Study notes, videos, interactive activities and more! Initially, the German government would not sign the peace treaty and the remnants of the German Navy sank their own battle ships. Leaders of 32 states representing about 75% of the world's population, attended. He made me the finest promises, and now he breaks them. Many of the German citizens had not been aware of the dire state of the German armed forces in the war, so when the harsh terms were announced the citizens of Germany were caught off guard and surprised by the harsh nature of the treaty. Ordinary Germans were furious with the government for agreeing to the ceasefire. It may be that Wilson might have had the power and influence if he had remained in Washington and kept clear of the Conference. "We are in complete agreement," said Clemenceau; " it is a point I will not yield.". The original caption for this photo, taken in Weimar Germany during the Great Depression, reads: "When night comes! The main terms of the Versailles Treaty were: (1) The surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates. It is estimated that by December, 1918, there were 763,000 civilian famine related deaths. General Hubert Gough complained: "It seems to me that the Peace Treaty can be viewed from two points of view, the moral and the purely utilitarian. Their preoccupations, good and bad alike, related to frontiers and nationalities, to the balance of power, to imperial aggrandisement, to the future enfeeblement of a strong and dangerous enemy, to revenge and to the shifting, by the victors, of their own unbearable financial burdens on to the shoulders of the defeated. There must be justice for those millions whose homes and land, ships and property German savagery has spoliated and destroyed. (8), Lloyd George told Edward House, a member of the USA's delegation to theParis Peace Conference, that "he had to have a plausible reason for having fooled the British people about the questions of war costs, reparations and what not Germany could not pay anything like the indemnity which the French demanded." I don't like being double-crossed. There never was a greater contrast, mental or spiritual, than that which existed between these two notable men. Lloyd George would also have difficulty in delivering Point IV. Keynes was appalled and considered that the figure should be below 3 billion. These treaties imposed territorial losses, financial liabilities and military restrictions on all members of the Central Powers.The Versailles Treaty. For many years the rulers of Germany, true to the Prussian tradition, strove for a position of dominance in Europe. But he was hampered by the ferocious demands of the British public, by the cries of "hanging the Kaiser" and "squeezing Germany till the pips squeak". (7) Occupation and special status for the Saar under French control. (18), Keynes explained to Jan Smuts that he believed the Allies should take a new approach to negotiations: "This afternoon Keynes came to see me and I described to him the pitiful plight of Central Europe. The future life of Europe was not their concern. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on theDPLA's Education Advisory Committee. No fair-minded student of the war and its causes can accept this contention; but the propaganda story of Germany's sole guilt has been preached so persistently from pulpit, Press and Parliament that the bulk of our people have come to regard it as an axiomatic truth which justifies the provisions of the most brutal and unjust Treaty in the world's history. A German response to the Treaty of Versailles, tendered by delegates to the Paris Peace Conference in May 1919: We came to Versailles in the expectation of receiving a peace proposal based on the agreed principles. Crimes in war may not be excusable, but they are committed in the struggle for victory in the heat of passion which blunts the conscience of nations. It is easy to say what should have been done, but more difficult to have found a way for doing it. Germans also expected that the Fourteen Points would be the basis for the peace talks when they signed the armistice in November 1918. The German people are excluded from the League of Nations, to which isentrusted all work of common interest to the world.Thus must a whole people sign the decree for its proscription, nay, its own death sentence, Germany is to put hersignature to the treaty laid before her and to carry it out. Clemenceau believed that Lloyd George knew nothing about the world beyond Great Britain, lacked a formal education and "was not an English gentleman". (14)Will Dyson, Daily Herald (17th May, 1919), When it was rumoured that Lloyd George was willing to do a deal closer to the 6 billion than the sum proposed by the French, The Daily Mail began a campaign against the Prime Minister. Of course he had to capitulate, and he replied that he would keep his pledge. (7), Raymond Poincare, another French politician, commented that Lloyd George told Clemenceau: "I won't budge, I will act like a hedgehog and wait until they come to talk to me. Boston House, Germany and its allies in the Central Powers had lost the war, so representatives of the victorious Allied Powers including the United States, France, and Britain negotiated the terms of the treaty. (10), Lloyd George argued that Germany should pay the costs of widows' and disability pensions, and compensation for family separations. This relative golden age was reflected in the strong support for moderate pro-Weimar political parties in the 1928 elections. I leave the twins to gloat over the devastation of Europe, and to assess to taste what remains for the British taxpayer." He had of course been partly responsible for this viewpoint. (12) Provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders. The terrible responsibility which lies at her doors can be seen in the fact that not less than seven million dead lie buried in Europe, while more than twenty million others carry upon them the evidence of wounds and sufferings, because Germany saw fit to gratify her lust for tyranny by resort to war. It was then only that one caught a glimpse of the ferocity of The Tiger. This World War I website is created and maintained by Alpha History. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors at the famous Palace of Versailles, officially ending World War I. "Under these conditions I am prepared to make allowance, but let me say that when that kind of diseased vanity is carried to the point of sowing dissension between great allies whose unity is essential to the peace of the world then I say, not even that kind of disease is a justification for so black a crime against humanity." The Peace Treaty has done nothing of the kind. The treaty also deprived Germany of territory, natural resources, and even ships, trains, and factory equipment. Its means of livelihood was not their anxiety. Reparation was their main excursion into the economic field, and they settled it from every point of view except that of the economic future of the States whose destiny they were handling. The more deeply we penetrate into the spirit of thistreaty, the more convinced we become of the impossibility of carrying it out. Temperament as well as judgement allowed him only one way of dealing with the popular demand that Germany should pay the full cost of the war. We must thus renounce the realization of all our aims in the spheres of politics, economics, and ideas.Even in internal affairs, we are to give up the right to self-determination. The idealist amused him so long as he did not insist on incorporating his dreams in a Treaty which Clemenceau had to sign. (21), Keynes argued that it was in the best interest of the future of capitalism and democracy for the Allies to deal swiftly with the food shortages in Germany: "A proposal which unfolds future prospects and shows the peoples of Europe a road by which food and employment and orderly existence can once again come their way, will be a more powerful weapon than any other for the preservation from the dangers of Bolshevism of that order of human society which we believe to be the best starting point for future improvement and greater well-being." They commenced the submarine campaign with its piratical challenge to international law, and its destruction of great numbers of innocent passengers and sailors, in mid ocean, far from succour, at the mercy of the winds and the waves, and the yet more ruthless submarine crews. Many believed that Germany should have been at the Paris Peace Conference. Germany lost all her imperial possessions, 10 percent of her land, and an eighth of her population. 1832 Reform Act and the House of Lords (Answer Commentary), Women and the Chartist Movement (Answer Commentary), Benjamin Disraeli and the 1867 Reform Act (Answer Commentary), William Gladstone and the 1884 Reform Act (Answer Commentary), Richard Arkwright and the Factory System (Answer Commentary), Robert Owen and New Lanark (Answer Commentary), James Watt and Steam Power (Answer Commentary), Road Transport and the Industrial Revolution (Answer Commentary), Early Development of the Railways (Answer Commentary), The Luddites: 1775-1825 (Answer Commentary), The Plight of the Handloom Weavers (Answer Commentary), Health Problems in Industrial Towns (Answer Commentary), Public Health Reform in the 19th century (Answer Commentary), Walter Tull: Britain's First Black Officer (Answer Commentary), Football and the First World War (Answer Commentary), Football on the Western Front (Answer Commentary), Kthe Kollwitz: German Artist in the First World War (Answer Commentary), American Artists and the First World War (Answer Commentary), Sinking of the Lusitania (Answer Commentary). Fortunately, I think that at the moment we can count on American support." They allowed barbarities to be practised against their prisoners of war from which the most uncivilised people would have recoiled. Today Clemenceau is angry with the English, and especially with Lloyd George. What else could he do? A painting of German chancellor Otto Von Bismarck meeting French diplomats at Versailles after the Franco-Prussian War, ca. He went to Paris with no clear idea of what was either desirable for the future peace of the world or necessary to recompense Britain for the cost of the war and neutralise the demands for retribution. He tried to broker a compromise between reason and prejudice. (17), David Lloyd George eventually agreed that he been wrong to demand such a large figure and told Dulles he "would have to tell our people the facts". (24), Eventually five treaties emerged from the Conference that dealt with the defeated powers. slideum oberhausen If they do sign, that will really be the worst thing that could happen, as they can't possibility keep some of the terms, and general disorder and unrest will result everywhere. Lloyd George has deceived me. The five treaties were named after the Paris suburbs of Versailles (Germany), St Germain (Austria), Trianon (Hungary), Neuilly (Bulgaria) and Serves (Turkey). (12) Lloyd George replied: "Logic! Although we have the utmost confidence in your intentions to fulfil your pledges to the country, may we, as we have to meet innumerable inquiries from our constituents, have your renewed assurances that you have in no way departed from your original intention." The international Reparation Commissionreceives dictatorial powers over the whole life of our people in economic and cultural matters. There must be justice for the peoples who now stagger under war debts which exceed 30,000,000,000 that liberty might be saved. (6), Clemenceau and Lloyd George both hated each other. In order to increase the payments due, by the thrall, the commission can hamper measures for the socialprotection of the German worker. The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay vast sums of money for the damage caused by the war, accept full responsibility for the conflict, reduce its military, and forfeit colonial territories, among other measures.
