Transcript khkjhkjh - Ms. Mather

End of WWI
• Remember:
• Foreign armies never entered Germany
• Fighting had stopped with an armistice: a truce to
discuss peace – Germany thought they would be
dealt with fairly
• Germany had conquered vast tracks of land to
the east – saw themselves as having achieved
many of their war aims
• German leaders, until the armistice, told civilians
that Germany was winning
Essential Questions:
1). How did the views of the "Big Three" influence
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
2). To what extent did these terms negatively
affect Germany and contribute to future
conflict?
3). How was the League of Nations a positive step
toward achieving a lasting peace, and to what
extent was it doomed from its conception?
Paris Peace Conferences
(1919-1921)
i) Treaty of Versailles (Allies- Germany)
ii) Treaty of St. Germain (Allies - Austria)
iii) Treaty of Sevres (Allies - Turkey)
iiii) Treaty of Trianon (Allies - Hungary
Paris Peace Conferences cont.
While many nations attended the Paris Peace
Conferences, the ultimate decisions ended up
being made by the “Big Three”:
- Georges Clemenceau – Prime Minister of France
- Woodrow Wilson – President of USA
-David Lloyd George – Prime Minister of England
The victorious allies needed to make sure that
WWI was “the war to end all wars”, but they
had differences of opinion on how to do this.
Key Participants & Views:
Georges Clemenceau (FRANCE):
- Revenge
- Compensation
- Security > guarantees that a
similar war would never
happen again
> only safe Germany is a
crippled Germany – destroy it.
Woodrow Wilson (USA):
- wanted 14 points applied
- wants a Europe whose
nationalities would
rule themselves as open,
democratic societies
“Make the World Safe for Democracy”
- fair treatment of Germany
David Lloyd George (Britain):
- Wanted limited revenge
- HOWEVER: Germany should not be humiliated or
made bankrupt b/c she would be unable to help get
European industry and trade moving again; needed
market for British goods
- feared the growth of Communism
Terms of the Treaty of Versailles:
1. Territorial Losses:
• Alsace, Lorraine returned to France
• Poland (re-created - supports right to self-determination) from
German territory, in order for Poland to have sea access (called
the “Polish Corridor”)
> puts Germans living there under control of Poles
> against principle of self-determination
• League of Nations take control of Saar and the port city of
Danzig
• Germany loses all colonies in Africa and the Pacific – the
colonies are made into “mandates” controlled by Britain &
France
2. Military Clauses:
• German army limited to 100 000 volunteers. No
conscription.
• Existing navy handed over to Britain. New navy
could have no more than 6 battleships.
• Germany not allowed to build U-boats, planes, or
tanks.
• Rhineland demilitarized – no German troops
allowed there. Allied troops stationed there
instead.
3. Reparations (Compensation in money/goods)
• Germany to pay 6 600 million pounds in gold and
goods
• All coal produced in Saar for 5 years to go to
France.
• Was forced to give up entire merchant fleet
Effect: Economically devastating to Germany
• Most Important:
Article 231 – "War Guilt Clause“
Germany forced to accept full responsibility
for the war - and therefore, responsible for all
damage
Note: exceptions were made in the application
of self-determination:
1. Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia
2. Germans in the Polish corridor
3. Germans in Alsace/Lorraine
4. Union between Austria and Germany (called
Anchluss) was forbidden
German Perspective:
- Treaty was "Diktat" no choice - either sign or
starve
- It was unfair, unjust, based on assumption
that Germany was 100% to blame
- Terms left Germans feeling humiliated and
bitter – many felt that the new republican
government had “stabbed them in the back”
“Stab in the back” theory:
Many Germans believed that Germany lost the
war and signed a humiliating peace because of
the following groups inside Germany:
1. Jews
2. Bolsheviks (Communists)
3. Democratic politicians (Liberals)
4. Bankers (Jews)
- They did not blame:
1. German army
2. German generals
Mass demonstration in front of the Reichstag
against the Treaty of Versailles ("the brutal
peace")
Allied Perspective:
- Wanted compensation
- wanted an end to war
- wanted Germany crippled
*NOTE: connection with WWII > Hitler used
T of V to argue that Germany had been abused,
used it to appeal to German nationalism
League of Nations:
•Purpose:
- To act as a guarantee against all wars
- to prevent war
> idealistic, naive, unattainable
• Based on:
1. Internationalism: occurs when nations give up
some of their sovereignty for the good of
other nations
*2. Collective Security: the principle that nations
should work together to prevent aggressor
states from taking over other nation - An
attack on one = attack on all. But . . .
> League did not have an army: hoped that
war could be prevented by economic
weapons (called economic sanctions).
3. -Wilson's 14 points
•Membership:
• Open to “any fully selfgoverning state,
dominion, or colony.”
