Treaty of Versailles

The Blitz (shortened from the German word Blitzkrieg meaning lightning war) was a period of time when Germany carried out air raids on major cities in Britain.

The main reason for the Blitz was that Hitler wanted to invade.

The Blitz began on the 7th September 1940 with London being the first city attacked. London was bombed for 56 consecutive nights after that. This was because London is a densely populated area & the Germans knew that it would cause destruction & upset on a huge scale.

In particular the bombers focused on the East End as it was home to docks and factories. Other places in London were also hit such as Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral. This would have made some people very distraught as these buildings were part of Britain’s history and what had been destroyed of them could not be replaced.

As well as London, towns in the south of England such as Southampton, Bristol and Portsmouth were targeted and attacked because of their dockyards. Without docks England would be unable to send or receive anything in ships overseas. This would have caused havoc with the economy, as vital resources would have been restricted.

Hitler also set out for infrastructure and factories to be bombed because if roads, railways, buildings and factories had been ruined. Britain’s industry would suffer immensely. Materials to make weapons and military vehicles would be scarce and s this would have a knock- on effect on Britain’s progress in the war.

Although a large number of cities by the coast were hit, the Midlands were also devastated, particularly Coventry in November 1940.

In the North West, Manchester was attacked heavily in December 1940, but it was Liverpool that was the victim of the biggest raid on a mainland city.

In conjunction with buildings being destroyed, Hitler also wanted the morale of the British to be shattered.

In September alone, over 40,000 people a week lost their homes, their heritage and their memories. 4500 people were killed in November and just in London 12,500 people dies in December.

Hitler wanted to crush the British drive so much that they would give up entirely and surrender. As an extract from Goebbels diary on the 1st November 1940 reads, ‘The Fuhrer intends to keep hammering the British until they break’.

The British civilians lived in fear that their towns would be bombed. At night the blackouts were put in place. Indoor lights, streetlights and headlights had to be off or covered so they could not be seen from above. This would make it more difficult for the planes overhead to locate their target.

At the worst, people had to resort to living in the underground railways which were packed and which were filthy. Another place people took shelter was churches as a first aider on the 14th September 1940 said, ‘ People felt that nowhere would be safer than under the protection of the church.

Hitler though that if the unemployed, homeless, withered people of Britain lost their spirit and faith in the Government, then they would turn there back on the British war effort and so Germany would win.

To what extent was the treaty of Versailles motivated by anti-German feeling? sy Rewaj123 Without doubt it is clear that some of the countries held great antiGerman feelings during and after the war. Especially France, they held the highest lack of remorse against the Germans. Whereas countries such as the United Kingdom and the USA wanted majority peace throughout Europe and felt that peace was the main objective rather than annexation of land etc.

It is fundamentally clear that Frances ideas ursued in the treaty was solely based on anti German feelings, They wanted to annex the Rhineland and, even worse, the coal production would be given to France with reparations On top Of that. 3y taking their coal supply Germany will crumble. They already Owe money from the war originally and With no money coming in, due to the coal annexation, the country Will have little income’industry.

Consequently Germany Will not be able to deal With all these problems and cease to exist as a countr’,q With France this is ultimately about the anti-German feelings seeing as hough Germany tried major annexation of land and a takeover of France, the feelings are completely understandable. Also one could argue that (article 231) the war guilt clause was also triggered by anti-German feelings. They knew that the clause would cause extreme unrest In Germany and due to the blame Germany would have this would seriously affect the country as a whole, In the long-term.

Britain developed a growing sympathy tor Germany whereas France thought It was being too lenient. However It was also the situation created by the war that shaped the term of the treaty and not just anti-German feeling. It should be mentioned that it wasnt Just Germany but Austria-Hungary and Turkey also had to sign treaties, which shows It Isnt solely about antiGerman feelings. Plus the treaty has to sufficiently appease the other countries so German consequences were also inevitable. Personally I think that the French ideas were motivated with antiGerman feelings but the other countries wanted what was best for theirs.

