THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919

11 a.m., November 11, 1918 The Armistice is Signed!

9,000,000 Dead 9,000,000 Dead

With the exhausted state of Germany, the German generals recognized that it was time for peace with the Allies. The Kaiser was forced to abdicate on the 8 th November and a new democratic republic was established.

But how would the Allies deal with a defeated Germany?

On 8 th November 1918, Imperial Germany came to an end when a democratic republic was established. Though it was intended to have Wilhelm tried as a ‘war criminal’ he was eventually allowed to spend the rest of his life in exile in the Netherlands. He died in 1941.

The Big Four Woodrow Wilson USA David Lloyd-George Great Britain Georges Clemenceau France Vittorio Orlando Italy (He left early in negotiations when Italy was denied territory)

What did France want from the treaty? Security Security Revenge Revenge Reparations: Money for damages Clemenceau : The Tiger 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.

David Lloyd-George 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 realised that Britain needed Germany to recover because she was an important trading partner. He was also worried about the “disease from the east”, communism. The Russian government had been overthrown by a communist revolution in Lloyd-George believed that the spread of communism had to be stopped. A strong Germany would be a barrier against it. What did Britain Want?

Woodrow Wilson What did America Want? Woodrow Wilson wanted the treaty to be based on his Fourteen Points 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 organisation 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.

The League of Nations was the forerunner of the United Nations Its aims were to: prevent aggression by any nation Encourage co-operation between nations Work towards international disarmament Improve the living and working conditions of all people The core wascollective security – members of the League could prevent war by acting together. The core was collective security – members of the League could prevent war by acting together. The League of Nations was the forerunner of the United Nations Its aims were to: prevent aggression by any nation Encourage co-operation between nations Work towards international disarmament Improve the living and working conditions of all people The core wascollective security – members of the League could prevent war by acting together. The core was collective security – members of the League could prevent war by acting together.

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? Reduced Military: The German army was to be reduced to 100,000 men. No tanks allowed. Germany was not allowed an air-force The area known as the Rhineland was to be de-militarised The German navy was to have no submarines or large battle-ships Germany was barred from uniting with Austria Germany was forced to take full blame for the war Germany had to pay billions in reparations

Territorial Losses Germany lost ALL of her overseas colonies

"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 The War Guilt Clause GERMANY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING THE WAR GERMANY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING THE WAR

REPARATIONS Germany was forced to agree to pay for the damage caused by her armies during the war. The sum she had to pay was later fixed at £6,600 million. The total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion Marks (then $31.4 billion) in 1921 which is roughly equivalent to US $385 billion 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.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28th June It officially ended the 1st World War. Many historians believe that it was a major cause of the 2nd World War. Most Germans were horrified by the harshness of the Treaty. There was anger amongst all groups in Germany, no matter what their political beliefs. Some German newspapers called for revenge for the humiliation of Versailles. However anger was also directed against the government in Germany. Already there was a myth growing in the country that the German army had been “stabbed in the back” by politicians…the so called “November Criminals”. Now these same politicians had signed the “Diktat”, the dictated peace. The new democracy in Germany was now closely linked with the humiliation of Versailles.

Describe the condition of the room in which this family is living? How is the child shown? Why? Look at the caption, what is its political message?

The final payment of £59.5 million writes off the last of the compensation payments imposed on Germany by the Allies 91 years ago. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 forced Germany to pay for reparations to the war-ravaged nations of Belgium and France and to pay the Allies some of the costs of waging what was then the bloodiest conflict in history, leaving nearly ten million soldiers dead. The initial sum agreed upon for war damages was 226 billion Reich marks, a sum later reduced to 132 billion, £22 billion at the time. The final payment of £59.5 million writes off the last of the compensation payments imposed on Germany by the Allies 91 years ago. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 forced Germany to pay for reparations to the war-ravaged nations of Belgium and France and to pay the Allies some of the costs of waging what was then the bloodiest conflict in history, leaving nearly ten million soldiers dead. The initial sum agreed upon for war damages was 226 billion Reich marks, a sum later reduced to 132 billion, £22 billion at the time.

Speech on the Treaty of Versailles April 17, 1923 With the armistice begins the humiliation of Germany. If the Republic on the day of its foundation had appealed to the country: Germans, stand together! Up and resist the foe! The Fatherland, the Republic, expects of you that you fight to your last breath, then millions who are now enemies of the Republic would be fanatical Republicans. Today they are the foes of the Republic not because it is a Republic but because this Republic was founded at the moment when Germany was humiliated; because it [has] so discredited the new flag that men’s eyes must turn regretfully toward the old flag. So long as this Treaty stands there can be no resurrection of the German people; no social reform of any kind possible! The Treaty was made in order to bring 20 million Germans to their deaths and ruin the German nation. There is thus one thing which is the first task of this Movement: it desires to make the German once more national, that his Fatherland shall stand for him above everything else. It desires to teach our people to understand afresh the truth of the old saying: He who will not be a hammer must be an anvil. An anvil we are today and that anvil will be beaten until out of the anvil we fashion once more a hammer, a German sword.

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