Cambridge IGCSE History
The 20th Century: International Relations since 1919
Were the peace treaties of 1919–23 fair?
Dr. John Levan Bernhart, Ph.D.
The Great War (1914-1918)
 Unlike
previous wars, The
Great War (World War I)
was fought as a zero-sum
game. It could only be
totally won or totally lost,
resulting in 9 million dead
or missing and millions
more wounded.
 This
was because the war
was fought for unlimited
ends: economic growth
and competition without
limits (or at the limits of
the capacity to expand).
 There was only one war
aim of importance, and
that was total victory or
unconditional surrender.
 The need for total victory
resulted in the ratification
of a penal, dictated
peace.
The Meaning of Total Victory or Defeat
 Germany
fought for a
global political and
maritime position which
would relegate Britain to
inferior status.
 Britain fought to maintain
its superior status.
 France fought for
compensation for its
increasing and inevitable
demographic and
economic inferiority to
Germany, for the future of
France as a great power.
 For
Britain and France,
compromise meant
postponement of a
German victory.
 The United States fought
to replace traditional great
power imperialism with a
world order of free trade
among nations based on
its ‘Open Door’ policy, a
euphemism for a new kind
of imperialism based on
US economic and military
superiority.
The Impact of Total Victory and Defeat
 The
impact of defeat was
an immediate Bolshevik
revolution in Russia and
an eventual National
Socialist (Nazi) revolution
in Germany.
 Except for the USA, the
impact of victory was
bankruptcy and physical
exhaustion. The economy
of Britain was ruined by
fighting a war beyond its
resources. France nearly
bled to death in the war.
 British
economist John
Maynard Keynes warned
against total victory, the
exclusion of Germany
from the European
economy, making a
stable, liberal, bourgeois
Europe impossible.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES
The Six Peace Treaties
 The
Treaty of Versailles
was signed with Germany
on 28 June 1919.
 The Treaty of SaintGermain-en-Laye was
signed with Austria on 10
September 1919.
 The Treaty of Neuilly-surSeine was signed with
Bulgaria on 27 November
1919.
 The Treaty of Trianon was
signed with Hungary on 4
June 1920.
 The
Treaty of Sèvres was
signed with the Ottoman
Empire on 10 August
1920.
 The Treaty of Lausanne
was signed with Turkey
on 24 July 1923.
The Treaty of
Versailles, 1919
Sir William Orpen
The Big Three
Insert picture of
Clemenceau
Clemenceau
Lloyd George
Wilson
The Five Considerations of the Big Three
I. To make a future world
war impossible.
II. To control Germany
(most important to
France).
III.To respond to the
collapse of regimes in
Europe and to the
emergence of
Bolshevism in Russia, a
movement dedicated to
universal subversion and
a magnet for
revolutionary forces.
IV.To address policies
within the victor countries
and frictions between the
victor countries (the US
Congress refused to
ratify the peace
settlement, leading to the
withdraw of the USA).
V. To re-divide/re-draw the map of Europe (to weaken
Germany, to isolate Bolshevism, and to replace the
Russian, Habsburg and Ottoman empires) and the map of
the Middle East (to establish British and French colonies
and to enlist the assistance of international Judaism by
promising Zionists a national home in Palestine).
i. The victors encouraged anti-Bolshevik nationalist movements
in Europe, accepting the punitive territorial terms of the Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk signed by Germany and the Bolsheviks in
1918 and used by the victors to justify their harsh punishment
of Germany. The victors surrounded the USSR with anticommunist states carved out of formerly Russian lands
naturally hostile to Moscow (Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, and an enlarged Rumania). Noncommunist but revolutionary Turkey, having no fondness for
British and French imperialism, came to terms with the USSR
in the Caucasus, signing the Soviet-Turkish Treaty of 1921,
denying Britain and France ‘independent’ client states in
Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
ii. US President Wilson was passionately committed to the basic
