Essays for the Paris Peace Treaties

Describe how the Treaty of Versailles weakened Germany:

a. Through the loss of territory,
b. Militarily,
c. Economically.

Largely influenced by Clemenceau, Clause 231 gave the peace makers the right to punish
Germany, and they tried to prevent war by weakening the Germans so they would never
be able to go to war again.

a. Germany lost territory

Germany lost land. Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France. Malmedy was given to
Belgium. North Schleswig was given to Denmark (after a plebiscite). Memel was
given to Lithuania. West Prussia (including the ‘Polish corridor’) and Upper Silesia
were given to Poland. Danzig was made a ‘free city’. This was designed to weaken
Germany. A smaller country, reasoned Clemenceau, would be less of a problem. In all,
Germany lost 10% of its land, 12% of its population, 16% of its coalfields and half its
iron and steel industry. Germany had less land, fewer people, less taxes and less power.
In fact, all that power and wealth was given to Germany’s enemies, who got
stronger. The Saar coalfields were given to France for 15 years. This was also the case
for the German empire, which was dismembered. Germany’s colonies were made
‘mandates’ of the League of Nations, but were looked after by France (Cameroons),
Britain (Tanganyika), Japan (islands in the Pacific), Australia (New Guinea) and New
Zealand (Samoa). In addition, Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria
(Anschluss), which was designed to keep Germany weak.

b. Armed forces
The Rhineland had to be de-militarised. This was to protect France from future invasion
by creating a ‘buffer’ zone between France and Germany. This weakened the Germans
so much that they could not even put down internal riots – when they sent in the army to
deal with a rebellion in April 1920, the French invaded to make the German army leave.
The Treaty restricted the Germans’ armed forces to only 100,000 men in the army,
no submarines or aeroplanes, and only six battleships. In addition, conscription was
banned (soldiers had to be volunteers). The idea was to reduce Germany’s armed forces
to a size where they could never endanger the countries round about. German cartoons
of the time show the German army too tiny to defend them even against small
‘dungervolk’ like Czechoslovakia. And Germany was at the mercy of France, which
invaded again in 1923 to take in kind the reparation payments that Germany's aid it could
not pay. Yet the Treaty excluded Germany from the League of Nations – Germany could
not defend itself by force, or through the League!

c. Economy
The Treaty’s territorial decisions affected Germany’s economy. The loss of the Saar
reduced Germany’s industrial strength. The loss of West Prussia took away Germany’s
richest farming land. But reparations did the greatest economic damage to Germany.
Germany had to pay for all the damage of the war – a sum eventually set at £6,600
million – in installments, until 1984. This ruined Germany’s economy, damaged by the
war, and led to the hyperinflation of 1923.

How did the ‘Big Three’ feel about the Treaty of Versailles?
The Treaty of Versailles was a compromise, and it satisfied nobody.

Even Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, did not get everything he
wanted out of the Treaty. He was satisfied with clause 231 (which blamed Germany for
the war), the disarmament clauses of the Treaty (army at 100,000, only 6 battleships, no
airforce or submarines), getting back Alsace-Lorraine, and being given Germany colonies
as mandates on behalf of the League of Nations. But even this did not go far enough.
Clemenceau had wanted Germany weakened to the point where it would never be a
danger to France ever again. He was angry that France got the Saar coalfields for only
15 years, and he was angry that the Rhineland was merely demilitarised – France had
wanted it made into a powerless independent country, and Germany split up. Also,
reparations were not high enough for Clemenceau. He wanted reparations so high that
Germany would be crippled and paying for ever – when the Germans defaulted in 1923,
France invaded and took them in kind.

On the other hand, Wilson was dissatisfied also. He was pleased to get the League
of Nations accepted, and the map of eastern Europe was mainly drawn according to his
principle of self-determination. But he found most of the rest of his 14 points ignored or
rejected. Italy had to be given land given her in the secret treaty of 1915. Only the
defeated powers were disarmed. Britain refused to accept freedom of the seas, and
neither Britain, France nor Belgium would allow self-determination to the colonies in
their empires. Self-determination was not allowed elsewhere – Wilson had wanted
Anschluss between Austria and Germany, but this was denied; in 1919 the Czechs took
over Teschen by force; and in 1920 Poland attacked and took land inhabited in Russia and
Lithuania. All this Wilson had to accept. Finally, when he went home, the Senate
refused either to accept the Treaty or to join the League. Wilson tired himself out trying
to persuade Americans to accept what he had negotiated, had a stroke and died a broken
man.

