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Book 3 Chapter 1: Impact of World War 1 in Europe (Impact of the Treaty of…
Book 3 Chapter 1: Impact of World War 1 in Europe
Introduction
Versailles Conference
January 1919
The Treaty of Versailles was created.
The Big 3
The
more powerful countries
who
contributed the most
towards winning of the war.
France: Georges Clemenceau
USA: Woodrow Wilson
Britain: Lloyd George
Made most of the decisions.
Objective was to keep
world peace
however they all had
different methods
.
Objectives of Key Countries
USA
Initially
reluctant to join
WW1 as it was a European war.
German submarines
fired and sank
American merchant ships, believing that they were carrying weapons to Britain.
The sinking of Lusitania resulted in the
death of civilians
.
USA declared war on Germany in
1917
.
The USA
entered the war late
and thus
suffered very little
.
However, the death of US soldiers
angered the American public
and questioned why Americans should die for other people's wars.
The USA adopted
a policy of isolation
rather than a policy of involvement.
President Woodrow Wilson
Pacifist
Invented the
14 points
to be used as a basis for lasting international peace.
Self-determination: For the people in Eastern European countries.
Disarmament
League of Nations: Where countries can talk out their problems.
Meant to bring about
a just peace
.
France
The war was fought on French soil, causing
France to suffer more
than any other country.
1.4 million lives were lost.
Large areas of agricultural and forested land, as well as public buildings were lost.
France wanted
revenge
.
Germany was to
pay heavy reparations
.
Wanted to
weaken Germany's military
as it had already been
attacked twice
.
1870
1914
Wanted to
regain valuable land
.
Alsace-Lorraine
Wanted to create
a buffer zone
between Germany and France
to prevent German aggression
.
Britain
Wanted
justice
.
Concerned that
trade
between Britain and Germany
would be damaged
.
Fear that
a crippled Germany
would
weaken the economy
in Europe
Fear that an impoverished Germany would turn to
communism
.
Germany needed to act as
a buffer against the Soviet Union
.
Wanted to
diminish
Germany's threat as
a naval and industrial power
.
Wanted to
make Germany pay
.
Mindset brought about by
the high number of casualties
.
Lloyd George's promise
to the citizens of Britain.
Italy
Entered the war in
1915
as
an ally of Germany
.
Switched sides
in order to obtain
more territories
.
Europe
Asia
Africa
Japan
Fought alongside Britain and France
in exchange for Asian territories
.
Craved recognition
as a world power.
Germany
British naval blockades brought about
food shortages
.
1.4 million people died.
The King of Germany fled.
Destroyed the German monarchical system.
Democracy
was
a new concept
towards the German citizens.
The German citizens
felt betrayed
by the goverment.
Until
the summer of 1918
, they were told that they had been
told that they would win the war
.
In the end Germany was
defeated and forced to accept the terms
of the treaty.
Terms of the Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles
Most of the clauses
dealt with Germany.
Germans were given 2 weeks to comment on the treaty however
their comments were ignored
.
They were to
sign the treaty or risk invasion
.
The treaty was signed in
the Palace of Versailles
.
Meant to
humiliate the Germans
as it was signed in the same room where France had surrendered Alsace-Lorraine to Germany in
1871
.
Key Terms of the Treaty
War Guilt Clause
Germany was to
accept all the blame for war damages
as it was the aggressor.
Used to
justify the other severe terms
of the treaty.
Germans felt that responsibility
should have been shared
.
Reparations
Germany was to pay for
all war damage
.
In
1921
, the amount was set at 6650 million pounds.
To be paid in both money and goods.
Most of the payment would be given to France and Belgium.
Germans were concerned that the reparations would cripple them.
Armed Forces
The German army was limited to
100 000 men
and
conscription was banned
.
The German navy was restricted to
6 battle ships
,
24 smaller ships and no submarines
.
Aeroplanes
,
tanks and heavy guns
were
banned
.
