WWI: The End (Part 2)
Key Terms
 Paris Peace Conference
 Treaty of Versailles
 Woodrow Wilson
 “Peace without victory”
 David Lloyd George
 Georges Clemenceau
 Franco-Prussian War
 Alsace-Lorriane
 Henry Cabot Lodge
 League of Nations
Problems for the Central
Powers
 Downside of Total War
 Everyone has a stake, if you lose, the people can turn
 Germany- Kaiser William II abdicates
 Austria-Hungary  Hapsburg Line ends (Abdicates)
 Ottoman Empire  Arab Revolt
***Russia has a revolution, too (Allied Powers)
WWI: Total
Deaths
 a
•
Which side suffered more
deaths?
•
How many U.S. soldiers
died?
•
Which country suffered
the most deaths?
•
What was the total
number of deaths?
Allied
Powers
A Sign of Things to Come…
 Armenians were controlled by Ottoman Empire, but helped
Russians in WWI
 Armenians were a Christian minority
 Long held tensions with Muslim rulers
 Turkish Nationalism turned dark, wanted Turkey for Turks
 Armenian Genocide
 1- 1.5 million Armenians systematically killed by the Ottomans
 Forced to march through the desert with no food or water
 25 Extermination Camps
The War is over… Now what?
 Armistice signed at 11 o’clock on 11/11/1918.
 “The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month”
 Armistice – an agreement to end fighting in a war
 Need to sign a peace treaty
 Peace Treaty – Official Document ending a war. Often
includes reparations.
 Reparations – payments which a country must pay after
they LOSE a war.
Paris Peace Conference
 Meeting in Paris of Leaders of the Winning Side
 Most Important Document
 “Treaty of Versailles” – Official end of the war between the
allied powers and Germany
Signing in the Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles:
Key Players
Clemenceau
David Lloyd George
Woodrow Wilson
(PM of France)
(PM of the United Kingdom)
(President of the US)
Conflicting Goals:
Georges Clemenceau
• Insisted on Reparations
• Insisted that Germany must take full responsibility for
war
• Revenge for Alsace-Lorraine taken in Franco-Prussian
War
• Which they would get back as a result of the T of V
Conflicting Goals:
David Lloyd George
• Germany should be held responsible, but…
• Not irreparably damaged by punishment
• Germany should be supported so UK can trade
• More concerned with rebuilding Britain into “a country fit for
heroes”
• Wanted political support from his own people
Conflicting Goals:
Woodrow Wilson
• Peace is most important, not blame or punishment
• Fourteen Points
• Wilson’s Plan for a stable Europe. Included:
•
•
•
•
Freedom of the seas
Reductions of arms
End of secret treaties and alliances
Self Determination
• Sadly, only applied to European countries
• League of Nations
Results
 Germany Punished
 League of Nations Created
 Would fail…
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
 Treaty between Allies and Germany
 Stipulations
1. Germany must accept full blame for the war
2. Germany must pay $30 billion dollars as reparations.

($450 billion dollars, in today’s money)
3. Formation of a League of Nations
4. German Colonies NOT GRANTED INDEPENDENCE

Allies took away German colonies for themselves
 Was the Treaty of Versailles really about peace or
punishment?
 Why might this have been a bad idea?
League of Nations
 Woodrow Wilson’s idea
 Created to help avoid a war like WWI from happening
again
 40 nations join, USA DOES NOT!
 U.S. senate led by Republican Henry Cabot Lodge
 Hates Wilson (Democrat)
 Believes joining League of Nations could drag US into
European Wars… (Isolationism)
 U.S. Senate does not approve, US does not join
 Without the US, the League of Nations is weak
 Although a failure, was the first step towards the UN
Treaty of Versailles
Conclusion
 The Treaty of Versailles was
about REVENGE
 The Treaty of Versailles
made Germany angry, bitter,
and broke… They needed a
hero!
 Who would be this “hero”?
Crash Course
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPZQ0LAlR4