Transcript The Treaty of Versailles

THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
To what extent where the provisions within the Treaty of
Versailles too harsh on Germany?
“last night, for the first time since August in the first year of
the war, there was no light of gunfire in the sky, no sudden
stabs of flame through the darkness, no spreading glow
above black trees where for four years of nights human
beings were smashed to death. The Fires of Hell had been
put out”
- Phillip Gibbs The New York Times (11 Nov. 1918)
The Conference
• Nov. 11 Germany signed an armistice (cease-fire) with the
Allied powers
• Steadily the Germans returned to Germany, but many
Allied soldiers followed them
• In January 1919 the Paris Peace Conference was
organized to discuss the terms of peace to finally put an
end to the war
The Conference
• Each of the delegates came to the conference with
different ideas, plans and goals.
• The Germans were NOT invited to the conference and
had no say in the making of the peace treaty.
• Germany complained about the eventual severity of the
Treaty, but in the end they had no choice but to sign the
document
• See Clemenceau’s Opening Address:
“…Only two nations are for the time being left out. One of
them is Germany, because we did not think that Germany
was ready to come in, because we felt that she ought to go
through a period of probation. She says she made a
mistake. We now want her to prove it by not trying it again”
- Public Papers of Woodrow Wilson, Ray S. Baker and William Dodds, eds.,
Vol. 1, New York, 1924
The Peacemakers
• At the treaty, delegates were sent from every nation and colony
that was involved in the war. This would be the most inclusive
conference in history- Canada had its own seat
• However, despite the niceties regarding the delegates, the real
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power brokers were the 4 leaders of the Great Powers:
President Woodrow Wilson (USA)
President Georges Clemenceau (France)
Prime Minister David Lloyd George (G.B.)
Prime Minister V. Orlando (Italy)
- See handout for their concerns:
The Treaty of Versailles
• France and Great Britain were not particularly satisfied
with the 14 points proposal by Wilson- no guarantee of
safety
• Keep in mind France and Great Britain were looking for
some kind of financial compensation from the Germans
• The Treaty ultimately accepts one of Wilson’s points- the
14th
• See the actual Treaty:
Treaty Summary
• Germany had to accept blame for starting the war (Article 231)
• Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force- was
allowed 6 battleships, and 100,000 soldiers
• No German troops near the Rhineland (50 mile strip next to France)
• Germany had to pay 6.6 million pounds in reparations (about 30
billion today)
• Germany lost all overseas colonies and a large amount of land in
continental Europe (see map)
• Germany could not join the League of Nations
• Germany could never unite with Austria
OPVL
• Now it is time for some OPVL work
• Remember it is essential to be critical of history- we must
assess sources in by understanding their origin, purpose,
value and limitations
• See OPVL handout