Aim: How Should We Remember the Treaty of Versailles? Londoners celebrate the end of the Great War 1918

I The End of WWI? After the surrender of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, Germany was forced to seek an armistice [truce] with the Allies on November 11, 1918.

II The Paris Peace Conference A) The Paris Peace Conference began January 18, 1919 to debate the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty. Germany was NOT invited. B) The “Big Three”: Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Britain) Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau (France) President Woodrow Wilson (US) C) June 28, 1919 Germany signed the Versailles Treaty. (Their military was so weakened Germany had no choice)

The Treaty of Versailles Excerpts ARTICLE 160. By a date which must not be later than March 31, 1920, the German Army must not comprise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry… The total effective strength of officers, including the personnel of staffs… must not exceed four thousand. ARTICLE 198. The armed forces of Germany must not include any military or naval air forces. ARTICLE 231. The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage 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.

The “Big Three” and the Signing of the Treaty of Versailles Georges Clemenceau Woodrow Wilson David Lloyd George

III Wilson’s 14 Points and League of Nations A) January 8, 1918 US President Woodrow Wilson presented his 14 Points to Congress. B) Wilson used his influence to attach the charter of the League of Nations to the Treaty of Versailles. C) Due to concerns that the League would commit the United States to an organization that would reduce the United States’ ability to defend its own interests, the Senate voted to not join.

Wilson’s 14 Points Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points were first outlined in a speech Wilson gave to the American Congress in January 1918. 1. No more secret agreements 2. Free navigation of all seas 3. An end to all economic barriers between countries 4. Countries to reduce weapons 5. All decisions regarding the colonies should be impartial 8 - 13. Self-determination for those in France, Italy, Poland, the Balkans, the former Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires 14. A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial independence of all states.

***Germany finished paying its reparations Oct 3, 2010*** IV Costs of the War During mid-1918, Europe was hit by Spanish flu and an estimated 25 million people died. ***Germany finished paying its reparations Oct 3, 2010***

“Before WWI Germany was a prosperous country, with a gold-backed currency, expanding industry, and world leadership in optics, chemicals, and machinery… That was in 1914. In 1923, at the most fevered moment of the German hyperinflation, the exchange rate between the dollar and the Mark was one trillion Marks to one dollar, and a wheelbarrow full of money would not even buy a newspaper.” - George J.W. Goodman, 1923 “ The Treaty of Versailles is worthless. 60 million German hearts and minds are on fire with anger and shame. They will cry out ‘We want war!’ ” –Adolf Hitler, Mein Kamph 1924

After the Ottoman Empire: SW Asia 1922

Summary Questions If you were the leader of Germany, would you have signed the Treaty of Versailles as it was written? Why or why not? Do you think that the Treaty of Versailles, Wilson’s 14 Points and the League of Nations were truly intended to prevent future world wars? Was it possible to predict WWII? *Use evidence from the Treaty of Versailles excerpts.

Key Vocabulary 14 Points Big Three David Lloyd George Georges Clemenceau League of Nations Treaty of Versailles Woodrow Wilson