HISTORY Q&A’s

CH. 1 - WERE THE PEACE TREATIES OF 1919-23 FAIR?

Question Recall points Answer

Clemenceau: ● George Clemenceau of France

French ○ Primary concern was to achieve a peace that would ensure the security
security, fear of of France,
German ○ He thought that if Germany was sufficiently weakened then it would be
invasion, unable to threaten the peace of Europe again.
France’s ○ There were a number of reasons why Clemenceau thought that his
experience in country would be open to a German attack in the future:
What were the the war, - Germany shared a border with France, which was not defined by
motives and aims of Demands a natural frontier like a river, for example.
the Big Three at involving - The German invasion of France in August 1914 was the second
Versailles? disarmament, time in 50 years that Germany had invaded France. On the first
colonies, land occasion in the Anglo-Prussian war, France had lost the province
of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.
- France had made a much greater sacrifice during the course of
the war than either Britain or USA, having been the only nation to
have lost more than a million soldiers. Furthermore, while
retreating during the final stages of the war, German troops had
caused deliberate damage by flooding mines and destroying
infrastructure as well as small towns and villages.
○ Some of the demands he made included:
- Permanent disarmament involving disbanding most of Germany’s
army, navy and air force.
 - The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France.
- The Rhineland to become an independent state so that France no
longer shared a common border with Germany.
- A very high level of reparations.
- A significant portion of Germany’s colonies to be given to France
- The Saar Basin to be transferred to France.
Wilson:
America’s ● Woodrow Wilson of the USA
experience in ○ Determined to create “a long and lasting peace.”
the war, ○ He believed this could be achieved by making his Fourteen points the
Wilson’s basis of the peace settlement
fourteen ■ The Fourteen Points had been drafted up during the later stages
points, of the war.
Wilson’s ■ They resulted from Wilson trying to identify the general causes of
approach to the war and then devising remedies for cause.
What were the peace, ■ Examples:
motives and aims of clashing with - Wilson believed that the secret treaties had let to
the Big Three at British and misunderstandings and suspicion between the most
Versailles? French important countries before the war. He therefore
self-interests recommended that there should be open diplomacy and
no secret treaties.
- Wilson decided that one of the causes of the war had been
the build up of armaments, such as naval ships, aircraft
and weaponry for the army. Wilson therefore
recommended that states should disarm, maintaining just
what was needed for basic defence .
- Wilson hoped to promote long-term stability by recognising
the principle of self-determination. In practice this meant
allowing national groups such as Slovaks, Czechs and
Poles to form independent national states
○ President Woodrow Wilson’s hope and expectations from the peace
settlement were very different from the French. But America’s experience
of the war was also very different.
- America had not declared war on Germany until April 1917 and
was not fully involved in the war until more than a year later.
- No fighting occurred on American land and relatively few
 American lives were lost with civilian fatalities of less than 800.
- The war had provided profitable trading and business
opportunities for American manufacturers, merchants and
financiers.

○ Lack of national grievance meant that Wilson could stand back and take
a more detached view of the peace proceedings.
○ HIs approach to peace was based on ideals and high principles that
inevitability clashed with British and French self-interests, especially with
regard to acquiring Germany’s colonies.

● Lloyd George of Britain

Lloyd George: ○ The British public was as concerned as France that Germany’s
What were the Lloyd George’s war-making potential be reduced and demanded vengeance against
motives and aims of views during Germany immediately after the war.
the Big Three at the election - Britain had suffered direct attacks on her mainland.
Versailles? reflecting - Britain had sustained heavy casualties during the war.
British public’s - Britain’s economy had been severely disrupted
view, George’s - If hostile troops crossed France’s eastern border, it would only be
views after the a matter of time before they crossed Britain’s eastern border as
election, British well.
self-interest,
British ○ Though he had insisted that Germany should pay for the full cost of the
experience in war and that a sizeable number of German colonies be handed over to
the war Britain during the electron, his outlook had changed by the time he
arrived in Paris in January 1919

○ Lloyd George decided that a more moderate peace settlement was in

British interests for a number of reasons.
- The economic revival of Germany would also play a huge part in
the economic revival of Europe as a whole. Germany was Britain’s
most important European customer. Trade with Germany meant
money and jobs for Britain.
- If Germany was deprived of the Rhineland, where much of its
 industry was located, it would not be wealthy enough to buy
British goods at a large scale (like they did before the war.
- A very high reparations figure would also slow down Germany’s
economic revival
- A weak Germany would provide an inadequate barrier against
Communism.
- Lloyd George was also anxious that the treaty should not be
regarded as excessively harsh by the Germans as this would
result in resentment and grievance that might lead to more
violence.

