Were the peace treaties of 1919–23 fair?

Focus Points -
● What were the motives and aims of the Big Three at Versailles?
● Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted?
● What was the impact of the peace treaty on Germany up to 1923?
● Could the treaties be justified at the time?

Specified Content​ -The peace treaties of 1919–23:

● the roles of individuals such as Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George in the
peacemaking process
● the impact of the treaties on the defeated countries
● contemporary opinions about the treaties

Background:
On 11 November 1918, Germany signed a ceasefire called ‘the Armistice’ as they could not
fight any longer. The Paris Peace Conference was held to create the treaties to end the war
and decide the fates of the defeated powers.

Paris Peace Conference Jan 1919-1920:

● Attended by 32 states
● Soviet Russia not invited following Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
● Defeated powers – Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey not invited
● Drew up 5 treaties
● Important decisions were made by the Big Three
 Aims of the Big Three
Who Aims
-Permanent disarmament
France – George
Clemenceau -High reparations
-Alsace-Lorraine and Saar
Basin given to France
-Rhineland to be an
independent state so France
would not share a border with
Germany
-No League of Nations
-Germany to be broken into
smaller states
-Wanted Germany to lose its
Britain - Lloyd navy and colonies as they
George threatened the British Empire
-Reparations to be not too high
as it would hurt Germany’s
economy
-If Germany didn’t have the
Rhineland, where most of its
industry was, they would not be
wealthy enough to buy British
goods.
Motives
-If Germany was weakened
they would not attack Europe
and France again
-France had suffered more
than Britain or the US and
there was a national desire
for revenge
-France shared a border with
Germany and had already
been invaded in 1870 and
1914
-Britain had suffered direct
attacks, 1 million casualties,
food shortages and economy
had suffered and so the
public wanted revenge. Lloyd
George had to reflect these
views as a re-election was
coming up
-However, Britain needed
Germany to have a good
economy as they were a
valuable trading partner
-A weak Germany would be
susceptible to communism
 Devised the 14 points in 1918 in The US had not suffered as
United States – which Wilson hoped would form much in WWI, removed from
President the basis of the TOV the conflict, no territory had
been invaded, only entered
Woodrow Wilson the war in April 1917, 800
civilians dead

If the treaty was too harsh on

Germany then communism
would take over, like in
Russia 1917 and Germany
would take revenge when
their economy recovered

Wilson’s 14 points

1. No secret treaties – had to led to misunderstandings and suspicion in the past

2. Free navigation of the seas in peacetime and wartime
3. Free trade between countries
4. Disarmament for all countries​ – build up of weapons had been one of the
causes of war
5. Colonies have a say in their own future
6. German troops to leave Russia
7. Independence for Belgium
8. Return Alsace Lorraine to France
9. Frontier between Austria and Italy adjusted
10. Self determination for people of Eastern Europe
11. Serbia to have access to the seas
12. Self determination for people in the Turkish Empire
13. Poland to become an independent state with access to the seas
14. League of Nations to be set up

Self determination- The right of nations to rule themselves

Countries created by self determination (there were a total of 9):

Treaty of Versailles Created Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia

Treaty of Saint Germain Created Czechoslovakia

Treaty of Trianon Created Yugoslavia

Defeated countries were not allowed self determination - ​ There were Germans in Poland,
Lithuania and Czechoslovakia. Anschluss (Merging Germany and Austria) was forbidden.
This meant there were many racial minorities in the new countries (especially Poland,
Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia).

Why Wilson was unsuccessful with the goal of self determination for Europe?

Wilson’s views were threatening to the British and French governments as both ruled
millions of people in their Empires, they were ​imperialists ​whilst​ ​Wilson was an​ idealist.
They did not allow their colonies self-determination. It was also impractical as would be very
difficult to give the peoples of eastern Europe the chance to rule themselves because they
were scattered across many countries.Wilson was not from Europe and so did not fully grasp
how difficult self determination would be. Some people were bound to end up being ruled by
other nationalities with different customs. Furthermore, self determination meant there were
many small countries that Hitler could later exploit and take over.

Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted?