principle of replacing multi-ethnic empires with nation-states
composed of a single ethnicity in the belief that nations
(ethnicities) had a fundamental right to self-determination. A
competing (and contradictory) goal was to avoid creating
geographically limited states. The idealistic Wilson refused to
acknowledge ethnic and linguistic realities were far more
mixed than his simplistic principle. There were no historical
precedents to follow and logic was not applied in re-drawing
the map of Europe. The result was a disaster—continuing to
the present day: Transcaucasian nationalism and civil wars
and secessionist agitation in Yugoslavia, Slovakia, the Baltic
states, Hungary, Rumania, Transylvania, Moldova, and
Bessarabia. Contrary to Wilson’s principle of selfdetermination, the new states of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia,
Rumania, and Poland remained multiethnic, giving rise to
frustrated nationalists denied self-determination. The colonies
gained by Britain and France were euphemistically called
‘mandates’ since imperialism officially became an anathema.
The New Map of Germany
The New Map of Northeastern Europe
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk,
1918
Treaty of Versailles,
1919
The New Map of Southeastern Europe
 The
nations of Austria and
Hungary were reduced in
size, losing their minority
populations.
 Yugoslavia, a nation for the
Southern Slavs, was
created by combining
Serbia and Slovenia (taken
from Austria), Croatia
(taken from Hungary), and
Montenegro (the angered
Montenegrins immediately
became reactionary
communists.)
 Czechoslovakia,
a nation
for Western Slavs, was
created by combing the
Czech (from Austria) and
the Slovak and Ruthenian
(from Hungary) nations.
 Rumania was an enlarged
multiethnic nation-state.
 The nation of Poland
regained its
independence.
 The nation of Italy was
enlarged.
The Treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye & Trianon
(1) South Tyrol and Trentino to Italy.
(2) Istria and Trieste to Italy.
(3) Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
to the new state of Yugoslavia.
(4) Transylvania to Rumania.
(5) Galacia to a Poland (which
regained its independence).
(6) The creation of the new
state of Czechoslovakia.
2
1
2
Bulgaria
2
4
2
3
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
(1) Southern Dobruja returned to Rumania.
(2) Areas in Western Bulgaria to Yugoslavia.
(3) Western Thrace to Greece.
(4) From Turkey to Bulgaria.
The Treaties of Sèvres & Lausanne
(1) Turkey lost the Ottoman lands
in the Middle East, which became
‘mandates’ (colonies) of Britain
and France.
(2) A new state, Armenia, was
created in Western Turkey.
(3) Greece and Syria were given
Turkish territory in Anatolia.
(1) Armenia was returned to
Turkey.
(2) Turkish territory in Anatolia
was returned from Greece and
Syria.
(3) Former Ottoman lands in the
Middle East remained British and
French ‘mandates’ (colonies).
Justification of the Treaty of Versailles
 The
Treaty of Versailles
was justified by the
argument that Germany
was uniquely responsible
for the war and its
consequences.
 The treaty’s ‘war guilt’
clause attempted to
permanently enfeeble
Germany:
 by
imposing indefinite
reparations (payments for
the costs of the war
incurred by the victors);
 by
enacting territorial
losses (Alsace-Lorraine
returned to France and the
Polish Corridor restored to
Poland);
 by depriving Germany of
overseas colonies (given
to Britain, France, and
Japan);
 by limiting the army to
100,000 men and by
prohibiting both a navy
and air force;
 by militarily occupying part
of Western Germany.
The Failure of the Treaty of Versailles
 The
Treaty of Versailles
was doomed from the
start, making another
world war practically
certain. By the mid 1930s,
except for the territorial
clauses, the Treaty of
Versailles had ceased to
function.
 Only Britain and France
were satisfied by the
terms of the Treaty of
Versailles. Italy, an Allied
Power, was dissatisfied.
 The
US opted out of the
treaty, and in a world no
longer Euro-centered or
Euro-determined, no
economic or political
settlement not
underwritten by the USA
(now a major world
power) could hold.
 Germany and the USSR
were assumed to no
longer exist as
independent powers but
would inevitably reappear.





