THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE AND THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

BACKGROUND• After the war, over 1000 politicians and

diplomats of the countries who had fought in the Great War gathered at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, to decide what should happen to Germany.

• After months of negotiations they eventually came up with the Treaty of Versailles. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated.

The Haslingden Peace Conference

• Our task is to re-stage the Paris Peace Conference.

• The class will be divided into 5 groups, each representing the following countries: Britain, France, USA, Italy and Germany.

• You will have the opportunity to negotiate what should be in the Treaty.

• You will consider several issues that affected the Paris Peace Conference.

Each country should allocate the following roles:

• Leader of the delegation – who reports to writer of the Treaty (Mr Williamson)

• Secretary of the delegation – notes what has been agreed with other countries.

• Diplomat (1)• Diplomat (2)• Diplomat (3)• Diplomat (4)

Issues that were negotiated

• Who was to blame for the war?• Should Germany be made to pay

compensation for the losses of Britain and France?

• Should Germany be allowed to keep its overseas empire or not?

• How much land should be taken from Germany?

• Should Germany’s military(airforce, army and navy) be reduced in size?

• How should future disputes be settled?

Who is to blame for the war?

• In your negotiations, you need to consider who was to blame for the First World War.

• There had been terrible casualties and much of France had been destroyed by the building of trenches.

Should Germany pay compensation for the losses

suffered in the war?• How much should the Germans pay?• How quickly should this money be paid?• Is Germany in a position to be able to pay?

Should Germany be allowed to keep its overseas empire or not?

• Germany’s Empire consisted of territory in Africa, the Far East and islands in the Pacific. Should they be allowed to keep these colonies?

• Who should own these colonies? • Should they be allowed to run

themselves?

How much land should be taken from Germany?

• Should territory be taken from Germany?• Germany had seized Alsace and Lorraine

from France after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871.

• The Rhineland separated France and Germany.

• Belgium had been defeated by Germany. • Austria and Germany had been allies

through the war. Should they be allowed to stay together?

Should Germany’s military(airforce, army and navy) be reduced in size?

• Germany had almost 2 million men in their army throughout the war.

• The Kaiser had spent years building up the army before the war.

• By the end of the war, planes had become vital weapons of war.

• German u-boats(submarines) had caused severe damage in the war.

How should future disputes be settled?

• The alliance system before the war had caused serious problems.

• The two armed camps thought that they would be so powerful that they would never go to war. THEY WERE WRONG.

• How could they avoid the war in the future?

9G1’s Treaty of Haslingden1. Germany is solely to blame for the causing the First World

War and is therefore liable for all the damage that was caused.

2. Germany should pay compensation to the allies. This compensation should be in the form of land if they are unable to pay cash. Compensation should be allocated in the following way: Britain, USA and Italy will receive 20% and France 40%.

3. Germany’s colonies will be divided between Britain, France and the USA, with France receiving 50% and Britain and the USA 25%.

4. Alsace and Lorraine will returned to France, the Rhineland will remain part of Germany. Belgium will regain its independence. Germany and Austria will be controlled by the allies.

5. Germany’s military will be divided 4 ways with Germany keeping 20% for defence purposes.

6. Britain, France and the USA all agree to form an alliance to prevent a future war. There will be a yearly conference will be held to review the situation.

9H1’ Treaty of Haslingden1. Germany is solely to blame for causing the First World

War and is therefore liable for all the damage that was caused.

2. Germany will pay equal compensation to Britain, France and Italy. This will be in the form of land if money can not be paid.

3. Germany’s Empire will be shared equally between Britain, France and Italy.

4. Germany will keep their country and their current borders but 10% of their earning will be shared equally between Britain, France and Italy. Germany and Austria will be forbidden from forming an alliance in the future.

5. Germany’s military will be reduced by 50% and they will be forbidden from developing new weapons.

6. A peace agreement has been signed between Britain, France and Italy until the end of the 20th century. This alliance will offer both financial and military security to each country.

9L2’s Treaty of Haslingden1. Germany is solely to blame for causing the First

World War and is therefore liable for all the damage that was caused.

2. Germany will pay equal compensation to Britain, France and Italy. This will be in the form of land if money can not be paid.

3. Germany’s Empire will be shared equally between Britain, France and Italy.

4. Alsace and Lorraine will returned to France, the Rhineland will become part of France. Belgium will regain its independence. Half of Austria’s territory will be controlled by Italy.

5. Germany’s military will be reduced to one-quarter of its wartime size. The army will have 500,000 men, there will be 5 warships but no airforce.

6. All future disputes will be resolved as they arise.