Secondary Source A. The Saar - this was to be occupied for fifteen years and France would be able to mine coal in it for those years.

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1 Secondary Source A Collective Security What was the Versailles settlement? The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June. The German delegates had not been allowed to attend any of the meetings at Versailles. When they saw the terms, they were horrified. The Treaty was heavily influenced by Clemenceau's desire to 'make Germany pay'. The German delegates considered restarting the war, but this was impossible. The main terms of the Treaty were as follows Land - Germany lost about 10 percent of her land. Alsace-Lorraine was given back to France. The Polish Corridor was created to give the new country of Poland. Colonies - all German colonies were taken away and were handed to Britain and France. Armed forces - the German army was reduced to 100,000 men and conscription was banned, the navy was reduced to six ships and submarines were banned, the airforce was to be completely destroyed. The Rhineland - this was to be demilitarised. The Saar - this was to be occupied for fifteen years and France would be able to mine coal in it for those years. Reparations - Germany was to pay 6,600,000,000 for the damage caused by the war. War Guilt - Germany was to accept the blame for the war, alone. The Treaty was the result of bargaining between the allies. Italy was not given the Adriatic coast that had been promised by Britain and France at the Secret Treaty of London in France was not allowed to occupy the Rhineland Woodrow Wilson was not able to achieve freedom of the seas Lloyd George was unable to achieve a moderate settlement.

2 Why was the League of Nations founded? The League of Nations was the Fourteenth Point of Woodrow Wilson s Fourteen Points. He was not so concerned with punishing Germany, but wanted to try to ensure that no wars took place in the future. The League was created because the war had been so horrific that the Allies wanted to try to prevent anything like it ever happening again. Membership of the League was open to all countries. But Germany was not allowed to join and nor was Russia. The Council met three times a year. There were four permanent members, Britain, France, Italy and Japan (Germany became the fifth in 1926). They took most of the important decisions. The Assembly had representatives of all the members and it meant once a year. The Covenant was the agreement which members had to sign. The Council of Ambassadors often took decisions, because the Council and Assembly only met occasionally. Economic Sanctions banned trade; Military Sanctions meant a declaration of war by each member. The Secretary-General was in charge of the administration of the League. The Secretariat was the civil service of the League, which was based in Geneva. Source:

3 Secondary Source B Plans for peace It was only in October 1918 that the Allies (France, Britain, the USA and Italy) began to realise that they were winning the war. They began to make plans for the peace. They intended to hold a preliminary conference in Paris early in Here they would decide on the main issues that had to be resolved with Germany and its allies. They would then hold talks with the other important allied powers, especially Japan. Then they would discuss issues with smaller powers like Belgium and Serbia. Finally, the Big Four (President Wilson of the USA, David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy and Georges Clemenceau of France) would sit down with the Germans and negotiate a treaty. This proved to be impossible. The issues were too complex. What actually happened was the Big Four were bombarded with petitions from all over the world. In the Middle East there were calls for the Arabs who had fought against the Turks to be given their own homeland. There was a similar call from Jews. In Eastern and Central Europe the many different nations that had belonged to the old Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to rule themselves. The problem was that the populations of Eastern Europe were so mixed up that it was almost impossible to create, for example, a Poland with only Poles in or a Yugoslavia with no Germans in. Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern and Central Europe were all terribly important issues. However, there was one issue above all others for Britain, France and the USA what to do with Germany. From January to June of 1919, this issue dominated peace talks. The Treaty of Versailles The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced in June The German politicians were not consulted about the terms of the Treaty. They were shown the draft terms in May They complained bitterly, but the Allies did not take any notice of their complaints. Germany had very little choice but to sign the Treaty. The main terms were: 1. War guilt Germany had to accept the guilt for starting the war.

4 2. Germany's armed forces The German army was limited to 100,000 men. Conscription (forced army service) was banned; soldiers had to be volunteers. Germany was not allowed armored vehicles, submarines or aircraft. The navy could build only six battleships. The Rhineland became a demilitarized zone. This meant that no German troops were allowed into that area. 3. Reparations Germany had to pay for the damage caused by the war. The exact figure was not agreed until 1921 when it was set at 6,600 million, an enormous amount. 4. German territories and colonies Alsace-Lorraine went to France Eupen, Moresnet and Malmedy went to Belgium North Schleswig went to Denmark (after a vote by the population) West Prussia and Posen went to Poland Danzig became a free city controlled by the League of Nations (giving Poland a seaport) Memel went to Lithuania Saar was controlled by the League of Nations (with a vote by the population to be held on the matter after 15 years) German colonies became mandates under the control of the League of Nations (in practice this usually meant Britain and France) Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became independent states (Germany had taken these states from Russia in 1918) 5. League of Nations The League of Nations was set up as an international 'police force'. The League was based on a Covenant (or agreement). The Covenant and the constitution of the League of Nations were part of the terms of the Treaty. Germany was not invited to join the League until it had shown that it could be a peaceloving country.

