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CH 1 Notes
CH 1 Notes
Effects of WW1
As the First World War drew to a close, Allied forces pushed Imperial German forces back
accross the European continent, toward Germany. General Ludendorff and Hindenburg's
'Spring Offensive' (Operation Michael) had failed. Four years of brutal warfare had left
Europe exhausted and in ruins. Battle-weary troops retreated back toward Germany and by
October 1918 it was clear - to the military - that the Germans had lost. Problems were also
escalating at home. The damage caused was terrible. Europe - formerly the powerhouse of
intellectual thinking and economic progress - had been reduced to a ration-taking ruin.
Ludendorff therefore pushed for an armistice, much to the shock of many generals and
politicians. This was agreed on 11 November 1918 and was to be based on Wilson's 14 points
for peace (more of which later).
Economic Effects
Britain, Russia and France were effectively bankrupt, relying on money from
USA; the war had cost billions of dollars
Inflation - continuous rising prices, hit Germany
There was a shortage of fuel in Germany
Germany's currency had collapsed, causing a black market and barter (trading
in goods)
Social Effects
Political Effects
The Hohenzollern royal family (Germany) would cease to rule when Wilhelm
abdicated on 28 Nov 1918. Friedrich Ebert - a politican - would now be in charge
of what would be called the Weimar Republic government.
The empires of Russia, Austria-Hungary and Turkey had collapsed
the Russian Tsar lay dead
Turkey became a backwater
the Habsburg monarchy would no longer have an Empire to rule.
Britain and France's colonieis now began to think about independence
Territory Effects
Before all of this could be sorted out though, a peace solution was needed and quickly. Never
mind death, disease and disorder - what should be done with Germany and her allies?
The victorious nations that decided what to do with Germany and the defeated nations, met at
Versailles in Paris. Initially this was Britain (under Lloyd-George), France (under
Clemenceau), USA (under Wilson) and Italy (under Orlando). However, Italy soon stormed
out, leaving just three dominant members - known as 'The Big Three'. They gathered at the
Palace of Versailles
Wanted a treaty that would weaken Germany forever – France’s population was
in decline and they had lost large sections of industry and land.
The Big Three soon found themselves unable to agree on what to do with the defeated
nations. There were many reasons why.
The USA had not been affected as much as France and Britain – Wilson’s aims
were therefore much more idealistic – e.g. his 14 points, League of Nations and
self determination.
There had been no war on US soil; the French therefore felt their idealistic aims were
unrealistic and famously said '14 points?! The good Lord only has 10!'
Clemenceau felt Britain and the USA did not mind having a stronger Germany
to keep France in order. France had, after all, previously been Britain's largest
rival.
Wilson was weakened by a lack of support back home – the USA was not
interested in being the world's policeman, and so the Senate rejected both the
Treaty and the League of Nations. The US had become isolationist
Clemenceau wanted France to be secure from future German attacks. This
meant weakening Germany and reducing its military strength.
France wanted revenge on Germany for the destruction the war had caused.
Lloyd-George wanted to protect British interests but knew he needed trading
partners. He was in a tricky siutation as he had promised the British people that he
would ‘squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeaked’ and ‘Hang the Kaiser’
but did not actually think that this was best
Lloyd George was also uneasy with Wilson’s self independence idea as Britain
had an empire on which ‘the sun never set’ – they didn’t want their subjects to
have self-independence!
Background
The Kaiser had abdicated and fled. A new Provisional Government led by a politician -
Friedrich Ebert -was now in charge of Germany. The first question to answer was: who
exactly would represent Germany at the peace talks, scheduled for the Palace of Verailles, in
the Hall of Mirrors? Should it be the military (who had realistically begun the war and been
responsible for it) or the politicians (who were now in charge)?
