Treaty of Versailles Mini-Q

How Did the Versailles Treaty

Help Cause World War II?

ERSAIL
TREATY

Daniel Fitzpatrick, Sf. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 19,1930.

Overview: On June 28, t919 — seven and a half months after the horrific fighting of World War I
ended in November 1918 - the Versailles Treaty was signed by the victorious Allied nations of Great
Britain, France, and the United States and by a defeated Germany. The framers of the treaty hoped
that it would stabilize Europe and ensure that another catastrophic war would never happen again. But
just over two decades later, the flames of war consumed Europe. This Mimi-Q examines the ways in
which the treaty contributed to the 5econd World War.

The Documents:
Document A: German Territorial Losses (map)
Document B: Treaty of Versailles, Articles 160; Troop Levels, 1920 (cartoon)
Document C: Treaty of Versailles, Articles 232 and 233; Reparations
Document D: Treaty of Versailles, Article 231; War Guilt Clause

A Mini Document Based Question (Mini-Q)

Make Germany Pay Documentary
Click on the link and then watch the documentary about the Treaty of Versailles and answer the questions
Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG6U9lcPnAw
Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK3X4Luq2L0

/
1. Where was the Peace Treaty between Germany and the Allies signed?
 Treaty of Versailles, peace document signed at the end of World War I by the Allied and
associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, France, on
June 28, 1919; it took force on January 10, 1920.

2. When was the Peace Conference?

 January 1919

3. How many states attended the meeting?

 US, France, Britain, Germany, and Italy

4. What was the aim of Georges Clemenceau at the Peace Conference?

 It was to be able to control his delegation, his chief goals were to weaken the German military,
strategically, and economically. This was because he was there personally when he witnessed
Germany attack the French for the past 40 years.

5. Name three of Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points?

 The removal so far as possible of all economic barriers
 The reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety
 Impartial adjustment of all colonial claims

6. What problem might occur if Germany was left too weak by the Treaty?
 The problem that might occur is that it would have left the German military disarmed, and
stripped them of all the territory they claimed, claimed their population, and all of their economic
resources. And while also to have them admit responsibility for the war and make them for
reparations

7. What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

 The surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates
 The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
 Cession of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, the Hultchin district to
Czechoslovakia

8. What happened to the German navy?

 Post war, the bulk of the navy ships were interned at Scapa Flow, where the entire fleet was
scuttled by its crews on 21 June 1919

9. When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

 June 28, 1919
10. What was the reaction of the German people to the Treaty of Versailles?
 It was negative, there was protests in the German Reichstag and out on the streets.

11. Why did the French want to punish Germany financially?

 Because the French was mad that Germany due to the amount of damage that Germany had
done to their soil and to their people

12. What was the German’s argument against heavy reparations?

 That the treaty of Versailles had already made them pay for enough damage that they have
done and that if they continue, they might lose all the money they have and go to extreme debt

13. How much money were Germany ordered to pay?

 At least 132 billion gold marks which converted to our money is 33 billion

14. Where would the goods come from to pay the reparations?
 In 1924, the Dawes Plan reduced Germany's war debt and forced it to adopt a new
currency. Reparations continued to be paid through a strange round robin: The U.S.
lent Germany money to pay reparations, and the countries that collected reparations payment
used that money to pay off United States debts.

15. What was the reaction of the French when the Germans defaulted on their payments?
 When Germany made defaulted payments during that time France had occupied the Ruhr in
1923 to enforce payments, which then caused a international crisis which then resulted in a
implementation of Dawes Plan in 1924.

