JANUARY 1919: TREATY OF VERSAILLES
DATA BASED QUESTION PREPERARED BY
KAROLINA WEZYK AND NATALIA WOJCIK
HISTORY HL Y2/ PERIOD C
JANUARY 1919: TREATY OF VERSAILLES
Forty-eight years after Germany unified, on January 18, 1919, representatives of twentyseven nations gathered in Paris in order to bring an end to World War I, by establishing
Peace Settlements between the Allies and Germany. (MWH) The representatives at the
Paris Peace Conference, which was a meeting of Allied powers, spoke on the behalf of
75% of the world’s inhabitants. (Spartacus) However, the main decisions and most
attention was given to the “Big-Four.” The “Big Four” consisted of England, represented
by David Lloyd George, France represented by Georges Clemenceau, Italy represented
by Vittorio Orlando and United States represented by Woodraw Wilson himself. (MWH)
Germany and Russia were not invited to the conference. The Paris Peace Conference
resulted five peace treaties: Treaty of Versailles, Treaty of Saint-Germain, Treaty of
Neuilly, Treaty of Trianon and Treaty of Sevres. The Paris Peace Treaties with the
Washington Naval Conference in 1921-1922, created the base policies for the VersaillesWashington system of international relations.
On June 28, 1919 in the Palace of Versailles, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the
Hall of Mirrors, however it was officially recognized by the League of Nations on October
21, 1919 after which, it was included in The League of Nations Treaty Series. One of the
most important results of the treaty was the war-guilt clause, article 231, which stated
that Germany is responsible for the casualties and damages caused during World War I.
The article also included territorial, financial and military clauses. Germany was to
disarm, return Alsace-Lorraine to France, pay reparations of 132 billion Marks
(equivalent to $442 billion in 2011) to the Allied powers and renounce German colonies
as requested by League of Nations. For insurance of the treaty’s successful application, it
was decided that the Rhineland would be under the Allied forces’ control for fifteen
years, after which it would be then demilitarized.
The Treaty of Versailles impacted Europe from the geographic, political, economic and
military perspective. Geographically, Germany lost many of its territories, over one
million square miles of land; colonies and land on the continent, which after 1919
became independent states: Austria, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and
Poland. The region of Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France and “Polish Corridor” was
created, which not only gave Poland the access to the Baltic Sea but also separated
Germany from East Prussia. Besides the land lost on the continent, Germany lost all of its
colonies. Overseas German territory was then under Allies’ control and became either
their colonies or later independent countries.
Treaty of Versailles caused several political conflicts. When the terms of the treaty were
announced, the German government resigned, declining to accept the presented terms.
For the new government, the signature of the treaty was mandatory. This approval and
acceptance of responsibility for the outbreak of World War I was controversial and met
with criticism such as that from General Ludendorff, who believed that the government
was betraying its own people. This belief spread rapidly throughout the country and met
its supporters as the economy began to suffer extremely. The increase in number of
protestors triggered (along with other factors) uprisings like Kapp Putsch and the
Munich Putsch. The signature of Treaty of Versailles also restrained Germany of
restoring monarchy, isolated it from the European political and economic stage and it
was no longer trusted by Allied countries.
The main point of the Treaty of Versailles was putting the burden of responsibility of
triggering World War I on Germany. With Germany’s acceptance of the terms there
came not only a political but a financial burden as well. Germany was responsible for
paying the cost of reparations to Allied powers. The payments were supposed to be paid
monthly and would sum up to a total of £6,600 million. This decision lead to a struggle
within the country since Germany needed to rebuild its economy in the same time, that
it was paying the Allies for the costs of the war. Casualties of 1.7 million dead and 4.2
million wounded also lowered the productivity of the country’s labour force. The loss of
colonies overseas caused Germany to lose most of its raw material sources, which only
worsened its situation.
Source A
Spartacus Educational. "Versailles Treaty." Spartacus Educational. Ed. John
Simkin. Spartacus Educational, Fall-Winter 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWversailles.htm>.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919 and consisted of 440 Articles setting
out the terms for Germany's punishment. The treaty was greeted with shock and disbelief
in Germany.
The main terms of the Versailles Treaty were:
(1) the surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates;
(2) the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France;
(3) cession of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, the Hultschin district to
Czechoslovakia,
(4) Poznania, parts of East Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland;
(5) Danzig to become a free city;
(6) plebiscites to be held in northern Schleswig to settle the Danish-German frontier;
(7) occupation and special status for the Saar under French control; (8) demilitarization
and a fifteen-year occupation of the Rhineland;
(8) German reparations of £6,600 million;
(9) a ban on the union of Germany and Austria;
(10) an acceptance of Germany's guilt in causing the war;
(11) provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders;
(12) limitation of Germany's army to 100,000 men with no conscription, no tanks, no
heavy artillery, no poison-gas supplies, no aircraft and no airships;
(13) the limitation of the German Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with no
submarines.
Source B:
Source A: J.M. Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1919. Keynes resigned
from his position as a British representative at the Paris Peace Conference.
In my opinion, it is impossible to lay the responsibility for the war on any single nation.
