Introduction XXth Century + Treaty of Versailles (IGCSE)

Oh, Brave New World
Samuel Perrino Martínez. ISU

A New World. What is a modern world?
 Traditional world as a world in which the basic circumstances of life don't change much
from one generation to the next.
 The modern world is one in which the conditions of life are changing constantly
 In modern times (XIXth and XXth century) there is a Great Divide:
- Population
- Economy
- Energy
- Ideas

Consequences of the Great Divide
What is the link between these two pictures?Samuel Perrino Martínez. ISU

Ideas
 Traditional societies had traditional (and
DIFFERENT) ideas.
 In the modern times, the societies face SIMILAR
ideas as LIBERTY, …

Consequences of the Great Divide
 Energy / Resources
 Rural / Urban world
 Ideas

Great events in the XIXth Century
 Apparition of modern ideologies (Nationalism, Socialism, Liberalism)
 Industrial Revolution (transports, energy, etc.)
 Main facts:
- Napoleonic Wars
- Many revolutions
- Colonial expansion
- Creation of Germany or Italy
- An incredible power was unleashed, the world can just go forward … (or maybe not)

 “The century since the end of the Napoleonic Wars had been the most
peaceful era since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the first years of the
Twentieth Century Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy,
and prosperous future. But instead, complex personalities and rivalries,
colonialism and ethnic nationalisms, and shifting alliances helped to
bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that
transformed Europe and the world.”
(dust cover flap – “The War that Ended Peace” - Margaret MacMillan)

 “Imagine that you were alive in the Summer of 1900, living in London, then
the capital of the world, Europe ruled the Eastern Hemisphere. There was
hardly a place that, if not ruled directly, was not indirectly controlled from a
European capital. Europe was at peace and enjoying unprecedented
prosperity. Indeed, European interdependence due to trade and investment
was so great that serious people were claiming that war had become
impossible – and if not impossible, world end within weeks of beginning –
because global financial markets couldn’t withstand the strain. The future
seemed fixed: a peaceful, prosperous Europe would rule the world.” (p.1 –
“The next 100 years” - George Friedman)

But…

So… that is actually what it happened
 Franz Ferdinand (the heir of the Crown of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire) was assassinated in
Sarajevo
 Countries declared war each other (alliance
system was activated) and the conflict started
 Everyone thought the war will end up before
Christmas, but it was the bloodiest war in that
time (4 years and 10 M. of deaths)

Consequences
 Socially:
 Human deaths:
- Germany and its allies: 3,5 M.
- France: 1,3 M.
- United Kingdom: 1 M.
- Russia: 1,7 M.
- On average, 5,500 people died each day of the war
- Nevertheless, “If only one man dies of hunger, that is a
tragedy. If millions die, that’s only statistics.”
- Worksheet

Consequences.
 Many women grew old with no hope or idea
of better life
 A whole generation of children was never born
 Many orphans, and people who had relatives
with serious mental and physical problems

An Age of Uncertinity
 After the war, the Humanity seemed
to lose the faith, the hope for a better
world 3:20
 It is a big contrast compared with the
last century
 In this difficult situation, there is a
need to build a new world after the
War

In this difficult situation, at the end there is
a need for peacemaking
 According your views…
 What would be the main aims of the victors in the IWW? (revenge OR lasting
peace)
-
-
-
The leaders of these three countries will be the main negotiators of a new peace for
the world (Worksheet --- European problems)

A man of peace: W.Wilson
Wilson had a clear idea about what it should
be done:
- The 14 Points of Wilson (worksheet)

A man hurt by the past: Clemenceau
 According this cartoon, what were
the positions of Clemenceau towards
the peace?
 Why do you think he was supporting
these views?

A man “in the middle”: Lloyd George
 Lloyd George was the PM of England
 What was the main dilemma of Lloyd
George? (Imagine the horses were
USA and France)

2 main decisions
 What are they going to do with Germany?
- SCRAP. Why are these territories relevant?
-- Saarland (Industry)
-- Colonies (European powers wanted territories)
-- Rhinland (border with ….)
-- Alsace – Lorraine (Disputed with …)
-- Polish Corridor (Disputed with … )
-- One extra point: Anschluss (the union with Austria was forbidden)
- RAWL
-- Reparations (Money)
-- Armaments (planes, warships, etc.)
-- War Guilty (Blame)
-- League of Nations

Main ideas of Wilson
 Don't punish Germany: Why? --- If Germany was
treated badly, Germany would try revenge in the future
 Democracy is the solution for the defeated countries --
- Why? If the people could elect the leaders, they would
not like another war (Democracies NEVER fight each
other)

 Self-determination to the small countries
in Eastern Europe --- Self-determination is
the idea of deciding its future as an
independent State
Can you perceive the difference?

 International co-operation ----
Why? If the countries cooperated in
an international organization (League
of Nations), wars would be quite
unlikely.

