BELLWORK

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BELLWORK

1. In five words or less, why did Germany lose WWI?
   (Does not necessarily have to be a sentence be
   creative!)
2. In his 14 points speech, Wilson addresses the
   future of Belgium, Austria-Hungary, Serbia,
   Turkey Poland. What does he argue about these
   countries?
3. In points 1-5, Wilson suggests solutions to the
   problems that started WWI. Summarize these
   arguments. What should the countries do in order
   to prevent another conflict?
4. What does Wilson argue in point 14?
5. After analyzing Wilsons 14 points, which do you
   feel was the most important in ensuring a
   permanent peace? Was there anything you feel
   should have been included?
6. THINKER In the conclusion of his speech, Wilson
   states We do not wish to injure her Germany
   or to block in any way her legitimate influence
   of power. We do not wish to fight her either with
   arms or with hostile arrangements of trade How
   do you interpret this statement? Do you think
   Wilson intended to punish Germany? If not, why is
   Germany punished post-WWI?

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The Treaty of Versailles

• The establishment of a permanent peace. Or so
  they thought

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The Treaty of Versailles

• June 1919

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Paris Peace Conference

• Paris Peace Conference January 1919 27 nations
• Having been defeated, Germany, Austria Hungary
  were excluded
• Russia formed their own peace with the Central
  Powers
• Until March 1919, controlled by Council of Ten
  leaders foreign ministers from England, France,
  US, Italy Japan
• Most of Japans Italys ideas were rejected,
  which left the Big Three to solidify agreements

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The Big Four

• David Lloyd George (Great Britain)
• Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

• Woodrow Wilson (US)
• Georges Clemenceau (France)

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The Big Four at Versailles in 1919
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Discussion

• Make a prediction ? What do the allied countries
  want out of the Treaty?
• Do you think all countries should have been
  included, even if they were on the losing side?
• Do you think the losing side should be punished
  for their acts/crimes during the war?

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What did France Want?

• Security
• Revenge
• Reparations
• Germany should pay for the damage caused by
  invasion!
• Clemenceau wanted to make sure that Germany could
  not invade France in the future.

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What did Britain Want?

• Publically, Lloyd-George said he wanted to punish
  the Germans. The British public was very
  anti-German at the end of the war.
• Privately, he realized that Britain needed
  Germany to recover because she was an important
  trading partner.
• He was also worried about the disease from the
  east., communism. Lloyd-George believed that
  the spread of communism had to be stopped. A
  strong Germany would be a barrier against it.

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What did America want?

• Wilson wanted the treaty to be based on his 14
  Points.
• He believed Germany should be punished, but not
  severely. He wanted a fair settlement that would
  not leave Germany feeling resentful
• The American public government did not support
  him. They were fed up with involvement in
  European affairs (leads to a period of
  isolationism)

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Treaty of Versailles

• On June 28, 1919 the Allied leaders signed the
  Treaty of Versailles.
• Made up of 440 articles (15 sections)
• Section I Articles 1-26 Established the League
  of Nations
• The remaining 414 articles were dedicated to
  punishing Germany
• Reparations (payment for damages) - later fixed
  at 132 billion marks ( 442 billion in 2013)
• Germany signed the War Guilt Clause requiring
  them to take entire blame for the war

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The War Guilt Clause
"The Allied and Associated Governments affirm,
and Germany accepts, the responsibility of
Germany and her Allies for causing all the loss
and damage to which the Allied and Associate
Governments and their nationals have been
subjected as a consequence of a war imposed upon
them by the aggression of Germany and her
Allies." Article 231
GERMANY ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR
STARTING THE WAR
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Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

• Legal restrictions
• former German Emperor, Wilhelm II, is to be tried
  with war crimes
• Establishment of Provisional Government
• Military restrictions
• Territory restrictions
• Loss of debated territories
• created nine new countries out of the former
  Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian territories.

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Military Restrictions

• Army reduced to 100,000 men
• Prohibited to have tanks or poison gas.
• No air force
• The German navy was to have no submarines or
  large battle-ships
• Import export of weapons is prohibited
• Manufacturing of rifles machine guns was
  limited
• The area known as the Rhineland was to be
  de-militarized.
• The Allies were to occupy the debated territories
  for fifteen years.

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Military Restrictions
Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria
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Territory Restrictions
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Territory Restrictions
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Territory Restrictions

• Germany lost all of her overseas colonies

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Make a prediction..

• How do you think German citizens responded to the
  Treaty?
• Most Germans believed that the War Guilt Clause
  was unjustified. The French and British had done
  just as much to start the war
• The loss of territory and population angered most
  Germans who believed that the losses were too
  severe.
• Many felt this would cripple the economy
• How do you think Americans responded to the
  Treaty?

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German Response
German protests outside the Reichstag
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American Response

• Wilson believed all nations should cooperate to
  achieve world peace
• Afraid if Germany was punished too harshly, they
  may retaliate
• Wilsons plans for peace were rejected by Congress

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American Response

• Wilsons personal advisor Colonel Edward House
  said the following,
• I am leaving Paris, after eight fateful months,
  with conflicting emotions. Looking at the
  conference in retrospect, there is much to
  approve and yet much to regret. It is easy to say
  what should have been done, but more difficult to
  have found a way of doing it. To those who are
  saying that the treaty is bad and should never
  have been made and that it will involve Europe in
  infinite difficulties in its enforcement, I feel
  like admitting it. To create new boundaries is to
  create new troubles. The one follows the other.
  While I should have preferred a different peace,
  I doubt very much whether it could have been
  made, for the ingredients required for such a
  peace as I would have were lacking at Paris

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Why did the U.S. reject Wilsons plans for
peace???

• At the peace conference in Versailles, the
  leaders did not accept many of his 14
  points--especially France. Wilson was more
  concerned with preventing future conflicts and
  establishing lasting peace, France (and to a
  lesser extant, Britain) wanted a to pay back
  Germany.
• Wilson realized he would have to compromise, so
  he prioritized the creation of the League of
  Nations, which they agreed on.
• Then, when Wilson came back to the US to try to
  get the Senate to ratify the Treaty of
  Versailles, and join the League of Nations, he
  faced a lot of opposition from Republican
  senators.
• Some, the Reservationists just opposed Article X
  of the League Covenant because they did not want
  the United States bound to enter wars, and these
  Reservationists would have passed the Treaty if
  Article X was amended. Others, called
  Irreconcilables were simply political opponents
  of Wilsons, and wouldn't have ever passed the
  treaty just because they didn't like Wilson.
• There wasn't really back and forth with the
  Democratic congress. The Democrats supported
  Wilson, the problem was the Republican senators.

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External Assessments

• Paper 1
• Paper 2
• Paper 3