Who What they liked about the TOV What they didn’t like

France would be the recipient Thought the TOV was not

George of reparations and secure on harsh enough and Germany
Clemenceau the Eastern frontier if Germany could recover
kept to the TOV
Still worried about the
eastern frontier
France received Alsace -
Lorraine and some of
Germany's former colonies

Germany’s land population and

resources were reduced
significantly

He expanded British colonies The placement of German

Lloyd George and felt the TOV punished
Germany without destroying
economy and chance of
communism.
speaking people under
French or Polish rule
Unhappy with Wilson’s 14
points that restrict British
navy and its colonies
 LON was created,
Woodrow disarmament, Rhineland still a
Wilson part of Germany, Poland
Czechoslovakia and
Yugoslavia independent.
Thought the TOV was too
harsh
-Free navigation of the seas
was abandoned at
insistence of ​Britain

-​Britain, France and Japan

rewarding themselves with
Germany’s colonies

-Self determination not

implemented as

-Austria not allowed to unite

with Germany

-Sudeten Germans not

consulted about future

-Could not convince his own

country to join LON (USA
wanted to pursue the policy
of isolation and stay out of
future European wars)

They were not free to get what they wanted as:

● The leaders’ aims were all too different and they could not all get what they wanted
● They came from different countries who had been affected differently- public opinion
at home affected the leaders’ decisions
● Wilson was an idealist with different policies, Wilson and Clemenceau were
Imperialists and realists- different ideas due to national self interest
Terms of the Treaty of Versailles: BRAT

Blame- The War Guilt Clause- Germany and allies

had to accept full responsibility for the war.
This provided justification for other clauses
of the TOV - had to accept reparations.

Reparations- Blank cheque, £6,600 million decided in

1921 (Terms of payment changed under the
Young Plan)

Army- ● Germany was forbidden to have

submarines or an air force.
● A navy of only six battleships
● An army of 100,000 men.
● Conscription was banned.
● No troops in the Rhineland which 50
miles wide bordering France.

Territory- ​German colonies became mandates

controlled by LON (Britain and France had
control)

● Alsace Lorraine given to France

● Danzig (In Polish Corridor) became
a free city by the LON, taken away
from Germany
● Poland could use the port for
external trade
● Polish Corridor cut East Prussia
from Germany
● Saar Basin under LON for 15 years,
then a plebiscite to decide if it
should be France, Germany’s or
LON. In the meantime, profits of
coal mines go to France.
● Anschluss was forbidden
● Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania set up
as independent states - Treaty of
Brest Litovsk cancelled
German Reactions to the Treaty

● Germans first thought the TOV would be based on Wilson’s 14 points and were quite
shocked as it was very harsh. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania were allowed self
determination, but German speaking people were forced into new countries such as
Czechoslovakia. Anschluss (union with Austria) was also forbidden. Germans were
also insulted that they were not invited to join the LON and were not represented at
the peace talks.
● Blamed new democratic government for the humiliation of the TOV. November
criminals, Stab in the back
● The Germans hate the War Guilt Clause; they said they were not to blame for the
war. Hurt Germany's pride.
● The Germans hated reparations; in the beginning they refused to pay. However, were
forced to start paying after the invasion of France and Britain on Germany. Since the
reparations were so high they accused France and Britain of trying to ‘starve their
children to death’.
● The Germans hated their tiny army. They said they were helpless against other
countries. At first they refused to reduce the army, and the sailors sank the fleet,
rather than hand it over. They would be defenseless should an attack happen. This
hurt Germany’s pride and also the fact that the other nations were not disarming.
● The Germans also hated the loss of territory. Germany lost 10% of its land, 12.5% of
population and 16% of coalfields - they claimed that the treaty was simply an attempt
to destroy their economy. Other nations were given self-determination – but the
Treaty forced Germans to live in other countries. Germans were also angry that they
could not unite with the Austrian Germans.
Impact on Germany: (Can be the reasons for why the TOV was unfair)
● Hyperinflation - unable to pay reparations so they printed more money
● Occupation of the Ruhr - as they were unable to pay reparations in 1922, French
troops marched into the Ruhr and took resources as the reparation in 1923
● Rise of right wing extremist groups - TOV was so widely condemned by Germans
that it led to their rise as they argued Germany had been treated unfairly
○ Right Wing- Kapp Putsch in 1920
○ Munich Putsch 1923
○ Spartacist Uprising 1919
● Communism - gained popularity amongst the poorer citizens
● Germany and America - America gave loans to Germany to help kickstart their
economy, however 1929 crash resulted in disaster- Dawes Plan

Could the treaties be justified at the time?