Treaty of Versailles Oral presentation Good day national leaders I welcome you to our palace here at Versailles I am Prime Minister Georges Clemencies of the Third French Republic. A leader is a dealer in hope and I Intend top deliver hope to my nation by taking It away from our enemies. The people of France want Germany to be severely punished, not pardoned. I say this because it was that country that started the war. I say this because it was that country’s fault that many so soldiers perished in battle and it was because of that entry that billions of those American dollars which seem so common these days have been spent on war funds.

You say that we need to treat Germany in fairness; you say that we need to do this so they do not start another war. Well I say that by treating that swine loving nation fair you treat my beautiful France unfair. We must be compensated so that we do not start a war against them, not the other way around. President Wilson gives fourteen points. These points are impractical and only one of them directly favors France. That is the one that states we will regain control of Lace and Lorraine, a region which Is rightfully ours anyway.

Many of these points are In favor of Germany and It is as If the President Is Implying that we started the war and not the Germans. I find this insulting to say the very least. We should be marching on Berlin right now not having this ‘peace conference’, Why do you think that this conference is in France and not Germany? Because we won! We should treat them like we won, with dire consequence, and that we are no longer afraid of them instead of cowering and favoring them like you insist.

The united States of America had only been In the war for a year and was not faced with the same level of suffering that my country was. They lost less than one tenth of what France did. What say do they have in this treaty besides the claim that were it not them the war would have lasted longer. To be blunt Mr. Wilson points are stupid. Instead fathom I would like to appoint my own, points which I think are fair for us. The first point is this; that Berlin Is put under French control so that any talk of restarting a war may be dealt with.

My second point Is that Germany divides Into the kingdoms of Prussia and Rangeland City states that is was before 1871 . These nations will then become protectorates of our France and Britain so we can assure that there will be no more war. We must also be compensated for the loss of Fife and infrastructure that has occurred on us. These points are much more reasonable for France than the ’14 points’ and we put the French population at ease and make recovery much easier. My nation has suffered greatly In the war and am sure that Prime Minister George an agree with me on these points.

Our economies and industries have been been all but destroyed. We have lost millions of men, shot dead by the German usurpers. Farmers, factory workers, and market owners all killed. The fathers and sons of families, the children of France killed in their very own fields; struck down by German guns and disease. What must we do to make you realize that we have suffered as well? I hope gentlemen that you can realize what must be done to ensure another war does not break out. Thankful.

Why was the Treaty of Versailles so unpopular in Germany? The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty that was drawn up by the Allies and Germany after the First World War. It was made to prevent Germany from starting a war again and to pay back the Allies for the money they had spent. The Germans had hoped that the Allies would treat them fairly in the negotiations for the treaty, but the Allies, in particular France, believed that Germany should be brought to its knees.

France was not as satisfied as it would have liked, because Woodrow Wilson, who stood for America in the peace conferences, wanted those in power in Germany to be punished, rather than the German people. In the end, the treaty stated that Germany had to pay ? 6000,600,000,000 in reparations, they lost a lot of land (including the Ruhr Valley), they were stripped of their aircraft and air force, they only had six battleships and nothing else, they had no modern weapons, and they were only allowed 100,000 soldiers.

The western part of Germany called the Rhineland was de-militarized (taken over by British and French troops and controlled by the Allies). Finally, Germany was made to accept that they were the ones who started the war. The Germans hated the treaty. They believed that they had been shamed globally, and they were humiliated. Germany had always been well known for having a strong army, and now they had only 100,000 soldiers, no modern weapons, only 6 battleships, and no navy or air force.

The thousands of soldiers that were simply sent home from the Western Front were now unemployed, living in a country that was becoming poorer by the day, and wanted revenge. They believed that Germany could have won the war, but the new democratic government had taken their chance. They also stated that the country would be powerless against the smallest of nations. The Germans were also furious about the various terms of the Treaty. They hated Clause 231 – the ‘War Guilt’ clause – which stated that Germany had caused ‘all the loss and damage’ of the war.

Firstly, the Germans did not think that they had caused the war (for the Germans, the war was a war of self-defence against Russia, which had mobilised 31 July 1914). During the 1920s, the Germans published all their secret documents from 1914, to prove they had tried to stop the war. Secondly, the Germans hated clause 231 because accepting it gave the Allies the moral right to punish Germany – it validated all the harsh terms of the Treaty. The Germans also disliked the reparations, which were to be paid in instalments until 1984.

They did not accept that Germany had caused all the damage. They felt that the huge sum was just designed to destroy their economy and starve their children. Most of all, they hated reparations because they too had rebuilding work to do. Germany’s economy was ruined, but, instead of being able to pump investment into German industry, the country had to send abroad huge sums of money that German industry was not yet strong enough to earn. Finally, the territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles also made the Germans angry. Germany lost 10% of its land.

The Saar was a valuable coalfield, and West Prussia and Upper Silesia were rich farming areas, so their loss further weakened Germany’s economy. The loss of the Polish Corridor separated East Prussia from Germany, and further damaged the German economy. Germany lost 16% of its coalfields and half its iron and steel industry. The loss of all Germany’s colonies was seen as the Allies building empires. The loss of Malmedy to Belgium, Schleswig to Denmark, Memel to Lithuania, Alsace-Lorraine to France was also a national humiliation. The Treaty of Versailles also stopped Germany joining with Austria.

This seemed unfair to the Germans, because everywhere else in Europe, the Treaties of 1919–20 gave peoples self-determination, but they divided Germany, and put 12. 5% of its population into other countries. The army believed that the government had betrayed them by signing the Treaty, and the political opposition backed this. A huge number of the German population were now against the new democratic government and the Treaty of Versailles, and it became known as the Versailles Diktat (the Treaty had been forced on the Germans). Becky Hutton

The Axis primary nations were Germany, Japan and Italy.  Allied principles were the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union.  Each of these entities had their own vision and mission.

The Axis were motivated by expansionism.  Germany because of the self perceived humiliation after World War One and the Treaty of Versailles. (Trueman).  Japan was seeking expansionism due to

limitations they felt were on their emperor on the Japanese Islands.  Italy was seeking their own expansionism due in large part also to the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War.

Germany was the largest and most powerful of the Axis nations.  The vision of the nation was mirrored in the vision of their leader – Adolf Hitler.  He envisioned a powerful and dominating power

to repeat the glory of the German Empire (1871-1918) and the Holy Roman Empire.  These are the first two empires or Reich.  His motivation to the people was not one of conquest – but one of regaining what was rightfully theirs before the Treaty of Versailles.

To accomplish this he blamed the one group of people in the nation who had prospered since the end of the First World War.  These were the Jewish people.  He was able to unify the people under a common goal (becoming a strong nation again) and against a common enemy (the Jewish people and all who sympathized with them).

The Allied nations were unified under the doctrine of protectionism and repatriation of conquered nations that would be sympathetic with the Allied cause at wars end.

The United States was initiallymotivated by isolationism – the policy of staying out of the war.  Their sympathies were with the nations that were being attacked  and conquered by the Axis powers.

The USA initially wanted to stay out of the war – it was only after they were attacked by the Imperial Navy of Japan did they take an active role in the war.

By unifying the peoples of all the Allied nations against possible invasions by the Axis powers, was the United States able to build the coalition needed to defeat the Axis.

Individual human rights and national rights were the banners of unification used by the Allied powers.  No individual nation was strong enough to defeat the Axis Powers.  Unified the Allied Nations proved to be an unsurmountable body that was able to ultimately defeat the Axis nations – one by one.

Bibliography

Trueman, C.  (2000).  History Learnings.  The Treaty of Versailles.  Retrieved February 8, 2009 from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/treaty_of_versailles.htm