1. The Treaty Of Versailles
WORLD WAR I
BITTER PEACE
The Treaty Of Versailles

2. Essential Question:
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I?

3. World War I was fought between the Allies and Central Powers from 1914 to 1918
On November 11, 1918, the German government agreed to an armistice, and the war ended

4. WOUNDED SOLDIERS RETURN FROM THE FRONT
THE BLOODY COST
WOUNDED SOLDIERS RETURN FROM THE FRONT

5. World War I was the largest, deadliest, and most destructive war the world had yet seen
8.5 million soldiers and 13 million civilians died as a result of the war

6. 21 million soldiers were wounded during the war

7. THE WOUNDED
Many of the wounded soldiers were maimed and suffered crippling injuries
A combat nurse writes a letter for a wounded soldier

9. SOLDIERS BLINDED BY POISON GAS

10. STAGGERING AMOUNT OF DEATH
To put this in proper perspective…
In the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has lost over 5000 soldiers over the last decade or so
In World War I, the Allies alone lost an average of 3500 SOLDIERS PER DAY in just over four years of war

11. THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
GENOCIDE is intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group
During the war, the Turks of the Ottoman Empire blamed some of their wartime losses on a group of people living in its borders called the Armenians
The Turks used the war as an excuse to commit genocide against the Christian Armenians, a group of people the Muslim Turks had hated for a long time

12. ARMENIAN WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN MARCHING TO THEIR DEATHS
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
The Turks exterminated possibly as many as ONE MILLION Armenian men, women, and children
ARMENIAN WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN MARCHING TO THEIR DEATHS

13. Germany and Turkey were allied in the war; some German soldiers witnessed the systematic way the Turks slaughtered the Armenians

14. Germany and Turkey were allied in the war; some German soldiers witnessed the systematic way the Turks slaughtered the Armenians

15. ARMENIANS BEHEADED BY TURKISH SOLDIERS
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
ARMENIANS BEHEADED BY TURKISH SOLDIERS
Some of these German soldiers would later become Nazis during World War II

16. THE SCIENCE OF GENOCIDE ARMENIANS BEHEADED BY TURKISH SOLDIERS
These future Nazis learned the “science of genocide” from the Turks and used similar methods when carrying out the Holocaust against the Jews

17. Homes, farms, towns, and cities were destroyed; the war cost a total of $338 billion and most national treasuries were empty

18. BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR
THE DAMAGE DONE
FRENCH CITY OF VERDUN:
BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR

19. PALACE OF JUSTICE IN SENLIS: BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR
THE DAMAGE DONE
PALACE OF JUSTICE IN SENLIS:
BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR

20. RUINS OF THE CITY OF YPRES AFTER THE WAR
THE DAMAGE DONE
RUINS OF THE CITY OF YPRES AFTER THE WAR

21. RUINS OF THE FRENCH VILLAGE OF VAUX
THE DAMAGE DONE
RUINS OF THE FRENCH VILLAGE OF VAUX

22. AND AS IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH…
At the end of 1918, as the world is still reeling from the war, another disaster strikes; an influenza epidemic spreads around the globe, killing about 30 million people worldwide

23. In 1919, representatives from 32 nations attended the Paris Peace Conference to write a treaty to end the war
The conference was led by the “Big Four”: Britain, France, Italy, and the United States
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
French Premier George Clemenceau
Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
Germany and none of the Central Powers were allowed to attend; Russia (now led by Bolsheviks) could not attend because of how they quit the war

24. Britain and France wanted to weaken Germany so it could never go to war again
Britain and France wanted Germany to accept full blame, pay reparations, and lose all overseas colonies
Creating a treaty would not be easy because the major powers had different agendas
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson disagreed the these harsh punishments for Germany
WILSON AT VERSAILLES, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Premier Georges Clemenceau and President Woodrow Wilson at the Versailles Palace during the Treaty Negotiations in 1919.
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
French Premier George Clemenceau
President Wilson presented his own peace proposal known as the Fourteen Points
Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson

25. WILSON’S 14 POINTS
Wilson’s peace plan (the 14 Points) was meant to prevent international problems from starting another war

26. THE 14 POINTS: AN OUTLINE FOR PEACE
9. Change in Italy’s borders
10. Self-government for Austria-Hungary’s peoples
11. Removal of German troops from the Balkans with Serbia gaining access to the sea
12. Independence for Turkey Giving those under Turkish rule the ability to rule themselves
13. Independence for Poland
14. Creation of The League of Nations
1. An end to secret treaties
2. Freedom of the Seas
3. Free trade among nations
4. A reduction of all armies & navies
5. End colonialism
6. Removal of German troops from Russia
7. Removal of German troops from Belgium
8. Removal of German troops from France & the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France

27. President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, 1918
POINTS 1-5: Wilson hoped to eliminate the causes of WWI and called for an end to secret treaties (alliances), freedom of the seas, eliminating imperial colonies, and reducing national militaries
POINTS 6-13: Wilson suggested changing national boundaries, creating new nations, and allowing self-determination so that the people of each nation could decide their own form of government
POINT 14: Wilson wanted a League of Nations…

28. …that would give all nations an opportunity to work out their grievances without resorting to war
Wilson hoped that a League of Nations could peacefully negotiate solutions to future conflicts

29. ALLIES DISAGREE
President Wilson favored “peace without victory”, opposing severe punishment for the defeated Central Powers
The other Allies, most notably France, wanted revenge on the Central Powers, especially on Germany; France suffered more damage than any other country over the course of the Great War, and wanted vengeance on Germany because of it
In the United States, isolationists wanted America to stay out of other nations’ affairs
The bottom line result: The Allies reject most of the 14 Points

30. Britain and France disagreed with so many of the Fourteen Points that Wilson had to compromise
These compromises led to an agreement known as the Treaty of Versailles

31. The major provisions of the Versailles Treaty included:
A League of Nations that would serve as an international organization to keep peace among nations
The League covenant included an agreement that all member nations would work together to stop future acts of aggression
The League also included a Court of International Justice to settle disagreements

32. Germany had to give up land in Europe and all of its overseas colonies
The terms of the treaty severely punished Germany
Germany had to give up land in Europe and all of its overseas colonies
Germany was forced to sign the “war guilt” clause, accepting all blame for the war and paying $33 billion in reparations to the Allies
The German military was reduced to 100,000 troops, six warships, no submarines, and could not manufacture war equipment

33. Central Europe was redrawn to reduce the power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Land was taken from Germany to create Poland; the German-French border was demilitarized to avoid a future invasion
In addition, the Treaty of Versailles redrew the map of Europe and the Middle East 33

34. Several Slavic nations (such as Bosnia and Serbia) combine to form one large new nation (Yugoslavia)34

35. New nations were created from territories that Russia gave up when it left the war early
The Ottoman Empire was divided; Britain and France gained mandates in the Middle East

36. A mandate is the authority to administer a country or territory
The mandates gave Britain and France control over oil resources in the Middle East 36

37. CARVING NEW NATIONS FROM OLD EMPIRES
AUSTRIA
HUNGARY (two main parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are split up)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (taken from Germany and Austria-Hungary)
EAST PRUSSIA (a Germanic state now separate from mainland Germany)
POLAND (free of Russia and Germany)
YUGOSLAVIA (a Slavic nation composed of Serbia, Montenegro, and other Slavic people like Croatians and Bosnians, who are now free from Austria-Hungary)

38. CARVING NEW NATIONS FROM OLD EMPIRES
FINLAND (independent of Russia)
ESTONIA (independent of Russia)
LATVIA (independent of Russia)
LITHUANIA (independent of Germany)
IRELAND is now independent of Britain, but…
NORTH IRELAND remains under British control
The free city of DANZIG is created

39. BORDER CHANGES TO EXISTING COUNTRIES
In war, there are winners and losers
The winners expanded their borders while the losers lost land
ITALY, ROMANIA, GREECE, and DENMARK expand their borders
TURKEY, BULGARIA, GERMANY, and RUSSIA lose territory