○ Lloyd Geore’s impact on Clemenceau

- Because of these factors Lloyd George managed to persuade
What were the Clemenceau to make a number of key concessions.
motives and aims of - To abandon the idea of an independent Rhineland state
the Big Three at - To abandon the idea of Danzig being given to Poland
Versailles? - To abandon the idea of the Saar Basin being transferred to
France
- To abandon the idea of naming a definite and very high
figure for reparations in the treaty

5 key points ● War Guilt Clause

○ Germany had to accept full responsibility for starting the war.
● Reparations
○ Germany had to pay £6.6 billion in reparations, which they would pay in
What were the main installments.
terms of the Treaty of ● Disarmament
Versailles? ○ Germany’s army was limited to 100’000 soldiers and conscription was
banned.
○ Tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy artillery were banned
○ No military or naval air force was permitted
 ○ The navy was limited to 6 battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and
12 torpedo boats and no submarines.
○ The Rhineland was to be made a demilitarised zone. In addition, there
was to be an allied army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for
15 years.
● Loss of territories
○ All of Germany’s colonies in Africa and the Far East were to be lost to the
Allied nations.
○ Alsace-Lorraine was to be returned to france.
○ Memel was to be transferred to Lithuania.
○ Eupen, Malmedy and Moresnet were to be transferred to Belgium.
○ Danzig was to be a free city which Poland could use for its external trade.
○ The Saar basin was to be administered by the League of Nations for 15
years, after which a plebiscite would decide whether it should belong to
France, Germany or remain under League control.
○ Eastern Upper Silesia and West Prussia were to be given to Poland.
○ Union between Germany and Austria was forbidden.

○ These loss of territories resulted in Germany losing 10% of its population,

26% of its coal resources, 75% of its iron ore deposits and 13% of its
European land.

● League of Nations
○ Germany had to accept the Covenant of the League of Nations, a newly
formed organisation to ensure global peace, even though they were not
allowed to join until they could prove that Germany was a peace-loving
nation.

● Before the war, Danzig was a flourishing German sea port. With the recreation of
Poland, Germany was set to lose West Prussia and Danzig to the new state.
Why was Danzig ● However, the population of Danzig was overwhelmingly German and transfer to
important? Poland might have created an unstable situation. Yet Poland needed a sea port
from which to trade with the outside world.
● A compromise was reached whereby Danzig was made a Free City and placed
 under League of Nations control.

France: ● Clemenceau of France

security issues ○ The Treaty of Versailles satisfied a number of Clemenceau’s specific
demands. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, some of Germany’s
America: colonies would be transferred to France and France was likely to become
self-determinati a major recipient of German reparations.
on, ○ France would be secure on its eastern frontier, providing Germany kept to
disarmament, the military terms of the treaty and the Rhineland remained devoid of
America and German troops.
the LON ○ Versailles deprived Germany of a significant proportion of its land,
population and resources, which reduced its economic power and military
Britain: capacity.
How Britain
was mostly ○ However, France still felt insecure. France feared that the restrictions
satisfied imposed on Germany would not be enough, and that Germany would
Why did all the victors
recover its strength and seek changes to the treaty.
not get everything
○ To protect against this, Clemenceau wanted a Treaty of Guarantee with
they wanted?
his Allied partners, which would guarantee that if Germany invaded
France again, the USA and Britain would assist. However, such a treaty
failed to materialise as the American Congress refused to approve the
peace settlement and America withdrew into diplomatic isolation, while
Britain was unwilling to provide any guarantees on its own.

● Wilson of America
○ President Wilson had mixed feelings about the peace settlement.
○ He was pleased that the League of Nations was included in all the peace
treaties.
○ He was partly satisfied that the defeated nations had to disarm,
representing at least some movement towards his objective of
disarmament for all countries.
○ Wilson was relieved that the Rhineland was not going to become a
separate state and that Germany was not going to be burdened with a
very high reparations figure.
 ○ However, though delighted by the creation of the successor states of
Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, Wilson was upset that Germany was not
allowed to unite with Austria, going against his hopes for
self-determination.
○ At the insistence of Britain the principle of free navigation of the seas was
abandoned.
○ Sudeten Germans were not consulted about their future.

