 Starter 28 June 1919 Germany signed up to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles formally ending WWI. Who do you think the people are in this picture? What can this picture tell us about reactions of Germans to the way the war was ended ?  Why might some Germans have felt optimistic before the Treaty?

? Reasons for optimism Abdication of Kaiser New democratic govt Expectations the Allies would help the new Weimar Govt President Wilson’s desire for fairness – 14 Points Other countries were not blameless What do you think Chancellor Ebert was thinking on the eve of the Paris Peace Conference?

Why did the Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles? LOs To identify the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles and to assess how different Germans reacted to them

‘Big Three’, Lloyd-George, Clemenceau & Roosevelt  Watch the film ‘Make Germany Pay’ and answer the questions your teacher provides ‘Big Three’, Lloyd-George, Clemenceau & Roosevelt Clemenceau Wilson Lloyd-George

 Your task Reparations War Guilt Territorial losses p.12-13 in your books Reparations War Guilt Why did Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles? Territorial losses Germany’s colonies Military restrictions

Why did many Germans resent this clause? War guilt Article 231 of the Treaty stated that Germany was to blame for causing the war. Why did many Germans resent this clause?

Reparations Why did many Germans complain about reparations? As Germany was held responsible for the war, the allies could claim reparations for the damage caused In 1921 a special commission fixed a sum of £6,600 m. to be paid in annual instalments The Treaty also took away 10% of Germany’s industry and 15% of its agricultural land

Germany’s colonies Germany’s colonies were handed over to the League of Nations, who gave them to Britain and France to run Why did many Germans resent the League of Nations running their colonies?

Military restrictions Air force was disbanded Army limited to 100,000 soldiers Navy limited to 15,000 sailors, six battleships and no submarines Which country was keen to restrict Germany’s navy? Why?

Military restrictions Rhineland occupied by the Allies for 15 years No German troops allowed in this area Why were the Germans especially unhappy about these terms?

Which of the territorial losses would have angered the Germans most? Alsace-Lorraine returned to France West Prussia and Posen (Polish Corridor) lost to Poland Saarland taken over by the League of Nations for 15 years Which of the territorial losses would have angered the Germans most?

 Your task Read p.18 and list 3 reasons why ordinary Germans felt betrayed by the Treaty of Versailles, in other words ‘stabbed in the back’

Stabbed in the back New government of Germany was weakened by the Treaty Army leaders felt Germany could have won the war The country had been betrayed by politicians and Communists Traditionalists felt this would not have happened under the Kaiser

 Your task Read about the Kapp Putsch from the History Learning website. Who was Kapp? Why did he stage an uprising? Why did it fail? What does it reveal about the Weimar Government?  How similar / different was it to the Spartacist Uprising?

Wolfgang Kapp

Reasons for failure of Kapp Putsch Kapp: right-wing journalist, hated Ebert Aims: establish strong leadership & opposed Versailles Reasons for failure: lack of leadership - General Ludendorff supported Kapp, but other army leaders did not putsch centred on Berlin – didn’t spread to rest of Germany Weimar Government continued - able to relocate to Dresden people tired of revolution - Spartacist Uprising occurred 1919 general strike

 Extension Can you list any similarities between the Spartacist Uprising and the Kapp Putch? Rosa Luxemburg Wolfgang Kapp

SIMILARITIES Led by charismatic, political extremists Disliked govt & aimed to overthrow it Centred on Berlin DIFFERENCES Spartacists were anti-War, Kapp Putsch supported the army Kapp was a monarchist, Spartacists wanted a Communist revolution Kapp enjoyed support of Freikorps

 Your task Try to match one of the captions on p.19 (SHP) with one of the sources on p.18-19. Study the German sources and add the reasons why they felt angered by the Treaty to your list Explain why Germans found it so hard to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

Hold a press conference with members of Ebert’s new Social Democrat government. Try to find out whether the Treaty of Versailles really was the right solution for Germany’s woes.

 Your task Work in small groups. Write a short speech to deliver to the new German Parliament explaining why you hate the terms of the Treaty of Versailles so much. You may wish to include points in your spider diagram as well as those referred to in the sources. Try to explain why you feel ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Treaty.

 Plenary Why do you think the Germans felt stabbed in the back? Give 5 reasons.  Extension. Who were these people? Can you explain the cartoon? What are some of the problems with this source?

 Homework Write a speech explaining why you hate the treaty of Versailles. Refer to the key terms of the treaty, explain what is making you angry about them and refer to the reactions of ordinary Germans like Kapp. It should be one side of A4 Extension. Produce a counter-speech by a supporter of the Treaty