sally
The Versailles peace settlement failed to secure British foreign policy interests. How far do you agree with this statement?
The treaty was signed on June 28th 1919 after months of argument and negotiation amongst the so-called "Big Three" as to what the treaty should contain.
The "Big Three" were David Lloyd George of Britain, Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson of America and it was these that made the decisions and came to the compromise of the treaty of Versailles.
David Lloyd George of Great Britain had two different views on how Germany should be treated. His public image was simple even if it was not truly what he thought. He was a politician and they needed the support of the public to succeed in elections. If he had come across as being soft on Germany, he would have been speedily voted out of office. The British public was after revenge and Lloyd George's public image reflected this mood. "Hang the Kaiser" and "Make Germany Pay" were two very common calls in the time immediately after the end of the war and Lloyd George, looking for public support, echoed these views. However, in private Lloyd George was also very concerned with the rise of communism in Russia and he feared that it might spread to western Europe. After the war had finished, Lloyd George believed that the spread of communism posed a far greater threat to the world than a defeated Germany. Privately, he felt that Germany should be treated in such a way that left her as a barrier to resist the expected spread of communism which he greatly wanted to prevent. He did not want the people of Germany to become so disillusioned with their government that they turned to communism as a last resort. Lloyd George did not want Germany treated leniently but he knew that Germany would be the only country in central Europe that could stop the spread of communism if it burst over the frontiers of Russia. Germany had to be punished but not to the extent that it left her with nothing left. However, it would have been political suicide to have gone public with these views as there was so much hate for Germany. By preventing the spread of communism in using Germany this way the treaty did help to secure British foreign policy interests. Although you could say they were slightly too harsh.