Except: Germany,
Russia/USSR not
allowed
• First Assembly held in
Geneva, 1920 – 42
nations were members
• Weaknesses:
A. Membership Problems:
1) Russia not allowed to join > Communist
2) Germany not allowed because (according
to Allies) Germany responsible for the war
Membership problems cont.
3) USA did not join b/c of ISOLATIONISM (Senate
not approve membership)
> American public opinion shifting back to
isolationism: did not want to be involved in
foreign conflicts/disputes.
> Felt membership in the League would turn
temporary involvement in Europe into
permanent responsibility.
Membership problems cont.
4) France and Britain reluctantly joined because
they thought US would be involved. Both
nations paid little attention to the League
B. Lack of power by L of N:
1) Moral persuasion ineffective
2) No armed forces.
3) Economic Sanctions (embargo / blockade)
were ineffective (eg. Italy 1935)
(USA not involved, L of N countries not willing
to sanction important trade goods).
C. League was linked too closely to 1919 peace
treaties.
A country like Germany viewed the league as simply
an instrument to uphold an unjust peace.
D. Nationalism too strong for Internationalism
to work
Large countries unwilling to be told what to do by
smaller countries
The Search for Security in Europe post-WWI
A. French Efforts to Build Security in Europe:
• France after 1919: felt alone and vulnerable in Europe.
• US had not joined the League of Nations, meaning
France didn’t get treaty it wanted + now had no support
from US in Europe.
1. Reparations
- France wanted high reparation payments not
just for retaliation, but to keep Germany weak.
The Ruhr Crisis:
• According to T of V: If Germany failed to pay
reparations, the Allies could occupy the Ruhr
Valley - heart of German industry (80% of
coal/steel industry)
• 1923: French/Belgian troops occupy Ruhr b/c
Germany fell behind on payments.
• In response, German government orders
people in Ruhr to stop working – passive
resistance
• Led to hyperinflation - value of German Mark
plummeted as more was printed until it
became worthless
• Inflation causes German government to fall
• Inflation is an economic condition that results from an
increase in the money supply. It causes the value of
things to fall and the price of things to rise. At its most
basic level, inflation boosts the cost of goods and
services.
“When I was your age, I could buy a bag of
candy for a penny!”
Over time, it takes more money to buy things.
• hyperinflation occurs when a country
experiences very high and usually accelerating
rates of inflation, causing the population to
minimize their holdings of money. Under such
conditions, the general price level within an
economy increases rapidly as the official
currency quickly loses real value
A 1000 Mark banknote, over-stamped in red with "Eine
Milliarde Mark" i.e. 1,000,000,000 mark, issued in
Germany during the hyperinflation of
1923
• New government formed under Gustav
Stresemann
- Announced Germany would pay reparations.
- New currency
- Germany would cooperate and participate in
int'l affairs.
- Led to Locarno Treaty (see notes to follow)
Reorganizing Reparations:
• Dawes Plan (1924): International committee
headed by American banker, Charles G.
Dawes, comes up with economic plan to help
Germany pay reparations.
- Result: Germany loaned $200
million to revive economy.
Reparations enforced; French
leave Ruhr
• Young Plan (1930): Reparations cut to $29
billion. Allies consent to end occupation of the
Rhineland.
2. The Maginot Line:
- A line of forts and tunnels along France’s
border with Germany.
- French military claimed it could withstand
anything
2. The Maginot Line
The Maginot Line cont.
Problems:
1) Not built along border with Belgium
2) Outdated – based on static (defensive) WWI
warfare
3. Treaties of Mutual Assistance
- France sought out other European countries
threatened by Germany.
- Between 1920-1927: Treaties signed with
Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
Romania, and Yugoslavia.
*Important: French did not trust League of
Nations for security.
B. Other Moves Towards European Security:
i) Locarno Pact (1925 Series of treaties b/w Belg.
France, UK and Germany which established the
following:
• Fr./Germany/Belg. agreed not to make war on each
other
• Germany accepted its western borders as agreed in
T of V with France, Belgium
• Germany become member of League of Nations
• Guaranteed by Britain (but Britain refused to
guarantee countries to the east of Germany.
- Result:
- Brought security in the West ,but left new
Eastern states on their own (Poland)
- leads Germany to believe that it could change
its eastern borders with little objection from
Allies
ii) Kellogg-Briand Pact or Pact of Paris (1928)
- Not a formal treaty, but a declaration of
15 nations (including USA, Germany,
USSR) denouncing war as a method of
solving disputes.
iii) Washington Conference (1921) – Disarmament
• Conference hosted by United States, and conducted outside
the auspices of the League of Nations
• treaties signed by gov'ts of US, UK, Japan, France and Italy
• Agree to reduce navies - naval arms limitations
• by mid- 1930s, Japan and Italy renounced the treaties.