Core Topic 1 - Was the Treaty of Versailles fair?

Question 1

What were the 5 aims of Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace conference?

Answer 1

1. To not treat Germany too harshly (Harsh)
2. To install a stronger democracy in defeated countries (Democracy)
3. To allow smaller nations to become independent instead of being put in larger empires, e.g. Austria-Hungary (Self-Determination)
4. To create international peace through the establishment of the League of Nations - This was his most important of his 14 points. (LON)
5. To disarm all countries of the world (Disarmament)

Question 2

Why did Woodrow Wilson not believe in punishing Germany harshly?

Answer 2

Woodrow Wilson didn’t believe Germany should be punished harshly because he thought that if punished harshly, Germany would be vulnerable to communists (and other extremist groups) taking advantage of people’s hate towards the allies, and one day, Germany would recover and want revenge.

Question 3

Why did Woodrow Wilson believe in strengthening democracy in defeated countries?

Answer 3

Woodrow Wilson believed in the strengthening of Democracy in defeated countries because he thought that if leaders had to appease the public for votes, and listen to the public to remain in power, people would stop their leaders starting another war.

Question 4

Why did Woodrow Wilson believe in self-determination?

Answer 4

Wilson strongly believed in the dismantling of empires, and believed that smaller countries should rule themselves, rather than being put in a large empire. for example, he believed that the Poles, Czechs and Slovaks should rule themselves rather than being part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Question 5

Why did Woodrow Wilson believe in the establishment of the League of Nations?

Answer 5

He believed that through the League, the world could co-operate to achieve world peace.

Question 6

Why did Woodrow Wilson believe in the disarmament of countries?

Answer 6

He believed that a long-standing peace would be built by the removal of the threat - weapons. He thought that if no one had an army, no one would fear invasion, and another war wouldn’t break out.

Question 7

What were the problems with Woodrow Wilson’s aims at the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 7

His 14 points were far too ambitious, and relied on forgiving an enemy which had caused so much damage.

One of his points was disarmament, but this was extremely hard, because no one wants to be unprotected.

He wanted to end the war ‘fairly’, but disregarded the French and British views, who had lost many men and had lots of land destroyed. He was far too optimistic and idealistic.

Question 8

What were the aims of David Lloyd George at the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 8

1. To strip Germany of its navy and colonies (Navy+Colonies)
2. To keep Germany functioning enough to be able to trade with Britain (Trade)
3. The treaty has to be just, not revenge.

Question 9

Why did Lloyd George believe in stripping Germany of its Navy and Colonies?

Answer 9

Germany’s navy was a major threat to the British one, Britain had the strongest navy in the world and didn’t want Germany to challenge them for sea superiority. Similarly, Germany’s empire and colonies were seen as a threat to Britain, so he wanted these removed.

Question 10

Why did Lloyd George believe in keeping Germany fit enough to trade with Britain?

Answer 10

Pre-war Germany had been Britain’s biggest trading partner in Europe, and this provided jobs for the British, so Lloyd George did not want to lose the trade.

Question 11

Why did Lloyd George believe that the treaty should be just, but not vengeful?

Answer 11

Similarly to Wilson, Lloyd George wanted to prevent a communist revolution in Germany after the treaty, like Russia in 1917. He also wanted to prevent the outbreak of war in the future.

Question 12

What were the problems with David Lloyd George’s aims for the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 12

The British public wanted to see Germany crippled, and saw Lloyd George’s ideas as too light on Germany. He was criticized, especially by other political parties, especially after his recent winning election campaign in 1918, in which he promised to ‘make Germany pay’.

He was sitting on the fence between France and the USA. He made no decisive calls, just siding with different sides on different points.

Question 13

What were Georges Célemenceau’s aims for the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 13

1. To cripple Germany (Cripple)
2. Revenge for the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

Question 14

Why did Clémenceau think that Germany needed to be crippled?

Answer 14

Germany had invaded France twice in 50 years (WWI, 1870 Franco-Prussian War). He thought that Germany had to be damaged enough that they would never have the strength to be able to invade France again. Furthermore, over 2/3 of men who had served in the war in France had been killed or injured, and lots of land, industry and civilians were damaged; they all wanted revenge.

Question 15

Why did Clémenceau want revenge for the 1870 Franco-Prussian War?

Answer 15

In 1870, the German states invaded France. They had won and had signed a treaty announcing the establishment of the German Empire in January 1871, it was in the palace of Versailles. Clémenceau wanted revenge, and that is part of the reason the Treaty of 1918 was also held in Versailles. Furthermore, he wanted Alsace-Lorraine back, some territory that Germany had taken in 1871.

Question 16

What were the problems with Clémenceau’s aims?

Answer 16

He was far too harsh on Germany, which would only ever have led to Germany wanting revenge.

Question 17

Why did the victorious sides not get everything they wanted in the treaty?

Answer 17

The treaty was a compromise, and not everyone could have everything because that would just instil the desire for revenge among the German people.

Question 18

What were the territorial clauses of the treaty?

Answer 18

Alsace-Lorraine was to be given to France.

North Schleswig was given to Denmark (after a plebiscite).

West prussia, posen and upper silesia were given to Poland.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became independent.

The League of Nations takes control of all German colonies, which become mandates.

The Polish Corridor and the Free City of Danzig were implemented.

Question 19

What were the economic terms of the treaty?

Answer 19

Germany was given a blank cheque when the treaty was signed in 1919. It was decided in 1921 that it would be £6,600 million (£6.6 billion)

France gets all of the coal produced in the Saarland for 15 years, after which a plebiscite would be held.

