3 What was the impact of the peace treaty on Germany up to 1923?

Question 1

What was Germany’s general objection to the treaty?

Answer 1

That it was too harsh

Question 2

What did many Germans feel that the treaty made their country do?

Answer 2

They thought that their country was being punished twice over:

• They had to pay reparations
• They were deprived of the very resources (coal, iron ore) that were needed to pay these reparations

Question 3

What did Germans object that the treaty was?

Answer 3

a “diktat” or a dictated peace

Question 4

How were German statesmen and officials included in the formation of the treat?

Answer 4

They were excluded from the negotiations leading up to the treaty
They were simply handed a draft copy and were invited to express comments and criticisms in writing

Question 5

What changes did Germany make to the draft copy of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

They made some minor changes like the holding of a plebiscite in Upper Silesia.

Question 6

What would have happened if the Germans refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 6

The Allied naval blockade would have continued and the Allies would have restarted the war

Question 7

What was insisted to be included in the Treaty of Versailles by the lawyers of the Allies?

Answer 7

Article 231 or the War Guilt Clause

Question 8

Why did lawyers of the Allies insist to include the War Guilt Clause?

Answer 8

So that they could establish a legal basis for reparations: if you cause damage, and it is entirely your fault, then you must pay compensation

Question 9

Who did the Allies believe started the war?

Answer 9

The Allies were not convinced that they, together with their allies, were totally responsible for starting the war. After all, it could be argued that the first military action in the immediate lead-up to the conflict was the Russian mobilisation of July 1914.

Question 10

What was the Treaty a symbol of for Germans?

Answer 10

It was a symbol of Germany’s dishonour and humiliation

Question 11

What did the authority of the new republic in Germany do to be thought of as seriously undermined?

Answer 11

• Right-wing politicians and activists expressed their disapproval by supporting attempts to overthrow the government, such as the Music Putsch of November 1923
• Right-wing extremists carried out a number of assassinations of high-ranking government ministers, such as Walter Rathenau (foreign minister) and Matthias Erzerger (finance minister)
• Left-wing extremist groups exploited the unpopularity of the Weimar Government by promoting rebellions, such as that in the Ruhr of March 1920
• Many members of the army, furious with the government for agreeing to disarmament clauses of the Treaty, joined the Freikorps, an unofficial, anti-communist vigilante group.

Question 12

What did the Germans claim that the signing of the treat was the same as?

Answer 12

Signing a blank cheque as there was no figure stated in the treaty

Question 13

What did Germany claim when the £6.6 billion reparation amount in 1921 was released?

Answer 13

That the amount was more than it could afford to pay

Question 14

How did Germany face major economic problems in general terms?

Answer 14

They lost valuable economic resources + They had to repay war debts together with reparations

Question 15

What did French and Belgium troops do in January 1923, because they believed that Germany was trying to escape from its Treaty obligations by stating that they were unable to pay the reparations amount for 1922?

Answer 15

French and Belgium troops occupied the Ruhr region, Germany’s most valuable industrial area, with an intention to seize coal and other resources to the value of the missed payments

Question 16

What did the German government order the people of the Ruhr region to do when French and Belgium troops occupied it and why?

Answer 16

They told the German population of the Ruhr to offer passive resistance or peaceful strike action because the German Government was not in a position to order armed resistance

Question 17

How did the French respond to the German population of the Ruhr when they offered passive resistance and peaceful strike actions?

Answer 17

The French responded by expelling more than 100,000 Germans from the region and killed over 130.

Question 18

What did the German government do to make up for the lost revenue and what did it cause?

Answer 18

They started to print money, which stoked up the existing high inflation into hyperinflation. This caused the German mark to become worthless and middle class savings lost their value. This meant eggs, cigarettes and bags of sugar were used as a form of currency

Question 19

What did Gustav Stresemann, the Chancellor who was voted in in August 1923, do in September 1923?

Answer 19

He took the unpopular decision of ending the passive resistance in the Ruhr.

Question 20

What did Gustav Stresemann introduce in October?

Answer 20

He introduced the temporary new currency, the Rentenmark, with a strictly controlled circulation and soon after this he agreed to resume reparation payments.

Question 21

What made the reparations problem partly solved in April 1924?

Answer 21

the Dawes Plan, which introduced a more flexible repayments schedule

Question 22

What were the reasons for Germany’s dislike of the disarmament clauses?

Answer 22

They were partly due to do with the status and prestige but there were also practical objections

Question 23

What were Germany’s practical objections of Disarmament?

Answer 23

• Germany claimed that 100,000 men was insufficient for border defence
• it would also be difficult to deal with revolts and uprisings

Question 24

How did the German population react when they found out that the peace settlement was not based upon Wilson’s Fourteen Points, when they were told that it would be?

Answer 24

They felt that the Treaty of Versailles was a betrayal to the German population

Question 25

How is the Treaty of Versailles different to Wilson’s Fourteen Points?

Answer 25

• There is no mention in the Fourteen Points of war guilt or reparations
• The Fourteen Points proposed disarmament for all and a general assembly of nations. In the Treaty, Germany was required to disarm but there was no equivalent requirement for the victorious countries
• Germany was not allowed to join the League of Nations, at least not for the time being
• The Fourteen Points stressed the idea of self-determination yet in the treaty it was clear that this was not to apply to Austria, Alsace-Lorraine or, until 15 years had passed, the Saar Basin