|
Guilt |
clause
231- Germany accepted blame for causing all the loss and
damage of the war.
|
|
Army |
army:
100,000
no
submarines
no
aeroplanes
6
battleships
Rhineland
de-militarised
|
|
Reparations |
Conference couldn't decide -
handed it over to a Commission of the LoN which reported in April 1921
£6,600 million in instalments, until 1984
|
|
Germany
lost land |
Alsace-Lorraine
to France
Saar
to France (15 years)
Malmedy
to Belgium
North
Schleswig to Denmark
West
Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland
Danzig
a free city
Memel
to Lithuania
In all, Germany
lost 10%
of its land, all
its colonies, 12%
of its population, 16%
of its coalfields, half
its iron and steel industry, most
of its army and navy,
all
its airforce.
|
|
LoN |
set
up: first 26 articles of the Treaty (and of St Germain, Neuilly, Trianon)
were the Covenant of the LoN |
|
Extra |
forbade
Anschluss
Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania independent states.
|
| |
Facts |
Effects |
|
Unfair |
no
part in the Conference talks
forced
to sign
few
of 14 Points in the Treaty.
based instead on Armistice |
riots in Berlin
Deutsche Zeitung
attacked the disgraceful treaty
Kapp Putsch (1920) to try to overturn
the Treaty
led to the 'Stab-in-the-back'
legend, and hatred of the 'November criminals' = Weimar government
lacked support |
|
Guilt |
Such
a confession in my mouth would be a lie, said Count
Brockdorff-Rantzau. |
led Germany to publish all documents
Hindenburg denied it in 1927 =
first successful challenge by Germany to ToV |
|
Army |
Rhineland clearly unreasonable
France invaded in 1920 when
Germany sent in troops to quell a riot |
Germany could not defend itself against even small countries (whom
they called the Dungervolker - Dung people).
gave moral force to Hitler's
demands for the Rhineland/ rearmament |
|
Reparations |
too big for the weakened
Germany economy to pay |
Germans said the allies were trying to
starve their children.
needed Dawes Plan (nb Hungary
and Austria also needed economic help) |
|
Germany
lost land |
a
humiliation
contrary
to self-determination
took farm land (W Prussia) and industrial land (Saar).
|
made Germany economy too weak to pay
reparations = problems in 1923
gave moral force to Hitler |
|
LoN |
an
insult
treats Germany as an outcast
nation |
meant
that Germany could not defend itself in the League of Nations.
meant that the 'November
criminal' German politicians could not even say they had restored
Germany to a place amongst the nations |
|
Extra |
forbidding
Anschluss was against the
principle of self-determination.
|
made nationalist German
determined to achieve it
gave moral force to Hitler's
demands for
|
Big
Three negotiated Versailles - it had all the authority of the Allies.
Other countries sent delegations to them = an IMPOSED treaty, not a
negotiated treaty.
Outlined
principles (self-determination/Guilt/Army reduced/Reparations/loss of
land) - the treaties of St Germain, Neuilly and Trianon were designed by officials
who simply copied the principles of Versailles.
League
of Nations was set up by Versailles - set political agenda for next
20 years/ a force for peace/ forerunner of the United Nations of today
Major
Powers - it said how GERMANY was to be treated. Drew the political map
of Europe for the next 20 years.
Afterwards,
Versailles led to Hitler and World War II:
Unfairness of Treaty outraged Germans (see
above) and led them to hate the Weimar politicians
('November Criminals' who had 'stabbed the army in the back', and to support
Hitler when he promised to overthrow it.
Severity of reparations caused 1923 crisis
in Germany/ led to Dawes Plan. Hitler could still get support by
promising to stop paying them in 1933.
Unfairness of Treaty demoralised Britain and
France and gave force to 'appeasers' who thought Hitler's claims were
'reasonable'
Failure of US to
ratify/support it led to the failure of the LoN and peace.
Revision Diary