information about the Treaty of Versailles and the Worldwide Depression

1. Treaty of Versailles
and the
Worldwide Depression
UNIT 2 NOTES

2. In November 1918 Germany surrenders to the Allied
countries. The most powerful ones, being France, USA
and Britain, wanted to create a treaty that clearly
explained what Germany would now have to do.
BUT WHAT SHOULD THEY
DO?

3. WHEN: January 1919WHEN: January 1919
 Allied countries could not agree on what the
treaty should include, but...
 They could agree on WHERE it should take
place: A French palace in a city called
Versailles (near Paris)

6. Why?
 After World War I,
leaders from countries
involved in the war met
here to write a treaty
(peace talks)
 Treaty outlined the terms
of the winners and what
they expected of the
losing country

7. • Step 2) Begin debate with the other leaders
about how to deal with Germany (20 min.)
• Step 3) Begin to divide up the resources of
Germany (10 min.)
• Step 4) Complete the chart detailing how you
dealt with Germany (15 min.)
• Step 5) Receive the description of the true
Treaty of Versailles and compare to your
Treaty of Versailles (10 min.)

10. Why did they all react so differently?Why did they all react so differently?
Many Historians believe that
disagreements happened
because the war affected the
countries in many different ways.
WHAT COUNTRIES WERE INVOLVED...

11. 750,000 men
died
Spent nearly $8
billion of which $1
billion was borrowed
from the USA
Some British
people blamed
Germany for the
war and wanted
revenge
The British Prime Minister thought
that if the Treaty was too harsh,
then Germany might one day start
another war.
I don’t want to cripple Germany in the
Treaty. I think that this could start
another war in the future, but people
in Britain want Germany to pay.

12. They joined in 1917 and lostThey joined in 1917 and lost
113,000 men.113,000 men.
USA’s homeland was
never attacked
USA wanted a ‘softer’ treaty
because they thought Germany
was important for the future...
Woodrow Wilson: I don’t agree with France.
It’s probably because we didn’t suffer nearly as
much as the French. However, I want to focus
upon setting up the League of Nations.
The U.S. did not join the League of Nations for
fear of being drawn into more wars. This also
means the U.S. did not sign the Treaty of

13. Most of the fighting
took place in Northern
France.
1,250,000
men died
Germany stole 90%
of France’s coal
and iron in 1914
Many roads and
factories had been
destroyed
I want to make sure that Germany pays for the
problems it has caused us. We suffered the
most in World War I, and we demand revenge
and reparations
Clemencau

14. FRANCE
USA
BRITAIN
“SIGN THE TREATY OR
WE WILL INVADE
YOU……IT’S YOUR
CHOICE!”
28 June 1919
The treaty was dictated to Germany--
they did not have a say in it.

15. LEAGUE OF NATIONS
MASSIVE ARMY CUTS
The Army was cut to just
100,000 men, the Navy could
only have 6 battleships, and
they were not allowed to build
any new planes, tanks, or
submarines.
GERMAN LAND GIVEN AWAY
Germany lost land to France,
Poland, Belgium, and
Denmark. An area of
Germany was even
separated from the
mainland.
GERMANY’S EMPIRE
All of Germany’s colonies
were taken away and given
away to the Allied
countries.
PAY COMPENSATION
This was known as
reparations.
Germany had to
pay $33 billion
dollars.
Treaty of
Versailles
WHAT DID THE TREATY ACCOMPLISH?WHAT DID THE TREATY ACCOMPLISH?
This organization
of nations would
cooperate to
keep peace.

16. Not only did Germany lose about 10% of its land, it also consequently lost 10% of
its population. German people were now living in foreign countries.
Land taken away from Germany under the treaty of Versailles

17. “Today in the Hall of Mirrors of
Versailles the disgraceful Treaty is
being signed.
Do not forget it. The German
people will press forward to
reconquer the place among
nations to which we deserve.
Then will come revenge for the
shame of 1919.”
Excerpt from a German newspaper on the day the
treaty was signed...

18. Germany was a proud country due to its military
strength and strong traditions of dominance within
that area of Europe. However, the treaty of Versailles
created different feelings:

19. The war had left
Germany almost
bankrupt. As its
people starved and
the country lay in
chaos, the Allies gave
them a bill (Treaty of
Versailles) that they
simply could not
afford to pay...
RESULT: German
money become
worthless
German money wasGerman money was
only good foronly good for
starting fires…starting fires…

20. HOW DID THE U.S. HELPHOW DID THE U.S. HELP
GERMANY?GERMANY?
The Dawes Plan
Reduced the amount Germany
owed
Set payments Germany could
handle
Loaned Germany $200 million

21. Worldwide Depression
Germany wasn’t the only country
who suffered
In the 1930s, countries around the
world fell into a worldwide economic
depression
WHY?...

22. USA's Economic DepressionUSA's Economic Depression
 1929—USA experienced a
stock market crash
 Value of stocks began to
drop so stockholders began
to sell their stocks as fast as
they could
 Businesses could no longer
sell their goods because
people had less money to
spend, so many had to
close & workers lost their
jobs
 People couldn’t repay
their loans to the bank, so
they lost everything
(homes, farms, etc.)

23. Worldwide EconomicWorldwide Economic
DepressionDepression
 Businesses around the world traded with the
US:
 When the US stopped buying goods, it hurt
businesses in other countries
 When US banks closed, banks in other countries
were hurt too
 Stockholders in other countries could no longer sell
their stocks to American companies
 As businesses and factories around the world
closed one by one, buying and selling almost
stopped…