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When asked how he thought he had done at the Versailles Conference, Lloyd George replied:
"Not badly, considering I was seated between Jesus Christ and Napoleon." |
LinksSimple account - boring
Spidergram: • The Big Three and the Treaty of Versailles
Views of the participants (pdf) A comment by Prof Gerhard Rempel
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The
three most important men at the Versailles C
All three men wanted to stop a war ever happening again, but they did not agree about how to do this. They wanted different things from the peace, and they did not get on well. |
New
Words
Colonies:
overseas countries ruled by a European nation Disarmament:
where countries agree to reduce their weapons. Self-determination: the right of nations to rule themselves.
ActivityComplete
the 'Think About It' Tasks below then, working
with two friends, each take the role of one of the Big Three to re-enact a
meeting between the three leaders. Discuss the following: a.
What
should happen to the German armed forces? b.
How
much should Germany be asked to pay for the damage done during the
war? c.
How
much land should Germany lose? d.
Should
the Treaty blame Germany for the war? e
What is the best way to stop a war ever happening again? |
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LinksSpartacus site on Clemenceau (very detailed) JM Keynes on Clemenceau (contemporary, but very difficult) HAL Fisher on Clemenceau - difficult language, but the opinion of someone writing in 1935.
Source AAmerica
is far away, protected by the ocean. Not even Napoleon
himself could touch England. You are both sheltered;
we are not. Georges
Clemenceau, debating with Wilson and Lloyd George on 27
March 1919.
Wilson had pressed Clemenceau for ‘moderation’.
Did
You Know?
Clemenceau summed up his attitude: 'There are 20 million Germans too many!'
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LinksSpartacus site on Wilson (very detailed) Woodrow Wilson - gushingly pro-Wilson JM Keynes on Wilson (contemporary, but very difficult) HAL Fisher on Wilson - difficult language, but the opinion of someone writing in 1935. A
modern historian's evaluation
We have assembled here for two purposes – to make the peace settlements, and also to secure the future peace of the world. Woodrow Wilson, speaking at the Versailles Conference (January 1919)
Source BWilson believed that punishing Germany would only make Germany want revenge. He suggested Fourteen Points which he felt would bring world peace. He wanted countries such as Poland, a neighbour of Germany, to become independent. He wanted France to feel safe against German attack. Wilson also wanted to set up a League of Nations From a British Textbook published in 1993
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LinksHAL Fisher on Lloyd George - difficult language, but the opinion of someone writing in 1935. Lloyd George at the Conference
Source CWe want a peace which will be just, but not vindictive... Above all, we want to protect the future against a repetition of the horrors of this war. Lloyd
George speaking to Parliament (1919) before he went off to
the Conference.
Source DWe propose to demand the whole cost of the war from Germany. From a speech by Lloyd George, made
in December 1918, during an election campaign.
Source ELloyd George says that Woodrow Wilson can think and talk of nothing but his League of Nations. Wilson will only take any interest in talks if everything centres on the League. He has started to annoy Lloyd George by talking of matters that have already been settled as though they were still open for discussion. From the diary (March 1919) of Frances Stevenson, Lloyd
George''s private secretary.
Imagine
you are David Lloyd George. What answers would you
have given to the following questions about the Versailles
Conference: a.
What
should happen to the German army? b.
How
much should Germany be asked to pay for the damage done during the
war? c.
How
much land should Germany lose? d.
Should
the Treaty blame Germany for the war? e.
What is the best way to stop a war ever happening again? |
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