TREATY OF VERSAILLES - After 6 weeks of negotiations, deals and compromises, the German government received the terms of the peace treaty. - None of the defeated nations were allowed to send delegates. (DIKTAT) - The 440 clauses covered the areas of war guilt, disarmament, territorial changes, mandates, reparations and punishment or war criminals.

WAR GUILT - Infamous Clause 231 “war guilt clause” - It allowed moral justification for the other terms of the treaty that were imposed on Germany.

DISARMAMENT - Germany was obliged to disarm to the lowest point while internationally there was only a reference to it. - Germany was forbidden to have submarines, air force, armored cars or tanks. - Germany was allowed to keep 6 battleships and an army of 100,000 men. - The west bank of the Rhine was demilitarized and an Allied Army of Occupation was to be stationed there for 15 years. - Germany would keep the Rhineland but USA and France guaranteed they would assist France if attacked.

TERRITORIAL CHANGES - The collapse of large empires gave an opportunity to create states based on the different nationalities. - Some nationalists were left in countries where they constituted minorities. - German colonies in Asia were given to Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Those in Africa were given to Britain, France, Belgium, South Africa (mandates).

MANDATES - Germany’s colonies were handed over to the LN. - Article 22 of the Covenant of the LN required all nations to help underdeveloped countries. - “A” mandates were to become independent in the near future. (Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan given to Britain, Syria and Lebanon given to France) - “B” mandates were less developed and were not ready for immediate independence. (Cameroon, -Togoland and Tanganyika given to Britain and France; Rwanda-Urundi given to Belgium) - “C” mandates were very backward and were handed over to the powers that had originally conquered them in the war. (North Pacific Islands, New Guinea, Western Samoa)

REPARATIONS - Germany’s war guilt gave justification for the Allies’ demands for reparations. - The Allies wanted to make Germany pay for the material damage done to them. - They also proposed to charge Germany with the cost of pensions to war widows and war wounded. - There was a lot of argument regarding the issue of reparations. - France is traditionally blamed for pushing for a high reparation sum, but recently there is evidence to blame Britain for this. - In the end it was the Inter-Allied Reparations Commission that came up with the sum of L 6,600 million.

PUNISHMENT OF WAR CRIMINALS - The Treaty of Versailles also requested the extradition and trail of the Kaiser and other “war criminals”. - The Dutch government refused to hand over the Kaiser and the Allied leaders found it difficult to find lesser war criminals. - A few German military commanders and submarine captains were tried by the German government and received fines or short terms of imprisonment. - The concept of “crimes against humanity” was given legal sanction for the first time.

CRITICISM OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES - Germans and some Allies criticized the Treaty when it was signed. ISSUE OF WAR GUILT - Particularly hated by Germany who thought all countries should bear responsibility. - This clause later helped Hitler to gain support. - Hitler played on the resentment and anger felt by the German population towards the war guilt.

DISARMAMENT CLAUSES - It was really hard to accept ,000 soldiers was too Little for a country the size of Germany. - Germany got very upset when despite Wilson’s call for disarmament in his 14 Points, efforts by the other European powers to disarm came to nothing in the 1920s and 1930s. REPARATIONS AND LOSS OF KEY RESOURCES - Keynes argued that “the treaty ignores the economic solidarity of Europe and by aiming at the destruction of the economic life of Germany it threatens the health and prosperity of the Allies themselves. - Germany wasn’t only unable to pay the huge reparation bills but by taking tis coal and iron resources it also couldn’t recover economically.

TERRITORIAL CHANGES - Germany was treated unfairly. The Danes were given the chance of a plebiscite in Northern Schleswig. - The Germans in the Sudetenland and Austria were not given such choice. - Many German-speaking peoples were now ruled by non- Germans. REMOVAL OF COLONIES - Wilson’s reason to take away colonies from Germany was to remove them from harsh colonial rule, this was clearly hypocritical given the fact that South Africa and Belgium which received German colonies couldn’t be claimed as model colonial rulers.

ALTERNATIVE VIEWS OF THE TREATRY OF VERSAILLES