Rhineland became a
demilitarized buffer zone
.
Only Germany
was disarmed.
German's felt that this would
make Germany vulnerable
to attack.
Territorial
Germany
lost land
both in the east and west.
Alsace-Lorraine
Saar coal fields.
Colonies in the Far East and Africa.
German's felt that France and Britain were benefitting
at the expense of Germany's pride and economy
.
New countries in Europe
9 new states were created.
Austria
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Finland
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Large groups of people
quarreled
between
the nation they were living in
and
the one they would rather belong to
.
This
threatened long-term peace
.
Balkan Wars in
1990s
.
League of Nations
Germany was
not allowed to be a member
until it was deemed a peaceful country.
This insulted the Germans.
Impact of the Treaty of Versailles.
German Humiliation
The Germans deemed the treaty a
dictated peace
.
It was formed as the basis for the
limitations
,
territorial reduction and reparations
placed on Germany.
The Weimar government had
no choice but to accept the terms of the treaty
despite the humiliation and injustice.
The Weimar government was labelled the November Criminals.
This
weakened their credibility and support
.
German Territorial Reductions
Germany
lost 13%
of its total land area, including those of economical value and were rich in resources.
This
made it impossible
for Germany to pay the reparations.
Rhineland
Saar coal region
Prevented merger
between Germany and German-speaking Austria.
Germany's Military Weakeness
Germany was
unable to defend its borders
against the Allied Powers.
No other country had been forced to reduce its military strength.
Germany's Economic Weakness
The Allies were given
the right to demand compensation
from Germany for war damages.
Germany had to make
on-going payments
through the surrendering of coal and other resources at set periods.
However, the reparations were
impossible to repay
.
British economic adviser, J M Keynes, thought that 2000 million pounds would have been a fairer figure.
Due to the war efforts, the reparations posed
an additional economic burden
.
This
worsened
German economic conditions and Germany was
unable
make its payments on time.
France
accused Germany of sabotaging its economy
to reduce the value of payment.
In
1923
, France confiscated coal and other goods from the Ruhr industrial region as payment.
This
worsened the economic crisis
and
led to a workers' strike
in the Ruhr.
Growth in Dictatorships
The formation of new states
failed to promote democracy
in Eastern Europe.
By
1934
, many states in central and Eastern Europe had fallen under dictatorship.
Self-Determination
It called for the creation of
independent nation states
for the various ethnic groups.
However,
the boundaries between ethnic communities were not clear
thus states often had combinations of different ethnic groups.
Yugoslavia
Czechoslovakia
Many nationalities found themselves outside of their nation-states.
Germans in Czechoslovakia
Germans in Danzig
Self-determination seemed to only apply to the winners of the war.
This created greater instability during the period of
1919-1939
.
Some new states were ambitious and
tried to conquer territory
.
Poland
Power Vacuum in Europe
Although defeated and weakened, Germany
remained a very large nation
.
German population: 65 million people vs French population: 40 million
Germany was surrounded by
new
,
military weak and economically unstable
states.
Czechoslovakia
Romania
Yugoslavia
These states were meant to
prevent Germany's expansion
.
However this created a potential
imbalance in power
.
Was the Treaty of Versailles too harsh?
Yes
There were
no attempts at negotiating
the treaty. The treaty
had simply been imposed
on Germany.
As a dictated peace, the treaty could be claimed as
not morally-binding
.
The bitterness and resentment caused by the treaty led to Hitler and the Nazi's rise in power from the
1920s to 1930s
.
No
The treaty was
more lenient
as compared to the Brest-Litovsk treaty which Germany had imposed on Russia in
March 1918
.
The Brest-Litovsk treaty was
also a dictated peace
.
The Russians had to surrender
half of their industrial land
to Germany.
We are only able to criticise the treaty due to having
the benefit of hindsight
.
In
1919
, it was strongly believed that
Germany had caused a great deal of destruction and misery
. Thus, it
had to be punished
.