The Treaty of Versailles failed because the victors refused
to reintegrate the losers.
The total repression of Germany was not possible; the total
outlawing of the USSR, which the Allied Powers hoped did
not exist, was impossible. This reality was only slowly and
reluctantly accepted. The French, haunted by defeat and
invasion, remained unyielding.
The victors backed the armies of counter-revolution in the
Russian Civil War, sending military forces to support them.
This forced the USSR to develop in isolation and to draw
closer to Germany in the 1920s.
The global economic crisis of the late 1920s brought to
power in Germany (and in Japan) extreme rightwing
militarists committed to breaking the status quo by
confrontation instead of by negotiation.
By the 1930s, the outbreak of a second world war became
expected.
The Treaty on Balance
Just
Unjust
What were the motives and aims of
the Big Three at Versailles?
Summary of Motives and Aims
Head of State
Motives and Aims
Clemenceau
(FR)
He wanted revenge and to punish the Germans for what they had
done. He wanted to make Germany pay for the damage done
during the war and wanted to weaken Germany so France would
never be invaded again. He wanted to expand the French empire,
and he knew the French people wanted Germany dismembered.
Lloyd George
(UK)
He promised to make Germany pay because that was what the
British people wanted to hear, but personally, he thought a harsh
peace would cause another war. He wanted to re-establish trade
with Germany and to prevent Germany from allying with Soviet
Russia. He wanted to expand the British empire.
Wilson
(USA)
He wanted to replace the European empires with a community of
nations based on self-determination. He wanted a peaceful world
without restrictions to US trade, which would benefit the US ruling
class. He wanted disagreements resolved by a League of
Nations. He wanted to eradicate Soviet Russia.
Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’
 No
secret treaties.
 Freedom of the seas.
 An end to customs duties.
 A reduction of armaments.
 Freedom for colonies.
 The German army must
leave Russia.
 An independent Belgium.
 France should be fully
liberated and should get
back Alsace-Lorraine.
 Self-determination for
Italians.
 Self-determination
for all
peoples in the AustroHungarian empire.
 Self-determination and
independence for the
Balkan nations.
 Self-determination for
Turkey and all the peoples
in the Ottoman empire.
 An independent Poland
with access to the sea.
 A League of Nations.
Why did all the victors not get
everything they wanted?
The Inevitability of Compromise
 Leaders
from more than 30 states and national groups
attended the peace conference. Soviet Russia and the
defeated states, however, were not permitted to attend.
With so many delegations in attendance, compromise was
inevitable.
 Even among the Big Three, compromise was inevitable.
France sought the destruction of Germany while Britain
and the US hoped to rehabilitate Germany. Britain and
France wished to maintain their empires while the US
sought independence for imperial colonies.
 National groups did not correspond to distinct geographic
areas and some national groups were considered too
small to make viable nation states, so the principle of selfdetermination could not be applied without compromise.
Competing Interests
 Public
anger in response to the
horrors of the war (9 million
dead and millions injured) was
manipulated toward a desire for
revenge. The diplomats at
Versailles had to be seen to act
in accordance with public
opinion even if that meant
compromising their principles.
 President Wilson, a Democrat,
faced Republican political
opposition in Congress, resulting
in Wilson’s failure to bring the
USA into the League of Nations.
 Nationalist
movements
inspired by the principle
of self-determination
were frustrated by
European imperialism.
HO CHI MINH
AT VERSAILLES
The US Senate’s Refusal to Ratify
 In
this political cartoon,
Uncle Sam (the USA) is
about to be married by
the League of Nations to
‘foreign entanglements’
when the US Senate
breaks in to stop the
wedding. According to
the US Constitution, the
treaty signed by Wilson
at the peace conference
had to be ratified by the
Senate; thus, the USA
did not join Wilson’s
League of Nations.
The Mutilated Victory
 Britain
and Italy signed the
secret London Pact in
1915 in which Italy agreed
to enter the war on the side
of the Allied Powers in
exchange for territory after
the war was won.
 Italy expected to be treated
as a fourth great power at
the peace conference, but
the Big Three broke the
London Pact, refusing to
grant the promised territory
to Italy.
 Italian
Prime Minister Vittorio
Orlando resigned in failure,
not signing the peace treaty.
Benito Mussolini rallied
fascists by denouncing this
‘mutilated victory’.
LLOYD GEORGE, ORLANDO, CLEMENCEAU, AND WILSON
Conflicting Promises
 In
the secret Asia Minor
Agreement of 1916, Britain,
France, and Czarist Russia
agreed to divide the Middle
East after the war.
 In the Hussein-McMahon
