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KQ1: Peace Treaties of 1919-23 (Was Germany's resentment justified?…
KQ1: Peace Treaties of 1919-23
Paris Peace Conference
12 months – Jan 1919-20
32 nations represented
Defeated nations were not invited
Under the chairmanship of Georges Clemenceau
Attendies
Council of Ten – two members from the five leading countries
Britain
France
Italy
Japan
USA
Important decisions taken by the Big Three
USA
Britain
France
:: Met informally over 140 times to determine what would happen
– The rest would ratify what had been agreed
:: Advised by diplomats, lawyers and experts but they often ignored their advice
Diplomats and advisors present to support the heads of state
Agreed that 5 treaties would be drawn up
Public mood, 1919
Bitterness and hatred
Big Three under pressure from their people to deal harshly with Germany
Britain:
Lost 750,000 men
Borrowed £9Bn
Lloyd George fought 1918 elections with slogans like 'Hang the Kaiser', & 'Make Germany Pay'
France:
Lost 1.5Mn men
NE France had been devastated
Demands for harsh treatment increased after knowledge of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
British and French thought Germany was responsible for the war and should be punished
– Including reparations
Big Three aims
Georges Clemenceau
Cripple Germany so she couldn't attack France again (1870, 1914)
Take land, weaken industry and reduce armed forces
Split Germany into a number of small states
Lose Rhineland, Saarland, Upper Silesia, Danzig, East Prussia and all colonies
Receive compensation for damage to land, industry and people
Tough and uncompromising
Return of Alsace-Lorraine
Harsh reparations
Woodrow Wilson
Make sure there's no war again
Punish Germany but not too harshly
Otherwise Germany would want revenge
Keep them able to trade
Strengthen democracy in defeated nations to prevent leaders starting wars
League of Nations to promote international cooperation
Self-determination
The Fourteen Points
Build a better and peaceful world
Identifying the causes of the conflict and devising remedies for each
eg. Arms build-up was a cause, so push for disarmament
David Lloyd George
Punish Germany but not as harshly as France
Stop revenge
Trading – wanted to begin trading with Germany as soon as possible
Confiscate German colonies and navy to strengthen British Empire
Ensure that France did not become too powerful
Reasonable reparations
Did not want free and open access to the seas
Disagreements and compromises between the Big Three
Wilson had to agree to French plans for the Rhineland and Saar
Clemenceau and Lloyd George had to agree to self-determination for E European countries
Lloyd George unhappy about self-determination and access to the sea because of the British Empire
Clemenceau criticised Britain for only caring about the navy
No one was satisfied – too lenient for Clemenceau, to harsh for Wilson, and kind of bad for British Empire
France wanted extra territory but Britain didn't want France to be too powerful
Main terms of Treaty of Versailles
War Guilt Clause
Germany accepted blame for starting the war
Reparations
Exact figure set at £6.6B in 1921, with Germany to continue paying it until 1984
Territory
Alsace-Lorraine to France
Saarland run by League for 15 years
Danzig made a free city run by the League
Give Poland access to a sea port
Colonies confiscated and became mandates controlled by the League
Basically controlled by Britain and France
Saar – taken away from germany
Anschluss with Austria forbidden
Demilitarisation
Army limited to 100,000 men
Conscription banned
No armoured vehicles, submarines, aircraft or heavy artillery
6 battleships
Demilitarisation of the Rhineland with occupation by allied troops for 15 years
Why did Germany sign the Treaty
B and F threatened to continue the war
Germany could not fight effectively
There was a British naval blockade
Worries that continuing the war would lead to a communist uprising
Running out of raw materials, food, ammunition and men
German Reaction
War Guilt Clause especially hated because it justified reparations
Reparations – almost destroyed the German economy when her people were already starving
Disarmament – upset Germany's proud military tradition
Territorial losses were a blow to pride and the economy
Germany was not represented at the peace talks, and the Treaty was a 'diktat'
Double-standards: self-determination for some but not for Germans living in other states; disarmament only for Germany; Germany not allowed to join League of Nations
People angry that they were being treated as a defeated power, they believed they had agreed to a ceasefire because no allied troops entered Germany
'Stab in the back' myth – German army had been betrayed by the politicians, and they could have fought on to win
Was Germany's resentment justified?
Harsh, but much less so than the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Germany probably would have been harsher on B and F – they had much more war debt to pay off
Appointing Clemenceau as chairman of the peace conferences set the tone as he wanted revenge on Germany
German economic problems were their own fault – they planned to pay off their debt through reparations
Limiting the armed forces would create unemployment and a lack of security
Germans did not think that Germany was solely responsible for starting the war and should not have to pay the massive reparations
They were not represented so their criticisms were ignored – diktat
Loss of the Saar for 15 years further damaged the economy
Impact of the Treaty on Germany
Made the new government very unpopular
Contributed to the Kapp Putsch
Occupation of the Ruhr resulted in a strike which was bad for the economy and provoked a harsh reaction by the French
Many blamed the hyper-inflation of 1923 on reparations
Could the Treaty be justified at the time?
