IGCSE REVISION - PEACE TREATIES: REACTIONS TO THE TREATY

1. REACTION
TO THE TREATY
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2. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
INTRODUCTION
• A lot of people didn’t like the Treaty of Versailles – Lloyd George and
Wilson thought it would not work, and Clemenceau was criticised by
many French people who thought it wasn’t harsh enough.

3. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
SOME PEOPLE SAID THE TREATY WAS FAIR
• Because the war has caused so much death and damage.
• There were 9 million combatant deaths and 13 million civilian deaths
as a direct result of the war,
• People thought Germany had to be made weaker so it couldn’t go
to war again.
• People in France and Britain wanted revenge, politicians listened to
them to stay in power.

4. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
OTHER PEOPLE SAID THE TREATY WAS
HARSH
• The Germans were left weak and resentful, this could lead to anger
and cause future trouble, like another war.
• The treaty wouldn’t help rebuild European trade and wealth –
Germany couldn’t afford the reparations, and many of the new
countries were poor.
• The peacemakers faced problems and pressure from the people at
home.

5. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
GERMANY HATED THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
• The Germans were bitter about the treaty because they:
• Couldn’t afford reparations
• Lost industrial areas and could not rebuild
• Lost pride without armed forces
• Saw other countries were not disarming
• Did not accept defeat
• Did not accept guilt for starting the war
• Suffered an economic crisis
• Lost colonies
• Lived under foreign rules in new countries

6. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
PROBLEMS WERE BUILDING UP FOR THE FUTURE
• Europe couldn’t recover properly while countries like Germany
remained poor.
• Self-determination would be difficult in new countries like Poland
and Czechoslovakia where many people from different nationalities
had been thrown together as an artificial country.
• German anger would lead to trouble in the future.
• The Germans called the treaty a Diktat, because they had no choice
but to accept it.
• Without Germany, Rusia or USA in the League of Nations, it would
be hard to keep the peace.

7. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY – MR. D
HOMEWORK “TROUBLE AHEAD”
• Write two lists – one for harsh reasons and one for fair reasons.