Zusammenfassung der Ressource
The Treaty of Versailles
- The conference
- January 1919
- Delegates from 32 countries met in Paris
- Dominated by the 'Big Three'
- The Fontainebleau Referendum
- All of the Big Three wanted different things
- By March 1919, it looked as though the conference would break up
- However, on March 25th, Lloyd George
issued the Fontainebleau Referendum
- Lloyd George persuaded Clemenceau to agree to the League of nations...
- …And a more lenient peace treaty that would not destroy Germany.
- He also persuaded Wilson to agree to the War Guilt clause
- Signing the Treaty
- The Germans were shown the Treaty
- There were NO NEGOTIATIONS
- Germany published a rebuttal, but were ignored
- Delegates met on 28th June 1919
- Two Germans were forced to sign the treaty in the Hall of Mirrors
- Expectations of the Peace Treaty
- The Armistice of 11th November
1918 was greeted with joy
- People of Europe wanted lasting peace...
- …But also revenge on Germany -
they wanted to make Germany pay.
- Germany had expected that the Treaty
would be based on Wilson's 14 Points
- However, the Big Three expected to
base it on the terms of the Armistice.
- The Fourteen Points
- Setting up a League of Nations
- Disarmament
- Self-determination for the people of
Europe - the right to rule themselves
- Freedom of colonies
- Freedom of the seas
- Freedom of trade
- Terms of the Armistice
- German army disbanded
- Germany to give up its Navy
- Allied troops to occupy the Rhineland
- Reparations to be paid for losses and damage
- What did the Big Three want?
- Clemenceau
- Revenge and to punish Germany
- To return Alsace-Lorraine to France
- No League of Nations
- An independent Rhineland
- To disband the German army so that Germany would
never be strong enough to attack France again
- Huge reparations
- Lloyd George
- Land for Britain's empire
- To safeguard Britain's naval supremacy
- A 'just' peace treaty
- Tough enough to please the electors who wanted to 'make
Germany pay', but leaving Germany strong enough to trade
- Wilson
- To end war by creating a League of Nations based on his Fourteen Points.
- To ensure that Germany was not destroyed
- Not to blame Germany for war - he hated the Guilt Clause