1. 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

2. 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

3. 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 3

4. Several Slavic nations (such as Bosnia and Serbia) combine to form one large new nation (Yugoslavia)4

5. 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

6. 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 6

7. 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)

8. 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

9. 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

10. NORTH SEA BALTIC SEA ATLANTIC OCEAN BLACK SEA 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

11. 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

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

13. 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)

14. 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.

15. 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

16. Members of the League of Nations (shaded)

17. 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

18. 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