This document outlines objectives for understanding the US involvement in WWI. It discusses Wilson's initial neutrality policy, events like the sinking of the Lusitania that drew the US closer to supporting the Allies, and the content of the Zimmermann Telegram intercepted by Britain that proposed a German alliance with Mexico against the US and contributed to the US declaration of war in 1917. The objectives cover understanding US wartime leadership and mobilization as well as the costs and actions taken to prepare the nation for war.

1. WWI Part I Objectives
• Be able to identify characteristics of Europe in
the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
• Be able to identify the main causes of WWI and
how they led to war.
• Be able to identify the countries of Europe
during WWI and what alliance they belonged
to.
• Be able to explain what and where the
Powderkeg of Europe is and why it was called
that.
• Be able to identify the event that started WWI.
• Be able to identify Germany’s war plan.
• Be able to identify the goals of the war for
countries involved.
• Be able to describe what fighting was like in
WWI.

2. WWI
• World War I - Trenches on the Web

4. Governments in Europe in the
Early 1900’s
• England and France were democratic
• Germany and Austria-Hungary appeared to
be democratic but were really authoritarian
• Russia had a Czar(Tsar)
• Socialism was attracting many poor people
• -opposed nationalism
• -wanted to unite workers
• -wanted peace and arms reduction
• -wanted equality of people
• Radical socialists called for a violent
overthrow of the government

5. Czar Nicholas-Russia

6. Kaiser Wilhelm-Germany

7. Characteristics of Europe
Late 1800’s and Early 1900’s
• very nationalistic
• willing to go to war to protect interests and
national honor
• industrialization was occurring
• population was increasing
• people were moving from rural areas to the city
• due to the speed of change, traditional values
and religion became less important
• propaganda was common
• democratic governments increased
• more people could vote(the poor)
• educating the masses was important

8. Crisis and Wars in Europe in late
1800’s and early 1900’s
• Austria-Hungary lost a war to France in 1848
• Austria-Hungary lost a war to Prussia in 1866
• Germany defeats France in the Franco-Prussian War(1870-
1871)
-Germany receives Alsace-Lorraine from France
• United States defeats Spain in the Spanish-American
War(1898)
• Japan defeats Russia in the Russo-Japanese War(1904-05)
• France and Germany almost go to war over Morroco(1905&
1911)
• The Pig War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia
• -a economic war not military

9. • wealth and power was in the hands of a small percentage
of the population
• many people were in poverty
• due to poverty, many people turned to labor unions and
socialism
• countries competed with one another for markets, raw
materials and colonies
• countries also traded a lot with each other
• imperialism became common
a. created “spheres of influence” in Africa and Asia
• alliances developed
– Triple Alliance
1. Germany, Austria-Hungary & Italy
– Triple Entente
1. Great Britain, France & Russia
• armies and navies were built up(militarism)
• Look at map of Europe in 1914

10. • Italy defeats Turkey in the Tripolitanian
War(1911)
• The Balkan League(Serbia,
Montenegro, Bulgaria & Greece)
defeated the Ottoman Empire(Turkey)
in the First Balkan War(1912)
• Serbia and Greece defeat Bulgaria in
the Second Balkan War(1913)

14. Causes of WWI
• Causes of WWI online lesson - learning
objectives – School History.co.uk
• Causes of World War I

15. Militarism

16. • An arms race began
with all countries
following Germany’s
lead of a large army
and navy and war plans
and strategies
• It was very common for
armies to double in size
in the late 1800’s and
early 1900’s
• Navies also increased
quickly in size,
especially Great Britain
—built the Dreadnaught

17. Imperialism

18. Nationalism

19. Nationalism
• Swept through Europe in the mid to late
1800’s
• Italy unified in 1861
• Germany unified in 1871
• France losing Alsace-Lorraine in 1871 to
Germany caused much tension between
the two countries—France wanted
revenge.
• The Balkan Peninsula had many ethnic
groups who were nationalistic toward their
ethnic group not their country

20. Economic Competition
• Great Britain, France and Germany
(among others) were competing worldwide
for colonies, natural resources, and
markets
• See Africa and Asian map

21. Alliances
• World War I was caused in part by the two opposing alliances
developed by Bismarck(German) after the Franco-Prussian
War(1871).
• In order to isolate France, Bismarck formed the Three
Emperor's League in 1872, an alliance between Germany,
Russia and Austria-Hungary.
• When the French occupied Tunisia(in Africa), Bismarck took
advantage of Italy’s distrust of France and created the Triple
Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria- Hungary in 1882.
• In exchange for Italy's agreement to stay neutral if war broke
out between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Germany and
Austria-Hungary would protect Italy from France.
• Russia and Austria-Hungary grew suspicious of each other over
conflicts in the Balkans in 1887, but Bismarck repaired the
damage to his alliances with a Reinsurance Treaty with Russia,
allowing both powers to stay neutral if the other was at war.