16. How did the German people react to the invasion?

 They did not react well to the invasion

17. What happened to the Germany economy in 1923?

 Hyperinflation had affected the German papier mark, the currency of the Weimar Republic,
between 1921 and 1923. It caused a considerable internal political instability in the country, the
occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium as well as misery for the general populace,

18. How did Stresemann start to solve the economic problems?

 The Stresemann believed that Germany’s economic problems could’ve been solved through
negotiation, which then resulted in him being able to work with Charles Dawes, and American
banker to create the Dawes Plan of 1924, which was then subsequently eased to thr reparations
to put pressure on Weimar Republic

19. How did the nationalists react to Stresemann’s actions?

 Under Stresemann’s guidance, the government called of the strike, then persuaded the French
to leave Ruhr and then changed the currency to the Reembark which helped solve the
hyperinflation. It also introduced new reforms to help the ordinary people with job centres,
unemployment pays, and better housing
20. How was Germany able to deal with inflation?
 On 15 November 1923 decisive steps were taken to end the nightmare of hyperinflation in the
Weimar Republic: The Reichsbank, the German central bank, stopped monetizing government
debt, and a new means of exchange, the Reembark, was issued next to the Paper mark
(in German: Papier mark).
 Treaty of Versailles Mini-Q

Hook Exercise: Analyzing a Political Cartoon

Directions: From August 1914 to November 1918 the major powers of Europe were at war. The
war pitted Germany and Austria-Hungary against France, England, Russia, and, eventually,
the United States. Known then as the Great War, and known today as World War I, this terrible
conflict left an estimated 17 million soldiers and civilians dead. It finally ended with a German
defeat. After the war a conference was held at the Versailles Palace just outside of Paris. The
purpose was to write a treaty that would set the terms of the peace. The treaty was finally
signed on June 28, 1919.

Below is a famous political cartoon. With a partner, examine the cartoon and answer the
questions that follow.

Source. Daniel Fitzpatrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 19, 1930.

Hook Exercise Questions:
1. During what years was World War I fought?
 July 28, 1914 through November 11, 1918

2.When was the Versailles Treaty signed?

 June 28, 1919

3.When and in what newspaper did the cartoon appear?

 October 19, 1930

4. Who is the figure crawling out of the treaty scroll? What is he wearing on his head?
 The figure in the picture is to be a cartoon of Germany, most importantly Adolf Hitler, and if
you look closely to the picture his helmet says “Hitler Party”, it’s supposed to be them being
embarrassed and angry as they come out crawling out of the treaty of Versailles, this is also
supposed to be depicting Germany being spoon-fed peace-terms by the council of four.

5. What is the main idea of the cartoon?

 The reason for the cartoon to be created was to show the generally public on how
harsh the Treaty of Versailles had affected Germany’s population and economy as a
general.

