Treaty of Versailles, 1919

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace document which officially ended the First World War between Germany and the Allied Powers.

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28th June, 1919.

Where was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

The treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, France.

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

There were various terms Germany had to agree to, including taking the blame for the First World War, military reductions, territorial losses and financial payments (reparations) to the Allies.

What were the military terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

There were 8 key military restrictions to which Germany agreed:

• ❖ Limiting its army to 100,000 men.
• ❖ Limiting its navy to 15,000 men, 6 battleships and no submarines.
• ❖ The Rhineland was demilitarised which meant no German armed forces were allowed to enter.
• ❖ No military air force was allowed.
• ❖ Conscription was banned so all soldiers had to be volunteers.
• ❖ No tanks or armoured cars were allowed.
• ❖ No heavy artillery was allowed.
• ❖ The Allies would station an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine in the towns of Cologne, Coblenz and Mainz.

What were the financial terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

There were 3 key financial restrictions to which Germany agreed:

• ❖ Germany was forced to pay reparations, or compensation, to the Allies for the destruction of land and the death of soldiers in the First World War.
• ❖ The debt that Germany owed was set at £6.6 billion in 1921.
• ❖ Germany had to give up its merchant fleet to Britain as compensation for the ships it had sunk during the war.

What was the 'war guilt clause' of the Treaty of Versailles?

Article 231 was the 'war guilt clause' that forced Germany to accept the blame for causing the war. This enabled the Allies to demand reparations or compensation from Germany.

What were the territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

There were 11 main territorial adjustments:

• ❖ Alsace-Lorraine was returned from Germany to France.
• ❖ Eupen-Malmedy was taken from Germany and given to Belgium.
• ❖ They lost Posen and West Prussia to Poland, which resulted in Germany being divided in two. East Prussia was cut off from the rest of Germany by an area of land called the Polish Corridor.
• ❖ The German port of Danzig was made an international city, under the control of the League of Nations, which meant it was not ruled by Germany. Danzig was used by Poland as a port.
• ❖ Germany lost all 11 colonies. They were handed over to the League of Nations who gave them as mandates to victorious countries, including Britain, France and Japan.
• ❖ Two areas of Germany were given a public vote, or plebiscite, to decide whether they would belong to Germany or not. Upper Silesia voted to join Poland. North Schleswig voted to join Denmark.
• ❖ France would be given the coal output of the Saar coal mines for 15 years and the Saar would be administered by the League of Nations.
• ❖ Germany lost 13% of its land in Europe and 10% of its population.
• ❖ The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was cancelled. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were taken from Germany and turned into independent states.
• ❖ Memel was given to Lithuania. Hultschin was given to Czechoslovakia.
• ❖ Germany was also prohibited from the Anschluss, which meant it could not unite with Austria.

What was the German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles?

Germany reacted in 6 key ways:

• ❖ The majority of Germans were angered by the treaty and highly resented several of its terms.
• ❖ Germans were given no say in the treaty. They saw it as a diktat, or a dictated peace.
• ❖ The new Weimar government earned itself the nickname the November Criminals because Germans believed they had been betrayed by their government when it signed the Treaty of Versailles.
• ❖ Some Germans thought the war guilt clause (Article 231) was unfair and it wasn't right to blame the new Weimar government for the actions of the now-abdicated kaiser.
• ❖ The restriction of the armed forces hurt Germany's pride and made it feel weak, particularly next to its armed neighbours.
• ❖ Germany felt further insulted by not being allowed to join the League of Nations until it had proven itself a peaceful nation.