Correspondence of 191516, Britain promised an
independent Arab state.
 In the Balfour Declaration of
1917, Britain committed to
the establishment of a
national homeland for the
Jews in Palestine.
 In
the secret Anglo-French
settlement of 1918, Britain
and France agreed to
colonize the Middle East.
“NEW LAMPS
FOR OLD!”
A MODERN
VERSION OF
“ALADDIN AND
WONDERFUL
LAMP.”
(1922)
HIS
The Dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire
The conflicts in the Middle East today date from the peace treaties
after World War I and from the creation of the League of Nations.
Paradoxical Motives
 Lloyd
George claimed to
be seeking ‘justice’;
Wilson claimed to be
seeking ‘democracy’;
Clemenceau claimed to
be seeking ‘peace’; yet,
none of the Big Three
addressed the role
capitalism played in
causing the Great War,
making justice, peace,
and democracy
unattainable.
 On
15 October 1920,
Lenin delivered a speech
exposing the Treaty of
Versailles:
VLADIMIR LENIN
“What then is the Treaty of
Versailles? It is an
unparalleled and predatory
peace, which has made
slaves of tens of millions of
people…. This is no peace,
but terms dictated to a
defenseless victim by armed
robbers. Through the Treaty
of Versailles, Germany’s
enemies have deprived her
of all her colonies. Turkey,
Persia and China have been
enslaved. A situation has
arisen wherein seven-tenths
of the world’s population are
in a condition of servitude.
These slaves are to be
found throughout the world
and are at the mercy of a
handful of countries—Britain,
France and Japan….
[H]undreds of millions of
people are condemned to
repay loans for many years
to come and have their
grandchildren and greatgrandchildren do the same
in order that the French,
British and other imperialists
may be enriched.”
—Lenin, 1920
What was the impact of the peace
treaty on Germany up to 1923?
The Impact of the Treaty on Germany
 Germany
had to accept
blame for starting the war.
 Germany’s army was limited
to an all-volunteer force of
100,000 men. Conscription,
military aircraft, armored
vehicles, and submarines
were prohibited.
 Germany had to pay billions
of marks in reparations to
Belgium, France, and
Britain.
 Germany lost all its
overseas colonies.
 Germany
lost Alsace-Lorraine
and the Saar.
 Union between Germany and
Austria’s 6.5 million Germans
was prohibited.
 West Prussia and Eastern
Upper Silesia went to Poland.
 Danzig became a free city
governed by the League of
Nations.
 Germany was excluded from
the League of Nations until it
established itself as a
peaceful country.
“Through the door at the end appear
officers of France, Great Britain, America
and Italy. And then, isolated and pitiable,
come the two German delegates. Dr.
Muller, Dr. Bell. The silence is terrifying.
They keep their eyes fixed away from
those two thousand staring eyes, fixed
upon the ceiling. They are deathly pale.
They are conducted to their chairs. There
is general tension. They sign. There is a
general relaxation. We kept our seats
while the Germans were conducted like
prisoners from the dock, their eyes still
fixed upon some distant point of the
horizon.”—Sir Harold Nicolson, member
of the British delegation to the Treaty of
Versailles, Peacemaking, 1919 (1933)
SIR HAROLD NICOLSON
German Objections to the Treaty
 The
treaty was diktat.
 Germany was not
uniquely responsible
for starting the war.
 The treaty did not
apply Wilson’s
“Fourteen Points” to
Germany.
 The terms of the
treaty would
impoverish Germany.
“WHEN WE HAVE PAID ONE HUNDRED BILLION
I CAN GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO EAT.”
(GERMAN CARTOON, 1919)
MARKS THEN
 In
this German
political cartoon,
Germany is
represented as a
sleeping woman.
Next to her bed,
lies the discarded
helmet and arms
of a soldier. The
Allied Powers,
represented by a
vampire, suck the
blood (life) out of
Germany.
Diktat—An Imposed Settlement
“After this diminution of her products, after the economic
depression resulting from the loss of her colonies, her
merchant fleet and her foreign investments, Germany will not
be in a position to import from abroad an adequate quantity
of raw material. An enormous part of German industry will,
therefore, be condemned inevitably to destruction. The need
of importing foodstuffs will increase considerably at the same
time that the possibility of satisfying this demand is as greatly
diminished. In a very short time, therefore, Germany will not
be in a position to give bread and work to her numerous
millions of inhabitants, who are prevented from earning their
livelihood by navigation and trade. To put the Peace
conditions into execution would logically involve, therefore,
the loss of several millions of persons in Germany. This
catastrophe would not be long in coming about,…
…seeing that the health of the
population has been broken
down during the War by the
Blockade, and during the
Armistice by the aggravation
of famine. No help however
great, or over however long a
period it were continued,
could prevent these deaths en
masse. Those who sign this
treaty, will sign the death
sentence of many millions of
