Detailed Grade 9 notes for AQA GCSE HISTORY: CONFLICT & TENSION .
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After the end of the war, the Germans surrendered and signed an armistice.
The armistice said that Germany would:
• Pay reparations
• Give Alsace-Lorraine back to France
• Demilitarise the Rhineland
Paris Peace Conference:
Held in January 1919.
Representatives from 32 countries met in the Palace of Versailles.
Aim was to decide the terms of the final peace treaties
The discussions were led by the ‘Big Three’
1) Georges Clemenceau = Prime Minister of France
2) David Lloyd George = Prime Minister of Britain
3) Woodrow Wilson = President of USA
Georges Clemenceau
o The French put Clemenceau under a lot of pressure to make Germany suffer
o Wanted revenge for all of the lives lost
o Wanted to cripple German by dramatically reducing their armed forces so that they were never
powerful enough to attack again
o Wanted Germany to pay reparations to rebuild areas of France badly affected by war
o Wanted to make people feel safer by pushing the German border back to the Rhine
David Lloyd George
o British public wanted Germany to be punished but Lloyd George feared that this would result in
Germany wanting revenge
o Wanted to keep Germany strong so it could remain a trade partner and act as a buffer to communism
o Wanted to gain German colonies to add to the British Empire
o Wanted naval supremacy by reducing Germany's navy
,Woodrow Wilson
o He was an idealist who wanted a future where everyone was treated fairly and equally
o Wanted a fair peace so that Germany would not seek revenge
o American public didn’t want the USA to get involved again
o He had many ideas for a better world and these were known as the Fourteen Points
o Proposed self-determination and freedom of the seas.
o He suggested that a world parliament called the League of Nations should be set up
The Big Three faced many problems at Versailles
❖ Conflicts of interest: it was hard for the Big Three to agree as each man wanted to achieve different
things and each nation put pressure on their leader.
❖ A changing Europe: Europe was unstable after the war. Many countries were breaking away and
declaring independence. Citizens had been fed anti-German propaganda during the war. People feared
that poverty and instability could lead to more trouble. Europe lay in tatters and the Big Three had to
act quickly.
❖ Prior agreements: during the War the Allies had made promises to different countries in return for
their support. For example: Italy was promised land. They struggled to agree on how to give back what
other countries claimed to be theirs.
❖ Armistice: Clemenceau believed that the terms of the armistice should also be in the final treaty as
Germany had agreed to these principles.
❖ Time constraints: The conference lasted 12 months and in this time they had to decide the fates of
Germany and its allies. The diplomats were pressured to make a decision quickly.
, CHAPTER 2
The diktat was signed on 28th June 1919.
No one was really satisfied with the Treaty of Versailles.
Land=
▪ Anschluss (union of Germany and Austria) was forbidden
▪ Germany lost 10% of its land = Alsace Lorraine & Eupen
▪ The Saar was given to the League to control for 15 years
▪ Polish Corridor split Germany in two
▪ Danzig was taken from Germany
▪ Germany's colonies were given to the League as mandates
Army=
▪ The German army was limited to 100,000 men
▪ Conscription was banned
▪ The Germany navy was restricted to 15,000 men with 1500 officers and 6 battleships
▪ The Rhineland was demilitarised
▪ Germany was not allowed tanks, submarines or an air force
Money=
▪ Article 232: reparations = amount set at £6.6 billion
▪ The Saar was an important industrial part of Germany due to the many coal mines but it was put under
control of the League
▪ Loss of military = fewer jobs in armed forces
Blame=
▪ Article 231: the war guilt clause
▪ Germany and its allies had to take full responsibility for starting the war
▪ Germany wasn’t allowed to join the newly formed League of Nations
▪ Germany's colonies were given to the League as mandates
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