The Peace
Settlements of
1919-1920
Treaty of
Versailles
Date – June 28, 1919
The Treaty of Versailles was the main peace
treaty that marked the end of WWI. Germany
assumed that the demands made in the Treaty
of Versailles would be reasonable, on the
account of the 14 Points declared by President
Woodrow Wilson. However, this was not the case.
Germany was forced to relinquish 70,000 sq
kilometers in land. Germany was also deemed
the aggressor in the war, causing them to end up
paying reparations to the allied forces. Germany
gained little to nothing with in this Treaty.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
David Lloyd
George
Date: January 17, 1863 - March 26, 1945
George Lloyd George served as the Prime Minister of
of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. After WWI,
when the nations were in talks of creating a peace
treaty, Lloyd George initially wanted Germany to pay
a smaller settlement. This is because Germany was a
major export of British goods. However, quickly this
was dismissed. The British public fent strong antiGerman sentiment, and Lloyd George was elected on
the promise of making Germany pay..
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Georges
Clemenceau
Date – September 28th, 1841-November 24th, 1929
Georges Clemenceau was the Prime Minister of
France from from 1906 to 1909, and then for a
second time from 1917 to 1920. Unlike Lloyd
George, Clemenceau wanted to economically and
militarily destroy Germany. Mostly as revenge for
what Germany did to France during the war, but
also to ensure that Germany could no longer
serve as a threat to France. Clemenceau also
ensured the disarmament of Germany. The
determination and conviction displayed by
Clemenceau when settling things with Germany
landed with the nickname “The Tiger”
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Vittorio Orlando
Date: May 19th, 1860 – December 1st, 1952
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was an Italian statesman,
as well as the Prime Minister if Italy during the
ending years of WWI (1917-1919). Although Orlando
was included in the “Council of Four” that oversaw
the demands Germany would have to meet, Italy had
little influence in the matter. After the war, Orlando’s
relations with his allies faltered. This was especially
the case with President Woodrow Wilson. This was
mostly instigated by Italy’s claim to what was once
Austrian territory.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Treaty of
Brest Litovsk
Date – March 3rd, 1918
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was peace treaty
between Central Powers and the new Bolshevik
government. This treaty signified the end of the
conflict of those countries during WWI. The
terms of the Treaty did not favor Russia in the
slightest. Russia lost a great deal of land,
including Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Ukraine, Georgia and Finland. With this
substantial gain, it almost seemed that the
Central Powers had a greater chance of winning
the war.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Vladimir Lenin
Date: April 22nd, 1870 – January 21st, 1924
Vladimir Lenin served as the leader of the new
Russian government from 1917 to 1924. Lenin was a
major factor in Russia dropping out of the first World
War. He believed dropping out was essential in
establishing the new Bolshevik government. This led
to negotiations with Germany and the Central Powers
to come to a peaceful agreement. The countries
came to an arrangement with the Treaty of Brest
Litovsk, which put Russia at a great disadvantage.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Communism
Date – 1917-1927
Communism is a system of government based on
a classless society bin which there is common
ownership of the means of production. In the
years of 1917 to 1922, the absolute monarchy of
Russia was turned into a communist state. Russia
was adamant on spreading the communistic
regime to other countries. This worried many of
the Western European nations, as well as Japan.
This is a factor in why outside countries became
involved in the Russian Civil War.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Plebiscite
Date: March 20th, 1921
A plebiscite is a referendum giving people the
opportunity to express their opinion for or against a
proposal relating to a constitutional issue. The
Upper Silesia plebiscite was a one of the terms
mandated by the Treaty of Versailles. This was held
in order to determine the border between Poland
and Weimar Germany. The border had to be policed
and surveyed by Italian, French, and British troops
due to violence caused by the plebiscite
campaigned. It ended with Paris dividing the region
which has partly become polish territory.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Mandates
Date – June 28th, 1919
Mandates are territory taken from a defeated
country at the end of WWI and given to another
country, as well as be administered on behalf of
the league of nations. The mandate system was
established as apart of Article 22 of the Covenant
of the League of Nations. Germany’s colonies in
Africa were set up as mandates under the
League of Nations. However, they essentially
became British colonies. Mandates were
originally created to protect minority nations.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Reparations
Date: 1921
Reparations is money a country owes to another as
compensation for war damage. An example of this in
action would be the War Guilt Clause in the Treaty in
Versailles. The War Guilt Clause identified Germany
as the aggressor in WWI and mandated that Germany
pay reparations to the affected countries. This
amount wasn’t fully agreed upon until 1921. It was
settled that Germany was ordered to pay £6.6 billion
in reparations ($834 billion in 2012 standards).
