ToV Cascade

Treaty of Versailles [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list. And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.

1. Paris Peace Conference: facts
- a. Armistice, 11 Nov 1918
  - The First World War ended when Germany signed the (harsh) ‘Armistice’.
- b. The Conference opened, 18 Jan 1919
  - The first two months were chaotic – Wilson (who would talk of nothing but the League) reached deadlock with Clemenceau (pressing for punishment of Germany).
- c. Fontainebleau Memorandum, 25 Mar 1919
  - Lloyd George ‘saved’ the Conference by forcing Wilson & Clemenceau to compromise.
- d. German delegation given the Treaty, 7 May 1919
  - The terms provoked fury in Germany; at first the German government refused to sign, then resigned.
- e. Treaty of Versailles, 28 Jun 1919
  - Germany was forced to sign the Treaty in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

2. Why was the Conference chaotic?
- a. Thousands of lobbyists
  - Initially intended as a pre-Conference meeting of the ‘Big Three’, but everybody came to present their requests – e.g. American Zionists and Korean nationalists wanting their own state
- b. Armistice or Fourteen Points?
  - What was to be the basis of the Treaty: the lenient 14 Points or the harsh Armistice?
- c. Wilson v Clemenceau
  - Wilson wanted a League of Nations; Clemenceau wanted Germany destroyed
- d. Disorganised
  - The Big Three jumped from topic to topic, often no minutes were kept. Eventually the ‘Big Four’ met and decided on their own. .
- e. Diktat
  - The Treaty was an imposed treaty; Germany was not involved in the negotiations

3. Clemenceau’s aims
- a. Revenge
  - For the damage and suffering of the war (e.g. Battle of Verdun)
- b. Punishment
  - For the damage and suffering of the war (e.g. Battle of Verdun)
- c. To secure peace by weakening Germany
  - So Germany would never be strong enough to attack France again
- d. Reparations
  - i.e. payments by Germany to repair the damage done in north-east France .
- e. An independent Rhineland
  - Clemenceau wanted Germany split up to create an independent Rhineland

4. Lloyd George’s aims
- a. Make Germany Pay
  - He had won the 1918 election by promising to ‘make Germany pay’
- b. Restore the economy
  - He wanted to secure peace and prosperity by restoring Germany as a prosperous trading partner
- c. The British Empire
  - He wanted to secure and increase the British Empire (by taking German colonies)
- d. The Royal Navy
  - He wanted to secure British sea-power by destroying the German navy .
- e. Fontainebleau Memorandum
  - He forced Wilson and Clemenceau to compromise

5. Why did Lloyd George want to ‘make Germany pay’?
- a. Suffering of the War
  - e.g. 800,000 British soldiers killed/1.6m wounded – many disabled/shellshock
- b. Damage of the War
  - e.g. Hartlepool, Whitby, Scarborough shelled/London bombed by Zeppelins
- c. Germany’s fault
  - British people believed that Germany had caused the war by invading Belgium
- d. Public demand
  - The public – believing war propaganda about Germans atrocities – wanted revenge .
- e. Money
  - The war had cost Britain £6.2bn and reparations were needed to pay it back

6. Woodrow Wilson’s aims
- a. A world safe for democracy
  - He wanted a world where American-style democracy was safe
- b. International cooperation for peace
  - He wanted a League of Nations to keep world peace by a ‘community of power’
- c. An end to ‘old’ diplomacy
  - He believed that European politics – with its secret treaties – had caused the war
- d. Self-determination
  - Independent nations and the end of the old Empires (especially the British Empire) .
- e. The Fourteen Points, Jan 1918
  - The Fourteen Points were Wilson's proposed terms for a peace settlement, given in a speech to Congress in January 1918

7. The Fourteen Points
- a. A League of Nations
  - A world ‘parliament’ to replace the old diplomacy
- b. No secret treaties
  - Wilson believed that old-fashioned European diplomacy had caused the war
- c. Self-determination
  - Independent nations (e.g. Poland) and an end to Empires (Britain oppose this)
- d. Disarmament
  - The League of Nations organised disarmament conferences (which failed) .
- e. Freedom of the seas
  - Wilson also wanted free trade (Britain opposed this, because they threatened Britain's trade and empire)

