Impact of the war on Germany by 1918

Germany was virtually bankrupt

• National income was about one-third of what

it had been in 1913

© Hodder Murray

• War left 600,000 widows and 2 million children without fathers – by 1925 the state was spending about one-third of its budget in war pensions

© Hodder Murray

• Industrial production was about two-

thirds of what it had been in 1913

The war had deepened divisions in German society

• There were huge gaps between the living standards

of the rich and the poor

• Many German workers were bitter at the restrictions placed on their earnings during the war while the factory owners made vast fortunes from the war

• During the war women were called up to work in the factories. Many people saw this as damaging to traditional family values and society as a whole

Germany had a revolution and became an unstable democratic

republic

• Stresses of war led to a revolution in October–November 1918

• Many ex-soldiers and civilians despised the new democratic leaders and came to believe that the heroic leader Field Marshal Hindenburg had been betrayed by weak politicians

How did the allies react to Germany after World War One?

Aims : To understand the reaction of the French, British and Americans to Germany after World War One.

• Paris Peace Conference

• Palace of Versailles

• Dominated by the three main victorious countries – France, Britain and USA.

• Named the Big Three

• Met to decide what should now happen in Europe and what should happen to Germany.

Woodrow WilsonGeorges Clemenceau David Lloyd George

What is the message of the cartoon?

What is the message of the cartoon?

What is the message of the cartoon?

• The peace treated was dominated by the three main allied powers of France, Britain and America who has done most of the fight against Germany.

• They were known as the Big Three.

Georges Clemenceau(Prime Minister of France)

David Lloyd George(Prime Minister of Britain)

Woodrow Wilson(President of the USA)

The Big 3.

France

• Clemenceau• Cripple Germany• Revenge• Divide into smaller states• Reduce military

Britain

• David Lloyd George• Moderate treaty• Reduce navy• Take colonies• Allow Germany to trade again• Concerned about threat of Communism in

Germany if punished too much

America

• Woodrow Wilson• Fair treaty• 14 Points• League of Nations• Self Determination• Cooperation for a lasting peace

Loss of Money

Reparations

Germany had to pay to the allies a total of

£6,600 million

Loss of Land

Alsace Lorraine Polish Corridor

Not allowed union with Austria

Demilitarised Rhineland

League of Nations

Germany could not join until it showed it

was a peaceful nation

Loss of Pride

War Guilt Clause 231

German people blamed for war

Loss of Military

Only 100,000 menNo conscription

6 Battle shipsNo submarines,

military aircraft or tanks

5 L’sTreaty of Versailles

What are the main differences after the treaty?

Land

• Rhineland demilitarised• Lost Alsace Lorraine • Lost land to make Polish corridor• Lost colonies e.g. Cameroon• Lost Sudetenland to make Czechoslovakia• No union with Austria• 10% of land lost

Money

• Reparations• 6600M• Take until 1980’s to pay• Germany already economically crushed after

the war

Military

• Only 6 battleships• No tanks• No Submarines• No aircraft• No conscription• Only 100,000 men

Pride

• Clause 231• Blamed specifically on German people

League of Nations

• Germany not allowed to join until showed it was a peaceful nation

• Joined in 1926• One of Wilson’s 14 points• Part of all the peace treaties

What did the Treaty do?

5 L’s

Loss ofMoney

Reparations

Loss ofPride

Clause 231

League of Nations

Loss of Land

Loss of Military

10 % of land 12.5 % of Population

Reparations were

crippling

No self determination for Germans in

Austria

No self determination for Germans in Czechoslovakia

Sole blame for the war

Other countries

did not disarm

100,000 men a tiny army

Saarland was

important to industry

Britain and France

expanding empires

Loss of pride

Vulnerable No tanks,

submarines or aircraft