WW43+Versailles

=The roles and differing goals of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson in creating the Treaty of Versailles=


 * Armistice** signed 11 November 1918. //What is an armistice//?
 * Treaty of Versailles** signed 28 June 1919. //What is a treaty//?

Use these sources and the maps to answer the following:
 * What was the feeling towards Germany among the public of the victorious nations at the end of the war?
 * What caused this feeling?
 * What did Germany lose in the Treaty of Versailles?
 * What was the German attitude towards the Treaty of Versailles?
 * [[image:Hang_the_Kaiser_song_1917.jpg width="418" height="521"]] || [[image:Peace_and_Future_Cannon_fodder.jpg width="446" height="548"]] ||


 * [[image:Foreign_Entanglements.jpg width="507" height="636"]] || [[image:Extrait_de_Javel_le_Coq_Gaulois_large.jpg]] ||




 * What were some problems in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
 * What were the main aims of each of the Big Three at the Paris Peace Conference?
 * How did the Treaty of Versailles affect Germany?
 * What were the flaws in the Treaty of Versailles?

=Paris Peace Conference=


 * Time**: First session 18 January 1919 (18 January 1971 German Empire proclaimed)

Nine weeks after the armistice. Feeling in Britain was intensified by German behaviour in defeat: “scorched earth” policy and the sinking of the Leinster in Oct 1918. Also Allied propaganda during the wars had instilled an intense hatred of Germany.
 * Wilson had to deliver the State of the Union address.
 * Lloyd George had to hold elections (“Hang the Kaiser”, “Make Germany Pay”, “Home Fit for Heroes” – Sir Eric Geddes, First Lord of the Admiralty said in 1919 “We shall squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak!").

The conference became a conflict between two emotions: **hopes and ideals** of a more orderly world and **human vindictiveness and vengeance**.


 * Place**: Paris


 * Preferred by Wilson
 * Centre of Western liberal democracy
 * Symbolic act of signing in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
 * Clemenceau became ‘President of the Conference’


 * Organisation**

//**Present**//: 27 Allied and Associated Powers: many joined the war in the wake of the USA, some to be present at the Peace Conference. New states: e.g. Poland, Czechoslovakia. Other unofficial, unrecognised groups, e.g., Armenians, Zionists, Lebanese, Egyptians, Kurds, Koreans, Sein Fein, White Russians.

//**Omitted**//: Neutral powers – perhaps could have been a voice for moderation, they too were affected by the war. Russia – experiencing civil war in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. (Russia’s absence allowed the establishment of a cordon sanitaire against Boshevism. Ex-enemy powers: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. (Gave the peace settlement the appearance of a ‘Diktat’.)

“//**Belligerent Powers with General Interests**//” (the ‘Big Five’ – Britain, France, USA, Italy, Japan) “//**Belligerent Powers with Special Interests**//” (all the rest including Serbia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, British Dominions)

Power first exercised in Council of Ten: 2 representatives from each of the Big Five. Then: Two bodies:
 * Council of Five (Foreign Ministers)
 * Big Four (Lloyd George, Clemenceau, Wilson, Orlando) – end of April Orlando left.

Therefore, the Big Three was left They were leaders of democratic countries and sensitive to public opinion.

=The Big Three=


 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Thomas_Woodrow_Wilson%2C_Harris_%26_Ewing_bw_photo_portrait%2C_1919.jpg/245px-Thomas_Woodrow_Wilson%2C_Harris_%26_Ewing_bw_photo_portrait%2C_1919.jpg width="220" height="333" align="right"]]Woodrow Wilson**
 * US President 1913-1921 (Democrat) - Lost majority in Congress Nov 1918.
 * The armistice was signed with the expectation by Germany that Wilson’s 14 Points would be used as the basis for the negotiation of a peace treaty – a just peace i.e. Germany should be punished but not destroyed.
 * Inconsistencies in his 14 points esp. self-determination for minorities (e.g. Czechs). This was denied to the Germans. Britain could not accept freedom of the seas in peace and war.
 * Economics and geography demanded that self-determination was not always achieved e.g., Poland, Czechoslovakia.
 * The Polish Corridor was necessary for Polish but created a problem for Germany – East Prussia cut off from main part of Germany.
 * Founded League of Nations
 * Nobel Peace Prize 1919
 * Hailed as the Prince of Peace when he arrived in Paris but was faced with an intransigent Clemenceau. Made concessions to achieve League of Nations (he believed it would revise the treaties – US rejected the League)