8. Treaty of Versailles: terms
- a. It was a Diktat
  - The Treaty was an imposed treaty; Germany was not involved in the negotiations
- b. War ‘Guilt’ (Article 231)
  - Article 231 declared Germany responsible for starting the war and all the damage
- c. Reparations (Article 232)
  - Article 232 said Germany should pay reparations (eventually set at £6.6 billion)
- d. Armed forces
  - The army was limited to 100,000, the navy cut to six battleships, Germany was forbidden an airforce or submarines and the Rhineland was demilitarised .
- e. Territorial changes
  - Germany lost all its empire, Alsace-Lorraine, the Polish corridor and Danzig, the Saar coalfield (for 15 years) and Anschluss was forbidden

9. Treaty of Versailles: military restrictions
- a. German army limited to 100,000
  - Conscription was forbidden and the army limited to 100,000 men
- b. German navy cut to six battleships
  - The German navy was limited to 6 battleships, plus 18 smaller ships and 12 torpedo boats
- c. Germany was forbidden an airforce
  - All the German air force had to be handed over to the Allies
- d. Germany was forbidden submarines
  - The Allies would break up all the German U-boats .
- e. The Rhineland was demilitarised
  - The German army could not go into the area between France and the river Rhine

10. Treaty of Versailles: territorial changes
- a. Germany lost all its empire
  - Former German colonies were administered by France and Britain as ‘mandates’
- b. Alsace-Lorraine
  - Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
- c. Polish corridor and Danzig
  - To give Poland access to the sea
- d. Saar coalfield
  - Given to France for 15 years to help pay for the damage done during the war .
- e. Anschluss forbidden
  - Anschluss (union) between Germany and Austria was forbidden

11. Why did Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles?
- a. Dolchstosslegende
  - The Germans denied they had been defeated and expected a peace based on the 14 Points; instead they were forced to sign a harsh imposed Diktat
- b. Article 231
  - The Germans denied they were guilty of causing the war and blamed Russia
- c. Reparations
  - The Germans stated that they could not afford the reparations, that it would ruin Germany and starve their children
- d. Military
  - The Germans believed the Treaty’s military terms left them defenceless .
- e. Territorial
  - The Germans hated the loss of German ‘homelands’ and vowed to get them back

12. How did Germans challenge the Treaty of Versailles?
- a. Propaganda campaign
  - German newspapers such as the Deutsche Zeitung criticised the Treaty and threatened revenge
- b. Scuttled their Navy, Jun 1919
  - They sank their Navy at Scapa Flow in Orkney rather than hand it over
- c. Kapp Putsch, Mar 1920
  - A right-wing rebellion against the Treaty
- d. Dolchstosslegende
  - The ‘November Criminals’ were accused of stabbing the German army in the back .
- e. Organisation Consul
  - A right-wing group which assassinated ‘November criminals’ (e.g. Erzberger, who had been Chairman of the Armistice Committee)

13. To what extent did Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George achieve their aims?
- a. Wilson – disappointed
  - He got the League and self-determination in eastern Europe, but none of the other 14 Points. The US Senate rejected the League and refused to ratify the Treaty.
- b. Clemenceau – too soft
  - Clemenceau accepted the small German Arny and the demilitarised Rhineland, but he had wanted harsher reparations, the Saar and an independent Rhineland
- c. Lloyd George – too harsh
  - Lloyd George got some colonies and a small German Navy, but he feared the Treaty was too harsh and would damage Germany as a trading partner.
- d. Opportunity
  - All three presented the Treaty to their country as 'stern but just', and an opportunity for peace. Wilson called it a chance for the liberation and salvation of the world. .
- e. Fears
  - All three feared that it would not be supported, especially Lloyd George, who expected war in 25 years’ time.

14. Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles
- a. Germany – hated it
  - The Germans thought the treaty was an attempt to leave them defenceless and to starve their children; they hated the loss of German 'homelands'
- b. America – rejection
  - The USA was ‘isolationist’ and the Senate (March 1920) did not ratify the Treaty and refused to join the League (May 1920)
- c. France – too soft
  - The French had wanted a more punitive Treaty, and Clemenceau quickly fell from power
- d. Britain – too harsh
  - Harold Nicolson thought the Treaty ‘neither just nor wise’. The British economist JM Keynes believed reparations would ruin the world economy .
- e. Other countries
  - China and Russia never signed; Japan and Italy felt aggrieved

