impacts of the treaty of versailles

Cards (24)

  • Given the military position of Germany at the end of the war, the government hoped that it would be able to negotiate a moderate peace so that it would be able to recover its strength. Germany did not want to pay reparations, apart from the cost of damage in Northern France and Belgium, but it was willing to give up Alsace-Lorraine and some land in Poland. However, it expected Austria and other German-speaking regions to be able to join Germany. Germany expected to join the League of Nations and remain a great power
  • With the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost 10 per cent of its land, 12.5 per cent of its population, 16 per cent of its coal and 48 per cent of its iron industry, as well as all its colonies. It was also weakened militarily, and had to accept guilt for starting the war and pay reparations, effectively destroying its position as a great power.
  • Land lost
    • Upper Silesia, which contained coal and steel works
    • Much of West Prussia and Posen
    • Schleswig, which was given a plebiscite on whether return to Denmark
    Alsace-Lorraine, which was returned to France, and Eupen and Malmedy, which were returned to Belgiu
    • The Saar, which was placed under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years
    • The Rhineland, which was to be occupied by Allied forces for 15 years.
  • Military reductions
    • The army was reduced to 100,000 men.
    • The navy was reduced to 15,000 men.
    • The General Staff was disbanded.
    Germany was not allowed tanks, aircraft, submarines or poison gas.
    • The number of ships was limited.
  • Reparations
    Payments demanded from a defeated country to compensate for damage or injury during a war
  • Establishment of the Reparations Commission
    1. Investigate how much Germany could afford to pay
    2. Did not report until 1921
    3. Figure finally fixed at £6,600 million, some to be paid in goods
  • Germany's ability to pay reparations
    Caused debate - Germany claimed it could not afford, historians argued it could and demands were less than punishment given to Russia
  • War Guilt clause (Clause 231)

    Declared that Germany was guilty of starting the war, to justify punishing Germany
  • Germany had little choice but to sign the treaty

    The naval blockade was still in force and the Allies were in the Rhineland, ready to invade
  • The seizure of industrial lands and the loss of colonies made it harder for Germany to pay the reparations
  • Many Germans lived under Allied occupation, while others were forced to live in other countries, such as Poland
  • Most Germans disapproved of the treaty; the government lost support by signing it; and it created long-term bitterness
  • The treaty was not as harsh as it appears
  • German views that they had not lost the war meant that no matter what treaty had been signed there would have been opposition
  • The creation of new, smaller states in Central Europe also meant that Germany was still the strongest power there, and as Gustav Stresemann would show, it could soon recover
  • germany felt insulted by not being invited to join the league of nations
  • the 'war guilt' clause was particularly hated as many germans felt they were being made a scapegoat for the war-blame as it should be shared
  • if they refused to sign the treaty the allies would restart the war so they had no option but to sign it meaning it became called a 'DIKTAT' in Germany
  • the treatment of Germany didn't keep to Wilsons fourteen point plan
  • none of the allies disarmed to the extent that Germany had to
  • the territorial losses were a major blow to the German pride and to its economy as saar and upper Silesia were important industrial areas and all the other countries were getting stronger whereas germany was getting weaker
  • the big 3 all had different attitudes for Germany and the treaty of Versailles
  • the German people blamed the government for signing the treaty a they didn't believe that they had lost the war and still congratulated the soldiers
  • impact
    • trading had been destroyed
    • Berlin became a battlefield fighting the communists
    • Germany lost a lot of land
    • freikorps