5 Secondary Source C 1919 The Treaty of Versailles 28 JUNE 1919 After 4 years of terrible warfare, the first worldwide conflict in history ended in Versailles in Peace for one side, a diktat for the other side, the treaty contained the germ of the causes of a second world war 20 years later. Nearly half a century after the proclamation of the German Empire, Clemenceau was able to enjoy his revenge: defeated Germany signed the peace treaty in the Hall of Mirrors on 28 June The First World War was over. A table had been set up in the middle of the Hall under the emblematic figure of Louis XIV crossing the Rhine. The signature took 45 minutes. There was no ceremony or music to celebrate this solemn moment. 27 delegations representing 32 powers were present. Seated at the table were the four representatives of the allied nations: Clemenceau for France, Wilson for the United States, Lloyd George for Great Britain, and Orlando for Italy. Müller, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Doctor Bell made up the German delegation. The negotiations had been difficult. A peace conference had met in Paris since 18 January to prepare the treaty. Germany was kept on the sidelines. The Allies alone took part in the debates. But they were not in agreement. France wanted to remove the German danger definitively and bring Germany to its knees. Great Britain, in contrast, wanted to let Germany keep its rank. The United States looked forward to a world pacified with the Society of Nations. Italy wanted the territories promised to it in The treaty was finally submitted to Germany on 7 May. It was very severe. All Germany s counter-proposals, submitted on 29 May, were rejected and it refused to sign the treaty. On 17 June, the Allies gave it 5 days to decide. Germany finally accepted this diktat! The conditions were indeed draconian. Recognising its responsibility in the conflict, Germany lost 68,000 km2 of its territory, including Alsace and Lorraine annexed in 1870, and 8 million inhabitants. Part of eastern Prussia was dismantled to the benefit of Poland which gained access to the sea via the famous Danzig corridor. Germany had to pay 20 billion gold marks in reparation to France. It lost most of its mineral resources and agricultural production. Its colonies were confiscated and its military power was annihilated Humiliated, Germany was to aspire only for revenge. A new war, which the Allies thought they were avoiding, was soon to be prepared Source:

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7 Secondary Source D H.G. Wells called it the war to end all wars. But just two decades after World War I concluded, a second world war erupted in Europe. Ironically, the treaty that ended World War I helped plant the seeds for the new conflict. President Woodrow Wilson had called for a peace without victory, and in his Fourteen Points, set out an idealistic framework for post-war peace. His call for selfdetermination raised the hopes of many ethnic minorities. But at the Paris Peace Conference, idealism collided with ignorance and national self-interest and the resulting treaty was the product of a curious combination of high ideals and cynical compromises. Wilson s vision of a strong international organization a League of Nations failed to win the backing of the U.S. Senate and lacked the power to preserve the peace. One of the major tasks facing the negotiators was determining what to do about the Austro-Hungarian, German, and Ottoman Empires, as well as China. The Versailles Conference redrew the map in ways that carried vast consequences for the future. It placed large numbers of German speakers outside of Germany. It created new countries containing a variety of conflicting ethnic groups, including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, as well as Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Yugoslavia. And it gave a portion of China to a Japan. At the peace conference, the British Prime Minister Lloyd George warned his fellow leaders: "You may strip Germany of her colonies, reduce her armaments to a mere police force and her navy to that of a fifth-rate power; all the same in the end if she feels that she has been unjustly treated in the peace of 1919 she will find ways of exacting retribution from her conquerors." He was right. As a consequence of the treaty, Germany lost 13 percent of its territory and 10 percent of its population. A punitive peace helped to bring about World War II. The onerous reparations imposed on Germany, combined with the seizure of German territory and the requirement that Germany accept guilt for causing the war, helped to create the sense of grievance that would bring Adolf Hitler and the Nazis to power. It is a haunting irony that in 1940, in the very rail car where the armistice ending World War I was signed, Hitler abrogated the Versailles Peace Treaty.

8 Additional Sources of Information WOODROW WILSON PROPOSES THE FOURTEEN POINTS (1918) While the war was still going on, President Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points he had in mind for the peace agreement. This is a brief overview of the 14 Points: There were to be no secret treaties between powers like the treaties that had helped to cause the First World War. (Open Diplomacy) Seas should be free in peace and in war to ships of all nations (Freedom of Navigation) The barriers to trade between countries such as custom duties should be removed (free trade) All countries should reduce their armed forces to the lowest possible levels (Multilateral disarmament.) The national groups in Europe should, wherever possible, be given their independence. Wilson supported the idea of National Self-Determination, whereby a nation had the right to self government. Russia should be allowed to operate whatever government it wanted. Territorial changes: Germany should give up Alsace-Lorraine and any lands taken away during the war. The Italian frontier should be readjusted. Belgium should be evacuated. Poland should be given an outlet to the sea. The defeated nations should not be made to pay for the war as a whole. A League of Nations should be formed to protect world peace in the future. Visit the National Archives for a full Transcript of President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points (1918):