German men, women and
children.”—Count von
Brockdorff-Rantzau, leader of
the German delegation to
Versailles (13 May 1919).
COUNT VON BROCKDORFF-RANTZAU
“We were aghast when we read in documents the
demands made upon us, the victorious violence of our
enemies. The more deeply we penetrate into the spirit
of this treaty, the more convinced we become of the
impossibility of carrying it out. The exactions of this
treaty are more than the German people can bear.”
—Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau, May 1919
 In
this German political cartoon,
Clemenceau executes Germany,
while Lloyd George holds the
Treaty of Versailles and Wilson
apologizes, suggesting that the
purpose of the treaty was to
legalize revenge on Germany.
SIMPLISSIMUS, 3 JUNE 1919
Germans Protest the Treaty of Versailles, May 1919
What was the impact of the treaties
on the other defeated countries?
The Impact on Austria and Hungary
 Austria
and Hungary
accepted the break-up of
the Austro-Hungarian
empire, losing
considerable territory.
 Splitting up the empire
created economic
problems. Existing roads
and railways did not serve
the needs of the new
nations, and the new
nations taxed trade,
where previously trade
had been free.
 Several
small, weak
states existed where there
had previously been one
large state.
 It was impossible to give
each national group selfdetermination and to
create a nation state for
each national group. Most
of the new states
contained dissatisfied
minorities, and national
groups were split by
arbitrary borders.
 Austria
was defined as a
small independent nation
state.
 Austria was forbidden
from forming alliances.
 The Austrian army was
limited to 30,000 men.
 Austria was made to sign
a war guilt clause,
accepting the blame for its
part in starting the war.
 Austria was assessed
reparations, but the
collapse of the Bank of
Vienna in 1922 meant
nothing was paid.
 Hungary
lost two-thirds of
its territory and more than
two-fifths of its population.
Three million Magyars
(Hungarians) were placed
under foreign rule.
 The Hungarian army was
limited to 35,000 men.
 Hungary was assessed
reparations, but the
collapse of the economy
prevented payment.
 In 1919, Hungary’s
communist government
was replaced by a military
dictatorship.
The Impact on Bulgaria
 Bulgaria
was seen as a
dangerous force in the
Balkans as it was
relatively large and
militaristic.
 Rumanian territory
conquered by Bulgaria
was returned to Rumania.
 Western Thrace was
given to Greece.
 Bulgaria lost territory to
Yugoslavia but gained
territory from Turkey.
 The
Bulgarian army was
limited to 20,000 men.
 Bulgaria was made to pay
reparations of £100
million.
THE PEACE QUEUE
AUSTRIA (TO GERMANY): “GET A MOVE ON!”
BULGARIA: “IT’S NO GOOD HAGGLING; WE’VE ALL
GOT TO HAVE IT.”
TURKEY:“WELL, I’M LAST, AND I DON’T CARE HOW
LONG ANYBODY TAKES.”
The Impact on Turkey
 Turkey
lost territory to
Greece, Bulgaria, and
Syria.
 Turkey lost its lands in
North Africa and the Middle
East, which became British
and French ‘mandates’
(colonies). Arabia became
an ‘independent’ state.
 Armenia became an
independent nation.
 Turkey’s army was limited
and Turkey was assessed
reparations.
 Turkey
lost control of the
Straits of the Dardanelles
and the Bosporus.
 The Allies reserved the
right to keep troops in
Turkey.
 The Turkish people were so
outraged by the treaty that
Mustapha Kemal led an
uprising to overthrew their
government. Rather than
go to war with Turkey, the
Allied Powers agreed to
renegotiate the treaty.
 All
foreign troops left
Turkey.
 Turkey did not have to
pay reparations.
 No limitations were placed
on Turkey’s army.
 Turkey regained control of
the Dardanelles and the
Bosporus.
MUSTAPHA KEMAL
 Turkey
regained the land
lost to Greece, Bulgaria,
and Syria.
 Turkey, however, had to
relinquish its territories in
North Africa and the
Middle East.
THE PIECE OF EUROPE
Could the treaties be justified at the
time?
Brest-Litovsk and Versailles
 The
Germans imposed
the punishing Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk on Soviet
Russia; the Treaty of
Versailles imposed a
punishing treaty on
Germany.
 If Germany had won the
war, it would have
imposed a dictated peace.
THE RECKONING
PAN-GERMAN: “MONSTROUS, I CALL IT. WHY,
IT’S FULLY A QUARTER OF WHAT WE SHOULD
HAVE MADE THEM PAY IF WE’D WON.”
PUNCH, 1919
Armistice Terms
A
French and a British
police officer tie a German
criminal in ropes bearing
the phrase “Armistice
Terms.” The criminal’s
speech suggests that
Germany sought to avoid
a just punishment.
GERMAN CRIMINAL TO ALLIED POLICE
“HERE, I SAY, STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME!”
(ASIDE: “IF I ONLY WHINE ENOUGH I MAY BE
ABLE TO WRIGGLE OUT OF THIS YET.”)
—PUNCH, 19 FEBRUARY 1919
What were contemporary opinions
about the treaties?
German Views
 “Today
in the Hall of Mirrors the disgraceful Treaty is
being signed. Do not forget it! The German people will,
with unceasing labor, press forward to re-conquer the
place among the nations to which it is entitled.”
—Deutsche Zeitung, 28 June 1919
“What a use could be made of the Treaty of
