Living with the Treaty of
Versailles: ‘To the Victors
go the Spoils’
The Six Months that Shaped the
World:
• After the armistice was signed
in November, 1918 the world
waited for 6 months for the
final draft of the peace treaty
• Representatives, including
Prime Minister Robert Borden
of Canada, met at Versailles
near Paris to work out the
terms of the Treaties to be
signed with Germany, Austria
and Bulgaria
• All nations had some idea as
to what they expected in peace
– The general expectation was
that Wilson’s 14 points would
be abided by
• The German public was led to
believe that this was what the
government had agreed to
Woodrow Wilson
The Why’s to Peace:
• As a nearby neighbour of
Germany who felt
threatened, France
needed a weakened and
defeated Germany
• France had suffered more
than any other nation
• Historically the losers of
wars were punished
• What ends up happening
is that the stage is set for
another World War
Terms of the Treaty
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League of Nations Formed to aim for future peace
The terms Versailles Peace treaty were not the
same as the 14 points; they included:
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War Guilt Clause (Article 231 of the Treaty)
Reparations of about $33 billion
Removal of German speaking areas from Germany
Loss of all German overseas colonies
Commercial transport vessels: all oceanliners,
locomotives, commercial motorvehicles, factory
equipment and anything else that was not "nailed
down" was confiscated.
Germany’s ability to make war again was limited by
restrictions on the size of its military (army less than
100 000 soldiers and navy less that 15000).
Germany is not allowed to join the League of
Nations.
Because Germany was not allowed to take part in
the negotiations of the treaty, the German
government issued a protest to what it considered
to be unfair demands, and soon afterwards
withdrew from the proceedings
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Later a new German foreign minister, Hermann
Müller, agreed to sign it in June, 1919.
Later, Germans would not blame the military for the
problems brought by the war but rather the civilian
government which agreed to these terms which were
perceived as a “stab in the back” of Germany
The War Guilt Clause
• Article 231 of the Treaty
(the 'war guilt' clause)
held Germany solely
responsible for all 'loss
and damage' suffered by
the Allies during the war
and provided the basis for
reparations.
• The total sum due was
decided by an Inter-Allied
Reparations Commission
and was set at £6.6 Billion
($33 000 000 000).
– This would have taken
Germany until 1984 to pay!
Major Losses:
Other Key German Concessions:
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Germany has to cede the coal mines in the Saar-area to France.
Germany has to cede all colonies: Togo en Cameroun, the territories in Eastand South-West Africa, islands in the Pacific and possessions in China.
All German properties in foreign countries are confiscated.
Germany has to cede all war material to the allies.
German compulsory military service is abolished, as well as the General
Staff.
Germany is not allowed to have tanks, airplanes, submarines, large
warships and poison gas.
The total size of the Germany army is not to exceed 100 000 men.
The German navy has a maximum of 15.000 men.
Germany is allowed a total of 4 000 officers.
Germany is not to take part in the League of Nations.
Germany has to cede to the allies all seagoing ships. Furthermore one fourth of
the fishing fleet and two fifths of the inland navigation fleet has to be ceded.
Germany has to cede large amounts of machinery and building materials, trains
and trucks.
Germany has to deliver certain amounts of coal, chemicals, dye and fuel for
many years.
All German sub-ocean telegraph cables are confiscated.
Ratification and Humiliation
• The treaty was ratified (approved) by the League of
Nations in January, 1920. In Germany, the treaty caused
shock and humiliation that contributed to the collapse of
the Weimar Republic in 1933, particularly because many
Germans did not believe that they should accept the sole
responsibility of Germany and its allies for starting the
war.
Reaction to the Treaty
• The French population felt they had been slighted, and subsequently
voted out Clemenceau at the next election
• Britain as a whole was initially content, but then felt that the Treaty
was too harsh
– Of particular concern were Germany’s eastern frontiers, which were seen
as a potential trouble spot for the future
• For the USA, it was seen as Europe’s problem, and that overall, the
Treaty was too harsh
– Isolationism
• Territorial adjustments were made with the aim of grouping together
ethnic minorities in their own states, free from the domination of once
powerful empires, specifically the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the
Ottoman Empire – SELF DETERMINATION.
• Secret treaties were also to be discouraged, and Britain and France
greeted a call for the reduction in armaments by all nations with
disapproval.
