The End of WWI

The Treaty of Versailles

 It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I were dealt with in separate treaties.

The peace settlement signed after WWI ended

Signed at the Versailles Palace in France

The Big ThreeDavid Lloyd George

of EnglandWoodrow Wilson of

USAGeorges Clemenceau

of France

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

Britain’s AttitudeGermany should be punished, but not so much

that the people would turn to Communism, like what was happening in Russia

The British public wanted severe repercussions for Germany

Had to go with popular opinion, rather than gut feeling

The Attitudes towards Germany

France’s AttitudeBring Germany to their knees so

that it could never start a war again

This reflected the French public as well

Germany had destroyed the north-east corner of France displacing 750,000 French people. This deserved a total reprimand

USA AttitudesWilson and the USA were stunned by the

atrocities of WWI. Questioned how a civilized country could create that much devastation

American public wanted to be isolated from Europe, wanted limited input on the Treaty

Wilson wanted Germany to be punished but in a way that would lead to reconciliation, not revenge

Took away vast amounts of land from the Germany territory

-Alsace-Lorraine given to France-West Prussia given to Poland-The League of Nations took over

Germany’s overseas colonies-Return land to Russia taken away in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: New Countries of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia

What did the Treaty do to Germany?

Germany’s army reduced to 100,000 men and no tanks

Germany was not allowed an air force

Only allowed 6 naval ships

A Demilitarized zone was established along the Rhine river, Germany not allowed to cross over

German Military

Germany had to admit full responsibility for the war.

Since Germany was responsible for the war, it had to pay full reparations mainly in France and Belgium. Pay over $33 billion

A League of Nations was established to keep world peace.

Three Critical Aspects

They could either sign the Treaty

Or, be invaded by the allies

Since their armies were completely disbanded, they had no choice but to sign it

Germany’s Choices

Since Russia’s new communist government left the war early, they were not invited to Versailles.

The Allies wanted to weaken Russia to keep communism from spreading westward.

Russia and the Treaty

The break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire led to the independence of four new nations: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.

Central Powers post WWI

The weak Ottoman Empire (Turkey) was also broken up.

Some of the territories were given independence, while others such as Palestine, Iraq, and Syria were given to Britain and France.

With Wilson’s 14 points

The League of Nations

The treaty that ended the “war to end all wars” merely provided the motivation for WWII, just twenty years later.