WW1 - Treaty of Versailles

1. IMMEDIATE REACTIONS OF
BRITAIN, FRANCE, USA, AND
GERMANY TO THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES

2. REACTION OF BRITAIN
- citizens of Britain wanted revenge
- wanted harsher terms
- satisfied that they got most of Germany’s colonies
- Lloyd George thought the Treaty would lead to a
second world war - he was right

3. REACTION OF FRANCE
- Clemenceau wanted to ensure Germany never again
pose as a military threat
- France was not satisfied - thought Germany hadn’t
been weakened enough
- Marshal Foch said: ‘this is not a peace treaty, it is an
armistice for twenty-one years’. He meant Germany
had not been weakened, they would rise again in
twenty-one years

4. REACTION OF THE US
- America refused to ratify
the Treaty
-Republicans in the US
opposed Wilson’s
involvement in Europe
- Refuse to sign treaty
- US isolated itself from the
problems of Europe

5. GERMANY’S REACTIONS
‘DIKTAT’
- German called the treaty of
versailles a ‘diktat’
- Allies dictated the terms of the
Treaty
- Allies made all decisions at
Versailles without real
consultation

6. - Sank their own There was anger throughout
fleet - they did
not want to hand
Germany when the treaty
it over to the was made public.
allies
- Felt cheated that
Wilson’s 14
points weren’t
included in the
treaty

7. - Germany did not like the ‘war
guilt clause’ of the Treaty
- They refuse to pay
reparations
More than 90 years,
Germany still pays off
WW1 reparations