– This was supposed to reduce, indirectly, the ability of navies to create
blockades
The Rest of
Europe and
‘Self
Determination’
The German
Perception:
By the Numbers:
Legacy:
• WWI fundamentally
changed the shape and
the perceptions of the
world
• Societal change
– Socially this was a world
where people felt that they
had been through everything
and that the old world was
the world that led to war. As
such this world was bad
– Women’s Rights– in
Canada, women were
granted the right to vote
in federal elections
– Changes in:
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Style
Art
Media
Music
Values
Legacy:
• Political Change:
– Rise of democracies
– Governments had almost
complete control of the
people (media/lack of
democracy) this worried
liberals
– Radicalization of the
political process
• Anti establishment
• Radicals on both the Left
and Right of the political
spectrum
– Nationalism
– Internationalism
– League of Nations
Legacy:
• Economic Change
– Nations had controlled their
economies and realized the power
of government involvement in
economic practices, for example, in
Canada, the government introduced
Income Tax as a temporary
measure during the war but it was
never revoked!
See a general relaxation of
government control until the great
depression
– More of an emphasis early on social
programs for veteran’s then a
general decline in the view of this as
being important
– Rise of capitalism and link of this
with democratic principles
Invasion of the Ruhr - 1923
• The amount of these payments
proved to be too great for the
lagging German economy and
in 1923 Germany defaulted and
French and Belgian troops
occupied the Ruhr in response
• This occupation of the center of
the German coal and steel
industries both outraged
Germany and put further strain
on its economy
– Arguably this was responsible for
the German hyperinflation that
year
Despite
these events
the majority
of Europe
felt that this
was a time
of great
optimism….
Why???
Dawes Plan 1923
Economic Reforms:
• Dawes Plan 1923
– The Ruhr area was to be evacuated by Allied occupation troops.
– Reparation payments would begin at 1 billion marks for the first year
and should rise over a period of four years to 2.5 billion marks per year.
– The German Reichsbank would be reorganized under Allied
supervision.
– Foreign loans (primarily from the United States) would be made
available to Germany.
– The plan went into effect in September 1924.
• Why didn’t it work?
– It made the German economy dependent on foreign markets and
economies, such that problems to come in America
– Great Depression would directly and severely hurt Germany as it would
the rest of the western world, which was subject to debt repayments for
loans of American dollars.
• Young plan 1929-1930
• Hoover Moratorium 1931-32
The Hoover Moratorium 1931-32
• Between agreement and adoption of the Young Plan came the Wall
Street Crash of 1929, of which the main consequences were
twofold.
– The American Banking system had to recall money from Europe and
cancel the credits that made possible the Young Plan
– Moreover, the downfall of imports and exports affected the rest of the
world. By 1933, almost two-thirds of world trade had vanished
• A new trade policy was set with the Hawley-Smoot custom duty
• Unemployment soared to 33.7% in 1931 in Germany, and 40% in
1932.
• Under such circumstances, US President Herbert Hoover issued a
public statement that proposed a one-year moratorium of the
payments
– He managed to assemble support for the moratorium from 15 nations,
but the adoption of the moratorium did little to slow economic decline in
Europe
Political Agreements:
• Locarno Pact 1925
– Determined and agreed to Germany’s
Boarders
– Eliminated the one ‘reason’ for war
• Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928
– Rejected the concept that war was
‘sometimes necessary’
– Endorsement for the use of diplomacy
Social Reaction:
• Radical Revolutions suppressed
– Socialist
– Fascists
– Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch
• Rise of Democracy
The League of Nations
The 14th Point
• Wilson's final point was perhaps the most visionary:
– XIV. A general association of nations
• Point 14 called for a multilateral international
association of nations to enforce the peace,
foreshadowing the League of Nations (and, after
the Second World War, the United Nations).
• The treaty had provided for the creation of the League of
Nations, a major goal of U.S. President Woodrow
Wilson.
• The League of Nations was intended to arbitrate
international disputes and thereby avoid future wars.
• Only three of Wilson's Fourteen Points were realized,
since Wilson was compelled to compromise with
Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Orlando on some points
in exchange for retaining approval of the "fourteenth
point," the League of Nations.
Aims of the League:
• Stop war and
international
aggression by
discussing problems
• Disarmament
• Encourage
cooperation amongst
nations
• Improve economic
and social conditions
Membership
• 42 members originally
• USA refused to join the League –
– Isolationism as evidenced by the Senate’s refusal to ratify the Treaty of
Versailles
• Viewed as a “club for the victorious”
– Defeated countries could not join
• Germany
– Russia excluded because of Bolshevism
• 59 members by the 1930’s;
– Bulgaria (1920), Austria (1920), Hungary (1922), Germany (1926),
Mexico (1931), Turkey (1932), and the USSR (1934)
• Japan, Germany and USSR joined and then resigned when
decisions were against them
– Japan for Invasion of Manchuria
– Germany because of disagreement with the Arms Limitations
Conference
– Russia over the invasion of Finland
Structure
• The Assembly
– Each country one vote
– Met once a year
• The Council
– Composed of four permanent members (Great Britain, France, Italy,
Japan)
– Temporary members
– The Council met several times a year and during emergencies.