6. What information would you like to have to decide if the main idea of the cartoon is correct?
 This document can help prove that the Treaty helped start WWII because in the article by
Laurence V. Moyer, it says how it made Germany feel humiliated and disgraced and when Hitler
came along it gave them a sense of pride in their country and "reawakened" their sence of self-
respect.
Background Essay
How Did the Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War II?
It is hard to say anything good about World
War I. Fought mainly in western and eastern
Europe, it was a war that took the lives of 10
million soldiers and seven million civilians. and
wounded 10 million more. It was a war where
men charged one another, again and again,
through a storm of machine gun fire and mus-
tard gas only to find themselves, months later,
lying in the same God-forsaken trenches they
had dug one year before.
The main combatants in this war included
the major nations of Europe —Germany. Austria-
Hungary, and Turkey on the one side - France,
England, Russia, and Italy on the other. The
reason for the war was, at
bottom, a struggle for eco-
nomic and political power.
It grew out of the scramble
for overseas colonies, eth-
nic and national pride, and
a tangle of alliances that
said “I'll help you if you
help me.” It was a war coaxed into being by a
huge military build-up. England was determined
not be outdone by anyone else's navy; Germany
was determined not to be outgunned by anybody
else's army. By 1914 a tense Europe bristled
with weapons.
An assassination in the Balkans triggered
the actual fighting and the devastation followed.
In 1917, after three years of indecision, the
United States entered on the side of England and
France and it was enough to tip the balance. By
the summer of 1918 Germany was ready to give
up. Ironically, little if any of the war had been
fought on German soil. Most of the carnage had
occurred on the Western Front in France and
Belgium and on the Eastern Front near and in
Russia. The result was that many of the German
people, due to the government's control of the
press, had not known they were losing. Think-
ing that the war was no worse than a draw, they
would not be prepared for a harsh peace.
Treaty of Versailles Mini-O
The war ended on November 11, 1918.
It was only a few months before leaders from
around the world would meet at Versailles in
France to hammer out a treaty. The major play-
ers were Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
of France, Prime Minister David Lloyd George
of England, and Woodrow Wilson, President of
the United States. Germany was given no voice.
Russia, who had pulled out of the war in 1917,
was not represented.
Woodrow Wilson wanted the treaty to
guarantee independence for many of the na-
tional groups in Eastern Europe. He also wanted
to create a League of Nations to settle future
disputes and avoid war. But
neither of these ideas was
primary to Georges Clem-
enceau. France had suffered
terribly in the war. Clem-
enceau wanted Germany
to pay - in gold, in land, in
resources, and in reduced
military strength. His goal was that Germany
should never rise again to threaten France or the
rest of Europe. David Lloyd George agreed with
Clemenceau. However, one of the English rep-
representatives, John Maynard Keynes, argued
that the terms imposed on Germany were
impossible for her to meet, and would lead to
bitterness and future conflict. Wilson shared this
thinking. In the end, Clemenceau and Lloyd
George won out.
Keynes and Wilson were right about a
future conflict. World War II, even more deadly
than World War I, would arrive less than 20
years later. Modem historians have argued long
and hard over the degree to which the Versailles
Treaty sewed the seeds of World War II. In a
Mini-Q it is not possible to explore the fullness
of this argument. However, it is possible to look
at several of the terms of the Treaty and consider
how they might have been factors in the war to
come. Examine the four documents that follow
and answer the question, how did the Versailles
Treaty help cause World War II?
 Treaty of Versailles Mini-Q

Background Essay Questions

1. What were the years of World War 1?
 July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918

2. What were the military and civilian death total in World War I?
 17 million

3. What were three causes of World War I?

 Politics
 Secret Alliances
 Imperialism
 Nationalistic pride
 Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria
4. Why were the German people not prepared to accept the harsh peace terms of the Versailles Treaty?

 During World War 1, they did not know that they were losing the war

5. Who were the three government leaders that shaped the Versailles Treaty?
 Prime Minister of France George Clemenceau
 Prime Minister of England David Lloyd George
 US President Woodrow Wilson

6. What was Germany's role at the Versailles conference?

 They were given no voice during the Versailles conference; the purpose of the treaty was to make is
so that Germany could never rise again to threaten France or the rest of Europe

7. How did the goals of Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson differ?
 It differs because Wilson wanted to create the League of Nations. Clemenceau wanted Germany to
pay, in gold, in land, and in resources, and to also reduce the military strength.

8. What was the concern of English treaty representative George Maynard Keynes?
 The concerns were that the terms imposed on Germany were too impossible

9. Define these terms:

Mustard Gas Mustard gas technically is not a gas and is sometimes often called Sulfur mustard by
scholarly sources, this is because the prototypical substance of the sulfur-based family
of the cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agents, which can form larger blisters on
exposed skin and in the lungs
Combats Fighting between armed forces
Carnage The killing of a large number of people
Western Front The Western Front was the main theatre of war during the First World War, following the
outbreak of war in August in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by
invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial
regions in France
Eastern Front The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of conflict between the European
Axis powers against the Soviet Union, Poland and other Allies, which encompassed
 Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe, and South east Europe from June
22, 1941 to May 9, 1945.
League of The League of Nations, abbreviated as LON, was the first worldwide intergovernmental
Nations organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. Founded on 10
January 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War, it
ceased operations on 20 April 1946.