Lloyd George of England was also dissatisfied by the Treaty. He liked the reduction
of the German navy, for it ensured that Britannia ruled the waves. He also liked being
given German colonies as mandates. But he thought Wilson’s League of Nations was a
‘dead duck’, he opposed self-determination and was sure that putting 3½ million
Germans into Czechoslovakia would caused great problems there. And, although he,
too, had promised to ‘make Germany pay’, he was horrified when he learned what
Clemenceau wanted. He opposed Clemenceau’s harshness. In the end, Clemenceau
wanted revenge against the Germans, and Wilson was prepared to sacrifice them to
principle, so it was Lloyd George who fought most for Germany’s interests at the
Conference. When the Treaty was eventually signed, the British delegates were very
depressed. Harold Nicholson thought the Treaty ‘neither just nor wise’, and Lloyd
George declared: ‘we will have to fight another war in 25 years time, and at three times
the cost’.
What were reparations and why were they not a good idea?

As part of the treaty of Versailles, Germany would have to pay $6,600 million as
reparations for compensation for the damage caused by them in WWI. The idea of
reparations is not a bad one. France was devastated after the war and needed money to
recover and rebuild its industries. However having such a large amount was not such a
good idea because of the effect reparations had on Germany.

After the war the German economy was near bankruptcy and such a large amounts would
almost certainly have ruined the economy, like during the 1923 hyperinflation when
many were out of jobs and poverty was on the increase.

Many of its resources were drained and destroyed during the war and as the allies
confiscated some of the coal it had, it would be very difficult for them to generate the
money to pay. Paying large sums of the money they have would mean slow or no
economic recovery of the destroyed industries and therefore unemployment and
starvation would increase, and this would lead to political turmoil in the country as seen
with the frequent government changes in the country during the 20s.

This would have a direct effect on world trade. Before the war many countries made
money by trading to Germany. This would not be possible if its industries are closing
down. So industries in other countries would also have trouble selling their goods and
this would also affect heir economic recovery.

Also such large reparations would lead to a bitter and humiliated Germany and this would
create widespread hatred towards the French and the allies which could stop co.-
operation between the countries in the future. They thought that this was a way for the
allies to humiliate Germany and take advantage of her situation. Many Germans resented
the treaty and wanted to have revenge and this was one of the reasons for WWII.

What were the German Reactions to the treaty of Versailles?

The main reasons why the Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles was because they
thought it was unfair. Germany had not taken part in the Conference. The terms were
imposed upon Germany – when Germany disagreed, the Allies threatened to go to war
again. The Germans were treated like a defeated country, but they did not think they had
been defeated. They had signed an Armistice – a ceasefire – in 1918, and they had
thought they were accepting Wilson’s 14 Points. In the event, few of the 14 Points got
into the Treaty. The Germans thought they had been tricked and betrayed, and they
hated the Treaty.

The Germans were also furious about the various terms of the Treaty. They hated
clause 231 – the ‘War Guilt’ clause – which stated that Germany had caused ‘all the loss
and damage’ of the war. Firstly, the Germans did not think that they had caused the war
(for the Germans, the war was a war of self-defence against Russia, which had mobilised
31 July 1914). During the 1920s, the Germans published all their secret documents from
1914, to prove they had tried to stop the war. Secondly, the Germans hated clause 231
because accepting it gave the Allies the moral right to punish Germany – it validated all
the harsh terms of the Treaty.

Germany hated the military terms of the Treaty (army of 100,000, only 6
battleships, no submarines or airplanes). The Germans said it left them powerless
against even the tiny new nation-states. The demilitarisation of the Rhineland was hated
because the Weimar republic was weak, and there were many rebellions. But in April
1920, when the Germans sent troops into the Rhineland to stop rioting, the French
invaded. The Germans said that not to be able to send troops even to places inside
Germany was a national insult. Yet, although the Allies did not allow Germany an army,
they did not let her join the League of Nations. This was an insult, and it also meant the
Germany had no way ever to get fair treatment by other states – neither armies nor
argument.

The Germans also hated reparations, set eventually (1921) at £6.6 billion, to be
paid in installments until 1984. They felt that the huge sum was just designed destroy
their industries and economy and cause large scale unemployment and poverty . Most of
all, they hated reparations because they too had rebuilding work to do. Germany’s
economy was ruined, but, instead of being able to pump investment into German
industry, the country had to send abroad huge sums of money that German industry was
not yet strong enough to earn.

Many Germans were outraged by the treaty of Versailles, especially the war guilt clause
and the Reparations and thought that the Allies had taken this opportunity to destroy
Germany’s economy and stability. Because of this feeling, there was widespread hatred in
Germany towards the allies, especially France and many Germans wanted to have
revenge on the allies for treating them so unfairly.

The Germans' Reaction to Versailles

Source A
The disgraceful Treaty is being signed today.

Don’t forget it!

We will never stop until we win back what we deserve.

From Deutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper, 28 June 1919.

What can an historian learn from Deutsche Zeitung about the reaction of
German people to the Treaty?