Germany would have been just as harsh if she had won
A more generous treaty was unacceptable to B and F people
Best that could be done in the circumstances
Some say that it was too harsh on Germany and contributed to the rise of Hitler
Peacemakers success
Germany
Punished ordinary Germans instead of those responsible
Wrong to put sole blame on Germany
A more generous treaty would not have been acceptable in B and F who wanted compensation
Others
Failed in C Europe as they created states with too many rival minorities
Made some progress in giving self-determination – Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia formed
Defeated nations
Turkey treated unfairly to satisfy France, Britain and Greece
Austrian economy collapsed
Left defeated countries bitter and vengeful
Were Wilson's aims in the settlements?
Establishment of the League of Nations
New states were established as part of self-determination, eg. Czechoslovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
Strengthen democracy in defeated nations – partially achieved with the Weimar Republic
Lloyd George resisted the freedom of the seas point
Failed to persuade Clemenceau that Germany shouldn't be treated harshly
Self-determination mostly failed because it was impractical and went against B and F interests
Clemenceau disappointed at settlement
Wanted Germany broken up into smaller states, also wanted to claim the Saar
Unhappy that reparations were not paid immediately to France
Lost public support because it was not harsh enough
Still felt threatened by Germany's small army
Wanted the Rhineland to be an independent state so that they didn't share a border
Why did Clemenceau find it difficult to achieve his aims
Wilson and Lloyd George wanted a reasonably strong Germany to trade with and to prevent another war
Demands were extreme due to public pressure
Demands driven by revenge
Lloyd George didn't want France to be too powerful
Problems with Danzig
Germany would lose it to Poland so they have access to the sea
Danzig's population was mainly German
Could cause great resentment and an unstable political situation
Poland needed a sea port and so Danzig was important for Poland's external trade
Allies could not agree what to do so they placed Danzig under the LoN
Impact on C and E Europe
Creation of new countries which were meant to be politically and economically stable
Czechoslovakia
From the old Austro-Hungarian Empire
Included industrial areas from the empire so that it would be economically strong
Included a wide range of nationalities
Poland
Potential watchdog on Germany
Barrier to future communist expansion
No natural frontiers, eg. rivers, mountains, so vulnerable to attack by Germany and Russia
30% of pop non-Poles
Given Polish corridor for access to the sea – resented by Germany
Yugoslavia
Merging of Serbia with former states of AH Empire
Meant to be a large and powerful state to bring stability to the Balkans
Problems in Germany from Treaty 1919-23
Extremist attempts to overthrow the Weimar, eg:
Spartacist League
Extreme nationalist Freikorps
Government printed more money => hyperinflation
Delayed reparations payments so France forces occupied the Ruhr
Led to German bankruptcy
Harshness of the reparations made it difficult for economic recovery
How far had Germany accepted the Treaty by 1923?
The Weimar Government had to sign it
Industrialists knew that the Treaty was not as harsh as people thought because industrial production recovered
Many people did not accept that they had lost the war and so did not accept the Treaty
Many did not accept it because it punished the ordinary person rather than the leaders responsible
Army leaders blamed the government as part of the 'stab in the back' myth
When Kapp led a rebellion, the army refused to support the government because Kapp wanted to abolish the Treaty
Other Treaties
Treaty of St Germain (Austria)
Pay reparations
Accept responsibility for losing the war
Military
Reduce armaments / disarm / lose military strength
No union with Germany
Conscription abolished
Army restricted to 30,000
Land
Lost land to Poland and Italy
Much industry went to Czechoslovakia
Empire broken up
Land redistributed to form succession states
Become a republic
Similarities
Accept War responsibility
Military reduced
Conscription abolished
Navy
Army
Pay Reparations
Land lost
Lost access to the sea
Given to existing countries
Creation of new countries
Had to accept break up of Empires
German colonies
Ottoman
Austro-Hungarian
Treaty of Trianon (Hungary)
Hand over war criminals
Pay reparations
Economy so weak that she never did
Army reduced to 35,000
Land
Lost 70% of land area
Much industry and raw materials lost
3Mn Hungarians ended up in other states -- one third of population
Empire broken up
Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria)
Treated less harshly than others due to small role played in the war
Lost access to the sea
Lost land to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia
Pay reparations
Danzig
Was a thriving German sea port
Put under League of Nations control
Population was mainly German
Cause great resentment if handed over to Poland
Would lose it to Poland
Poland needed sea port for external trade
Treaty of Sèvres (Turkey)
Land
Dardanelles Strait to become international waterway
Lost control of straits connecting Mediterranean and Black Sea
Empire broken up
Military
No conscription
Six torpedo boats
Seven sloops
50,000 soldiers
Impact of Treaties on Central and Eastern Europe
Creation of new countries
Poland
No natural barriers (rivers, mountains etc.)
Vulnerable to attack by Germany and Russia
30% of population Russian or German
Resented by Germany for being given the Polish Corridor
Watchdog on Germany
Barrier to communist expansion
Czechoslovakia
Has some industrial areas of Austro-Hungarian Empire
Economically strong
Has a wide range of nationalities
Yugoslavia
Bring stability to the Balkans
Large and powerful state
Serbia + Former states of Austo-Hungarian Empire