In the end, the decision was taken out of their hands as the victors decided that no-one would
represent Germany. Instead, the Big 3 (Lloyd-George, Clemenceau and Wilson) took to
deciding post-war Europe without representation from Ebert or anyone from Germany. The
Germans were invited to the talks, but only as observers. Over the coming months, the Big 3
would thrash out a Treaty, in what became known as 'The Treaty of Versailles', whilst other
treaties were also made for the other defeated powers (see 'Other Treaties'). The terms of the
Treaty of Versailles were:
Territory
Military
Reparations
Article 231: Germany was to accept all blame for starting the war or risk
partition
Reparations: Germany had to pay £6.6billion – this was designed to be paid up
until 1984! Taken in the form of valuable coal and iron ore resources.
LON
The Treaty was signed by the new German government - soon to be called the Weimar
Republic - led by Ebert. National outrage followed in Germany but there was little they could
really do. From here on, they were supposed to adhere to the terms laid out by Clemenceau,
Wilson and Lloyd-George.
The negotiations did not go smoothly though. The Big 3 had very different ideas about what
they wanted. The Treaty was anything but harmonious.
Almost as soon as the Treaty of Versailles was signed, Ebert was faced with an
uprising: the Kapp Putsch. Here, a former army General Luttwiz and Wolfgang
Kapp mustered around 12 000 returning soldiers (known as Freikorps) to march on
Berlin and install a new government. Initially it worked, and the government fled
The Putsch ended because of Berlin’s workforce going on strike – around 50
000 workers downed-tools and the government was paralysed. The real army didn't
join Kapp and so he fled.
Nevertheless, the strike added to the financial chaos of Germany
Indeed, Germany had fallen behind reperation repayment by 1922 and so in
1923 the French invaded the Rhur Valley and took what they felt was owed to
them
This led to another strike, known as passive resistance where workers downed-
tools again, further crippling the economy
The French reacted to this by killing 100 workers and expelling 100 000 from
the region – Germany was now creating no goods and paying its workers no
money
This led to Hyperinflation in 1923 as the government printed more money in
order to try and pay its debts and workers. German marks became worthless and
prices spiralled out of control. Only the careful management of a new leader -
Gustav Stresemann - avoided more war. In his 100 Days programme, he called off
passive resistance, reformed the currency and negotiated loans from the USA in the
Dawes Plan of 1924, which helped repay the French.
A last consequence of the TOV was the Munich Uprising. In 1923 Hitler
attempted to overthrow the government in what became known as the Munich
Putsch. Here, he marched on Berlin (trying to copy Mussolini's March on Rome)
with his SA, hoping the people and army would join in. Neither joined in, and the
Bavarian police ended up shooting the Nazi revolters, resulting in Hitler's arrest
and imprisonment (though the judges were so leniant they only gave Hitler 9
months and allowed him 4 hours on the radio during his trial).
Kapp Putsch, March 1920, German Federal Archives
The Treaty was labelled the 'Diktat' as Germany felt it had been dictated to
them
The German government (called the Weimar Republic) were labelled
'November Criminals' for signing the deal
Many Germans believed they had been betrayed; this became known as the
'Stab in The Back Myth'; they felt that Jewish politicans had betrayed the military
There was particular hatred for the War Guilt Clause, but the whole treaty was
felt not to reflect what was agreed during the armistice; that Wilson's 14 points
would be the basis of any peace settlement. For many people the peace was unjust
and the war unfinished.
Germany lost 12.5% of its territory and 7m Germans to other countries Surely
making Germans citizens of new countries was going too far?
Germany claimed the allies were trying to bankrupt them - £6.6bn would take
up until 1984 to pay off!
Clemenceau was acting out of revenge due to the Franco-Prussian war and a
hatred of Germany.
The Terms were worked out in secret Germany was not invited to the TOV –
they therefore had no say in their fate Germany lost all their colonies but the allies
kept them
Germany felt Britain and France were just trying to take advantage and add to
their Empires – they had no real wish to make a fair peace.
Germany was the only country that had to disarm They felt that this was highly
unfair as it left them vulnerable to an attack; this was the case in the 1923 Invasion
of the Rhur Valley by France
Britain had also suffered greatly, losing 1million men
It was critisized by the world's mot famous economist who wrote a book called
"Economic Consequences of the Peace"
French Marshall Ferdinand Foch said 'This is not a peace, it's an armistice for
twenty years' (although he was claiming it was too leniant!)