22. Otto von Bismarck

23. • However, after Bismarck was fired by Kaiser William II
in 1890, the traditional dislike of Slavs kept Bismarck's
successors from renewing the understanding with
Russia.
• France took advantage of this opportunity to get an
ally, and the Franco- Russian Entente was formed in
1891.
• As a result, Britain and France formed the Entente
Cordiale in 1904.
• Russia formed an Entente with Britain in 1907 due to
German actions
• The Triple Entente, an alliance between Great Britain,
France and Russia, now countered the Triple Alliance.
• International tension was greatly increased by the
division of Europe into two armed camps.

25. Austria-Hungary
• -it was a multi-national dual monarchy
• -it had eleven major ethnic groups
• -Austrians and Hungarians were the two largest
- both made up less than 50% of the population
• -many different languages, religions and customs
• -The government hated nationalism. Why?
• -The government despised Serbians and Serbia
-“The Serbian Menace”
• -Serbia wanted to make the Serbians living in Austria-
Hungary, part of a “Greater Serbia”
• -The Black Hand was created in Serbia.
• -secret organization whose goal it was to unite all Serbs
by any means necessary
• -Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his
wife, Sophia in Sarajevo igniting WWI

26. Archduke Franz Ferdinand-A-H

29. Info on the Assassination
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• Gavrilo Princip - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia

30. Gavrilo Princip

31. Funeral-Archduke Ferdinand

32. Powderkeg-Balkan Peninsula

33. Chain of Events
• A. Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
• B. Austria-Hungary sends ultimatum to Serbia.
• C. Serbia refuses to accept ultimatum.
• D. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
• 1. Only after Germany gives them a promise
• of support.
• E. Russia mobilizes to support Serbia.
• F. Germany declares war on Russia.
• 1. Hoped to knock Russia out of war quickly
• to avoid a two-fronted war?
• a. Why would Germany want to avoid a
• two-fronted war.
• G. France enters war to help Russia.
• H. Great Britain enters war to help France after
• Germany attacks France through neutral
• Belgium

35. The Von Schlieffen

36. WWI Animation
• BBC History - Western Front animation

37. Three Types of Trenches
• Front Line
• Support
• Reserve
• “No Man’s Land”

39. Trench Warfare

45. This collection of items from World War 1 illustrates the nature of life and war in
the trenches. Water bottles and a pistol for firing signal flares sit alongside items
from the offensive side of trench warfare. From left to right, a trench club, a
bayonet, a British No.2 Hale's percussion grenade, three types of rifle grenade, a
British No.36 hand grenade (also known as a Mills Bomb) and an early gas mask.
The No.2 Hales grenade has cloth streamers fitted to the rear of the handle to
make sure that the front end of the grenade, where the percussion fuse is located,
hits the target first, so setting it off. The rifle grenades are of the rod type. By
fiting the rod into the muzzle of a rifle and firing a blank cartridge, it could be
launched a considerable distance, again with a percussion fuse. The Mills bomb
is time fused, triggered by pulling out the safety pin and releasing the lever.