Lloyd George. Main ideas
 In theory, Lloyd George agree on Wilson´s ideas
 In practice, he believed Wilson was a little bit
idealist. He believed Wilson did not Europe very
well
 He was more concerned about British interests,
and at the same time he did not want a harsh
treaty to Germany (commercial partner)
 Also, he faced internal tensions (read sources)
Americans …. They
don,t know anything
about Europe

Clemenceau. The Tiger
 Clemenceau experienced the German
invasion of France in 1871
 France wanted to weaken Germany
as much as it was possible:
- Divide Germany into small States
(Bavaria, Berlin, Frankfurt)
- No army and no industry
Germany must
pay

The negotiation process
 As you may imagine, the three
leaders (The Big Three) disagreed on
many issues
 They had many advisors but finally
they decided
 They were negotiating in the Palace
of Versailles (the residence of the
French kings at the past)
 Nevertheless, they were able to reach
an agreement in 1919

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles
 You should know the terms:
 2 Key words:
 SCRAP (German territories): Sarre/Colonies/Ruhr/Alsace/Polish Corridor
 RAWL (General conditions): Reparations / Armament / War guilty / League of
Nations
 Textbook p. 12,13

German reaction

What was the reaction of Germany to the
Peace treaties?
 It was UNFAIR!
 Why?
- Self-determination
- Loss of territories
- War guilty
- Disarmament
- No League of the Nations

Treaty of Versailles. German reaction
 Diktat: Germany had no option to negotiate the
conditions. They even did not participate in the
discussions.
 How did Germans feel about this?
--- We are not obliged to follow these rules if we
have a chance
Can you argue something against this argument?

Diktat

Treaty of Versailles.
 Loss of territory:
- Germany lost 10% of the territory
- It,s important because many German
population was living in this territories.
They had two options:
- Stay as a minorities
- Move to Germany
- It,s not just a question of prestige, it,s
also a “personal” question.

Treaty of Versailles
 Self-determination w(included in the
14 points of Wilson)as a little bit tricky
 It means one nation --- one culture --
- one country
 But… what about the Germans who
were living in Eastern Europe? The
right of self-determination was JUST
for the winners.
 In the Treaty, the Anschluss (union of
Germany and Austria was forbidden)

Treaty of Versailles.
 Disarmament
 Germany Army was reduced to 100,000
men. Why was this decision a problem
for Germany?
- G could not start a new war
- G had problems to maintain the order in
the country (extremely weak country)
- How would be the disarmament fair?

Treaty of Versailles
 War guilt (Art. 234 Treaty of Versailles)
The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany
accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing
all loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated
Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a
consequence of the war imposed on them by the aggression of
Germany and her allies
Germans felt this was very unfair.
Also, blame meaned in real terms ….
MONEY

Germany after the war

What kind of problems?
Reparations Stab-in the back idea
Samuel Perrino Martínez. ISU. Republic of Weimar (1919 - 1929)

What kind of problems?
Economic crisis Distribution of wealth

Problems of Germany after the war
 Extremist parties were very popular
 The conflict in the Ruhr
 Hyperinflation

The rise of extremist parties
 Extremist parties became very popular at that moment in
Germany
 3 important attempts to overthrow the government:
- Spartacist Revolution (1919): Communist revolution
- Kapp Putsch (1920): Right-wing extremist (Freikorps)
under the direction of Kapp
- Munich Putsch (1923): Hitler tried to seize the power
- All the attempts failed, but the system was weak (murder
of politicians, political problems, etc.)

The Ruhr crisis
 The reparations commission had
determined that Germany should pay
132 billion gold marks in 42 years
to the Allied powers

The Ruhr crisis
 The French were anxious to enforce
the reparations for two reasons:
- They hated Germans
- They needed the money to pay the
American loans

Ruhr crisis
 Germans had problems to pay the demanded
amount of money, so the French decided to take a
hard line approach to Germany: the best way to
make Germany pay was …
 MAKING USE OF THE FORCE ---- French and
Belgium troops invaded the Ruhr (the industrial area
of Germany) to “receive” the payment
 What would you do if you were a German worker?

Ruhr crisis
 As Germany had almost no army
(Treaty of Versailles) France took the
outputs of the factories and mines of
the Ruhr, and shipping them to its
territory.

Ruhr crisis
 What was the German reaction?
 German workers refused to
cooperate
 Sabotage (Flooding of mines,
burning factories, destruction of
railroads, etc.)
 French fought against that. They had
the complete control of this area!

Ruhr crisis
 What was the German reaction?
 The Government supported the workers in their strike and sabotage actions. How?
 It printed money to pay them. PROBLEM --- The value of the money decreased because
it was an artificial measure ---- HYPERINFLATION

Consequences of the Hyperinflation
 The middle class lost its economic
power (the money they saved) so
they became:
- Cynical to democracy
- More interested in extremist
ideologies (Nazis tried to seize the
power in 1923)

Now… Emilia will be happy because we are
going to …
 Have an exam?
 Do a lot of exercises?
 Sing a song?
 Play … ?

Were the Germans right?
 Partially YES
 It is true the conditions of the Treaty
were hard for Germany
 Partially NO
 It could be worse. France wanted to
divide Germany into small states, even
higher reparations and the complete
elimination of the German Army (It
could be worse)
 The conditions imposed by Germany to
Russia were even worse.

How was the Treaty seen
with hindsight?

Treaty with hindsight
 Historians do not agree on the fairness of the Treaty
 It may be argue that the harsh conditions of the Treaty created the conditions for
the …. (People was so angry)
 Nevertheless, it may be argue the opposite (the territorial conditions were not so
hard for Germany if it is compared with the other Peace Treaties with Austria, at the
same time French and British had a strong public opinion against Germany, it was
not easy)
 Read the text, and summarize the points of the Source 14 and 15 (p.18)
 You have to know both sides.

The other Peace Treaties

The other peace Treaties
 Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the most important treaty after the war, but there were more treaties
with other countries you should know:
- Treaty of St.Germain (1919) with Austria
- Treaty of Neuilly (1919) with Bulgaria
- Treaty of Trianon (1919) with Hungary
- Treaty of Sevres (1920) with Turkey
- I know it is boring to remember all the treaties, but you should know:
- Name of the Treaty and country involved
- Territorial losses of the country + Reparations (no need exact numbers)

Introduction XXth Century + Treaty of Versailles (IGCSE)

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