The Treaty of Versailles 1919

The Treaty of Versailles 1919

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. It was the peace settlement that formally ended World War One between the Allied powers and Germany. The treaty remains one of the most controversial documents in modern history — criticised at the time and blamed by many historians for contributing to the outbreak of World War Two.

The Big Three

Three leaders dominated the Paris Peace Conference (January-June 1919):

Leader	Country	Main Aims
Georges Clemenceau (France)	France	Punish Germany severely; weaken Germany permanently; regain Alsace-Lorraine; security for France; Germany must pay for the war. France had suffered enormously: 1.4 million soldiers killed, much of northern France devastated
David Lloyd George (Britain)	Britain	A middle position: punish Germany but not so harshly that it would seek revenge; preserve trade with Germany; maintain the British Empire; "make Germany pay" (he had won the 1918 election partly on this promise)
Woodrow Wilson (USA)	USA	A fair and lasting peace based on his Fourteen Points (January 1918): self-determination (nations ruling themselves), free trade, disarmament, no secret treaties, and a League of Nations to settle future disputes peacefully. Wilson was seen as idealistic

Key Terms of the Treaty

Territorial Losses

Germany lost 13% of its land and 10% of its population (6 million people):

• Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
• Eupen and Malmedy given to Belgium
• North Schleswig given to Denmark (after a plebiscite)
• West Prussia and Posen (Poznan) given to Poland, creating the Polish Corridor — a strip of land giving Poland access to the sea but cutting East Prussia off from the rest of Germany
• Danzig (a German-speaking city) became a free city under League of Nations control
• The Saar (a coal-rich industrial region) was placed under League of Nations control for 15 years; France could mine its coal
• All German colonies were taken away and distributed as mandates to Allied nations (Britain, France, Japan, etc.)
• Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria (Anschluss)

Military Restrictions

• Army limited to 100,000 men (volunteers only, no conscription)
• No tanks, no air force, no submarines
• Navy limited to 6 battleships and 15,000 sailors
• The Rhineland (the area of Germany west of the River Rhine) was to be demilitarised — no German troops allowed there
• Allied troops would occupy the Rhineland for 15 years

War Guilt and Reparations

• Article 231 (the War Guilt Clause) stated that Germany accepted sole responsibility for causing the war. This was the most hated clause in Germany.
• Germany was required to pay reparations (compensation) to the Allies. The final figure, set in 1921, was £6.6 billion (equivalent to roughly £340 billion today) — to be paid in annual instalments.

German Reactions

The Treaty of Versailles was met with fury and humiliation in Germany:

• Germans called it a Diktat (dictated peace) because they had no say in the terms. German delegates were presented with the treaty and told to sign or face invasion.
• Many Germans believed the treaty was unfair because:
• Germany had not been solely responsible for the war
• The terms went far beyond Wilson's Fourteen Points, which Germany had expected to form the basis of peace
• The "stab in the back" myth (Dolchstosslegende) spread — the idea that Germany had not been defeated militarily but betrayed by politicians, Jews, and communists at home
• The Weimar Republic (Germany's new democratic government) was associated with the humiliation of Versailles, which undermined it from the start.

Key Exam Points

• Be prepared to explain the aims of each of the Big Three and how they differed.
• Evaluate whether the treaty was too harsh, too lenient, or about right — this is a very common exam question.
• Understand the link between Versailles and Hitler's rise: Hitler exploited German hatred of the treaty to build support for the Nazi Party.