Peacemaking Flashcards
All 31 cards in this deck
Who were the 'Big Three' at the Paris Peace Conference (1919), and which country did each lead?
Woodrow Wilson (USA), Georges Clemenceau (France) and David Lloyd George (Britain).
What were Wilson's Fourteen Points?
Wilson's plan for lasting world peace, including self-determination (countries ruling themselves), disarmament, freedom of the seas and a League of Nations.
What did Clemenceau want from the peace settlement?
Revenge and a harsh treaty: security from future invasion by weakening Germany's military and economic strength, and large reparations.
What did Lloyd George want from the peace settlement?
A treaty harsh enough to satisfy British opinion but not so harsh it caused a future war, keeping Germany economically viable as a trading partner, while protecting the British Empire.
True or false? The armistice of 11 November 1918 was the same thing as the Treaty of Versailles.
False. The armistice was the ceasefire ending the fighting; the Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919.
What does it mean that the Treaty of Versailles was a 'Diktat'?
It was a dictated peace: Germany was excluded from the negotiations and forced to sign, under threat of renewed fighting/invasion.
What were the military restrictions in the Treaty of Versailles?
Army limited to 100,000 men, no tanks, military aircraft or submarines, navy limited to 6 battleships, and the Rhineland demilitarised.
What territorial changes did the Treaty of Versailles impose on Germany?
Germany lost about 13% of its land, including Alsace-Lorraine to France and the Polish Corridor, which split Germany in two; its colonies became League of Nations mandates.
What was Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles?
The War Guilt clause, which forced Germany to accept full blame for starting the war.
What reparations was Germany required to pay under the peace settlement?
£6,600 million, fixed in 1921, for the damage caused during the war — a bill estimated to take over 60 years to repay.
How did the American Senate react to the Treaty of Versailles?
It refused to ratify the Treaty.
True or false? The Treaty of Versailles fully followed Wilson's Fourteen Points.
False. It included some, such as the League of Nations, but ignored others — for example disarmament was imposed only on Germany.
Give one German objection to the reparations in the Treaty of Versailles.
The bill was huge while Germans were suffering starvation after the war, making recovery much harder.
Give one problem faced by the new states created by the peace settlement.
They contained large ethnic minorities, such as Germans left inside Poland and Czechoslovakia, who did not want to be ruled by them.
Which of his aims did Wilson succeed in getting into the peace settlement?
The League of Nations was set up, and self-determination created new states in eastern Europe.
True or false? Clemenceau achieved his aim of turning the Rhineland into a separate state independent of Germany.
False. He had to settle for the Rhineland staying German but demilitarised, with Allied occupation for 15 years.
When did Wilson first set out his Fourteen Points?
January 1918, in a speech to the US Congress, months before the fighting ended.
Give one reason Germany asked for an armistice in autumn 1918.
Its army was beaten and in retreat, so carrying on the war risked an Allied invasion of Germany.
Give one term of the armistice of 11 November 1918.
Germany had to withdraw its troops from occupied France and Belgium within 15 days. Other terms included surrendering guns, aircraft and submarines, interning its surface fleet, and letting Allied troops occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
What did the Treaty of Versailles decide about the Saar?
This coal-rich German region was run by the League of Nations for 15 years, with France taking its coal; its people would then vote on their future.
What happened to Danzig under the Treaty of Versailles?
The German port became a 'free city' under League of Nations control, giving Poland use of it as a seaport.
True or false? The peace settlement allowed Germany and Austria to unite.
False. Union (Anschluss) between Germany and Austria was forbidden by both the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of St Germain.
Why did many people in France think the Treaty of Versailles was too lenient?
They feared it left Germany able to recover and threaten France again; for example, the reparations were lower than many French people wanted.
Give one part of the Treaty of Versailles that pleased Lloyd George.
Britain gained former German colonies as mandates, enlarging the British Empire.
Why did many Germans believe their army had not really been beaten in 1918?
The war ended with no Allied troops on German soil, so many felt their army was undefeated; some blamed politicians and 'traitors' at home instead (the 'stab in the back' myth).
Who was John Maynard Keynes, and what did he think of the Treaty of Versailles?
A British Treasury economist at the Paris peace talks who resigned in protest and in 1919 published a book attacking the treaty, arguing the reparations were more than Germany could pay and would damage Europe's economy.
Give one argument that the Treaty of Versailles was not too harsh.
Germany itself had imposed the far harsher Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on Russia in March 1918, stripping it of huge areas including Poland, the Baltic lands and Ukraine.
What was the Treaty of St Germain (1919)?
The peace treaty with Austria: the Austro-Hungarian empire was broken up, Austria lost land such as South Tyrol to Italy and Bohemia to the new Czechoslovakia, and its army was capped at 30,000.
What was the Treaty of Trianon (1920)?
The peace treaty with Hungary: it lost around 70% of its territory, for example Transylvania to Romania and Slovakia to Czechoslovakia, and its army was capped at 35,000.
What was the Treaty of Neuilly (1919)?
The peace treaty with Bulgaria: it lost Western Thrace, its Aegean coastline, to Greece, had to pay reparations and cut its army to 20,000.
Why was the Treaty of Sèvres (1920) replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923)?
Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal rejected Sèvres and drove out the Greek army; Lausanne let Turkey keep Anatolia and Eastern Thrace and pay no reparations.