How reliable is Deutsche Zeitung for an historian who wants to know how
Germans reacted to the Treaty?
Which was the more important factor in German resentment of the Treaty of
Versailles, the War Guilt Clause or reparations?

The Peace Treaties of 1919–20 made many territorial changes in Central and
Eastern Europe.

Describe those changes.

The Peace Treaties of 1919–1920 made many territorial changes in eastern Europe, many
of the influenced by the principle of ‘self-determination’ – the right of people to rule
themselves.

The Treaty of Versailles – although it was mainly concerned with Germany – took land
which Germany had held (or had gained by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk when Russia
accepted defeat in 1917). It gave this land to create the new nation states of eastern
Europe. Land on the Baltic coast created the new nation-states of Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania. The German town of Memel was given to Lithuania. West Prussia
(including the ‘Polish corridor’) and Upper Silesia were taken as part of the new nation-
state of Poland, and Danzig was made a ‘free city’.

The other treaties of 1919–1920 followed the principles of the Treaty of Versailles –
they punished the defeated powers, made them disarm and pay reparations, but they also
took land from them to create the new nation states.

The Treaty of Saint Germain with Austria in 1919 took land from the old Austrian empire
to create Czechoslovakia and (by giving it to Serbia) Yugoslavia. Austria also lost
territory to Poland.

The Treaty of Trianon with Hungary in 1920 took land from Hungary and gave it to the
new nation-states. Transylvania was given to Romania, and land was given to
Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

The Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria in 1919 gave Bulgarian land to Greece, Romania and
Yugoslavia.

The Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey in 1920 was mainly about splitting up the Turkish
empire between France and Britain, but as part of the Treaty, most of the small area of
Turkey-in-Europe around Constantinople was given to Greece. In fact, however, this did
not last very long – the Turks went to war with the Greeks and drove them out, and the
Treaty of Lausanne 1923 gave back this land to Turkey.

What was ‘self-determination’, and how did the principle affect the peace
treaties of 1919–1920?

Self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe was point 10 of Wilson’s

Fourteen Points. Also, points 5 (colonies), 7 (Belgium), 12 (Turkish empire) and
13 (Poland) promised self-determination, by which he meant the right of nations
to rule themselves. Wilson, a History Professor, thought it would make people
happier, and make a safer peace. He wanted to re-draw the frontiers of eastern
Europe so that all races ruled themselves. Wilson was one of the ‘Big Three’,
and so – to a certain extent – ‘self-determination’ got into the treaties.

The Treaty of Versailles – although mainly concerned with Germany – took land
on the Baltic coast (which Germany had gained from Russia by the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk) and created from it the new nation-states of Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania. It also gave the German town of Memel to Lithuania.

Other nations-states were created by the Treaties. Poland was created by the
Treaty of Versailles. T he Treaty took West Prussia (including the ‘Polish
corridor’) and land in the Ukraine (which Germany had gained at Brest-Litovsk) to
make the new nation-state. More land was given to Poland by the Treaty of
Saint Germain with Austria in 1919. Czechoslovakia was created by the Treaty
of Saint Germain, from land in the old Austrian empire. Czechoslovakia also got
land from Hungary by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. Yugoslavia was formed by
giving Serbia land from the old Austrian Empire (St Germain) and from Hungary
(Trianon). Romania was given Transylvania by the Treaty of Trianon.

In all, nine nation states were set up (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Finland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia). Plebiscites (elections)
were held in Schleswig and Upper Silesia, so people there could chose their own
country. Also, Alsace-Lorraine given back to France. The peace-makers tried
to protect minorities by putting clauses into the treaties forcing countries to treat
minorities fairly.

There were ways, however, that self-determination did NOT affect the Treaties.
The Big Three did not allow Germans self-determination. Many Germans found
themselves living in Poland or Lithuania, and the German Sudetenland was
made part of Czechoslovakia (to give Czechoslovakia an industrial base).
Anschluss with Austria was forbidden. A lso, The Treaty of Neuilly in 1919 took
Bulgarian areas, and gave them to Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania. In the
same way, The Treaty of Sèvres gave Turkish Smyrna to Greece. Like
Germany, Bulgaria and Turkey were defeated powers, so they did not get self-
determination.

In all the new countries (especially Poland, Czechoslovakia and

Yugoslavia), there were ‘enclaves’ of minority races. Sometimes also, the new
countries would not allow self-determination to others. In 1919 Czechoslovakia
seized Teschen (inhabited by Poles), and the Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio led
an Italian army to capture Fiume, which was Yugoslavian. In 1920 Poland
invaded and captured large areas of Russia and Lithuania. Worst of all, France
and Britain did not allow their colonies self-determination, and German colonies
and the Turkish empire became mandates.