15. Treaty of Versailles: strengths
- a. Signed by 45 countries
  - It was the best compromise possible, supporting by the world’s governments
- b. League of Nations
  - It created a world meeting to maintain peace – a principle continued by the United Nations
- c. Self-determination
  - It created nation states which still survive today
- d. Reasonable
  - Less harsh than the Germans made it out to be, and much less than the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. It did not declare Germany ‘guilty’, and reparations (despite the outcry) were less than Britain’s war debt .
- e. Enduring
  - Most of its territorial arrangements lasted more than a century

16. Treaty of Versailles: weaknesses
- a. Satisfied nobody
  - Clemenceau thought it not harsh enough; Wilson and Lloyd George thought it too harsh; Keynes thought reparations were too punitive; the Senate thought it too binding; China and Russia never signed; Japan and Italy felt aggrieved
- b. Angered Germany
  - It created a feeling of anger in Germany which may have helped the rise of Hitler and led to World War Two
- c. Strengthened Germany
  - Far from weakening Germany, the treaty created small and weak countries in central Europe, which Hitler found it easy to dominate.
- d. Unfair
  - The feeling that Germany had been treated unfairly gave Hitler a moral advantage. Reparations were reduced (Dawes Plan/Young Plan) and never collected .
- e. Failed
  - Lloyd George predicted there would be a war in 25 years; and he was correct

17. Other treaties
- a. Saint Germain
  - AUSTRIA lost land to Czechoslovakia, Poland & Italy/ army reduced to 30,000/ went bankrupt before reparations set
- b. Neuilly
  - BULGARIA lost land to Greece/ army reduced to 20,000/ reparations £90 million
- c. Trianon
  - HUNGARY lost land to Romania & Yugoslavia/ army reduced to 35,000/ went bankrupt before reparations set
- d. Sèvres
  - TURKEY lost her empire to France & Britain. Was supposed to lose land to Greece/ army reduced to 50,000/ pay reparations BUT there was a revolution and the new government renounced the Treaty, instead a new treaty was agreed at Lausanne .
- e. Lausanne
  - Turkey was allowed an unlimited army, reparations were cancelled, and land given to Greece was returned

18. Self-determination: new nation states
- a. Czechoslovakia
  - By the Treaty of Saint Germain
- b. Hungary
  - By the Treaty of Trianon
- c. Austria
  - By the Treaty of Saint Germain
- d. Poland
  - By the Treaty of Saint Germain .
- e. Yugoslavia
  - By the Treaty of Trianon

19. Self-determination: problems
- a. Conflict
  - Self-determination caused three small wars:
    1. Poland went to war with Russia and took more land.
    2. Czechs and Poles fought over the town of Teschen.
    3. An army of Italians marched into the Yugoslavian town of Fiume.
- b. Ethnic minorities
  - It was impossible to create nation states which didn't include Ethnic minorities
- c. Anschluss forbidden
  - Germans, as the defeated power, were not allowed self-determination
- d. Small and weak countries
  - Far from weakening Germany, self-determination created small and weak countries in central Europe, which Hitler found it easy to dominate. .
- e. Empires remained
  - Britain and France refused to allow self-determination for their colonies

20. Interpretations: Historiography
- a. Keynes v Baker
  - Ray Stannard Baker (1923) eulogised Wilson, but Harold Nicolson (1933) thought the peacemakers ‘stupid men and JM Keynes declared it ‘abhorrent and detestable’ (1919).
- b. Robert Binkley
  - Binkley (1929) realised that the Treaty declared Germany ‘responsible’ but the Germans had translated the word by Schuld (‘guilty’)
- c. The Classic version’
  - Wilson was honourable but soft & naïve, Clemenceau bitter & punitive, Lloyd George imperialistic & manipulative, and the Treaty was imposed, too harsh and caused the Second World War.
- d. AJP Taylor
  - Taylor (1961) declared that Germany was inveterately expansionist, wanted to dominate Europe, and would never have accepted ANY treaty. To stop this, Versailles was too weak and should have been harsher. .
- e. “The best they could”
  - Modern historians such as Margaret Macmillan (2003) and Sally Marks (2013) believe that the Treaty was reasonable and a genuine attempt to build a better world. World War Two “was the result of twenty years of decisions taken or not taken, not of arrangements made in 1919”.