The Treaty of Versailles ended World War 1 and placed blame and punishments on Germany. It required military restrictions on Germany and territorial concessions. It also established the League of Nations and international organizations. However, the treaty's harsh terms humiliated Germany and helped create tensions that led to the rise of Hitler and a second world war.
2. Background
- The Treaty of Versailles
was a peace treaty to
end the First World War
- World War I lasted from
1914 through 1918
3. Two Front War
The First World War was Fought on 2
fronts:
- The Western Front was the lands
between Germany and France
- The Eastern Front consisted of the
lands between Germany and Russia
4. Alliances
Triple Entente Triple
- Britain Alliance/Central
- France Powers
- Germany
- Russia - Austria-Hungary
- United States - Italy
(toward the end)
5. End of the Fighting
- Armistice signed on November
11, 1918
- It took 6 more months to negotiate
a peace treaty
6. Negotiating The Treaty
-Met in Paris in January, 1919
- Excluded Germany, Austria, and Hungary, since they
were considered the defeated parties
- Excluded Russia because it had previously made a
peace treaty with Germany and removed itself from the
war
7. Wilson’s 14 Point Plan
-Woodrow Wilson’s Post war plan
- Proposed Self Determination of Nations
-Would create the League of Nations, which
laid the ground work for the United Nations
8. Military Restrictions on Germany
- 100,000 man Standing Army
- Only 15,000 in Naval Forces
- No Importing or Exporting Weapons
- Further restrictions on Weapons Production
9. Major Territory Changes
- Loss of German Colonies
- Gave over of the Rhine lands to
France
- German land used to establish the
new Poland
- Austria banned from annexation to
Germany
-German land used for the creation
of Czechoslovakia
10. Article 231
“The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the
responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and
damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their
nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed
upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”
- Original Text from The Treaty Of Versailles
- A.K.A “The War Guilt Clause”
- Placed the blame on Germany for the war
- Justified the consequences in the Treaty
11. Reparations
-226 billion Reichsmarks to be paid back
to the allied forces
- Later reduced to 132
billion Reichsmarks
- Finished paying off
in 2010
12. International Organizations
-League of Nations
- Intended to avoid future wars through
diplomacy and international cooperation
-International Labor Organization
-Created to improve working standards in
nations around the world
13. Reactions
-France wanted harsher consequences
- England, on the other hand, feared that the
treaty went to far in punishing Germany
- The United States Senate, led by the
Republican party, refused to ratify the Treaty
- Germany felt humiliated and angry
14. Years to Follow
-World wide economic depression soon followed
- German Reichsmark became virtually worthless due to
inflation
- Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933
and began to overturn various parts
of the Treaty
- League of Nations finds itself
unable to intervene and
uphold the Treaty
- World War II broke out in 1939
15. Sources
Map of Eastern and Western Fronts (Slide 3)
http://www.cobwfa.ca/cobpics/ww1_map.gif
Alliances Flag (Slide 4)
http://www.ww1-propaganda-cards.com/images/sallies6shflags.JPG
Map of Post Word War I Europe (Slide 9)
http://pages.uoregon.edu/mccole/303Spring2011/maps/EuropeAfterWWI.jpg
Article 231 quote (Slide 10)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_231_of_the_Treaty_of_Versailles
Picture of Children Playing with Reichsmarks (Slide 11)
http://beingsakin.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/german-children-
playing-with-worthless-paper-reichsmarks.jpg
Picture of Adolf Hitler
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdolfHitler
