(b) Explain why the League of Nations was established.
The League of Nations was established very much as the centrepiece for Wilson’s ‘new world order’ Open and collective discussion was to replace secret diplomacy, such as the Triple Entente which Wilson believed had led to the war in the first place. All this collective discussion was to be carried out through the League. The League had other aims, many of which reflected Wilson’s own political policies. It was to promote self-determination and disarmament, cooperation and trading. These are points which Wilson believed would help keep the peace as nations would not go to war if they were not armed or competing for armaments, and everyone would be satisfied if there was global self-determination, again eradicating a need for war. Nations would also be friendlier with eachother after trading and would need eachothers economies. The League aimed, broadly, to make the world a better place, this is reflected in the League’s various Comissions e.g Health Commission – improving world health and the Slavert Commission – abolish slavery worldwide.
The League aimed, ultimetly, to uphold the Treaty of Versailles and keep the peace between Nations.
SECTION B
(a) What did Lloyd George hope to achieve from the Treaty of Versailles?
Lloyd George went to Versailles to promote British interests. His main point was the German navy, which he wanted reduced or disbanded. For years Great Britain’s navy had dominated the waves unrivalled by any other country, hence ‘Britannia rules the waves’ and Lloyd George did not want the Germans or any other power to compete with Britain, Germany had come dangerously close to this just before WW1 in the building of the dreadnought battleship.
His second point was punishment. on the Surface, Lloyd George seemed to want to punish Germany for the war. He had campaigned in the 1918 General Election on the platform of ‘Make Germany Pay’ and even went as far as to promise a trial for Kaiser Wilhelm. This was popular with the people, who wanted to punish someone for their sufferings. However privately it was Lloyd George who fought the hardest for German interests at Versailles. Germany had been Britain’s 2nd biggest trading partner before the war and Britain wanted Germany back on its feet to trade.
(b) Explain why Germany was made to pay reparations.
Germany was made to pay for the entire cost of the war. After the allied victory Europe was in pieces and especially France, and all the allies expected some compensation from Germany, as was practiced after victory in war. However, the French P.M Clemenceau wanted more than that. He saw the reperations as a security matter for France, he wanted the German economy to be crippled completely so that Germany could ever dream of financing another war. Clemenceau also wanted to punish Germany, this was an almost personal issue, a man who loved his country, Clemenceau really wanted Germany to ‘hurt’ over the paying of reperations. Clemenceau was the main orchestrator of the reperations, and it wad fiercely debated but in the end both Lloyd George and Wilson conceded that the momey was needed for a third reason- rebuilding the sheer damage that was done to France.
(c) The following were all equally important reasons why Germany hated the Treaty of Versailles:
(i) limitations on its armed forces;
(ii) the loss of raw materials and industries;
(iii) the loss of land.
Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer referring only to (i), (ii) and (iii).
I agree with this statement. All of the points damaged Germany in a different way. Point i) limitations of its armed forces was a great blow to German pride. Germany was a nation that was very much built on the back of war, Otto Von Bismark had once remarked on Germany that she had been ‘settled in the midst of blood and iron’ – meaning war, swords, guns and other killing things. The 2nd Reich had started out with war, made Germany victorious, and now Germany was defeated. Before the war Germany’s army had been parading through the streets and no it was slashed to just 100,000 men – an army the size of Belgium, something any German would have laughed at before the war. Their navy was also reduced to 20,000. Conscription was banned and no armed vehcles or submarines were allowed.
This was a great blow to their national pride as was point iii – loss of land. This was a blow to their pride, Germany had been a large country and now cartoons were being produced in Germany about their homeland, their ‘heartland’ had been ‘carved to pieces’ by the Big Three at Versailles. This was particularly an issue for Germans for Germans living outside Germany’s new borders, who had to move and become refugees, their living conditions and homes had gone ‘up in flames’. They were also bitter about being denied self-determination they began to feel that Wilson’s words were empty and that it was only applied when it suited the allies.
The point ii – the loss of raw materials and industry hit Germany’s economy hard. Germany’s economy had been flourishing before the war and now it was completely crippled. They did not hate this in the hated point one and three. It did nothing to harm their pride, but it hit their pockets hard and it was seen as an imposition by the Allies, one that should not be there because Germany had not lose the war.
In conclusion, all the points contributed equally to the German resentment of the Treaty. Limitations on its armed forces hit Germany’s pride, and naturally they hated the Treaty that they thought humiliated them. For most, losing 13% of Germany’s land was just futheir humiliation. But for the refugees it made their lives Hell, and denied them any rights of self-determination. This was quite simply unfair – another reason to hate the Treaty of Versailles.
The Loss of land and raw materials affected the German economy and naturally the Germans became poorer – something that was not caused by humiliation or lack of self-determination. All these factors added up to contribute to Germany’s hating of the treaty. Some Germans may have been affected more than others by a particular point, and so hated it more, but on the whole they were hated equally and added together to make the Germans feel resentment.