40. NORTH SEA BALTIC SEA ATLANTIC OCEAN MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Norway
Sweden
NORTH SEA
Denmark
BALTIC SEA
Ireland
Russia
Great Britain
Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
Luxembourg
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Austria-Hungary
Switzerland
France
Romania
BLACK SEA
Serbia
Bulgaria
Montenegro
Portugal
Spain
Italy
Albania
Turkey/Ottoman Empire
Greece
Sicily
MEDITERRANEAN SEA

41. ATLANTIC OCEAN NORTH SEA BALTIC SEA BLACK SEA MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Finland
Norway
Estonia
North Ireland
Sweden
NORTH SEA
BALTIC SEA
Latvia
Denmark
Lithuania
Ireland
East Prussia
U.S.S.R.
Great Britain
Netherlands
Danzig
Poland
Germany
Belgium
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Lux
Czechoslovakia
France
Switz.
Austria
Hungary
Romania
BLACK SEA
Yugoslavia
Portugal
Bulgaria
Italy
Spain
Turkey
Albania
Greece
Sicily
MEDITERRANEAN SEA

42. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the major Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Versailles and World War I officially came to an end

43. “Down with the brutal peace!”
Most nations celebrated the official end of the Great War
Germans protested the harsh terms and resented their own government for giving in and signing the treaty
“Down with the brutal peace!”
"Down with the Brutal Peace": Mass Demonstration in Berlin's Lustgarten against the Versailles Treaty (1919)

44. PLANTING THE SEEDS
Winston Churchill, Britain’s future Prime Minister, predicted that the harsh terms against Germany would cause conflicts in the future. He called the Treaty of Versailles “monstrous” for its harshness on Germany.

45. In the United States, reactions to the Treaty of Versailles were mixed
According to the U.S. Constitution, only the Senate can approve treaties
Many Senators feared that signing the treaty and joining the League would force America to become involved in future foreign wars
As a result, the United States never signed the treaty nor joined the League of Nations

46. Members of the League of Nations (shaded)

47. World War I was the largest war the world had yet seen and it changed the way future wars were fought
Nations used “total war” tactics to commit all their resources to winning; they also drafted soldiers, rationed, and used propaganda
New war technologies increased the rates of death and destruction to unprecedented levels
The war changed expectations for women and led to voting rights for women in many nations

48. The physical damage to Europe was enormous
World War I was the largest war the world had yet seen and it changed the way future wars were fought
22 million soldiers and civilians died in the war: an entire generation of Europeans was killed
The physical damage to Europe was enormous
War devastated Europe’s economy; nations had little money to rebuild and few jobs to offer citizens

49. The terms of the Versailles Treaty caused problems and bitterness in many nations, especially Germany
The Treaty of Versailles was said to be a “peace built on quicksand”
The treaty did not address the M.A.I.N. causes of WWI
The League of Nations did not include the USA; League leaders would do anything to avoid another war
High unemployment and desire for revenge would lead to aggressive dictators in the 1920s and 1930s

50. DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS MAN?

51. CORPORAL ADOLF HITLER
Adolf Hitler, who was from Austria, was a soldier for Germany in the Great War. He earned medals for bravery. Hitler was temporarily blinded by poison gas and was recovering in a hospital when news of Germany’s defeat reached him.

52. GERMANY’S HUMILIATION GUARANTEES FUTURE CONFLICT
In his autobiography, Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote about hearing of Germany’s defeat:
“The burning in my eyes could not match the hate burning in my heart. From that moment, I knew I should enter politics.”
THE SEEDS ARE SOWN FOR AN EVEN BLOODIER CONFLICT

54. WORLD WAR I and WORLD WAR II: THE SAME WAR?
World War I was definitely not “The War To End All Wars”
The way this war ended guaranteed a future conflict
Only 21 years after World War I ended, World War II would begin
Many historians consider WWI and WWII to be the same war, but with an “intermission”
World War II would far surpass World War I in terms of death and destruction