The TOV was fair because

Most of the territories the Germans lost was through plebiscites, meaning Germany actually
got to keep some too. Austria and the Sudetenland had never officially been part of the
Germany, they had no claim to it.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Germany imposed on Russia in March 1918 was just as harsh - 32%
of the land, 34% of the population, 54% of the industry, 300 million gold rubble, ¾ of its iron
ore industry. Germany had no right to complain.

Many were in the mood of post war recovery- many were starving, buildings ruined, public
pressure.

The TOV wasn't fair because

Germany wasn't fully to blame for the war- as one of the main reasons for the outbreak of
war was the increased amounts of weapon manufacture in many countries
Reparations were too harsh- would cause inflation etc, Germany’s economy was already
shattered from the war.
Army- Needed an army to defend itself incase of attacks such as the French in 1923 in the
Ruhr
Territory- Lost the right to self-determination
Other treaties that dealt with Germany's allies were:

Treaty of Sevres with Turkey 1920

● Turkey had to recognise the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Armenia.
● Turkey lost its provinces in the Middle East to Britain and France.
● Turkey lost territory to Greece and Italy.
● Turkey lost Smyrna and East Thrace to Greece.
● Syria became a mandate under French control.
● Iraq and Palestine became British mandates.
● Rhodes was ceded to Italy.
● The Dardanelles Strait was to become an international waterway.
● The Turks had to accept that countries of their former empire such as Egypt, Tunisia
and Morocco were now independent or were under British or French protection.
● Turkey was allowed a maximum of 50000 soldiers, seven sloops and six torpedo
boats.
● There should be no conscription.
● Agree to the Covenant of the League of Nations.

However, there was a revolution, led by Mustapha Kemal who drove the Greeks out of
Smyrna and the Treaty of Seres was revoked. the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) now allowed
Turkey an unlimited army, canceled reparations and recovered territory in Europe including
Dardanelles Strait. (Middle Eastern colonies still lost)

Treaty of Saint Germain with Austria 1919

● The Treaty declared that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was to be dissolved.
● Austria was to become a republic.
● Austria had to accept responsibility for causing the war.
● The Treaty included war reparations to the Allies.
● Austria’s army was to be restricted to 30000. (Figure required)
● Conscription was abolished.
● Austria had to reduce its armaments/had to disarm/had to lose military strength.
● Austria could not enter into union with Germany.
● Austria had to recognise the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
and Poland. (Max of two marks for countries)
● Austria lost land to Czechoslovakia. (If Bohemia or Moravia given – another mark)
Austria lost land to Yugoslavia. (If Bosnia or Herzegovina given – another mark)
Austria lost land to Italy (If the South Tyrol as far as the Brenner Pass, Trentino, Istria
or Trieste is given – another mark)
● Austria lost land to Poland. (Galicia – another mark)
● Austria had to accept the Covenant of the League of Nations.
● Austria had to accept war guilt.

Austria went bankrupt before reparations could be set.

Treaty of Trianon with Hungary 1920
● Hungary had to accept the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
● Hungary had to recognise the independence of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia
● Romania gained Transylvania.
● Yugoslavia gained Slovenia.
● Czechoslovakia gained Ruthenia and Slovakia. (2 marks)
● Hungary’s army was limited to 35000 men.(2 marks)
● Hungary had to pay reparations.
● Hungary had to hand over war criminals.
● There was to be a League of Nations.

Supposed to pay reparations but were too weak to.

Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria

Army of 20,000 volunteers
4 Torpedos
No Air Force
Reparations of £100 million to be payed
Land in Western Bulgaria to Yugoslavia
Land also goes to Romania and Greece
Recognise independence of Yugoslavia

Bulgaria paid its reparations

Answers from IGCSE Past Papers​ ​except Neuilly; BBC Bitesize

References
Cantrell, J., Smith, N., Smith, P. and Ennion, R. (2013). ​Complete 20th century History
for Cambridge IGCSE​. Oxford University Press.

Johndclare.net. (2018). ​GCSE Modern World History.​ [online] Available at:

http://www.johndclare.net/ [Accessed 8 Jan. 2018].

Walsh, B. (2013). ​Modern World History​. Hodder Education.

BBC Bitesize