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KQ1 - Were the Peace Treaties of fair?
Full set of notes for KQ1 - Were the Peace Treaties of Fair? Includes effects of the treaties from a nation by nation perspective. This document helped me achieve a Grade 9 at GCSE.
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KQ1 Were the Peace Treaties of 1919-23 fairThe Effects of the First World War
- as WW! Drew to a close – allied forces pushed Imperial German forces back
across the European continent towards Germany
- 4 years of brutal warfare had left Europe in ruins
- By October 1918 it was clear to the German military that they had lost
- The damage caused was terrible
- General Ludendorff (German military commander) pushed for an armistice
much to the shock of many generals and politicians
- This was agreed on November 11th, 1918 – meant to be based of Wilson’s 14
points
Economic Effects
- Britain, Russia and France were effectively bankrupt, relying on money from
USA; the war had cost billions of dollars
- Inflation – continuous rising prices, hit Germany
- There was a shortage of fuel in Germany
- Germany’s currency had collapsed, causing a black market and barter (trading
in goods)
Social Effects
- Millions of refugees lay displaced across Europe carrying sickness and diseases
with them as they went home – flue killed 50 million people alone
- An estimate of 35 million people had died worldwide (either from direct war
or disease)
- 6 million from the Triple Alliance had died, 4 million of the Triple Entente
- The lack of working men had led to a boom in working women – women did
industrial work and began pushing for the vote too, the hierarchical structure
of society began to break apart
Political Effects
- The Hohenzollern royal family (in Germany) would cease to rule when
Wilhelm abdicated on 28th November 1918
- Friedrich Ebert – a politician would now be in charge of what would be called
the Weimar Republic Government
- The empires of Russia, Austria-Hungary and Turkey had collapsed
, - The Russian Tsar lay dead
- Turkey become a backwater
- The Habsburg monarchy would no longer have an empire to rule
- Britain and France’s colonies now began to think about independence
Territory Effects
- Germany lost 15% of her population
- Most fighting occurred in France and Germany, which suffered huge damage
- Germany’s borders were now undecided, but France wanted Alsace-Lorraine
and the Rhineland, whilst Poland eyed land to the West of Germany
Motives and Aims of the Big Three
- The victorious nations that would decide Germany’s fate met at Versailles in
Paris
- Initially this was Britain (under David Lloyd-George), France (under Georges
Clemenceau), USA (under Woodraw Wilson) and Italy (under Orlando)
- However, Italy soon stormed out, leaving just 3 dominant members – Known
as The Big Three
France: Clemenceau wanted revenge
- 2/3 of French army had been killed or injured
- Clemenceau felt Germany to be her biggest threat
- The French remembered the Franco-Prussian War of 1870s
o When Germany won the previous war they create a harsh treaty to
punish France
o French president (Poincare) wanted Germany broken up into 16 states
- Wanted a treaty that would weaken Germany forever – France’s population
was in decline and they had lost large sections of industry and land
USA: Wilson Wanted Peace
- Woodraw Wilson was often seen as the idealist
- His aim was to rebuild a better, peaceful Europe from the ruins of WW1
- He believed Germany should be punished, but not too harshly so as to avoid
revenge
- He wanted Democracy to be strong, so that the German People would not
allow their leaders to go to war
- He had his famous ‘14 points’ to help achieve peace
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