The Treaty of Versailles (PARIS 1919)Germany Gets The Shaft

Background

peace settlement signed after WWI had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian revolution.

WWI had left Europe devastated. Those countries that fought in it, had suffered casualties never experienced before.

The total deaths of all nations who fought in the war is thought to have been 8.5 million with roughly 21 million wounded.

Background

The victims of the war were in no mood to be charitable to the defeated nations and Germany in particular.

At the same time, the Spanish flu killed 25 million people. This added to the feeling of bitterness and it primarily directed at Germany.

The Big ThreeThe treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 after months of argument and negotiations between the “Big Three” as to what it should contain.

The “Big Three” were David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.

As the three big victors they would decide how Germany would be treated. They had three different perspectives.

David Lloyd George

Had two views.

1. His public view was that the treaty should be tough on Germany. He was a politician and he followed the mood of his people, otherwise he would be voted out.

2. Privately he was more nervous about communism in Russia than Germany and didn’t want it to spread west. He didn’t want Germans so disillusioned that they turned to communism. He wanted Germany punished, but not to the point that it was destitute and unable to fend off Russia. Politically, however, it was suicide to voice this concern.

Georges Clemenceau

Clemenceau wanted Germany brought to its knees so that it could never start another war.

The French public wanted the same thing.

It was payback time.

Woodrow WilsonThere was a growing desire in the US for the government to adopt a policy of isolation and leave Europe to its own devices.

Wilson, despite developing the idea of a League of Nations, wanted American input into Europe to be kept to a minimum.

He believed that Germany should be punished but in a way that would lead to European reconciliation as opposed to revenge.

He was also quite ill at the time of the negotiations.

The Final DraftIn the end all three were reasonably happy.

For Clemenceau, it looked like Germany had been smashed.

For Lloyd George was satisfied that there was enough German power to act as a buffer to communist expansion.

Wilson was just happy it was over and he could go home.

Terms of the Treaty - Territorial

Germany was deprived of 13.5% of its territory (7 million people) and all of its overseas possessions.

Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, and Belgium was enlarged to the east.

East Prussia was handed over to Lithuania, and the Sudettenland to Czechoslovakia.

German Territorial Losses

Terms of the Treaty - MilitaryGermany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men.

They were allowed no tanks, no airforce, and no submarines.

Germany was only allowed a certain number and size of ships.

The Rhineland and 50 km east of the Rhine River were to be a demilitarized zone where no German soldiers or weapons could go.

Terms of the Treaty - Financial

The loss of vital industrial territory was a severe blow to the economy.

Germany would have to pay reparations, the bulk would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war.

Germany basically had to provide the Allies with a blank cheque which the Allies would cash as it suited them.

It would be more than Germany could hope to pay back. (132 billion marks/$31.5 billion)

Terms of the Treaty - War Guilt

The most infamous clause of the treaty was clause 231 - the “War Guilt Clause”.

Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war.

Since they started the whole thing they would have to pay for the whole thing.

German Reaction When the Germans agreed to the armistice in 1918 they were given the impression they would be treated fairly and consulted on the treaty. This didn’t happen.

The first time they saw the treaty was only a few weeks before they were to sign it.

There was anger throughout Germany but German leaders knew they had no choice as Germany was incapable of restarting the war again.

Germany was given two choices: sign the treaty or be invaded by the Allies.

Consequences

Left a mood of anger throughout Germany.

Above all else, Germany hated the clause blaming her for the cause of the war and the resultant financial penalties.

German resentment sowed the fertile psychological ground for the eventual rise of the Nazi party.