46. Bayonets

47. Flamethrowers

48. Grenades

49. Machine Guns
• US Browning M1917

50. Pistols
• German Luger • US Colt

51. Gas Warfare

52. Gas Warfare

53. • Gas was invented (and very successfully used) as a terror weapon meant to instill
confusion and panic among the enemy prior to an offensive. It was a sort of
physiological weapon with the non-lethal tearing agents inflicting as much panic as
the dreaded mustard gas.
Gas was available in three basic varieties:
• Lachrymator (tearing agent)
– Much like today's tear gas and mace, this gas caused temporary blindness and
greatly inflamed the nose and throat of the victim. A gas mask offered very good
protection from this type of gas.
*Asphyxiant
– These are the poisonous gases. This class includes chlorine, phosgene and
diphosgene. Chlorine inflicts damage by forming hydrochloric acid when coming in
contact with moisture such as found in the lungs and eyes. It is lethal at a mix of
1:5000 (gas/air) whereas phosgene is deadly at 1:10,000 (gas/air) - twice as toxic!
Diphosgene, first used by the Germans at Verdun on 22-Jun-1916, was deadlier still
and could not be effectively filtered by standard issue gas masks.
• Blistering Agent
– Dichlorethylsulphide: the most dreaded of all chemical weapons in World War I -
mustard gas. Unlike the other gases which attack the respiratory system, this gas
acts on any exposed, moist skin. This includes, but is not limited to, the eyes, lungs,
armpits and groin. A gas mask could offer very little protection. The oily agent would
produce large burn-like blisters wherever it came in contact with skin. It also had a
nasty way of hanging about in low areas for hours, even days, after being dispersed.
A soldier jumping into a shell crater to seek cover could find himself blinded, with
skin blistering and lungs bleeding.

54. Tanks
• British “Little Willie” Tank • French Renault Light Tank

55. Tanks
• British Mark IV • German A7V

56. Artillery
• German Krupp RR Gun

57. Artillery
• German “Big Bertha” • US “Calamity Jane
Howitzer

58. Submarines/U-boats
• German U-Boats
U
C
4
4
C
l
a
s
s

59. U-Boat Attack

60. US Subs

61. Zeppelins

62. Zeppelin Bombs

63. USS South Carolina

64. USS Texas

65. US Floating Mine

66. US Destroyer dropping depth
charges

67. Airplanes
• SPAD XIII • Sopwith Pup

68. Planes
• Plane dropping • German Albatross
torpedo

69. Baron Manfred von Richtofen
The Red Baron

70. Animals at War

71. Death & Destruction Pictures

81. Turkish Massacre of the Armenians

86. WWI War Goals
• There weren’t any real goals at first, but as time went on
and casualties and costs increased, winning territory
was a must.
• France
• -regain Alsace and Lorraine from Germany
• -get the Saar Basin from Germany(rich in coal)
• -create and independent Rhineland to create a buffer
area between France and Germany
• -cripple Germany’s military
• -get German colonies in Africa
• -get Turkish colonies in the Mid-East
• Great Britain
• -get German colonies in Africa
• -get Turkish colonies in the Mid-East
• Italy
• -wanted land from Austria-Hungary

87. • Russia
• -wanted control of the Dardenelle and Bosporus
Straits in Turkey
• Austria-Hungary
• -self preservation
• Germany
• -wanted part of France
• -wanted Luxembourg and Belgium
• -wanted most of western Russia
• -make Austria-Hungary and the Balkans a “sphere of
influence”
• -take over French and British colonies in Africa
• United States
• -win and end the war
• -Wilson’s 14 Points

88. WWI Part 2
Objectives-US Involvement
• Be able to identify the US policy that Wilson declared
when WWI broke out in 1914.
• Be able to identify why the US was drawn into war
and why we drew closer to the Allied Powers.
• Be able to analyze WWI propaganda, identify it goals
and evaluate the effectiveness of it.
• Be able to identify how the convoy system works
and the effectiveness of it.
• Be able to identify the importance of key people:
Woodrow Wilson, Charles Evans Hughes, John
Pershing, Ferdinand Foch, Bernard Baruch, Herbert
Hoover, George Creel.
• Be able to identify the costs of the war: US and
grand total.
• Be able to identify the actions we took at home to
mobilize our country for war.

89. President Woodrow Wilson

90. Neutrality
President Wilson declared that the U.S. was to
be neutral when WWI broke out.
• 1. “Impartial in thought as well as in
action”
• 2. Neutrality was successful for three
years.

91. 1916 Election
– Woodrow Wilson (Democrat)-
Incumbent
– Charles Evans
Hughes(Republican)
– Wilson won
• Platform was: “He kept us out of
war”

92. President Woodrow Wilson

93. Charles Evans Hughes

94. 1916 Election

95. Causes for U.S. involvement in
WWI
1. U.S. very upset with both sides in war.
-G.B. and Germany were both stopping U.S.
ships
-Eventually, U.S. drew closer to war and
the Allies.
WHY?
• German sinking of British ships and killing
of U.S. citizens
a. Lusitania, Arabic, Sussex

96. Lusitania

97. Lusitania Sinking

98. 3. The Zimmermann Note
• was a coded telegram sent by the Foreign
Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur
Zimmermann, on January 16, 1917
• It was sent to the German ambassador in the
United States of America, Johann von
Bernstorff, at the height of World War I.
• The note was intercepted and decoded by the
British cryptographers.
• The contents of the letter was given to the
American press on March 1.
• Caused public outrage that contributed to the
United States' declaration of war against
Germany on April 6, 1917.