Timeline
1914 — July 28: Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph declares war on Serbia.
I 915 - German sinking of British luxury liner Lusitania kills 1,198 people including 128 Americans.
1916 — Battle of Verdun. German and French armies fight almost the whole year. One million
people on both sides die or are wounded.
1917 — April: United States declares war on Germany.
19J7 — October—November: Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Communist rule begins in the newly
formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
1919 — June 28: Treaty of Versailles is signed by delegates of Germany and Allied Powers.
1932 — Unemployment rate in Germany reaches 30%.
1933 — January 30: Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany.
 German Territorial Losses, Versailles Treaty, 1919 Treaty of Versailles Mini-Q

Document A

Source: German Territorial Losses, Versailles Treaty, 1919. Map created from various sources.

German border before WWI

DENMR
%R.oct by
'

'POLA NO

Warsaw

BELGIU

AUSTRIA

Note: The Treaty took coal-producing areas away from Germany, reducing German coal production by 409.

Source: Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1924.

It should scarcely seem questionable to anyone that ... the restoration of the frontiers
of 1914 could be achieved only by blood. Only childish and naive minds can lull them-
selves in the idea that they can bring about a correction of Versailles by wheedling and
bagging. No nation can remove this hand from its throat except by the sword.

Note: Adolf Hitler published Main Kampf ("My Struggle") in 1924, well before he came to power
but when he was beginning to make his mark as a German political figure.
Document Analysis
1.What territories did Germany lose due to the Versailles Treaty?
 Lorraine
 Alsace
 Polish Corridor

2.East Prussia remained a part of Germany. Why might the loss of the Polish
Corridor and Danzig have been especially difficult for Germans?
 Because they might not have had a way to get to prussia

3. Why might life have been difficult for Germans who lived in the lost territories?
 Because they didn’t have any sort of protection for their mother country

4.How does Hitler suggest Germans should respond to the Versailles Treaty?
 He suggests that they should go into another war

5.How can you use this document to explain how the Versailles Treaty helped cause World War II?
 This document can help prove that the Treaty helpedstart WWII because inn the
article by Laurence V. Moyer, it says how it made Germany feel humiliated and
disgraced and when Hitler came along it gave them a sense of pride in their country
and "reawakened" their sense of self-respect.
 Treaty of Versailles Mini-0

Document B

Source: Treaty of Versailles, 1919. Article 1B0.

By a date which must not be later than March 31, 1920, the German Army must not com-
prise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry......After that date
the total number of [military troops) ..., in. Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand
men, including officers.... The Army shall be devoted exclusively to the maintenance of order
within the territory and to the control of the frontiers.....The total effective strength of officers,
including the personnel of staffs, whatever their composition, must not exceed four thousand.

Soume: German political cartoon. 1920o.

Troop Levels, 1920

¿-
Translations: Friedensst¿irke
Frankreich (France)
Belgi”en (Belgium)
Deutsches Reich (Germany)
Tscfiechoslow (Czechoslovakia)
Polen (Poland)
Friedensat&rka (peacekeepers; bEUT5DI£S
full-time military troops) metric
Reich
Reserve•
Reserven (military reserves
available when required)
Militârische Vertfiâge (military
Document Analysis
1.What is the total number of German military troops allowed by Article
160 of the Versailles Treaty?
 100,000

2.How does Article 160 define the role of the army?

 The article defines the army’s role by saying that they should protect themselves

3.Which of the countries in the cartoon image has the largest combined army of
reservists and peacekeepers?
 France

4.What is implied by the imagery showing the chain held by the large figure representing
France? How does this image suggest German politicians and citizens might have felt
about their military security compared to that of their neighbors?
 It’s implied on where the ammo should go. The image suggests that the
German politicians and citizens felt about their military security because
they believed that they were scared because they were small.

5.How does this document explain how the Versailles Treaty helped cause World War 11?
 The documents explains how the Versailles treaty helped the World War 1 because it
stated that Germany was treated badly
 Treaty of Versailles Mini-Q

Source: Treaty of Versailles, 1919.