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Selfdetermination
Date – 1918
Self-determination is the principle that people of
a common nationality should have the right to
form their own nations and govern themselves. In
his 1918 speech to congress, President Woodrow
Wilson laid out his 14 points no rebuilding a postwar society. This open diplomacy without secret
treaties, reducing armaments in all nations,
adjusting colonial claims, etc. One of his most
notable points was the concept of selfdetermination. He hoped they would be able to
achieve this by dismantling European empires
and creating new states
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Jósef Piłsudski
Dictators
Date: 1926 & 1929
A dictator is an absolute ruler who controls a country
without using democratic institutions. The effects of
post war Europe led to issues with establishing
democratic institutions in certain countries. It was
difficult to input self-determination in Europe since
there were so many ethnic groups occupying the
same areas. This issue led to Jósef Piłsudski
declaring himself dictator of Poland in 1926 after
leading a military coup. This is also what led to the
King of Yugoslavia, Alexander I, to proclaim himself
dictator as well.
Alexander I
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Successor
States
Date – 1919
The successor states are the new national states
that created after the break-ups of the great
European empires. Although President Woodrow
Wilson had envisioned self determination for
successor states, it was much more difficult to
put into practice then what we thought. There
were major problems that arose post war for the
successor states. The populations of the
successor were a blend of many ethnic groups.
This led to tension over who would lead the
governments of these state that resulted in
political instability. They also had issues with
border disputes and economic difficulties.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Minority group
Date: 1919-Present Day
A minority group bound together by a common
nationality, language, or religion dominated by
other groups. The Austro-Hungarian empire was
broken into new successor states. These states
housed a wide ethnic groups. In CCzechoslovakia,
for example, it contained Russians, Magyars, Poles,
Jews and more than 3 million Germans. The
populations of Bohemia, Moravia and the
Sudetenland also occupied Czechoslovakia, but
were considered a minority group. Due to this, they
claimed they faced discrimination.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Wilson’s 14
Points
Date – January 8th, 1918
In January of 1918, President Woodrow Wilson
delivered a speech to congress. The basis of this
speech was the reforms that should be made
once WWI ended. His speech consisted of 14
points. These points included creation of
independent states, equal trade conditions,
open diplomacy without secret treaties, etc. The
aim was mainly to create peace, however, some
of the points made in his speech was easier said
than done.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Big 4
Date: 1919
The Big 4 was council made up of President Woodrow
Wilson ,Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Prime
Minister Georges Clemenceau and Prime Minister
Vittorio Orlando. Although there were over 30
representatives present and the Paris Peace
Conference, the Big 4 held the most influence. This
council oversaw creating the peace settlements to
finally end WWI. Even though Vittorio Orlando was
included in this council, Italy didn’t have major
influence in the terms of the settlement. The main
reason for its creation was to prevent revolutions in
one's country.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Franco
Prussian War
Date – 1870-1871
The Franco-Prussian war was a conflict between
France and the German states, led by Prussia.
This war caused great tension between France
and Germany. The economic damage and
territorial loss contributed to the resentment.
This is a major reason for France’s Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau push to make Germany pay.
Germany expected the Treaty of Versailles to be
fairer due to President Wilsons 14 points but
considering the bad relations between Germany
and the countries that had the most influence in
determining the treaty terms, they should not
have been surprised.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Bolshevik
Date: October 1917
The Bolsheviks were a radical Marxist faction that
overthrew the Russian government in 1917. The
absolute monarchy of Russia was replaced with a
communist government lead by Vladimir Lenin. The
revolution forced Germany to abdicate, as they
couldn’t prevent the revolution from happening. Not
all were happy with this new government, however. A
civil war broke out in Russia soon after.
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920
Central
Powers
Date – 1914-1918
The central powers was a military alliance
comprised of Germany, Astro-Hungary, Bulgaria,
and the Ottoman Empire. This is what the allied
forces deemed them due to Germany and
Austria-Hungary’s position in Europe. This
position gave the Central Powers fighting
advantage since it was less difficult to move
resources to different battle fronts. When
attempting to establish the new communist
government, Vladimir Lenin felt the need to
withdraw Russia from WWI. This meant setting
up negotiations with the Central Powers, which
lead to the signing of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
Theme - The Peace Settlements of 1919-1920