99. • Zimmermann's message was:
• On the first of February, we intend to begin unrestricted
submarine warfare. In spite of this, it is our intention to
endeavor to keep the United States of America neutral.
• In the event of this not succeeding, we propose an alliance on
the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war
together and make peace together. We shall give generous
financial support, and an understanding on our part that
Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas,
and Arizona. The details of settlement are left to you.
• You are instructed to inform the President [of Mexico] of the
above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that
there will be an outbreak of war with the United States and
suggest that the President, on his own initiative, invite Japan to
immediate adherence with this plan; at the same time, offer to
mediate between Japan and ourselves.
• Please call to the attention of the President that the ruthless
employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of
compelling England to make peace in a few months.

100. • In summary, Germany tried to get Mexico
to declare war on the United States.
• Germany promised Mexico that they
would get the Mexican Cession back if
they won
• Germany wanted to keep the US out of
Europe

101. • 4. Beliefs of War Hawks
a. Teddy Roosevelt
• 5. Trade with England increased,
Germany decreased as years went on.
a. $3 billion in 1916 with England
6. British and American Propaganda
7. Preparedness Program (1915)
a. U.S. started arming and preparing
for war

102. 8. American Business
a. munitions business pushed U.S. into
war to make money
9. German declaration of “unlimited
submarine warfare”.
a. Ties with #1

103. Sussex Pledge
• President Wilson addressed Congress in April and
issued an ultimatum to the Germans: End the attack
on unarmed ships or risk the severing of diplomatic
relations.
• Germany responded to Wilson's demands on May 4,
1916 with what is called the "Sussex Pledge."
German submarine policy would henceforth be
governed by promises to:
– end the sinking of passenger ships
– search merchant ships for contraband and make provisions
for passengers and crews before sinking merchant ships
• The German guarantees were generally honored
until the announcement of the resumption of
unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917.

104. Propaganda
• What were the goals of propaganda during
WWI?
• Read Propaganda Packet

105. General John Pershing

106. Doughboy

107. Ferdinand Foch

108. The Homefront
• Refers to what people did back in the US
to help win the war
• Every country has their own Homefront

109. War Industries Board
• headed by Bernard
Baruch
• regulated industry in
U.S.
• encourages mass
production
• Under the War
Industries Board,
industrial production
in the U.S.
increased 20
percent

110. Food Administration
• headed by Herbert
Hoover
• urged people to conserve
food
• Had “meatless days” and
“wheatless days” .
• “victory gardens” were
planted by schools and
homes
• Prevented hoarding of
food by people
• "Food is Ammunition-
Don't waste it."

114. Committee on Public Information
• Goal was to influence U.S. public opinion to
support World War I in their own way.
• Had a huge propaganda campaign to do so
• The committee used newsprint, posters, radio,
telegraph and movies to broadcast its message
• Americanized German words:
-German Measles-liberty measles
-hamburger liberty steak
-sauerkraut-liberty cabbage

115. George Creel

121. WWI Propaganda

122. WWI Propaganda

125. •
Over There
Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run,
On the run, on the run.
Hear them calling, you and me,
Every son of liberty.
Hurry right away,
No delay, go today,
Make your daddy glad
To have had such a lad.
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line.
(chorus sung twice)
Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun
Who's a son of a gun.
Hoist the flag and let her fly,
Yankee Doodle do or die.
Pack your little kit,
Show your grit, do your bit.
Yankee to the ranks,
From the towns and the tanks.
Make your mother proud of you,
And the old Red, White and Blue.
(chorus sung twice)
Chorus
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there -
That the Yanks are coming,
The Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming
Ev'rywhere.
So prepare, say a pray'r,
Send the word, send the word to beware.
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's over
Over there.

126. National War Labor Board
• Settled disputes
between workers
and employers
• discouraged strikes
• “work or fight”
• Headed by William
H. Taft

127. WWI Casualties
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_c
asualties

128. WWI Part 3 The Peace Process
• Be able to define what the Paris Peace
Conference was.
• Be able to describe Wilson’s 14 Points.
• Be able to describe the Treaty of
Versailles in detail and the impact it had
on Germany and Europe.
• Be able to describe why the US never
ratified the Treaty of Versailles.

