THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

What happens when a war has just finished?

• 11th November 1918, 1100hrs - the war is over!• 7,849,000 soldiers lay dead in the fields of Europe - a generation wiped out by bomb, bullet

and gas.• The Allied powers meet to decide on the key

points surrounding the First World War. They were to decide who caused the war, who is to

pay and what is to become of Germany, Austria and indeed Europe as a whole.

Treaty of Versailles 1919- a group

decision making activity

NOW ITS YOUR TURN...

IN GROUPS OF 4 YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE PART IN A SIMULATION OF THE EVENTS AT VERSAILLES.

Decide amongst you who will play the following roles:

• David Lloyd George (British PM)• Woodrow Wilson (President of USA)• Georges Clemenceau (France)• Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

The Great Powers at the Treaty of Versailles

Lloyd George (UK), Italian Foreign Minister Giorgio Sonnio,

Georges Clemenceau (France) & Woodrow Wilson (USA)

Woodrow Wilson (USA)

• USA did not suffer much.• Wants lasting peace in

Europe.• Doesn’t want to punish

Germany harshly.• Wants a fair treaty that will

not lead to trouble in the future.

David Lloyd George (Britain)

• He does not want the Germans to feel hard done by and become aggressive in the future.

• But the British people want Germany punished harshly. He cannot ignore this.

• Wants to keep the British empire strong and well defended.

• Wants to build trade with other countries including Germany.

Georges Clemenceau (France)

• Germany must repay France compensation for all the damage caused, as most of the war has taken place in France.

• The Germans must admit that they alone caused the war.

• Germany must be made so weak she will never attack France again.

• France must take revenge on Germany.

Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

• When Italy joined the war they were promised the Adriatic Coast.

• When Orlando arrived at Versailles he expected France and Britain to keep their promise.

• Orlando felt that Italy should be greatly rewarded for changing sides during the war.

Problem Proposal

German army

Navy and airforce

Reparations

War guilt

Overseas empire (colonies)

Alsace-Lorraine

What were the terms of the treaty? Army reduced to 100 000

Navy of just 6 battle ships – no submarines

No air force

Land lost to Belgium, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark

Lost overseas colonies

Reparations of £6.6 billion

No military allowed in the Rhineland

Accept full blame for causing war – the War Guilt Clause

What aspects of the Treaty do you think Germans hated the most and why?

Review your treaty - Was it a fair settlement?

• Compare the decisions YOUR group made with those made at Versailles in 1919.

• Do you think Germany would have been pleased with the decisions made in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles?

Why did Germans oppose it?

Why did they accept it?

Felt humiliated by it – had not negotiated it. Forced to accept it. Germans called it the Diktat.

Many did not believe Germany had lost war but had been betrayed by politicians in Germany.

Made to accept blame, lost land, money – very difficult to recover from it

Had no choice! Accept the treaty or war will continue and Germany will suffer even more.

Germany was too weak and damaged by war to fight on.

Many Germans promised to get revenge as soon as they could

What did the decisions made at this meeting lead to?

World War II1939-45