What was the reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?

What other treaties were agreed at the Paris Peace Conference?

Treaty means agreement.

History Dictionary

Paris Peace Conference: the meeting where it was decided what to do with Germany and its allies (friends who had fought with Germany) at the end of World War One.

Treaty of Versailles: the agreement about what to do with Germany at the end of World War One. Germany was not allowed to contribute to the agreement.

USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, name of Communist Russia (1922).

Buffer: area between two potentially hostile nations, to prevent any acts of aggression.

When the Treaty of Versailles was signed, it became international law. Germany was outraged by the terms of the Treaty and regarded it as humiliating and a harsh blow. However, over the years, historians' opinions about the Treaty have changed.

A German cartoon published in 1919 in a magazine. The German mother is saying to her starving child: 'When we have paid one hundred billion marks then I can give you something to eat.'

Task 1.Annotate the cartoon i.e.

pull out key details and symbols (ideas on next slide).

2.What do you think the cartoonist feels about the Treaty of Versailles? How do you know?

• Home looks very small and scruffy. Bed, cooker, table and washing tub all in one room. Suggests that family already in poverty even before the big fine (reparations) that the Treaty of Versailles said Germany had to pay for starting the war.

A German cartoon published in 1919 in a magazine. The German mother is saying to her starving child: 'When we have paid one hundred billion marks then I can give you something to eat.'

• German mother holding a malnourished and suffering child with another one behind her. She could represent all German mothers struggling to feed her family or the German government who were struggling to feed the population.

• The mother very thin - could this be because there was very little food about in Germany at the end of the World War 1 in 1918. The situation did not improve in 1919 when the cartoon was made because the British navy continued to block German ports.

Look at what the mother is saying-this is a criticism of the Big Three and the ToV and is saying that it's too severe and will cause even more problems for the already suffering German population.

• What could these represent - three bits of food for the family?

• The Big Three ie the men who negotiated the Treaty of Versailles?

Many historians have argued (said) that the Treaty of Versailles affected Germany for the next 20 years and that it ultimately gave Hitler the excuse to invade other countries and claim back land that had been taken away. In the 1920s and 1930s, the opinion seems to have been that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and that Germany was right to hate it so much. Indeed, events proved that even powerful countries like GB and France were reluctant to defend what they saw as a flawed (got things wrong with it) Treaty; Hitler got away with ignoring many of its terms in the 1930s.

Task 1. What have many historians said about the Treaty of Versailles? Many

historians have said . . . 2. What did the opinion seem to be in the 1920s and 1930s? In the 1920s and 1930s opinion seems to have been . . .

Why did Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles so much?

Article 231 War Guilt Clause: Germans especially hated this. It meant that they got the blame for starting the war and therefore, they had to pay for it. Germany didn’t think that they had started the war and this was especially humiliating. Nor could they afford to pay for it.

German propaganda told German people that that they were winning the war so having to surrender and sign the Armistice (peace) came as a terrible shock. People felt that they had been stabbed in the back (Dolchstoss) and called those who had signed the Armistice ‘November Criminals’ (because the Armistice was signed on the 11 November 1918).

Germans were starving because the British blockaded German ports in the war and they refused to stop blockading them until a peace treaty was signed. This meant that little food/supplies had been imported to Germany for some years. Germans were now desperate and needed help; they did not see how they could cope with the punishment they were facing.

The Kaiser had abdicated and people were uncertain about how Germany would be run. They also felt that it was punishment enough that the Kaiser had given up his throne and that no further punishment was needed.

Germans believed that the Treaty of Versailles left them vulnerable with such a small army and navy and no Air Force. They were hated by their old enemies and they could easily be attacked without a large army to defend themselves.

13% of German Land was lost to other countries and six million German people found themselves now living in another country because the Treaty of Versailles changed the borders of Germany.

Germany was not allowed at the peace negotiations and thought that the Treaty of Versailles was forced on them. They called it a ‘Diktat’ meaning a dictated peace.

Task 1. Using the previous slide, make your own mind map to show why the Germans

hated the Treaty of Versailles. 2. Look at the images of Europe (above) before and after World War One, you

will see that lots of new countries were created by the Treaty of Versailles. Use the revision guide page 63 (bottom, points 3&4) to explain why creating new countries was such a problem.

Task There is debate about whether the Treaty of Versailles was fair and sensible. Over the years, opinions have changed about it. Use p64 of the revision guide to answer the following questions.

1. What three arguments are there to say that the Treaty of Versailles was fair and sensible?

2. What arguments are there to say that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and unwise? (Pay special attention to John Maynard Keynes).

3. How did Hitler use the hatred of the Treaty of Versailles to his advantage? (In pink box p64).

4. Explain why the Treaty of Versailles might have been the best solution at the time.

Other treaties after World War One Task On the following slide is a table about the other treaties that were negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference. Use the information on slides 11-15 to fill in the table (print out or copy out). Some examples have been done for you.

TreatyWhich

country was affected?

Land lost and to whom?

Reparations?(compensation)

Military restrictions?

Impact?

St Germain September

1919Austria

30 000 men in armyNo conscription No navy

NeuillyNovember

1919Bulgaria

Lost land to Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania.Did gain some land from Turkey.

TrianonJune 1920

Hungary

Agreed to pay reparations but the amount not decided. Hungarian economy went wrong so none paid.

SevresAugust 1920

Turkey

Army cut to 50 000.Navy cut to 7 sail boats and 7 torpedoe boats.Allies could keep troops in Germany.

Turkey was furious with the Treaty, they rebelled and got rid of their government. When Turkey threatened war, the British weren't prepared to fight again and so the Treaty was replaced.

LausanneJuly 1923

Turkey (again)

The Dardanelles and the Bosphorous Straits had belonged to Turkey and whoever controlled them, controlled access to the Black Sea.

Task Complete the exam style question on the next slide and email your answer to your History teacher. Please feel free to email us with any questions too. reevev@bishopperowne.co.uk gunnh@bishopperowne.co.uk

There are clues and sentence starters to help you.

Source A opposes the Treaty of Versailles. How do you know? 4 marks to be against

Source A - A British cartoon from 1919

Sentence starters Source A opposes the Treaty of Versailles because it shows . . . Another way that Source A opposes the Treaty of Versailles is . . .

Germany being squeezed by a huge hand representing GB, France, America, Italy and Japan. They were all on the same side in World War One.

The peace terms (what was agreed should be done with Germany) are in the form of a pill but it’s too big for Germany to swallow which means that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles are too harsh on Germany.

Big Four (GB,USA, France and Italy) had the biggest say in how Germany should be treated after WW1 and they are forcing Germany to take the pill (accept the peace terms).

Refers to the reparations (compensation) that the Treaty of Versailles said that Germany had to pay - £6.6 billion - ha huge amount of money.

Germany in military uniform (note hat and boots) but has a plaster on its head and a hole in boots - suggests that Germany had taken a battering and that the severity of the Treaty of Versailles would be too much.