129. The Paris Peace Conference
• The meeting of the Allied victors following the
end of WWI to set the peace terms for Germany
and other defeated nations, and to deal with the
empires of the defeated powers following the
Armistice of 1918.
• It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved
diplomats from more than 29 countries.
• They came up with a series of treaties ("Peace
of Paris Treaties") that reshaped the map of
Europe and the world and imposed guilt and stiff
financial penalties on Germany.

130. Versailles Palace

131. Versailles Gardens

132. Hall of Mirrors

133. The Big Four

134. President Woodrow Wilson

135. Wilson’s 14 Points
• The Fourteen Points was a speech delivered by
President Woodrow Wilson to Congress on January 8,
1918.
• The address was intended to assure the country that the
Great War(WWI) was being fought for a moral cause and
for postwar peace in Europe.
• Other Allied countries did not like the 14 Points as they
thought it was too easy on Germany.
• The speech became the basis for the terms of the
German surrender, as negotiated at the Paris Peace
Conference in 1919.
• The actual Treaty of Versailles had little to do with the
Fourteen Points and so was never ratified by the U.S.
Senate.

136. Wilson’s 14 Points
• 1. An end to secret treaties
•
•
2. Freedom of the seas
•
•
3. Free trade for all countries
•
•
4. Disarmament
•
•
5. End to colonial claims
•
•
6. Self-determination for all countries- Russia
•

137. •
7. Restoration of Belgium
•
•
8. Restoration of France
•
•
9. Readjustment of Italy’s boundaries
•
•
10. Austria- Hungary would be given
opportunity for autonomous development
•

138. •
11. Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be
evacuated and restored
•
•
12. Turkey should be sovereign (independent)
•
•
13. Poland would be given their independence
•
•
14. The “League of Nations” would be developed

139. David Lloyd George-GB

140. Georges Clemenceau-France

141. Vittorio Orlando-Italy

142. Treaty of Versailles

144. Treaty of Versailles
• Territorial
• The following land was taken away from Germany :
• Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)
• Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)
• Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)
• Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)
• West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)
• The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the
League of Nations and the people of these regions would be
allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future
referendum.
• The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas
colonies.
• Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states :
Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also
received some of this land

145. Treaty of Versailles
• Military
• Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the
army was not allowed tanks
• Germany was not allowed an airforce
• Germany was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and
no submarines
• The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the
River Rhine was made into a demilitarized zone
(DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was allowed
into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of
occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15
years.

146. Treaty of Versailles
• Financial
• The loss of vital industrial territory would be
a severe blow to Germany’s economy. Coal
from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular
was a vital economic loss.
• Combined with the financial penalties linked
to reparations($33 billion), it seemed clear to
Germany that the Allies wanted nothing else
but to bankrupt them.
• Germany was also forbidden to unite with
Austria to form one superstate.

147. Treaty of Versailles
• General
• 1. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war.
This was Clause 231 - the infamous "War Guilt Clause".
• 2. Germany, as it was responsible for starting the war as stated
in clause 231, was therefore responsible for all the war damage
caused by the First World War. Therefore, they had to pay
reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium
to pay for the damage done to both countries by the war. The
figure was eventually put at $33 billion .
• 3. A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.

148. League of Nations
• -Five permanent members
• -G.B., France, Italy, U.S., Japan
• -Four non-permanent members that rotated
• -all members must submit disputes for
investigation, arbitration and settlement
• -if member nation ignored, League could
take action
• What type of action?
– Economic sanctions
• -France wanted an international army but
US and GB did not
• -Germany and the Soviet Union were not
allowed to join right away
• -U.S. never joined

149. Other Treaties
• Austria-Hungary no longer existed
– Austria
• wanted to be part of Germany
– Hungary
– Czechoslovakia
• lots of Germans in the Sudetenland area
– Yugoslavia (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes)
• formed from Serbia, Montenegro and part of A-H
• All these countries were small and weak and could easily be
taken over.
• Germany had to give land back to Russia from Brest-Litovsk
Treaty
– due to Civil War, Bolsheviks could not deal with this at the time so
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine became independent
• Turkey lost all it’s Middle Eastern colonies
– Syria and Jordan went to France
– Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq went to GB
– Saudi Arabia became independent
• Turkey did become a republic(democracy) after WW I

150. The Consequences of Versailles
• the Treaty seemed to satisfy the "Big Three" as in their eyes it
was a just peace as it kept Germany weak yet strong enough to
stop the spread of communism; kept the French border with
Germany safe from another German attack and created the
League of Nations that would end warfare throughout the
world.
• left a mood of anger throughout Germany as it was felt that as
a nation Germany had been unfairly treated.
• Above all else, Germany hated the clause blaming them for the
cause of the war and the war reparations the treaty forced on
them. Those who signed it became known as the "November
Criminals".
• Many German citizens felt that they were being punished for
the mistakes of the German government in August 1914 as it
was the government that had declared war not the people.

