The Treaty of Versailles Signed June 1919

Arithmetic for World War I: 9 million dead young men equal 1 Arithmetic for World War I: 9 million dead young men equal 1.35 billion pounds of bone and flesh, 27.9 million pounds of brain matter, 11.25 mill gallons of blood, 414 million years of life that will never be lived, and 22.5 million children who will never be born. The dry, if imposing, figure "9,000,000 dead" seems a little less statistical when we view it from this perspective. These 9,000,000 recorded here were military casualties. An even great number of civilians-- 12,500,000--died as a result of military action, massacre, starvation or disease. All told, 21,000,000 people, combatants and civilians, perished in the four years of the war. 

Armistice An Agreement to stop fighting was signed on Nov 11, 1918. The Central Powers had been defeated A peace conference from January – June of 1919 followed to determine the outcome of 4+ years of fighting

The Big Four Woodrow Wilson -USA David Lloyd-George -Great Britain Vittorio Orlando -Italy Georges Clemenceau - France

The Big Four at Versailles in 1919

Clemenceau : The Tiger What did France want from the treaty? Security Revenge Reparations Clemenceau wanted to make sure that Germany could not invade France in the future. He was determined that Germany should be made to pay for the damage that had been caused in northern France by the invading German armies. Clemenceau : The Tiger

David Lloyd-George What did Britain Want? In public Lloyd-George said he wanted to punish the Germans. The British public was very anti-German at the end of the war. In private he realized that Britain needed Germany to recover because she was an important trading partner. He was also worried about the “disease from the east”, aka, communism. The Russian government had been overthrown by a communist revolution in 1917. Lloyd-George believed that the spread of communism had to be stopped. A strong Germany would be a barrier against it. David Lloyd-George

What did America Want? Woodrow Wilson wanted the treaty to be based on his Fourteen Points – a plan for a just and lasting peace. He believed Germany should be punished but not severely. He wanted a “just” settlement that would not leave Germany feeling resentful Wilson wanted to set up an international organization called The League of Nations which would settle disputes The American public did not support him. They were fed up with involvement in European affairs. The USA became more isolationist. Woodrow Wilson

Territorial Losses Germany lost ALL overseas colonies...to France and Great Britain Alsace-Lorraine was given to France

Germany’s Armed forces Force reduced to 100,000 men and no conscription allowed. No tanks No air force No submarines Allied occupation of Western Germany.

GERMANY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING THE WAR 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 damage to which the Allied and Associate Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of a war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her Allies." Article 231 GERMANY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING THE WAR

REPARATIONS Germany was required to pay $33 billion (Am $) to the Allied powers. Today that would be over $400 billion. WHAAAAT!? By the way, they finished paying this off...in 2010

How did Germans React to the Treaty? Germans thought the Treaty was a “diktat” : a dictated peace. They had not been invited to the peace conference at Versailles and when the Treaty was presented to them they were threatened with war if they did not sign it. The Treaty was NOT based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points as the Germans had been promised it would. Most Germans believed that the War Guilt Clause was unjustified. The French and British had done just as much to start the war The loss of territory and population angered most Germans who believed that the losses were too severe. Many Germans believed the German economy would be crippled by having to pay reparations.