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International relations 1919-39 (Were the peace treaties of 1919-23 fair?)

- - - - Attitude towards Germany: He felt that Germany needed to be punished but not too harshly as some day it would recover and want revenge, in addition, it may cause a communist revolution.
        Main aims:
        
        Strengthen democracy in defeated countries
        
        Give self-determination to small countries that had once been part of the European empires
        
        International cooperation through a 'league of nations'
    - - Attitude towards Germany: He wanted to cripple Germany so that it could not attack France again. He felt this was particularly important as France was on Germany's border.
        Main aims:
        
        Germany to pay reparations
        
        Rhineland to be demilitarised (which bordered France)
        
        Germany's armed forces to be severely limited
    - - Attitude towards Germany: Much like Wilson, Lloyd George believed that Germany should be punished but not too harshly as similar to Wilson he believed that this could result in a communist revolution like in Russia 1917. Main aims: 1. Get Britain and Germany trading again as before the war Germany had been Britains second largest trading partner. 2. Germany to lose it's navy and it's colonies as it threatened the British empire
    - - Political Action: Right-wing opponents of Ebert's government could not bear the treaty. In 1920 they attempted a revolution called the Kapp Putsch. However, it was defeated by a general strike by Berlin workers which paralysed essential services such as power and transport. Another example could be the Munich Putsch. Hitler's rebellion was defeated but he got off lightly as many Germans shared his hatred of the Treaty of Versailles
      - Conflict in the Ruhr: Under the treaty, Germany agreed to pay £6,600 million in reparations to the allies. The first instalment of £50 million was paid in 1921 but nothing was paid in 1922. Despite negotiations, in 1923 the French ran out of patients and sent troops in the Ruhr to take back what they through was rightfully theirs. The German government ordered the workers to go on strike so that there was nothing there for the French to take. This in turn meant that Germany did not have any goods to trade which led to hyperinflation
      - Hyperinflation: The government tried to solve the problem of not having money with simply printing more. The money was virtually worthless so prices went up. Wages began to be payed daily rather that weekly. However, some benefited from this situation, the government and big industrialists were able to pay off huge debts in worthless marks. However, middle class citizens for example may have found that their life savings, which in 1921 may have bought them a house, could now not even buy a loaf of bread. Once Germany eventually recovered from this situation, there was bitterness directed towards the Treaty of Versailles.
    - - War guilt
      - Reparations
      - German territories and colonies
      - Germany's armed forces
      - League of Nations