– All decisions had to be unanimous
• Permanent Court of International Justice
– Based at The Hague.
– The Court was meant to be a forum where disputes could be settled
peacefully.
– The court had no power of enforcement.
• The Secretariat
– Kept records for the League and acted as a permanent civil service
Powers of the League
• SANCTIONS:
– Verbal Sanctions: Put
international pressure on
country
– Economic Sanctions: Refuse
to trade
– Military Sanctions: Send in
troops
• Members were not
obligated to enforce
sanctions
• Refer disputes to the World
Court for resolution
Strengths of the League
• Many countries wanted peace so they supported
the League
• Settled disputes among minor countries in the
1920’s (between Yugoslavia & Albania, Sweden
& Finland and Poland & Germany)
• Helped improve the role of women, stop slave
labour, campaigned to stop spread of disease,
and drugs.
• Addressed social issues at the international level
for the first time by informing others, discussing
and coming to agreements.
Case study of a failure of the
League:
The crisis over
Abyssinia,
(Ethiopia) 1935 1937
"It [a League of Nations] will only result in failure and the
longer that failure is postponed the more certain it is
that this country will have been lulled to sleep. It will put
a very strong lever into the hands of the well-meaning
idealists who are to be found in almost every
Government, who deprecate expenditure on
armaments, and, in the course of time, it will almost
certainly result in this country being caught at a
disadvantage“
Maurice Hankey
British Secretary of Cabinet 1919
Background to events
• Abyssinia : An
independent country
ruled by Haile Selassie,
the only independent
black country in Africa. In
1896 its army had
defeated an Italian
invasion.
• Mussolini : Fascist
dictator of Italy, was
determined to build an
Empire. He also wanted
revenge for defeat of
1896.
Timeline of Events
• December 1934 - Italian troops provoke a
clash at Wal Wal
• October 1935 - Italian invasion begins
• December 1935 - Britain and France
produce Hoare-Laval Plan.
– Large parts of Abyssinia to be given to Italy in
return for Italian withdrawal.
– Public outcry—plan abandoned
• May 1936 Italian conquest complete
The League:
actions and results
• Dec 1934 League offers
arbitration
• Jan-Feb 1935 debates its
response
• May-Sept sets up a five
power commission
• Oct 1935 Italy
condemned: limited
economic sanctions
imposed
• Rejected by Italy
• No further action
• Abyssinia rejects
proposals
• Sanctions did not include
food, coal, rubber, or oil.
The Suez Canal was not
closed.
The League:
actions and results
• March 1936 - Oil
embargo threatened
• No impact: Italy
completed conquest
– Hitler noted weakness
of the League and
remilitarize the
Rhineland (March
1936)
• June 1936 - Haile
Selassie addressed
Assembly of League
calling for help
• No additional action
by League
The League:
actions and results
• July 1936 - sanctions
against Italy were
abandoned
• Italy
– Kept Abyssinia
– Formed an alliance with
Germany
– Left the League, 1937
Why did the League of
Nations Fail?
Apart from the explicit failures in the 1930’s
(Abyssinia and Manchuria), the League had
too many inherent weaknesses right from the
start:
Why did the League fail?
• First and foremost the absence of
the USA and other major powers
meant that this world organization
was really controlled by only
Britain and France.
– Germany did not join until
1926
– Russia not until 1934 when
Germany left
– Japan left in 1933
– Italy in 1937
• The rejection of both the peace
treaties and the League by the US
Congress really undermined the
political, economic and military
power of the League.
Why did the League fail?
• Clearly the absence of
the USA, the world’s
foremost economic
power, meant that
economic sanctions
could never really be
properly applied. In any
event history has shown
that economic sanctions
can be circumvented and
take a long time to work.
Why the League failed
French and British self interest
Absent powers - USA
Ineffective sanctions
Lack of enforcement of decisions
Unfair treaty
Reaching decisions unanimously
European club
Conclusion:
• The League of Nations was a noble idea, but like many
ideals it was unable to work in the real world
• Of course none of its weaknesses necessarily doomed
the League to failure, provided all the members were
prepared to refrain from aggression and accept its
decisions
• The real explanation for the failure of the League was
that aggressive states such as Japan, Italy and Germany
were prepared to openly defy it, while League members,
like Britain and France, were not prepared to risk another
war to support it
"failed ultimately because of the reluctance of nearly all
the nations in Europe to proceed to what I might call
military sanctions.... [T]he real reason, or the main
reason, was that we discovered in the process of weeks
that there was no country except the aggressor country
which was ready for war.... [I]f collective action is to be a
reality and not merely a thing to be talked about, it
means not only that every country is to be ready for
war; but must be ready to go to war at once. That is a
terrible thing, but it is an essential part of collective
security."
Stanley Baldwin
British Prime Minister 1936