151. Reaction to the WWI Treaties
• United States
• -thought they were pulled in by France and Great
Britain
• -thought it became a war of spoils
• -wanted to go back to isolationism- “A return to
normalcy”
• Great Britain
• -treaties were too harsh
• -had less guaranteed Allies
• -wanted to forgive and forget with Germany-start
trading
• -gave greater independence to colonies
throughout world
• -Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, India

152. • France
• -very unhappy-physically destroyed, high
casualties
• -treaties were way too easy
• -upset that the US and GB pulled out of the
Guarantee Treaty
• -made defensive alliances with Belgium, Poland
and Czechoslovakia
• Italy
• -mad at the Allies for not giving them more land
• Russia
• -mad that they lost land and were not invited to
the treaty process
• -distrusted Western Powers
• -not invited to be in League of Nations

153. • Japan
• -very pleased with WW I results
• -gained important territories on China’s coast and
German Islands in the Pacific
– the major power in Asia after WW I
• Germany
• -very upset with treaty-way too harsh and unfair
• -believed treaty was a dictat or dictated peace
• -thought Allies were hypocritical(self-determination?)
• -outraged by the War Guilt Clause
• -started Dolschtoss Theory(Stab in the back)
– says that the Weimer Republic had stabbed the
German people in the back by accepting the
Versailles terms
– Germany had never been invaded or conquered
• -War reparations were way too high-caused a depression
• -caused some people to want revenge!

154. Were the terms of the Treaty of
Versailles actually carried out ?
• The League of Nations was to be created. This did happen even if
Germany was initially excluded from it.
• Land had to be handed over the Poland, France, Belgium and Denmark.
This did happen - all the land Germany was required to hand over, was
handed over. Territory put under League of Nations control was handed
over to the League.
• All overseas colonies were to be handed over to the League. This did
happen.
• All land taken from Russia had to be handed back to Russia. This did
happen though land in the western area became Latvia, Lithuania and
Estonia in keeping with the belief in national self-determination.
• Germany’s army had to be reduced to 100,000 men. On paper this
happened. The fact that Germany side-stepped the rule did not mean that
they broke it. German soldiers in the 1920’s were signed on for a short
contract of service and then put in the reserves once their time had
finished. Therefore, Germany never had more than 100,000 soldiers
serving at any one time though it certainly had substantial reserve soldiers
which boosted Hitler when he renounced the clauses of Versailles.

155. Were the terms of the Treaty of
Versailles actually carried out ?
• Germany’s navy was reduced to 6 battleships with no submarines.
This happened. Germany could not afford battleships in the aftermath
of the war and most navies were now moving to smaller, faster ships
that could also carry weapons that carried a punch - such as cruisers.
Aircraft carriers were also being developed with greater commitment.
• No air force was allowed. This happened but potential pilots were
trained abroad or used gliders in Germany to educate them in the
theory of flying. This did not break Versailles.
• Western Germany was to be demilitarized. This happened.
• Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria. This happened.
• Germany had to accept the "War Guilt Clause" and pay reparations.
The former happened because Germany signed the Treaty which
meant that it accepted this term on paper. Germany did try and pay
reparations when it could do so. Germany simply could not produce
enough to keep up. In the 1920’s it was the Allies who took the
decision to reduce reparations and eased Germany’s struggle in so
doing. The first instance of refusal to pay reparations came in 1933
when Hitler announced that Germany would not pay - and the Allies
did nothing.

156. Treaty of Versailles Questions
• The Germans had hoped to be consulted on the terms of
Versailles. This did not happen. Is this why the Germans were
so angry about the Treaty of Versailles?
• Article 231 is referred to as the "War Guilt Clause". Why were
the Germans particularly angered by this Article?
• There were 5 peace settlements in 1919. Why was Versailles
more important than others?
• Why was there so much opposition in Germany to the Treaty of
Versailles?
• The Treaty of Versailles led to WWII. Do you agree or disagree
with this statement.

157. Treaty of Versailles

158. Wilson’s Journey Across US