1.4: Picking up the pieces after the war

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

1.4: Picking up the pieces after the war

9. The Time of World Wars

What is this lesson about?

After World War I, the leaders of 27 nations met at the Paris Peace Conference to decide on the fate of Europe and large parts of the world. They signed different treaties with the losing Central Powers. The former Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire were divided. The Treaty of Versailles shaped the fate of Germany. The Germans felt humiliated because they were severely punished. It immediately led to new tensions.

The Big Four

Clemenceau

prime minister

France

Lloyd George

prime minister

Great Britain

Orlando

prime minister

Italy

Wilson

president

USA

Actually The Big Three....and Italy

Word Duty

Fourteen Points: US president Wilson’s principles for peace to be used for the peace negotiations in order to end World War I

Treaty of Versailles: peace treaty that brought World War I to an end and in which the Allies

defined the future of Germany

war reparations: compensation paid by a defeated nation for the damage it inflicted during a war

League of Nations: international organisation founded in 1920 to maintain world peace and to prevent future wars; in 1946 replaced by the United Nations

national self-determination: the right of nations to form their own nation state

secular: not related to religion; in a secular state there is a separation between Church and State

WORD DUTY

Important date in this lesson:

1919: June 28th: Signing of Peace Treaty of Versailles

1920: founding of the League of Nations

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• that Germany was heavily punished by      the Treaty of Versailles
• how the map of Europe changed after the war
• recognise the impact of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany

Use these questions to make your own summary

Introduction

On 11th November 1918, an armistice was signed. With this it came an end to World War I and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. In Russia, a revolution raged. While the victors celebrated, Eastern Europe seemed to balance on the edge of chaos. A heavy burden lay on shoulders of the Allied leaders: they had to reconstruct the world.

The signing of the treaty of peace at Versailles, 28 June 1919

The Paris Peace Conference

The people of Europe were relieved that the Great War was over. They looked with great expectation towards the future. Most of them hoped that Woodrow Wilson, the president of the USA, would bring freedom and democracy. Wilson put himself in the position of peacemaker and had put his ideas of a better world onto paper in his Fourteen Points. 

He predicted a new era: a time of freedom, peace and democracy. To reach his goals he had to negotiate with the other Allied victors.

American president Wilson was enthusiastically greeted by the people of Paris in 1919

1a. Wilson's "Fourteen Points" were his plan to punish Germany after the war.

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

1b. Look at Wilson's "Fourteen Points". Which 2 points were likely to meet with disapproval from Britain?

1. 1 & 14
2. 2 & 5
3. 4 & 7
4. 5 & 13

1c. Explain the answer of question 1b.

On 18 January 1919, the Paris Peace Conference started. Wilson and delegates of 26 other countries met at the Palace of Versailles. Every nation had its own expectations and agenda, but although hundreds of representatives were invited, the real power lay with 

The Big Four: Wilson himself and the prime ministers of France, Britain and Italy. During the peace conference different treaties were signed, but the most difficult issue they faced was the future of Germany. The French felt that their long time rival Germany had to be punished severely, because it had been the first to declare war. Prime Minister of France Clemenceau fanatically tried to convince the conference to keep Germany weak to ensure that it would never rise again. With this, he went against Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The USA and Great Britain were not as radical as France. They predicted that harsh punishments would trigger another war, but still felt that Germany should take the blame.

The Big Four, 27th May, 1919. From left to right: Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Great Britain), Premier Vittorio Orlando (Italy), French Premier Georges Clemenceau, US President Wilson.

= attitude towards Germany

= reasons for this attitude

= main aim

Make a schematic overview in your notebook of the information in this task

Treat Germany harshly. Make the bastards pay for what they did. No mercy.

Treat Germany harshly, but don’t cripple it

Don't treat Germany too harshly. 

we suffered the least. A crippled Germany might be vengeful and start another war in the future. A crippled Germany is less likely to become democratic.

we want to trade again with Germany, so Germany’s economy must be rebuilt quickly.  

We suffered the most . We are closest to Germany, so we fear the most of a possible future aggressive Germany.

keep our colonies safe by taking away Germany’s fleet and colonies.

Turn Germany into a peaceful, democratic country. That’s the best way to preserve peace in the future.

Cripple Germany, make Germany pay reparations, get Alsace Lorraine back

1d. Upload a picture of the schematic overview you made

2a. Which Allied country sustained the most damage during the war?

1. France
2. Britain
3. Italy
4. USA

2b. Which country needed to fear a future powerful Germany the most?

1. France
2. Britain
3. Italy
4. USA

2c. Which country wanted the harshest treatment for Germany?

1. France
2. Britain
3. Italy
4. USA

2d. Use the answers of questions 2a,b,c to explain France's attitude during the peace negotiations.

2e. What argument did Britain and the USA present for treating Germany not too harshly?

Study the source, a political cartoon about Wilson’s
Fourteen Points.

3a. Who do you think ‘Wilhelm’ is?

 The caption says:

 ‘It’s the only way out, Wilhelm!’.

On the bottom step ‘The Fourteen Principles of Wilson’s peace terms to the Imperial German government’. At the top of the stairs ‘The way to peace’. 

Political cartoon, 1918.

Study the source, a political cartoon about Wilson’s
Fourteen Points.

3b. What does the artist means with this cartoon? Try to discuss this with a
classmate before writing down your answer.

 The caption says:

 ‘It’s the only way out, Wilhelm!’.

On the bottom step ‘The Fourteen Principles of Wilson’s peace terms to the Imperial German government’. At the top of the stairs ‘The way to peace’. 

