The Treaty of Versailles

1. The Treaty of Versailles The End of WWI

2.  It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. • The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I were dealt with in separate treaties.

3. What was the Treaty of Versailles? • The peace settlement signed after WWI ended • Signed at the Versailles Palace in France • The Big Three • David Lloyd George of England • Woodrow Wilson of USA • Georges Clemenceau of France

5. The Attitudes towards Germany • Britain’s Attitude • Germany should be punished, but not so much that the people would turn to Communism, like what was happening in Russia • The British public wanted severe repercussions for Germany • Had to go with popular opinion, rather than gut feeling

6. France’s Attitude • Bring Germany to their knees so that it could never start a war again • This reflected the French public as well • Germany had destroyed the north-east corner of France displacing 750,000 French people. This deserved a total reprimand

7. USA Attitudes • Wilson and the USA were stunned by the atrocities of WWI. Questioned how a civilized country could create that much devastation • American public wanted to be isolated from Europe, wanted limited input on the Treaty • Wilson wanted Germany to be punished but in a way that would lead to reconciliation, not revenge

8. What did the Treaty do to Germany? Took away vast amounts of land from the Germany territory -Alsace-Lorraine given to France -West Prussia given to Poland -The League of Nations took over Germany’s overseas colonies -Return land to Russia taken away in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: New Countries of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia

9. German Military Germany’s army reduced to 100,000 men and no tanks Germany was not allowed an air force Only allowed 6 naval ships A Demilitarized zone was established along the Rhine river, Germany not allowed to cross over

11. Three Critical Aspects Germany had to admit full responsibility for the war. Since Germany was responsible for the war, it had to pay full reparations mainly in France and Belgium. Pay over $33 billion A League of Nations was established to keep world peace.

12. Germany’s Choices • They could either sign the Treaty • Or, be invaded by the allies • Since their armies were completely disbanded, they had no choice but to sign it

13. Russia and the Treaty • Since Russia’s new communist government left the war early, they were not invited to Versailles. • The Allies wanted to weaken Russia to keep communism from spreading westward.

14. Central Powers post WWI • The break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire led to the independence of four new nations: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.

16. The weak Ottoman Empire (Turkey) was also broken up. • Some of the territories were given independence, while others such as Palestine, Iraq, and Syria were given to Britain and France.

17. With Wilson’s 14 points • The League of Nations • The treaty that ended the “war to end all wars” merely provided the motivation for WWII, just twenty years later.