treaty it looked as if they were accepting that the original one was unfair
-Mussolini and Hitler realised that they could also get away with breaking international law as no one would stop them.

Question 35

Give an example of how some of the new states created after the war worked well:

Answer 35

Czechslovakia, which was rich in natural resources and home to a well-established industry, was a rich country. As a result it was politically stable and well respected in European politics.

Question 36

Give an example of how some of the new states created after the war had problems:

Answer 36

The allies wanted to create a strong buffer zone between Germany and the USSR so created a new country in between the 2, Poland. However, Poland had no natural barriers like rivers or mountains so was hard to defend. Poland had been given a strip of German land named the Polish Corridor which meant lots of Germans lived in Poland, which they hated. The USSR also argued about Poland’s easter borders. Poland was surrounded by enemies who wanted to reclaim its territory.

Question 37

Why did Clemenceau not feel that the reparations were high enough?

Answer 37

It’s estimated that the war cost France 200 billion Francs which is way more than the reparations number.

Question 38

Which country lost the most soldiers in the war so felt Germany wasn’t punished enough?

Answer 38

France.

Question 39

What is evidence that Wilson’s aim of self-determination had been achieved?

What is some evidence that it was also not achieved?

Answer 39

Many small nations that had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were given independence.

However parts of the German Empire were given to the League of Nations as mandates, but in reality Britain and France ran them.