 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Clemenceau_Beaux_1920.jpg/220px-Clemenceau_Beaux_1920.jpg align="right"]]Georges Clemenceau**
 * “Tiger” - Premier 1906-1909; 1917-1920
 * 76 years old in 1918 – had defended Paris in 1871
 * Wanted extremely harsh terms
 * Wanted a separate Rhineland state as a buffer zone. This was opposed by the others who argued that this would create an Alsace-Lorraine in reverse.
 * Wanted reparations for civilian and military loss
 * France was inferior to Germany in population and industry – sought to cripple Germany
 * Made concessions on harsh policy for British/US guarantee of support in the event of renewed German aggression (this guarantee was nullified by US rejection of treaty, which nullified Britain’s guarantee)
 * Clemenceau was criticised by the French parliament for the leniency of the final treaty.
 * France therefore created the ‘little Entente’: Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Poland


 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/David_Lloyd_George.jpg/225px-David_Lloyd_George.jpg align="right"]]David Lloyd George**
 * 1915 Minister for Munitions; 1916 (July) Minister for War; 1916 (Dec) Prime Minister
 * Argued for moderation
 * Conflict between public and private stance: publicly had promised the British people revenge (won elections on “Hang the Kaiser”); privately was more moderate – feared a Germany of poverty and refugees. He believed it was inconsistent to support the White Armies in Russia against the Bolsheviks and at the same time create conditions likely to develop communism in Germany.
 * Felt that a strong German economy was needed for a healthy European economy.
 * Had a personal belief in the rehabilitation of Germany.
 * Anti-German opinion in Britain demanded revenge – opinion created by four years of propaganda and Germany’s behaviour in retreat.

=The Treaty of Versailles=


 * [[image:0095_versailles.jpg align="right"]]Germany lost territory: the Polish Corridor (to Poland), Danzig (in the Polish Corridor – made a Free City under League of Nations administration) and Alsace-Lorraine (restored to France after being taken in 1871); other areas (e.g. Upper Silesia, Memel, Northern Schleswig) were decided by plebiscite.
 * Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria.
 * The German speaking Sudetenland was given to Czechoslovakia.
 * German army was limited to 100,000 men. All volunteers (i.e. no conscription).
 * Germany could not have any submarines.
 * The German navy was restricted in number of ships and tonnage of ships.
 * Germany could not have an air force.
 * No war materials could be made in or traded with Germany.
 * The Rhineland was to be demilitarised. Violation of this clause was to be considered a hostile act.
 * Germany lost all its colonies.
 * The Saar coalmines were given to France for 15 years. The area was to be governed by the League of Nations.
 * Germany was given sole responsibility for starting the war.
 * Germany was to pay reparations for civilian loss and damage. A Reparations Commission was to be established to set the amount to pay. (An amount of 132 million gold marks was set in 1921.)

Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles //The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.//
 * War Guilt**


 * Weaknesses of the Treaty of Versailles**
 * Lasting German resentment: War Guilt, colonial settlement
 * “Diktat” – not based on Wilson’s 14 Points
 * German minorities in other countries: Poland and Czechoslovakia.
 * Other racial minorities throughout Europe.
 * Austria left weak – looked to Germany for economic survival
 * Little chance of Baltic states surviving
 * Reparations Commission (April 1921) set too high an amount.
 * The League of Nations was ineffective without the participation of all nations.
 * The small states created were not strong enough to resist the aggression of Hitler.

The Germans were denied self-determination as other countries had achieved: Austria (fear of a Greater Germany) Denied right to militarise the Rhineland Reparations – unable to pay. Lost economic resources. Eventually paid very little, only an amount in kind 1921-22. Rescaled in 1924 (Dawes – US loans). Rescaled in 1929 (59 years – Young – US loans) Cancelled in 1932. Loan debt cancelled by Hitler in 1933. War Guilt. Old government had caused the war. It was unfair to saddle the new government with guilt. Implied Germans had died for an unjust cause. Diktat – dictated peace – Germans had no say.
 * Main areas of German discontent**
 * Poland (economic consideration force loss of Polish Corridor)
 * Czechoslovakia (Geographic consideration prevented German acquisition of Sudetenland

Leader of the German delegation: **Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau**

Make Germany Pay (Part 1)
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Make Germany Pay (Part 2)
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