THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
What happens when a
war has just finished?
• 11th November 1918, 1100hrs - the war is over!
• 7,849,000 soldiers lay dead in the fields of
Europe - a generation wiped out by bomb, bullet
and gas.
• The Allied powers meet to decide on the key
points surrounding the First World War. They
were to decide who caused the war, who is to
pay and what is to become of Germany, Austria
and indeed Europe as a whole.
Treaty of Versailles 1919a group decision making
activity
NOW ITS YOUR TURN...
IN GROUPS OF 4 YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE PART IN
A SIMULATION OF THE EVENTS AT VERSAILLES.
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Decide amongst you who will play the following
roles:
David Lloyd George (British PM)
Woodrow Wilson (President of USA)
Georges Clemenceau (France)
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
The Great Powers at the Treaty of Versailles
Lloyd George (UK), Italian Foreign Minister Giorgio Sonnio,
Georges Clemenceau (France) & Woodrow Wilson (USA)
Woodrow Wilson (USA)
• USA did not suffer much.
• Wants lasting peace in Europe.
• Doesn’t want to punish
Germany harshly.
• Wants a fair treaty that will not
lead to trouble in the future.
David Lloyd George (Britain)
• He does not want the Germans to
feel hard done by and become
aggressive in the future.
• But the British people want Germany
punished harshly. He cannot ignore
this.
• Wants to keep the British empire
strong and well defended.
• Wants to build trade with other
countries including Germany.
Georges Clemenceau (France)
• Germany must repay France
compensation for all the damage
caused, as most of the war has
taken place in France.
• The Germans must admit that they
alone caused the war.
• Germany must be made so weak
she will never attack France again.
• France must take revenge on
Germany.
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
• When Italy joined the war
they were promised the
Adriatic Coast.
• When Orlando arrived at
Versailles he expected
France and Britain to
keep their promise.
• Orlando felt that Italy
should be greatly
rewarded for changing
sides during the war.
Problem
German army
Navy and
airforce
Reparations
War guilt
Overseas
empire
(colonies)
AlsaceLorraine
Proposal
What were the terms of the treaty?
Army reduced to 100 000
Navy of just 6 battle ships – no submarines
No air force
Land lost to Belgium, France, Czechoslovakia,
Poland, Denmark
Lost overseas colonies
Reparations of £6.6 billion
No military allowed in the Rhineland
Accept full blame for causing war – the War
Guilt Clause
What aspects of the Treaty do you think
Germans hated the most and why?
Review your treaty - Was it a
fair settlement?
• Compare the decisions YOUR group made
with those made at Versailles in 1919.
• Do you think Germany would have been
pleased with the decisions made in 1919 at
the Treaty of Versailles?
Why did Germans oppose it?
Felt humiliated by it – had not negotiated it. Forced to accept it. Germans called it
the Diktat.
Many did not believe Germany had lost war but had been betrayed by politicians in
Germany.
Made to accept blame, lost land, money – very difficult to recover from it
Why did they accept it?
Had no choice! Accept the treaty or war will continue and Germany will suffer even
more.
Germany was too weak and damaged by war to fight on.
Many Germans promised to get revenge as soon as they could
What did the decisions made at this
meeting lead to?
World War II
1939-45