1. AP EURO Unit #6 – Early 20th Century (The World Wars) Lesson #604 Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles

2. The war ended strangely
Armistice began on Nov 11 at 11am
Germans desperate for an end to the madness

3. Paris Peace Conference
Started January, 1919 in Paris
27 nations sent representatives
Germany and Austria not allowed to attend
Russia was not invited
(Lenin’s government not seen as legitimate)
Negotiations lasted five months
Run by “the Big Four”
Britain
France
Italy
United States

5. Goal of each nation was different
United States:
Peace without victors – WHY WERE WE UNIQUE?
All nations should exist by self determination
France:
Punish Germany – WHY JUST THEM?
weaken Germany – WHY?
Britain:
Protect their empire (colonies)
Get rich again (US, too!)
Italy:
Get land from Austria

6. Wilson’s “Fourteen Points”
Eliminate the cause of war
Promote free trade and freedom of seas
disarmament for everyone
Why would France have a problem with this?
self-determination of colonies and empires
Why would David Lloyd George have problem with this?
a League of Nations

7. France Punish Germany Take some of their land
Force them to pay damages
Weaken them
Be sure they had no ability to attack again
Keep France strong to defend, just in case
How will this clash with Wilson’s plan?

8. Britain
Protect their empire
How will this clash with Wilson’s plan?

9. The compromise:
Wilson was willing to concede on all his principles, as long as…
There would be a LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Which would constantly monitor the rise of one power, and talk through conflicts
All nations would join
All nations would have to agree to agree with the findings of the League of Nations
Of course, USA never joined…

10. What was the agreement? Germany was to be reduced in size
Surrender the Alsace and Lorraine
Allow for the Danzig Corridor
German military was to be shrunk to almost non-existent
100,000 men total
Modern equipment forbidden (planes, subs, tanks, artillery)
Rhineland demilitarized
Germany was to pay reparations
Damages for war
France and Britain had HUGE debts to USA from loans
$5 billion/ year – re-evaluated in 1921
Number set in 1921 to $30 billion
Finally paid off in 1915
Germany was to accept full blame – total humiliation
“war guilt clause”
Germans were to accept full responsibility for starting and perpetuating war
Germans were not allowed to negotiate

11. Nobody liked it Why would the French hate it?
Why would the British not really plan to support France?
Why would USA grow disinterested?
Why would Russia complain?
Ottoman Empire broken into “mandates”
Austrian Empire broken into new nations based on nationalities
Russia lost most of land signed away in Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

14. Next tragedy… Spanish Flu (1918-1920)
1 in four American soldiers had the influenza, carried to Europe
Spread FAST
500 million people infected world wide (about 1/3)
Estimates are as low as 20 million
As high as 50 – 100,000,000 killed by the flu
(5% of world’s population dead)
About 10-20% mortality rate
(normal flu killed .1%)

15. Oddities to Spanish Flu
killed mostly healthy adults
(not children and elderly, like normal flu)
majority years old
only 1% over 65
The best guess: focused on immune system – ravaged the healthy –
healthy immune system spread disease faster
 25-75% pregnant women infected
25% lost their babies
Hit in summer and autumn months