Treaty of Versaillesand theWorldwide Depression

UNIT 2 NOTES

In November 1918 Germany surrenders to the Allied countries. The most powerful ones, being France, USA

and Britain, wanted to create a treaty that clearly explained what Germany would now have to do.

BUT WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

WHEN: January 1919WHEN: January 1919 Allied countries could not agree on what

the treaty should include, but... They could agree on WHERE it should take

place: A French palace in a city called Versailles (near Paris)

Why? After World War I,

leaders from countries involved in the war met here to write a treaty (peace talks)

Treaty outlined the terms of the winners and what they expected of the losing country

• Step 2) Begin debate with the other leaders about how to deal with Germany (20 min.)

• Step 3) Begin to divide up the resources of Germany (10 min.)

• Step 4) Complete the chart detailing how you dealt with Germany (15 min.)

• Step 5) Receive the description of the true Treaty of Versailles and compare to your Treaty of Versailles (10 min.)

Why did they all react so Why did they all react so differently?differently?

Many Historians believe that disagreements happened

because the war affected the countries in many different ways.

WHAT COUNTRIES WERE INVOLVED...

750,000 men died

Spent nearly $8 billion of which $1

billion was borrowed from the USA

Some British people blamed

Germany for the war and wanted

revenge

The British Prime Minister thought that if the Treaty was too harsh,

then Germany might one day start another war.

I don’t want to cripple Germany in the Treaty. I think that this could start

another war in the future, but people in Britain want Germany to pay.

They joined in 1917 and lost They joined in 1917 and lost 113,000 men.113,000 men.

USA’s homeland was never attacked

USA wanted a ‘softer’ treaty because they thought Germany was important for the future...

Woodrow Wilson: I don’t agree with France. It’s probably because we didn’t suffer nearly as much as the French. However, I want to

focus upon setting up the League of Nations.

The U.S. did not join the League of Nations for fear of being drawn into more wars. This also means the U.S. did not sign the Treaty of Versailles.

Most of the fighting took place in Northern

France.

1,250,000 men died

Germany stole 90% of France’s coal and iron in 1914

Many roads and factories had been

destroyedI want to make sure that Germany pays for the problems it has caused us. We suffered the most in World War I, and we demand revenge and reparations

Clemencau

FRANCE

USA

BRITAIN

“SIGN THE TREATY OR WE WILL INVADE YOU……IT’S YOUR

CHOICE!”28 June 1919

The treaty was dictated to Germany-- they did not have a say in it.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

MASSIVE ARMY CUTS

The Army was cut to just 100,000 men, the Navy could only have 6 battleships, and

they were not allowed to build any new planes, tanks, or

submarines.

GERMAN LAND GIVEN AWAY

Germany lost land to France, Poland, Belgium, and Denmark. An area of Germany was even separated from the

mainland.

GERMANY’S EMPIRE

All of Germany’s colonies were taken away and given

away to the Allied countries.

PAY COMPENSATION

This was known as reparations.

Germany had to pay $33 billion

dollars.

Treaty of Versailles

WHAT DID THE TREATY ACCOMPLISH?WHAT DID THE TREATY ACCOMPLISH?

This organization of nations would cooperate to keep peace.

Not only did Germany lose about 10% of its land, it also consequently lost 10% of its population. German people were now living in foreign countries.

Land taken away from Germany under the treaty of Versailles

“Today in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles the disgraceful Treaty is being signed.

Do not forget it. The German people will press forward to reconquer the place among nations to which we deserve. Then will come revenge for the shame of 1919.”

Excerpt from a German newspaper on the day the treaty was signed...

Germany was a proud country due to its military strength and strong traditions of dominance within

that area of Europe. However, the treaty of Versailles created different feelings:

The war had left Germany almost bankrupt. As its

people starved and the country lay in

chaos, the Allies gave them a bill (Treaty of Versailles) that they

simply could not afford to pay...

RESULT: German money become

worthless

German money was German money was only good for only good for starting fires…starting fires…

HOW DID THE U.S. HELP HOW DID THE U.S. HELP GERMANY?GERMANY?

The Dawes PlanReduced the amount Germany owed

Set payments Germany could handle

Loaned Germany $200 million

Worldwide DepressionGermany wasn’t the only country who suffered

In the 1930s, countries around the world fell into a worldwide economic depression

WHY?...

USA's Economic USA's Economic DepressionDepression 1929—USA experienced a stock market crash Value of stocks began to

drop so stockholders began to sell their stocks as fast as they could

Businesses could no longer sell their goods because people had less money to spend, so many had to close & workers lost their jobs

People couldn’t repay their loans to the bank, so they lost everything (homes, farms, etc.)

Worldwide Economic Worldwide Economic DepressionDepression Businesses around the world traded with

the US: When the US stopped buying goods, it hurt

businesses in other countries When US banks closed, banks in other countries

were hurt too Stockholders in other countries could no longer

sell their stocks to American companies As businesses and factories around the

world closed one by one, buying and selling almost stopped…