History - The Treaty of Versailles

Military Clauses

• The German Army is to be limited to 100,000 total soliders.
• German conscription is banned.
• Certain German weapons are banned (gas, military aircraft, tanks, 4.1 inch + heavy artillery).
• The Germany Navy is to be limited to 6 warships of 10,000 tonnes and only 15,000 soldiers.
• U-Boats are banned.

Territoral Clauses (Western Europe)

• Alsace-Lorraine is to be returned to France.
• Eupen and Malmedy are given to Belgium.
• North Schleswig is given to Denmark.
• Saarland is to have a plebiscite in 15 years time to decide to be French or German.
• The Rhineland is to be demilitarised.

Territorial Clauses (Eastern Europe)

• Germany is to give parts of Silesia to Poland.
• Creation of the Polish corridor through German territory, cutting of Germany's province of Eastern Prussia and giving Poland access to the sea.
• The city of Danzig is to become and international city.
• Union with Austria for Germany, Anschloss, is banned.
• GERMANY IS SHRUNK BY 13% AND LOOSES 12% OF HER POPULATION.

Should the Allies impose reparation? 1. Germany had behaved badly in the last few months. 2. If reparations were not enforced, then the French economy would be worse off than the German one.  3.  Germany had charged Russia reparations in the past. 

HOWEVER

The British didn't originally want reparations as Germany was on of their biggest trading partners.

BUT

The US and France decided there should be reparations for France as their country was in tatters.

SO

Britain agreed to charge reparations, with Britain's own reparations added on.

The final sum was set at 6 millard (6,000,000,000,000) gold Reichsmarks. Gold was used so Germany could not hyper-inflate her economy.

1. Self-determination The rule that decided if a country's people could decide what country to join seemed to apply to everybody except German speakers. They found this highly hypocritical.

2. Pariah status (outside status) Germany, who treated their colonies relatively well, were not allowed to keep their colonies. Whereas countries who treated their colonies and natives terribly were allowed to keep their colonies. Germany was also not allowed to join the League of Nations.

3. War guilt clause Germany were annoyed as they were made to take ALL the blame for WWI.