Treaty of Versailles

1. Treaty of Versailles Effects on Germany

2. What were the political, social and economic effects of the T.o.V. on Germany from 1919-1924? • Introduction paragraph- Background information and thesis statement. You may include document. • Political paragraph- Introduction sentence, your knowledge (notes), document to support your point. (Social, economic) • Conclusion paragraph- Restate thesis and main points of essay, you may include a document. • Your essay must include 5 documents used throughout your essay, if you do not use 5, your grade will be scored much lower.

3. Background • Paris Peace Conference • Germany did not participate • Allies dominated the meeting • France and Britain wanted to punish Germany • Treaty signed on June 28, 1919 • The terms were harsh and put severe limits on Germany

4. Political Effects • War Guilt Clause: Germany forced to accept blame for damages caused by World War I • Loss of power and status • Territorial losses: • Alsace-Lorraine went back to France • Danzig (Polish Corridor) given to Poland • Land lost to Belgium, Denmark & Czechoslovakia • Lost colonies in Africa and Asia • Weimar Republic was weak: • Germans blamed this government for the country’s defeat and the humiliation of the treaty

5. Political Effects • Threats of revolution by monarchists and communists • Beer Hall Putsch (1923) - a failed attempt at revolution that occurred on Nov. 8 and 9, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff, and others unsuccessfully tried to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany.

6. Political Effects • Hitler’s Political Goals: • Lebensraum (Living space); get it by invading eastern Europe and Russia • Regaining lost lands • Combating communism • Overturn the treaty, said it was an outrage

7. Social Effects • Treaty viewed as attempt to punish Germany • John Maynard Keynes said said it reduced them to servitude, degraded their lives and deprived them of happiness • Germans want revenge for treaty • It took away German pride • Was seen as a slap in the face • Change in borders causes loss of population and national identity • Inflation has direct impact on people’s lives • Poverty and despair • Disease (tuberculosis)

8. Social Effects • Anti-Semitism in Germany • Germans blamed Jews for losing the war and the economic problems in Germany • Rise of Hitler and Nazism • Belief that Aryans are the master race • Goal was to kill all Jews and “inferior races”

9. Economic Effects • Reparations: $33 Billion to France and Great Britain over 30 years • Loss of resources, tax base, and industry • Severe inflation: • Government printed money to pay war debts and reparations • This devalued the mark • People directly affected • Unemployed or overworked

10. Economic Effects • Costs of war and the terms of the treaty led to the collapse of German economy • Dawes Plan (1924): • $200 million loan from U.S. slowed inflation and stabilized German economy • Germans dependent on U.S. support