Treaty of Versailles PDF 1918

## 3: The Treaty of Versailles The fighting in the First World War came to an end on 11 November 1918. The news meant different things to different people. **SOURCE 1A** [In London] I could distinguish the hooting of motors, the ringing of handbells, the banging of tea-trays, the shrilling of pol...

## 3: The Treaty of Versailles The fighting in the First World War came to an end on 11 November 1918. The news meant different things to different people. **SOURCE 1A** [In London] I could distinguish the hooting of motors, the ringing of handbells, the banging of tea-trays, the shrilling of police whistles, the screaming of toy trumpets. Among the many ludicrous incidents to be observed was a parson marching at the head of a group of parishioners, singing lustily, with a Union Jack stuck in the top of his silk hat. *World Crisis, Winston Churchill, pub. 1923* **SOURCE 1B** [On the Western Front] Thank God! The end of a frightful four years: the awful winters in waterlogged trenches the terrible trench assaults and shellfire, loss of friends, exhaustion and wounds. *General Jack's Diary, pub. 1964* **Questions** * Put in your own words the different moods described by the writers in Sources 1A and 1B. * Give reasons for the differences. Now that the fighting had stopped, it was up to the politicians to work out a lasting peace. The representatives of the victors met at Versailles, near Paris. They worked out terms which would be presented to the defeated powers to sign. This took them well into 1919. The representatives in Versailles had many points to consider. If you had been in their place, what would you have done? After your study of Chapters 1 and 2, how would you answer these questions: **Questions** * Which of the four countries represented here was most affected by the war? * How might that affect the attitude of its representative to the discussions? * Which was the weakest country represented here? * Which country represented here was least affected by the war? * How do you think that might affect the attitude of its representative? * All four of the countries represented here were democracies. How might this fact influence the treaty? * Which countries are not represented here although they were deeply involved in the war? * Why do you think this is? * Who were the main peacemakers, and what were their aims and motives? ## The Versailles Peacemakers **Wilson, USA** Woodrow Wilson, the American President, was an idealist who wanted to build a better, safer world out of the war. When he led the USA into war in 1917, he did so on the basis of his 'Fourteen Points'. He had put these forward in the hope that, if they were accepted, they would prevent another war from ever taking place. ### The Fourteen Points 1. There should be no secret treaties; all international agreements should be open. 2. The seas were to be free to all countries at all times. 3. Customs barriers between countries should be removed. 4. Armaments should be reduced. 5. The wishes of the people in colonies should be taken into account when settling colonial claims. 6. German forces must leave Russia. 7. Belgium should be independent. 8. Alsace-Lorraine should be returned to France. 9. Italy's frontier should be adjusted to avoid quarrels with Austria. 10. There should be self-determination for the peoples of Eastern Europe. This meant that the different nationalities should be allowed to govern themselves in independent countries. 11. Serbia should be given a coastline. 12. There should be self-determination for the peoples of the Turkish Empire. 13. Poland should become independent from Russia and be given a coastline. 14. An international organisation to settle all disputes between countries should be set up, to be called the League of Nations. Woodrow Wilson now hoped that these Fourteen Points would be the basis of the treaty. Notice that there's no mention of punishing Germany in them. All fourteen of the points were meant to remove any possible disagreement which might lead to war in the way that the Sarajevo incident had done in 1914. **Clemenceau, France** Clemenceau was an old man who had seen his country invaded by Germany in 1870 and again in 1914. Since then he had seen his country shattered by four years of war. Clemenceau was now determined on revenge. His main aim was to weaken Germany so that it could never attack France again and to gain compensation for all the damage suffered by France. Wilson's ideals had no appeal for him. **Lloyd George, Britain** Lloyd George saw the danger in punishing Germany too severely. However, he had just won an election in Britain in which he had gained votes by promising to 'make Germany pay', to 'squeeze Germany till the pips squeak' and even to 'hang the Kaiser'. He also disagreed with point 2 of Wilson's Fourteen Points. He thought that Britain's safety depended on controlling the seas. ## Making peace Clearly, there was going to be some disagreement among the four countries concerned. None of them got everything they wanted. The German Army had surrendered on the basis of fair treatment under the 14 Points. But Wilson had to give way to the others in order to keep their support for the idea which was most important to him: point 14, the setting up of the League of Nations. This point was written into the treaty. Several other points from the fourteen were accepted but only when it suited Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Orlando. The peacemakers did not have much time to consider the problem. They had to act quickly, for Europe was in chaos: 1. A terrible flu epidemic was killing more people, already weak from food shortages, than the whole war had done. 2. In Germany the Kaiser had abdicated and fled to Holland. A new, democratically elected republic was set up. The new German republic hoped for reasonable terms from the treaty. 3. Following the example of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Communists tried to seize power in parts of Germany and Hungary. 4. In Eastern Europe some people had taken the law into their own hands and set up their own- ==End of OCR for page 1== <start_of_image> It to see she is tai <br/> <br/> <start_of_image> It to see she is ta <br/> <br/> <start_of_image> It to see she is ta