Question 20

What were the military terms of the treaty?

Answer 20

The German army was limited to 100,00 men, all of whom had to be volunteers because conscription was banned in the treaty.

Germany could have no armoured vehicles, submarines or aircraft.

The German navy was limited to 6 battleships and 15,000 sailors, with no submarines.

No ‘Luftwaffe’ (The Germany airforce)

The Rhineland would become a demilitarised zone (DMZ)

Question 21

What were the other significant terms of the treaty?

Answer 21

Germany had to accept responsibility/guilt for starting the war (Article 231).

The League of Nations would run the Saarland for 15 years, and France would get the coal.

Danzig became a ‘free city’ run by the league, used as a Polish sea port.

The League of Nations was established as a police force to ensure the terms of the treaty we kept.

Germany was not allowed to join the League of Nations until it was a ‘peace-loving country’

Anschluss with Austria was forbidden.

Question 22

What was the German reaction to the treaty?

Answer 22

They were very angry and felt they had not been treated fairly. Especially as the treaty was a Diktat and they did not have a say in it. The Germans particularly hated the war guilt clause, as they felt they had some role to play in the start of the war, but were not directly fully responsible; they thought blame should have been shared.

Question 23

What was the political impact of the treaty?

Answer 23

The treaty caused many political uprisings against the government, who were seen as traitors for stabbing Germany in the back at the end of the war.

This included:
The Kapp Putsch
The Munich Putsch
Assasinations
Communist uprisings

Question 24

What was the left-wing reaction/response to the treaty? (Communism/Socialism)

Answer 24

Before the treaty had been announced, there had been the declaration of a Soviet Republic in Munich in 1918. This was crushed by the government.

There were 22 assassinations up to 1923, and 10 of the assassins were sentenced to death

The Spartacist uprising was a communist uprising in Germany in January 1919. It was led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht, who were both communists, and wanted to create a soviet republic. They organised an uprising in Berlin in January 1919, before the first Weimar Republic elections. More than 100 people died, including Luxembourg and Liebknecht. The first national assembly of the newly voted government had to meet in Weimar instead of Berlin, due to the uprising.

Question 25

What was the right-wing reaction/response to the treaty? (Conservatism/Fascism)

Answer 25

In March 1920, there was the Kapp Putsch, an attempt to overthrow the government. The main leader was Wolfgang Kapp, who objected to the reduction in size of the German army. They organised 12,000 Freikorps (de-commisioned soldiers who had been let go so Germany complied with the treaty and had only 100,000 men) They occupied buildings in Berlin. The army officers meant to protect Berlin and the government was unwilling to fire on troops, so the government fled Berlin. The Putsch was stopped when a strike by general workers was organised, which paralysed essential services. e.g. Power and transport. This saved the republic. The right wing also assassinated 354 political people, including the foreign minister.

Question 26

What was the Munich Putsch?

Answer 26

The Munich Putsch was a Nazi led rebellion in November 1923. They stormed key buildings and hijacked a local government meeting. Weimar forces hit back, police rounded up Nazi troops and 16 Nazis were killed. Hitler escaped in a car; he was later put on trial but let off lightly. He was given 5 years in prison, but only served 11 months. He later used the trial as propaganda.

Question 27

What was the conflict in the Ruhr?

Answer 27

In 1922, Germany did not pay the installment of reparations. Despite an attempt to negotiate, in 1923, French and Belgian soldiers entered the Ruhr region and took the money owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods; this was legal under the treaty. The German government ordered the workers to go on strike and not make anything for the French to take. The French responded by expelling 100,000 protesters from the region and killing 100 workers.

Question 28

What were the economic impacts of the treaty?

Answer 28

As the economy was ruined, the government responded by printing more money, but this caused hyperinflation. The money was virtually worthless, so prices increased. The prices of goods could rise between joining a queue and reaching the front. Wages began to be paid daily. The positive side for Germans was that some government and big companies/industrialists were able to pay off large debts in worthless marks. However, many people, especially pensioners were left peniless. A middle-class family would find that their saving, which could have bought a house in 1921, could not even buy a loaf of bread.

Question 29

What were the social impacts of the Treaty?

Answer 29

The Germans developed a widespread hatred of the allies, especially because of the economic hardship. As a result, extremist ideologies were on the rise, exploiting the public's hatred for the allies.

Question 30

Why could the treaty have been justified at the time? (6 reasons)

Answer 30

When Russia had surrendered in WW1, the Germans had handed them an even larger cost of reparations in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Germany certainly did have a major role in the outbreak of war. Germany would have imposed an incredibly large treaty had they won, all of their war debt, and it is fair that the allies gave them their own medicine. Huge parts of Belgium and France were destroyed and made unfarmable. The demilitarisation of the Rhineland is fair because it gave France security from a country that had invaded them twice in 50 years. Germany's economic state was their own fault, instead of increasing taxes to pay for the war, they had just racked up the debt, aiming to make the allies pay for it when they won the war.

Question 31

Why could the treaty not have been justified at the time?

Answer 31

Germany was not solely responsible for the war; others (e.g. Austria-Hungary and Serbia) had a role to play as well. It didn't matter what Germany would have done, it shouldn't be what Germany would have needed, it should be what the allies needed. Germany already had a weak economy, large reparations would slow Germany's recovery from reparations. De-militarisation was unequal; not everyone disarmed, only the losers. Germany wasn't allowed to join the League of Nations It wasn't fair that Germany lost so much land, as most of the people they lost were German people, who were going into a country they didn't know about/ share anything with; Germany should be for all the German-speaking / cultural people