The Causes of WWII Part 1:

You have been invited to the Paris Peace Conference! Your group will discuss your stance on the following issues and prepare your arguments for the Conference. As a class, you will work together to build a treaty

 In the summer of 1919, the Allies met in Paris to create a Treaty to end the war  They met in the Palace of Versailles  League of Nations  Casualties:  8 million dead  7 million permanently wounded  15 million temporarily wounded

 Russia:  The Romanovs  dead  Germany:  Hohenzollerns  Fled to Holland  Austria-Hungary:  Hapsburgs  abdicate

 The Paris Peace Conference is where the combatants met to create the peace treaty  The Conference is dominated by the Big Three: Great Britain, France and the USA  France and Great Britain want to punish Germany  USA wants to create a system to avoid future disputes  Germany is not invited to the peace talks

 Canada is represented at the Paris Peace conference as an independent country  Borden wanted Canada to represent itself rather than attend as a part of the British Empire  USA did not want Canada to have a separate seat because that would give Britain a stronger voice  Canada was able to send two delegates to the Conference

Some important articles of the Treaty include:  Germany accepts all blame for the war  Article 231  the Guilt Clause  Germany to pay $32,000,000,000 in reparations  Germany’s military is destroyed  No Air Force  No U-Boats  Navy: turn over to England  No Artillery  Army: reduced to 100,000 men

 Germany loses all colonies (mostly in Africa)  Germany loses almost 20% of its territory (to France, Poland and others)  The Rhineland (border with France) is demilitarized  Saar Region (Germany’s richest land in terms of natural resources) to be occupied by the French  The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are returned to France

 Many people at the time thought the terms of the Treaty were excessive  The German people felt that their own government had stabbed them in the back by signing this treaty  Germany was humiliated and economically destroyed  Austria-Hungary was completely destroyed  Italy received no benefits, despite its war efforts, and fell into poverty  Russia and Germany were both banned from joining the League of Nations

 It would have been very difficult for Germany to make reparations even if its economy were healthy  However, with no colonies and the loss of so much territory, Germany’s situation was completely hopeless  In order to find a way out of this situation, the new German government began to print extra money to make the payments on time  What’s the problem with printing more $?

 Printing too much money and other foolish economic policies soon led to rapid inflation  Inflation occurs when the prices of products rise  The prices of everything in Germany rose so fast that German money became completely worthless  Almost the entire German population became poor practically overnight

 The German rich did very well during inflation  They bought up land and assets, and expanded their businesses  Inflation cancelled out their debt  However, lower- and middle-class Germans were completely devastated – their life savings were eliminated  Employers could not keep up with the inflation; many people stopped working as their weekly pay was not even enough to buy a cup of coffee

 Police and government officials stopped working  The streets were run by gangs and groups of ex-soldiers  Violence and crime were rampant  Most transactions were conducted through trading or bartering  Communists and right-wing groups fought for control of the country and the hearts and minds of the citizens

 This terrifying environment was the perfect place for psychopaths and misfits  Those who promised revenge and the restoration of Germany’s greatness soon became national heroes  Germans wanted to undo the unfair treaty