Political cartoon, 1918.

Germany: the main culprit

On 28th June 1919, the Allies signed the Treaty of Versailles. In it was decided that Germany:

• was not allowed to have an army bigger then a hundred thousand soldiers; its fleet had to be given to the Allies
  
• had to give its colonies to France and Britain; Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France
  
• had to give up ten percent of its territory
  
• had to pay for the damage, caused by the war.
  
• had to accept the full blame for WW1 (Alleinschuld)

It was mostly out of an emotion and feelings of revenge that Germany was ordered to pay 132 billion gold marks (around 380 billion euros today) as war reparations, a huge amount. The Germans were astonished that they were not allowed to participate in the meeting. As expected they were outraged when they read the treaty. They felt humiliated and refused to sign it. Eventually they agreed, but only because the Allies threatened to continue the war.

signing of the Treaty on June 18th, 1919, exactly 5 years after the assassination of the archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo

4. Tom and Maggie are discussing this cartoon.
According to Tom, the artist agrees that Germany
should pay a lot of war reparations.
Maggie disagrees; she says that the artist
shows that Germany should pay an unreasonable
amount of money. Who is right?

 On the bag ‘Reparations $ 55,000,000,000’. Underneath ‘Germany’. American political cartoon about the German war reparations, c. 1921.

1. Tom
2. Maggie

5a. The Treaty of Versailles is often named as one of the causes of Hitler’s rise to power. How do you think the Treaty of Versailles played a role in Hitler’s rise of power?

5b. Hitler, and many Germans with him, referred to the Treaty of Versailles as "Das Diktat von Versailles". What did he mean by that? use internet to find out.

6. Germany had hoped for peace terms based on
Wilson's "14 points".
Was the Treaty of Versailles better or worse for Germany, compared to the "14 points" ? Explain your answer.

A League of Nations

One of president Wilson’s most important objectives in his Fourteen Point plan was the idea of a League of Nations. He wanted a future in which countries gathered and discussed hostilities and possible conflicts before using violence. He hoped that it would cause transparency and end the secret alliances. Wilson dreamed of a more peaceful world in which countries would disarm their militaries, so global wars could be prevented. However, his League of Nations did not become what he had expected. Germany was not allowed to participate and the newly formed Soviet Union (Russia) did not want to be involved. Even Wilson’s own country, the USA, did not agree with his plans. Membership to the League was declined by the congress. It was not until after World War II that this plan was brought back to life, when the United Nations were founded.

The official opening of the League of Nations, 15 November 1920

7a. Which of the following countries was a member of the League of Nations when it started in 1920?

1. Great Britain
2. Russia
3. USA
4. Germany

7b. Why were the other three countries not members?

7c. From what year till what year was Germany a member of the League of Nations?

1. Germany never joined
2. 1920 - 1945
3. 1933 - 1945
4. 1926 - 1933

The end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Another of Wilson’s principles was the right of national self-determination: Wilson believed that a nation sharing a common language or culture should be free to form its own nation state. They should be helped in any struggle for independence from empires or other autocratic rulers all over the world. He wanted to inspire smaller countries to govern themselves democratically. The other Allies had to agree with this right of national self-determination, because many people in Eastern Europe had already declared new states after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At Paris, the Allies gave the nationalists the right to form new countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Austria and Hungary became separate countries. The Austrians requested to become a part of Germany, but the Allies dismissed this idea because it would appear to be a reward for Germany. Millions of Germans suddenly became minorities in Poland or in Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. This caused new tensions in Eastern Europe.

8. Explain why the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart. In your answer, use the keyword ‘national self-determination’.

9. Why did the rise of new nations in Eastern Europe cause tensions?

1. Because the people feared war between the new nations.
2. Because Austro-Hungary was intending to get its former territory back.
3. Because the new countries did not want to govern themselves democratically.
4. Because millions of Germans were now minorities in some new countries.

Collapse of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire also fell apart after the war. At the Treaty of Sèvres, it was decided that the British would get Iraq and Palestine and the French would govern Syria and Lebanon in name of the League of Nations. Saudi Arabia became an independent kingdom. Turkey emerged as a republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, who rapidly transformed Turkey into a secular, modern state. He encouraged women to take of their veil and to get a job. Symbols of the Ottoman Empire were forbidden. All his work for Turkey resulted in him being called Atatürk, the father of the Turks.

Mustafa Atatürk

10a. Mustafa Kemal was nicknamed Atatürk, Turkish for ‘father of the Turks’.
Give two reasons from the source as to why he was given that name.

10b. Is this source an example of a revolution, evolution or continuity?
Explain your answer.

The 1918 Flu pandemic

In 1918 and 1919, a terrible epidemic held the world in its grip. Known as Spanish flu, this extreme form of influenza was most deadly for young adults. Tens of thousands of soldiers fell ill in their trenches, but it became even worse when the war ended and the soldiers returned home. They started to spread the disease all over the world, which resulted in a total of 500 million people being infected - a fifth of the world’s population! In the Netherlands, around 30,000 people did not survive the epidemic. Scientists estimate that more than 50 million people died, which is more than all victims of World War I combined, thus making Spanish flu one of the deadliest disasters in human history.

This warehouse was converted to keep the infected people quarantined. The patients are suffering from the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Dated 1918.

11. How could it be possible that soldiers who returned home infected almost the entire world, while most of the fighting in the Great War was done in Europe?

Finally, here you can write down a question about
something from this lesson that you don't fully understand yet.

congratulations

congratulations

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