Article 232: The (Allies] ... require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for
all damage done to the civilian population of the Allied and Associated Powers and to their property
during the period of the belligerency....
Article 233: The amount of ... [reparations or payments to be made by Germany shall be deter-
mined by an Inter-Allied Commission, ... (which will} consider the claims and give to [Germany a
just opportunity to be heard.... The Commission shall ... draw up a schedule of payments prescrib-
ing the time and manner for securing and discharging the entire obligations within a period of thirty
years from May 1, 1921. If, however......Germany fails to [meet] her obligations, any balance
remaining unpaid may ... be postponed for [future payment] or may be handled (in another
way that] the Allied and Associated Governmentsshall determine.

Source: Chart compiled from varied sources including John Maynard Keynes, 7ha Economic Consequences of
the Peace, 1920; Chai1as Mee, 7he End of Olden Versailles, t9f9.

Reparations Established by Versailles Treaty with Later Revisions

DaleAmount of Reparations Value in 2010 German Response and Payment

US Dollars
192 132 billion gold $367 billion to be Anger/humiliation. Paid little in
1 marks paid over 30 l920s.
years
192 112 billion gold Not counting American loans,
9 marks (reduced from $341 billion Germans pay only 2 billion marks
1921) over next three years.
t933 Hitler comes to power. Stops all
reparations payments
Document Analysis
1. Why was Germany required to pay reparations for World War I?
 Because they had lost in the war

2.When were the reparation payments set to begin and what was the date by which they were
re-quired to be fulfilled?
 May 1, 1921 - 1951

3.In 1929, what was the reduced amount of reparations Germany was
required to pay? In German gold marks? In 2010 US dollars?
 The gold marks ranged from 112 all the way to 132

4.What could the Inter-Allied Reparations Commission do in the case that

Germany fell behind or failed to make reparations payments?
 The case that would happen is that it would be postponed for the future

5.How does this document help explain how the Treaty of Versailles contributed to World War II?
 The documents explains how the Versailles treaty helped the World War 1 because it
stated the amount of gold marks that they owed
 Treaty of Versailles Mini Q

Document D

Source: Treaty of Versailles, 1919. Article 231.

Note: The Article of the Versailles Treaty is often referred to as the War Guilt Clause.

The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the
responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and dam-
age to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals
have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by
the aggression of Germany and her allies.

Source: Laurence V. Moyer, Victory /Must Be Ours: Germany in the i3reat War l914—1918 1995.

The Allies continued in the years after 1919 to regard the [Versailles] Treaty as an in-
ternational contract...but most Germans saw it as an atrocious injustice, an evil thing
which must be destroyed. This feeling persisted long after most of the provisions had
been carried out, long after many Germans could even name its provisions. What they
knew of the treaty was etched indelibly in their minds and could be abbreviated in [a]
single word: humiliation. Nations, as with individuals, do not like to be made to feel
disgraced and cast off...lt undermines..., a sense of worth, their value of themselves...
Much of the exaltation [enthusiasm 1 within Germany arising from the Nazi regime
arose [from) the way in which Hitler restored a sense of pride, reawakened a sense of
self-respect, forcing the world to foot at Germany anew.
Document Analysis
1. What is the main idea of Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles?
 The main idea was for Germany to accept the responsibility for the damage in the war

2. How did most Germans feel about the Treaty of Versailles?

 They could’ve felt destroyed seeing as they went into this was thinking they were
going to win but, in the end, lost and had to give up many different things that was in
their possession

3. According to historian Laurence Moyer, why did many Germans admire Adolf Hitler?
 They admired Adolf Hitler, because Hitler had restored self-respect for the Germans
by committing that big sin against the jewish
4. How does this document explain how the Treaty of Versailles helped cause World War Il?

 The documents explains how the Versailles treaty helped the World War 1 because it
stated that the reason for the whole war to even start in the first place was because of
the Germans revolting