Worksheet from RJ Tarr at www.activehistory.co.

uk / 1
PEACE TREATIES AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR – A SOURCEWORK EXERCISE

SOURCE A
1 No secret Treaties
2 Free access to the seas in peacetime or wartime
3 Free trade between countries
4 Disarmament
5 Colonies to be given a say in their futures
6 German troops to leave Russia
7 Independence for Belgium
8 France to regain Alsace-Lorraine
9 Frontier between Austria and Italy to be adjusted
10 Self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe
11 Serbia to have access to the sea
12 Self determination for people in the Turkish Empire
13 Poland to become an independent state with access to the sea
14 League of Nations to be set up
The famous “14 Points” of President Wilson.

SOURCE B
Clause 231 The Allied Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of
Germany and her allies for causing all the damage to which the allied governments and their
nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the
aggression of Germany and her allies.
Clause 232 The Allied governments require and Germany undertakes that she will make
compensation for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allied powers.
Extracts from the Treaty of Versailles.

SOURCE C
Severe as the Treaty seemed to many Germans, it should be remembered that Germany
might easily have fared much worse. If Clemenceau had had his way…the Rhineland would
have become an independent state, the Saar would have been annexed to France, and
Danzig would have become part of Poland.
W. Carr, A History of Germany, 1972.

SOURCE D
My criticism of the Treaty is double. In the first place…by aiming at the economic destruction
of the economic life of Germany it threatens the prosperity of the Allies themselves. In the
second place, by making demands which are literally impossible, it…leaves Europe more
unsettled than it found it. The treaty, by overstepping the limits of the possible, has in
practice settled nothing.
J.M Keynes, 1919 (he resigned as a British representative at the Paris Peace Conference).

SOURCE E
In 1919 Ebert’s government was very fragile…Germany fell behind on reparations payments
in 1922, so in 1923 French and Belgian troops entered the Ruhr and simply took what was
owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods. The Germans responded with a policy
of passive resistance, which meant that the economy ground to a standstill. Hyperinflation
was the result.
From a modern school textbook.

QUESTIONS.
1. Study source A. (5)
To what extent would these ‘14 Points’ have met with the approval of Lloyd George
and Clemenceau?
2. Study sources C & D. (5)
Does the existence of Source E make the evidence provided by source D more or
less likely to be accurate? Explain your answer.
3. Use all the sources and your own knowledge to answer this question. (10)
“Unfair and unrealistic”. How far do you agree with this assessment of the Peace
Treaties signed after the First World War?
 Worksheet from RJ Tarr at www.activehistory.co.uk / 2

MARKSCHEME.

PLEASE NOTE: This markscheme may well need to be adjusted to your own exam board
requirements!

1. Study source A.
To what extent would these ‘14 Points’ have met with the approval of Lloyd George and Clemenceau?
L1 1-2 Approval / Disapproval.
L2 3-4 Approval and Disapproval, but limited explanation
L3 5 As above but reaches clear use of background knowledge to elaborate to explain the
views of the leaders towards the 14 Points

2. Study sources C & D.

Does the existence of Source D make the evidence provided by source C more or less likely to be
accurate? Explain your answer.
Target: Evaluating interpretations (obj. 1/2/3)
L1 1 More likely, because D is primary
L2 2-3 More likely, because of similarities in what the two sources say.
L3 4-5 Reaches verdict after considering the provenance of Source D OR whether background
knowledge backs up the evidence of source D.
L4 6 Achieves both options in level 3; such answers will usually be balanced.

3. Use all the sources and your own knowledge to answer this question.
“Unfair and unrealistic”. How far do you agree with this assessment of the Peace Treaties signed after the
First World War?
L1 (1) Unsupported assertions or answers failing to use the sources
L2 (2-3) Agrees / Disagrees, uses sources OR background.
L3 (4-5) Agrees / Disagrees, uses sources AND background.
L4 (6-7) Sees both sides of the case, uses sources OR background.
L5 (8-9) Sees both sides of the case, uses sources AND background.
L6 (10) As above, but adds a concluding comment which answers the “How far” element.
N.B. DO NOT AWARD ANY MORE THAN 6 MARKS TO A CANDIDATE WHO ONLY CONSIDERS
VERSAILLES!