Versailles. How each one of the points of
that Treaty could be branded in the minds
and hearts of the German people until sixty
million men and women find their souls
aflame with a feeling of range and shame.”
—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1925
On the Failure to Prevent War
 The
cartoon suggests that
the Treaty of Versailles
did not create the
conditions necessary for
peace. A subsequent war
was inevitable.
THE GAOL BIRD
CLEMENCEAU, LLOYD GEORGE, AND WILSON:
“MADAM, YOU ARE FREE!”
DAILY HERALD, 30 JUNE 1919
 In
this political cartoon,
Australian artist Will
Dyson suggests that
students graduating from
school in 1940 will have
to fight another global
war because of the
Treaty of Versailles.
Clemenceau, known as
‘The Tiger’, voices
confusion, unable to see
the faults of the treaty.
“PEACE AND FUTURE CANNON FODDER,”
THE TIGER: “CURIOUS! I SEEM TO HEAR A CHILD WEEPING!”
DAILY HERALD (13 MAY 1919)
On Wilson’s Idealism
 “I’m
Forever Blowing Bubbles,’
a popular American song from
1918, equated ‘blowing bubbles’
with dreams that fade and die.
This cartoon suggests that
Wilson’s idealism caused him to
act fruitlessly. Stronger critics of
Wilson suggest that his idealism
created intractable problems.
“Self-determination is simply loaded with dynamite.
It will raise hopes which can never be realized. It will
cost thousands of lives. What a calamity that the
phrase was ever uttered! What misery it will cause!”
—US Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 1921
“I do not agree with those who
hastily and inconsiderately
adjudge the President’s work
at the Peace Conference a
failure. Whatever may be the
imperfections of the Treaty
from a political or economic
standpoint, Woodrow Wilson
did not fail. The outstanding
thing for which he fought, the
thing that transcends political
and economic considerations,
is the permanent peace of the
world. Unless this is secured
all else is failure; without this
the most sublime hope of
humanity…
…is sunk in the black abyss;
without this all political and
economic adjustments are
unstable and sooner or later
will disappear.”
—William Gibbs McAdoo, US Secretary of the
Treasury and Wilson’s Son-in-Law (1921)
THE WAY TO
PEACE
“IT’S THE ONLY WAY
OUT, WILHELM!”
Contemporary and Hindsight Views
“A fair judgment upon the settlement…cannot leave the
authors of the new map of Europe under serious reproach.
To an overwhelming extent the wishes of the various
populations prevailed.”—Winston Churchill, 1919
“To stop another war was the supreme object and duty of
the statesmen who met as friends and allies around the
Peace Table. They made great errors. The doctrine of selfdetermination was not the remedy for Europe, which needed
then above all things, unity and larger groupings. The idea
that the vanquished could pay the expenses of the victors
was a destructive and crazy delusion. The failure to strangle
Bolshevism at its birth and to bring Russia, then prostrate,
by one means or another, into the general democratic
system lies heavy upon us today.”—Winston Churchill, 1949
“The Treaty of Versailles…has had a bad reputation ever
since. John Maynard Keynes, the great economist, thought it
was stupid, vindictive and short-sighted and most writers of
history and the public have followed his lead ever since. Many
people have blamed the treaty for driving Germany into
misery, for creating the circumstances which led to the rise of
Hitler, and ultimately for producing another World War in
1939. But historians must keep on looking at the evidence
and re-evaluating the past and the time has come to take
another look at that treaty. It is my own view—and a number
of historians who have been working in this area for some
years—that the treaty was not all that bad. Germany did lose
the war after all. Reparations apparently imposed a heavy
burden but Germany only paid a portion of what it owed.
Perhaps the real problem was that the treaty was never really
properly enforced so that Germany was able to rebuild its
military and challenge the security of Europe all over again.”
—Margaret MacMillan, Historian and Great-Granddaughter of Lloyd George (2004)
Very Stupid Men
“The historian, with every
justification, will come to the
conclusion that we were very
stupid men. I think we were.
We came to Paris, confident
that the new order was about
to be established; we left it
convinced that the new order
had merely fouled the old.
We arrived determined that a
Peace of justice and wisdom
should be negotiated; we left
it, conscious that the treaties
imposed upon our enemies…
…were neither just nor wise.”
—Sir Harold Nicolson,
Peacemaking, 1919 (1933)
Paper 1 Specimen Paper
The Versailles Treaty created disagreement and hostility.
 (a)
What did Wilson hope to
achieve from the peace
settlement of 1919-20? [4]
 (b) Why did Clemenceau and
Lloyd George disagree over
how to treat Germany? [6]
 (c) ‘The Treaty of Versailles
was a fair settlement.’ How
far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your
answer. [10]
 (a)
Recall, Description