● Lloyd George of Britain

○ Lloyd George of Britain was the most satisfied with the Versailles Treaty
○ He directly promoted British interests
- Britain was given many of Germany’s overseas colonies,
extending her empire by 1.8 million square miles and 13 million
new subjects. Furthermore, out of fear that the British would seize
their ships if German authorities decided to not sign the treaty and
continue the war effort, the Germans decided to scuttle their fleet
at Scapa Flow, removing any German naval threat for the
foreseeable future.
- Lloyd George felt that the Versailles Treaty punished Germany
without destroying its economy, and more importantly its ability to
trade with Britain and other nations and contribute to the future
prosperity of Europe. This was good for British business and
reassuring for those who feared the westward spread of
communism.

○ Though he did not like the placing of German-speaking peoples under

foreign rule, on the whole he got his way.
 The impact of ● Too harsh
the Treaty’s ○ Germany’s general objection to the treaty was that it was too harsh, and
harshness, the that they were being punished twice over, as they had to pay reparations
impact of the but were deprived of the resources needed to pay these reparations.
manner in ○ However, Germany had imposed an equally harsh treaty on Soviet
which it was Russia at Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, so it could be argued that they
drafted were getting a taste of their own medicine.
(Germany was
not involved in ● Diktat
negotiations), ○ Germany objected that the treaty was a “diktat” or a dictated peace.
the impact of German statesmen and officials were excluded from the negotiations
the War Guilt leading up to the treaty. They were simply handed a draft copy and
clause, the invited to express comments and criticism in writing, which only led to
political and some minor changes.
economic ○ The Germans had little choice but to sign the treaty as if they did not, the
impact of the Allied naval blockade would have continued and the Allies would have
Treaty of restarted the war, which weak Germany would inevitably lose.
Versailles, the
What was the impact impact of ● War Guilt Clause
of the peace treaty on Disarmament, ○ The Germans felt that the War Guilt Clause rubbed salt in their wounds.
Germany up to 1923? and the impact ○ They were also not convinced that they, together with their allies, were
of Wilson’s totally responsible for starting the war. After all, it could be argued that
fourteen points what started the war was the Russian mobilisation of July 1914.

● The political impact

○ The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the new German Government, the
Weimar Government.
○ Though this government had little option but to sign the Treaty, it was the
symbol of Germany’s dishonour and humiliation, and the authority of the
new republic was seriously undermined.
○ Right-wing politicians and activists showed their disapproval by
supporting attempts to overthrow the government, such as the Munich
Putsch of November 1923.
○ Right wing extremists carried out a number of assassinations of
high-ranking government officials.
○ Left wing extremist groups exploited the unpopularity of the Weimar
 Constitution by promoting Rebellions, such as that in the Ruhr of March
1920.
○ Many members of the army, furious with the government for agreeing to
the disarmament clauses, joined the Freikorps, an unofficial,
anti-communist vigilante group. When the government tried to disarm the
group following pressure from the Allies, Freikorps units under the
command of Wolfgang Kapp staged a coup in Berlin and declared a new
national government. The army refused to intervene and the Weimar
Government was on the brink of collapse. It only survived thanks to a
general workers’ strike that brought public services to a standstill.
○ The signing of the Treaty of Versailles meant that the new democratic
Weimar Republic was operating under a major disadvantage from the
very beginning of its existence: lack of support.

● Economic impact
○ Germany claimed that they would not be able to afford the £6.6 billion in
reparations, and many Germans were outraged by the high figure
○ Germany was able to pay the first instalment in 1921, but failed to do so
in 1922.
○ The French felt that the Germans were simply trying to escape the
obligations of the Treaty and took matters into their own hands along with
Belgian forces, occupying the Ruhr with the intention of seizing coal and
other resources to the value of the missed payments.
○ The German Government was not in the position to order armed
resistance, so instead ordered the German population of the Ruhr to offer
passive resistance or peaceful strike action.
○ The French responded to this by expelling more than 100’000 Germans
from the region and killing 130 more.
○ The German Government now faced a situation where their expenditure
was increased due to the need to re-house and feed the displaced, but
their income was declining due to the ending of the Ruhr taxation
receipts.
○ To make up for this, the German Government began to print more money.
This stoked up the existing high inflation and hyperinflation. The German
mark became worthless and middle class savings lost their value.
Bartering became increasingly popular.
 ○ The Young Plan reduced the outstanding amount of reparations to £2
billion.

