The Treaty of Versailles

Signed June 28, 1918

Chateau at Commecourt (France)

1. How does seeing this image make YOU (as a Canadian of the 21st century) feel?

2. How would your reaction to the picture be different if you were a Frenchman/woman living in 1919?

Aftermath of the Battle at Somme, France (nearly 60 000 British soldiers died in 1 day)

1. How does seeing this image make YOU (as a Canadian of the 21st century) feel?

2. How would your reaction to the picture be different if you were a Englishman/woman living in 1919?

It’s Payback time!

If you were a Canadian/ English/French or American citizen in 1919, would you want some kind of payback?

A. Think about the various costs of the war: death, injuries, disease, money, destruction of countryside and land

What would you demand as compensation from the Germans?

The Great War left…

More than 16 million dead!

21 million injured.

Left Europe in shambles.

“The Lost Generation”

Versailles?

Signed June 28, 1918

27 Nations attended, but 3 were most important

The Big Four

The Big Four at Versailles

What did France Want?

George Clemenceau

Revenge

Security (so that Germany could never invade again)

Reparations (for damage done by German invasion of Northern France)

What did Britain Want?

English public = very anti-German

Lloyd George:

• Britain needs Germany to recover (for trade)

• Scared of the “disease from the East”

Lloyd George

What did America Want?

Woodrow Wilson

Did not have the support of the American public.

Set up League of Nations

Fulfillment of Fourteen Points

Punish Germany but not to completely destroy her.

Student Simulation

Terms of the Treaty

German de-militarization:

Army reduced to 100,000 men

No tanks

No air force

No submarines & battleships

Rhineland de-militarized

Allies occupy west bank of Rhine for 15 years

Territorial Changes

What has changed?

Territorial Losses Germany lost all overseas colonies

Alcase-Lorraine given to France

Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium, North Schleswig to Denmark, Posen to Poland

Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

“The War Guilt Clause”

Germany accepts ALL responsibility for starting the

war!Question: Given what you already know about WWI, was this fair?

Reparations

Germany had to pay all the damages caused by her armies

during the war

US$ 31.4 billion ($ 442 billion in 2011)

!!!!!!

German Reaction

What does this cartoon say about how Germany reacted to the terms?

What do you predict all of this did to

Germany?

Peace and Future Cannon Fodder

Political Cartoon of 1920 by Australian artist Will Dyson