4 points and supporting
details
 (b)
Recall, Explanation

Full explanation of 2
reasons
 (c)
Recall, Explanation,
Analysis

Balanced explanation
of agreement and
disagreement and
explanation of ‘how far’
What did Wilson hope to achieve from the peace settlement
of 1919-20?
No evidence submitted or response does not address the question. [0]
 One mark for each relevant point; additional mark for supporting detail. [1-4]







Wilson did not want Germany treated harshly because he thought that if Germany
was punished severely then, in the future, Germany would want revenge.
Wilson wanted to strengthen democracy in the defeated nations so that its people
would not let its leaders cause another war.
Wilson hoped that nations would co-operate to achieve world peace, and in his
Fourteen Points he proposed the setting up of an international body called the
League of Nations.
Wilson believed in ‘self-determination’ and wanted the different peoples of Eastern
Europe to rule themselves rather than be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Wilson wanted to isolate and to stamp out Bolshevism, so he hoped to surround
Russia with anti-Bolshevist nations and to trade with Germany to prevent
Germany from allying itself with Russia.
Wilson wanted all nations to trade freely, extending the US Open Door policy, so
he hoped to achieve independence for European colonies, replacing the empires
of the Great Powers and their secret treaties with a community of nations
governed openly by a League of Nations.
Why did Clemenceau and Lloyd George disagree
over how to treat Germany?
No evidence submitted or response does not address the question. [0]
 General answer lacking specific contextual knowledge. [1]



Identifies and/or describes reasons; one mark for each. [2-3]



Clemenceau wanted France secure in the future but Lloyd George did not
want France to become too powerful.
Clemenceau wanted to cripple Germany but Lloyd George wanted to
protect Britain’s trade.
Explains one reason; one mark for explanation; additional mark for full
explanation. [4-5]


Both wanted to protect their own country’s interests.
Clemenceau wanted to secure France from future German attacks by
reducing German military strength and taking back Alsace-Lorraine and
taking the Saar and the Rhineland. Lloyd George wanted to reduce
German strength but he did not want to make France too powerful and
therefore he would resist the taking of German territory to aid France.
Explains two reasons. [6]
‘The Treaty of Versailles was a fair settlement.’ How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
No evidence submitted or response does not address the question. [0]
 General answer lacking specific contextual knowledge. [1]




It was fairer than it might have been.
It was not fair because it was too harsh.
Identifies and/or describes; one mark for each point. [2-3]






It was not fair because it was dictated.
It was unfair on the German people.
It was fair because Germany had agreed to an armistice agreement.
Germany should not have been blamed.
It was not fair because of reparations.
It was harsh as it took away German armed forces.

Explanation of agreement or disagreement; developed explanation to
be given two marks. [4-6]



Explanation of agreement and disagreement; developed explanation to
be given two marks; one mark deducted for unbalanced answer. [7-9]



The German view was it was not fair. They thought it was harsh and, as
they had not been invited to the talks, they considered the terms a diktat.
OR
Many thought the peacemakers did a reasonable job. It was a complex
matter and, given the demand for revenge, they could have been harsher
as was the German peace treaty with Russia.
It was fairer than it might have been.
It was not fair because it was too harsh.
Explains with an evaluation of ‘how far’. [10]