Lesson aims:•To understand and evaluate the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMwKnM8j6co

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson:

•I will be able to describe the main points of the Treaty

•I will be able to give reasons for the Germany’s treatment.

•I will be able to evaluate the impact of the Treaty on life in Germany.

WHO WILL DECIDEGERMANY’S

FUTURE?

The Big Three

Clemenceau

Lloyd George

Wilson

THE BIG THREE

What did they want?

And what did Germany

think would happen?

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

What were these and how did they make things worse?

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/woodrow_wilson1.htm

Versailles

Activity

In groups each take the role of one of the Big Three to re-enact a meeting between the three leaders. Discuss the following:

a) Should Germany take the blame for the war?

b) How much should Germany be asked to pay for the damage done during the war?

c) What should happen to the German armed forces?

d) How much land should Germany lose? e) What is the best way to stop a war ever

happening again?  

What is this cartoon saying???

THINK!

1.   Why did the 'Big Three' disagree so violently at the Versailles Conference?  

2.   Why did Clemenceau, Wilson and Lloyd George have such different attitudes at the Conference?

Signing of the Treaty

The treaty was signed today at Versailles.   At 10:30 am Washington time Phillips and I sat in the telegraph room on the 4th floor of the Dept. and had a direct wire from there to Versailles - with only two relays, one at London and one at Newfoundland, where it went into and came out of the submarine cable.   It was 5¼ hours different time at Versailles.   As each signed it was signalled out over the wire and ticked off on the receiver at our side and the operator read it by ear and wrote it out as received on a typewriter.   We leaned over his shoulder and read the bulletins.   It was a unique and most interesting experience - and a great occasion.

Breckenridge Long, Diary (Saturday, 28 June 1919) Long was an US diplomat

Would the treaty ensure peace?

'Peace and future cannon fodder' - a British cartoon of 1920.  

 'The Tiger' was a nickname for Clemenceau.   In the caption, Clemenceau is saying: 'Curious!   I seem to hear a child weeping'.

How old will the weeping child be in 1940?  

This cartoon is suggesting that there will be another war in 21 years time

How did the Big Three react to the Treaty???

• Imagine you are one of the Big Three, what would you have said about these clauses?

a.   Article 231. (Germany to blame for war)

b.     £6,600 reparations for the damage done during the war.

c. The German army set at 100,000 men and the German navy disbanded

d.   Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine, other land in Europe, and all her colonies.

B

R

A

T

Recap: Treaty of VersaillesBlame

Reparations

Army

Territory

What did Germans call the government who signed the Treaty?

The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]  

1.     Germany had to accept the Blame for starting the war (Clause 231).

2.     Germany had to pay £6,600 million (called Reparations) for the damage done during the war.

3.     Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force.   She could have a navy of only six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men.   In addition, Germany was not allowed to place any troops in the Rhineland, the strip of land, 50 miles wide, next to France.

4.     Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe. Germany’s colonies were given to Britain and France.

 (Also, Germany was forbidden to join the League of Nations, or

unite with Austria.)

BRAT

How do you think Germany

will react to these terms?

Remember Germany had

expected Wilson’s 14 points!

How did Germany react to the Treaty?

The disgraceful Treaty is being signed today.   Don’t forget it!  

We will never stop until we win back what we deserve.  

From Deutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper, 28 June 1919.

Those who sign this treaty, will sign the death sentence of many millions of German men, women and children.  

Count Brockdorff-Rantzau,

leader of the German delegation to Versailles (15 May 1919)

A German postcard, produced about the time of the Treaty of Versailles, showing the land where Germans lived.   The areas in red are the lands given to other countries by the Treaty of Versailles,(including the land lost by Austria).   

   Its title is 'Lost but not forgotten land'.The poem under the map reads:

 You must carve in your heart These words, as in stone -  What we have lost  Will be regained!

GCSE QUESTION TIME

Describe the objections of the German people to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.9 MARKS

A/B grade answers will describe the terms of the treaty and how they hurt Germany. You need to explain in what ways they affected Germany to assess what objections German people would have.

C/D grade answers will focus on what the terms of the treaty were and begin to explain why there were objections to them.

GCSE question timeHow far were the problems faced by the Weimar Republic in the years 1919 to 1923 caused by the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your answer. (12 marks)Tips: C/D grade answers - can you relate the terms of the treaty to the problems of the Weimar Republic?A/B grade answers – can you assess the problems of the period against the Treaty and the actions of the government eg. the terms of the Treaty led to economic problems but the actions of the WR made things worse?

Letter/newspaper article about T of V

• You need to include the main terms of the treaty that would have most upset the German people

• In what ways did the treaty hurt Germany

• How would they have reacted to the treaty – imagine what they would have felt.

• How does this add to Germany’s problems.