● Disarmament
○ Disarmament humiliated Germany.
○ It also left Germany vulnerable to attacks from its neighbours who had
not disarmed. Germany claimed that 100 000 men was insufficient for
border defence.
○ It would also be difficult to deal with domestic issues, such as revolts or
uprisings, without a sufficient military force.

● Wilson’s Fourteen Points

○ Germany always maintained that the armistice was signed on the
understanding that the peace settlement would be based upon Wilson’s
What was the impact Fourteen Points.
of the peace treaty on ○ However, the Treaty of Versailles was seen by the German people as a
Germany up to 1923? betrayal of this promise in a number of ways:
- Reparations and war guilt were not part of the fourteen points
- The Fourteen Points proposed disarmament for all nations, but
the victors did not have to disarm
- The Fourteen Points proposed self-determination, but this did not
apply to Alsace-Lorraine and Austria.

○ The Allies never made a promise to follow Wilson’s principles but to use
them as a guiding principle for the treaty, and with regards to
self-determination, plebiscites were held in East Prussia, Upper Silesia
and the Saar basin.

What are the ● Treaty of St.Germain with Austria

terms of the
treaties that
 dealt with ○ The new Republic of Austria had to accept the break-up of the
Austria, Austro-Hungarian empire
Hungary, ○ Army limited to 30’000 troops
Bulgaria and
○ Austria had to recognize the independence of Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Turkey?
Yugoslavia and Poland.
○ Galicia was given to Poland.
○ South Tyrol and Trieste were given to Italy.
○ Bohemia and Moravia were given to Czhecoslovakia
○ Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Dalmatia were given to Yugoslavia
○ Austria resented the fact that union with Germany was forbidden and that
three million Sudeten Germans were placed under Czech rule. This was
seen as a violation of the principle of self-determination.
What were the terms ○ Austria lost its access to the sea and could not collect taxes from its sea
of the other peace
ports
treaties?

● Treaty of Trianon with Hungary

○ Hungary had to accept the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
○ Hungary had to recognise the independence of Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia.
○ Slovakia was transferred to Czechoslovakia
○ Burgenland was transferred to Austria.
○ Transylvania was transferred to Romania.
○ Croatia was given to Yugoslavia.
○ Hungary was dismayed as Bulgaria lost 70% of its territory and one third
of its population. The treaty also deprived Hungary of its seaports.

● Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria

○ Bulgaria had to recognise the independence of Yugsolavia.
○ Western Thrace was given to Greece.
○ Dobrudja was given to Romania.
○ Northern Macedonia was given to Yugoslavia.
 ○ Bulgaria had to limit its armed forces to 20 000 soldiers.

● Treaty of Sevres with Turkey

○ Turkey had to recognise the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz (later
to form Saudi Arabia) and Armenia.
○ The Dardanelles Strait was to become an international waterway.
○ Rhodes was lost to Italy.
○ Eastern Thrace was lost to Greece.

● Treaty of Lausannes with Turkey

○ The Turkish Government intended to accept the treaty, even though
almost all Turks were outraged by its terms.
○ This sparked off a movement of nationalists led by Mustapha Kemal, who
set up a new Grand Assembly, stopped the government signing the treaty
and challenged the peace treaty by force, driving the Greeks out of
Smyrna. This led to a negotiated treaty: the Treaty of Lausannes

○ Turkey confirmed the loss of its provinces in the Middle East.

○ Turkey received back Constantinople.
○ The Dardanelles Strait was to return to Turkish sovereignty.
○ Restrictions on Turkey’s armed forces were removed.
○ Turkey no longer had to pay reparations.

Views ● Those who thought the Treaty was too harsh

Could the treaties be regarding the ○ Mostly shared by Germans, shared by those from many other countries
justified at the time? harshness of as well.
the treaty
● Those who thought the Treaty was not harsh enough
○ Many French supported this view.
● Those who thought the Treaty was fair