By aiming at the destruction of the economic life of Germany this treaty threatens the
health and prosperity of the allies themselves. By making impossible demands it leaves
Europe more unsettled than it found it. The treaty, by overstepping the limits of the
possible, has in practice settled nothing.
Source C:
Biesinger, Joseph A. "Treaty of Versailles (1919)." Germany: A Reference Guide from the
Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Modern World
History Online. Facts On File
That turned out to be the case as the victors of World War I, principally Britain, France,
Italy, and the United States attempted to formulate the terms of the peace. The major
decisions were made by the great powers, and some 20 other nations in attendance had
little input. Germany was prohibited from participation in the discussions, which was a
fundamental difference from the 1815 Congress of Vienna, at which defeated France was
allowed a prominent role in the peace settlement. That was not to be the case. Germany
was forced to accept the peace treaty, and even moderate German opinion was so
outraged that the treaty was considered a dictated one, the Versailler Diktat.
Source D:
BBC History. "Daily Mirror Headlines: Amistice, Published 12 November 1918."
BBC History World Wars. BBCHistory.org, 14 July 2010. Web. 11 Sept.
2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/
mirror07_01.shtml>.
The German Government has received the conditions of the Armistice. After a blockade
of 50 months those conditions - especially the surrender of the means of transport and
the sustenance of the troops of occupation - would make it impossible to provide
Germany with food and would cause the starvation of millions. The German people,
therefore, in this fateful hour, address themselves again to the President with the
request to use his influence with the Allied Powers in order to mitigate these fearful
conditions.
Source E:
The Physical Impact of the Treaty of Versailles Before and After 1919. Map.
Schools History. Schoolshistory.org.uk, 4 June 2004. Web. 11 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/ASLevel_History/week4_versailles.htm>.
The Peace Treaty of Versailles of 1919
Questions:
1.
a) With reference to Source A and Source E, how did Germany change
geographically after the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 has been approved? (2 pts)
b) With reference to Source A, how could the terms of the Treaty of Versailles of
1919 impact Germany’s economy including territorial as well as financial
clauses? (4pts)
2. What does the speaker in Source B suggest? Does the opinion expressed support the
idea of Treaty of Versailles of 1919? (4 pts)
3. “Germany had no choice but to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. It
was forced to sign the treaty by the “Big Four” –Britain, France, Italy and United States.”
With reference to Source C and Source D, to what extent do you agree with this
statement? (8 pts)
4. With reference to their origin and purpose assess the value and limitations of Sources
B and C for historians studying the Peace Treaty of Versailles. (8 pts)
Mark Schemes
Question 1a:
- Award one point for mentioning Germany’s loss of land
- Award one point for mentioning what land did Germany loose i.e.:
o Alsace Lorraine to France
o Polish Corridor
o Czechoslovakia
Question 1b:
- Award one point for stating that Germany’s economy would be hurt
- Award one point for stating that with the loss of land, the quantity and/or
quality of the factors of production (labor, land, capital and/or
entrepreneurship) would decrease, the productivity would decrease
- Award one point for stating that the loss of colonies would also decrease the
productivity due to the loss of raw materials that Germany was importing from
its colonies
- Award one point for an analysis that would explain that Germany would struggle
in maintaining a sustainable economy due to the loss of land, which would mean
loss of labor force, land on which production could take place and the loss of raw
material supply due to the loss of colonies. Along with the “losses” Germany with
the acceptance of the terms of the treaty, the country is responsible for paying
for the costs of the war. High reparations and loss of
land/labor/capital/entrepreneurship will aggravate German economy
Question 2:
- Award two points for stating that Keynes thinks that the economic implications
will not only affect Germany but the entire of Europe and that you can’t blame
one country for such brutal event such as World War I
- Award two points for identifying the negative tone of the speech and it doesn’t
support the Treaty of Versailles of 1919
Question 3:
- Award two points for a proper thesis: either pro or con
- Award two points for mentioning the terms of the treaty and identifying the
problem with the nature of Germany’s approval of the treaty
- Award four points for PRO-arguments such as that:
o Germany could not sustain itself because lack of imported food and other
goods would lead to a mass starvation
o Only the “Big Four” had a voice in the Paris Peace Conference
o Germany was not included in the discussions of the conference
- Award four points for CON-arguments such as that:
o Paris Peace Conference was a meeting of many forces, thus it was a
decision made by a group
o Germany was not forced, it was presented the terms of the treaty
Question 4:
- Award one point for identifying the origin of the source
o Source B: J.M. Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1919
o Source C: Joseph Biesinger, Treaty of Versailles (1919), 2006
- Award one point for identifying the purpose of the source
o Source B: To inform – possibly expand to “persuade,” “enlighten”, etc.
o Source C: To inform – textbook
- Award one point for identifying the value of the source
Source B: Source comes from the time of the event, Keynes (important
person, representative), educated, studied economics, school of thought,
his insight in economy is valuable, emotions of the times presented,
atmosphere of the time, mentioned.
o Source C: Revised, edited, access to documents, hind-sight, Western,
written by a historian, objective
Award one point for identifying the limitation of the source
o Source B: Subjective opinion, emotional, influenced by personal feelings
o Source C: Years past, lost information, doesn’t include the atmosphere
o
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