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Text Box: The Treaty of Versailles

Was World War One Worth It? There were some positive results:
- Canada was now equal
- Canadians were proud
- Industry/Agriculture boomed
- Women rights improved
- Signed Treaty of Versailles
- Joined League of Nations

Of course, there were also some negative results:
- 1/3 of Canadian recruits were casualties (61,000 dead)
- French and English fought over Conscription.
- Business owners got too rich
- Internment Camps
- Too much $$ spent on war

How About Imperialism?
- German empire was crushed; so was Russia
- French/English empires were gaining independence
How About Militarism?
- Many believed armed conflict killed too many people needlessly
- Germany’s leaders thirsted for revenge
How About Nationalism?
- Even more powerful after the war was over (in every country and for different reasons)

The Treaty of Versailles played a role in the outbreak of World War Two. How?
USA wanted peace in Germany and had a 14-point plan to re-build the nation; Britain was harsh, demanding Germany pay lots of $$ and take the blame for WWI; France took some of Germany’s land and wanted to ‘cripple’ Germany so it could never attack again. Germany surrendered because it thought that it would be protected by the 14-point plan; it didn’t want to take all the blame for the war; the militarists wouldn’t accept a ‘crippling’ peace.

France’s Aims (Clemenceau):
- To gain control of most of Germany’s factories.
- To humiliate the German people
- To permanently cripple Germany’s armed forces so that France wouldn’t be attacked ever again.
- To create a buffer zone with a ‘demilitarized’ Rhineland.

Great Britain’s Aims (George):
- Preserve Britain’s naval supremacy and keep building its empire.
- Reduce Germany’s future military power and to gain reparations.
- Try not to create an ‘embittered’ Germany that would seek revenge.
- To help Germany financially so that it could become a strong trading partner with Britain.

The United States' Aims (Wilson):
- To prevent another war at all costs.
- To establish a ‘League of Nations’ to settle international conflicts peacefully.
- To capitalize on European debt and make strong trade agreements.
- Put an end to secret treaties and alliances that led to World War One.
- All in all, Wilson wanted to make sure that there would never be another war. To ensure this, he felt that the punishments
for Germany should be fair but not crippling.
- His League of Nations idea was a good one, until the League began policies of appeasement, leading to World War Two.

Main Terms of the Versailles Treaty
- the surrender of all German colonies as instructed by the League of Nations.
- the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France.
- cession of lands to Belgium, Lithuania, Poland, and Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland).
- plebiscites to be held to settle the Danish-German frontier.
- occupation and special status for the Saar Valley under French control.
- demilitarization and a fifteen-year occupation of the Rhineland.
- German reparations of £6,600 million.
- a ban on the union of Germany and Austria.
- an acceptance of Germany's guilt in causing the war (War Guilt Clause).
- provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders.limitation of Germany's army to 100,000 men with no conscription, no tanks, no heavy artillery, no poison-gas supplies, no aircraft and no airships.
- the limitation of the German Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with no submarines.

Germany signed the Versailles Treaty under protest. The USA Congress refused to ratify and sign the treaty because its ideas (14 Point Plan) weren’t considered. Many people in France and Britain were angry that there was no trial of the Kaiser or the other war leaders. No one was happy...and what do unhappy countries tend to do?

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