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The Treaty of Versailles
June 1919
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The Big Four
Woodrow Wilson USA David Lloyd-George Great Britain
Georges Clemenceau France Vittorio Orlando Italy
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The Big Four at Versailles in 1919
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What did France want from thetreaty?
Security
Revenge
Reparations
Clemenceau : TheTiger
Clemenceau wanted to make sure
that Germany could not invadeFrance in the future. He wasdetermined that Germany should bemade to pay for the damage thathadbeen caused in northern France by
the invading German armies.
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David Lloyd-George
In public Lloyd-George said hewanted to punishthe Germans. The
British public was veryanti-Germanatthe end ofthe war.
In private he realised that Britainneeded Germanyto recover
because she was an importanttrading partner.
He was also worried aboutthedisease from the east ,communism. The Russian
governmenthad been overthrownbya communist revolution in 1917.Lloyd-George believed thatthespread of communism had to bestopped. A strong Germany would
be a barrier against it.
What did Britain Want?
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WoodrowWilson
What did AmericaWant?
Woodrow Wilson wanted the treatyto bebased on his Fourteen Points
He believed Germany should be punishedbut not severely. He wanted a just
settlementthat would not leave Germanyfeeling resentful
Wilson wanted to set up an internationalorganisation called The League of
Nations which would settle disputes
The American public did not supporthim.They were fed up with involvement inEuropean affairs. The USA became more
isolationist.
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What were the terms ofthe Treaty of Versailles?
To do with Germanys armed forces :
The German army was to be reduced to 100,000 men. It wasnotallowed to have tanks.
Germany was notallowed an airforce
The areaknown as the Rhineland was to be de-militarised
The Allies were to occupy the west bank ofthe Rhine for
fifteen years
The German navy was to have no submarines or large battle-ships
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100,000 De-militarised
The MilitaryClauses
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Territorial Losses
Germany lost ALL ofher overseascolonies
Alsace-Lorraine was given to
France
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Eupen and Malmedy were given to Belgium
North-Schleswig was given toDenmark
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"The Allied and Associated Governmentsaffirm, and Germany accepts, the
responsibility of Germany and her Allies forcausing all the loss and damage to which theAllied and Associate Governments and theirnationals have been subjected as a
consequence of a war imposed upon themby the aggression of Germany and herAllies."
Article 231
The War Guilt Clause
GERMANY ACCEPTEDRESPONSIBILITY FOR
STARTING THE WAR
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REPARATIONS
Germanyagreed to pay for the damage
caused byher armies during the war. Thesum she had to pay was later fixed at6,600 million
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Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria