9.1.4 Picking up the pieces after the war -T-

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

9.1: World War 1

9.1.4: Picking up the pieces after the war

9. The Time of World Wars

-T-

What is this lesson about?

After World War I, the leaders of 27 nations met at the Paris Peace Conference to decide on the fate of Europe and large parts of the world. They signed different treaties with the losing Central Powers. The Treaty of Versailles shaped the fate of Germany. The Germans felt humiliated because they were severely punished. It immediately led to new tensions.

The Big Four

Clemenceau

prime minister

France

Lloyd George

prime minister

Great Britain

Orlando

prime minister

Italy

Wilson

president

USA

Actually The Big Three....and Italy

Word Duty

Fourteen Points: US president Wilson’s principles for peace to be used for the peace negotiations in order to end World War I

Treaty of Versailles: peace treaty that brought World War I to an end and in which the Allies

defined the future of Germany

war reparations: compensation paid by a defeated nation for the damage it inflicted during a war

League of Nations: international organisation founded in 1920 to maintain world peace and to prevent future wars; in 1946 replaced by the United Nations

national self-determination: the right of nations to form their own nation state

secular: not related to religion; in a secular state there is a separation between Church and State

WORD DUTY

Important date in this lesson:

1919: June 28th: Signing of Peace Treaty of Versailles

1920: founding of the League of Nations

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• that Germany was heavily punished by      the Treaty of Versailles
• how the map of Europe changed after the war
• recognise the impact of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany

Use these questions to make your own summary

In this lesson:

The Paris Peace Conference (1919) in the palace of Versailles 

The Big Three

Germany: the main culprit

Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles, reluctantly accepting very harsh conditions.

The map of Europe changed, especially in eastern Europe.

League of Nations

Wilson’s ideal: an international organisation that can prevent future wars.

The League of Nations had a weak start:

USA itself did not join.

Germany (enemy) and the Soviet Union (traitor) were not welcome.

Introduction

On 11th November 1918, an armistice was signed. With this came an end to World War I and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. In Russia, a revolution raged. While the victors celebrated, Eastern Europe seemed to balance on the edge of chaos. A heavy burden lay on shoulders of the Allied leaders: they had to reconstruct the world.

The signing of the treaty of peace at Versailles, 28 June 1919

The Paris Peace Conference

The people of Europe were relieved that the Great War was over. They looked with great expectation towards the future. Most of them hoped that Woodrow Wilson, the president of the USA, would bring freedom and democracy. Wilson put himself in the position of peacemaker and had put his ideas of a better world onto paper in his Fourteen Points. 

He predicted a new era: a time of freedom, peace and democracy. To reach his goals he had to negotiate with the other Allied victors.

American president Wilson was enthusiastically greeted by the people of Paris in 1919

On 18 January 1919, the Paris Peace Conference started. Wilson and delegates of 26 other countries met at the Palace of Versailles. Every nation had its own expectations and agenda, but although hundreds of representatives were invited, the real power lay with 

The Big Three: Wilson himself and the prime ministers of France (Clemençeau) and Britain (Lloyd George). During the peace conference different treaties were signed for different countries, but the most difficult issue they faced was the future of Germany. The French felt that their long time rival Germany had to be punished severely, because it had been the first to declare war and France had suffered the most. Clemenceau fanatically tried to convince the conference to keep Germany weak to ensure that it would never rise again. With this, he went against Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The USA and Great Britain were not as radical as France. They predicted that harsh punishments would trigger another war, but they still felt that Germany should take the blame.

The Big Four, 27th May, 1919. From left to right: Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britain), Premier Vittorio Orlando (Italy), French Premier Georges Clemenceau, US President Wilson.

Germany: the main culprit

On 28th June 1919, the Allies signed the Treaty of Versailles. In it was decided that Germany:

1. was not allowed to have an army bigger then a hundred thousand soldiers; its fleet had to be given to the Allies
   
2. had to give its colonies to France and Britain; Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
   
3. had to give up ten percent of its territory
   
4. had to pay for the damage, caused by the war.
   
5. had to accept the full blame for WW1 (Alleinschuld)

It was mostly out of an emotion and feelings of revenge that Germany was ordered to pay 132 billion gold marks (around 380 billion euros today) as war reparations, a huge amount. The Germans were astonished that they were not allowed to participate in the meeting. As expected they were outraged when they read the treaty terms. They felt humiliated and refused to sign it. Eventually they agreed, but only because the Allies threatened to continue the war.

signing of the Treaty on June 18th, 1919, exactly 5 years after the assassination of the archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo

A League of Nations

One of president Wilson’s most important objectives in his Fourteen Point plan was the idea of a League of Nations. He wanted a future in which countries gathered and discussed hostilities and possible conflicts before using violence. He hoped that it would cause transparency and end the secret alliances. Wilson dreamed of a more peaceful world in which countries would disarm their militaries, so global wars could be prevented. However, his League of Nations did not become what he had expected. Germany was still seen as the enemy and therefore was not allowed to participate. The newly formed Soviet Union (Russia) was also not welcome because it betrayed its allies. Even Wilson’s own country, the USA, did not agree with his plans. Membership to the League was declined by the congress. The League of Nations was already a weak institution when it started. 

The official opening of the League of Nations, 15 November 1920

The end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Another of Wilson’s principles was the right of national self-determination: Wilson believed that a nation sharing a common language or culture should be free to form its own nation state. They should be helped in any struggle for independence from empires or other autocratic rulers all over the world. He wanted to inspire smaller countries to govern themselves democratically. The other Allies had to agree with this right of national self-determination, because many people in Eastern Europe had already declared new states after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At Paris, the Allies gave the nationalists the right to form new countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Austria and Hungary became separate countries. The Austrians requested to become a part of Germany, but the Allies dismissed this idea because it would appear to be a reward for Germany. Millions of Germans suddenly became minorities in Poland or in Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. This caused new tensions in Eastern Europe.

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