Author/publisher: Thomas Theodor Heine

Date and place of publication: 3 June 1919, Simplicissimus

Format: Painting

Interesting features:  Dramatic hand painted colour image of half-naked prisoner (Germany ) being escorted to the guillotine by  Wilson, Lloyd George and Clemenceau.  Clemenceau has the role of executioner suggesting that the cartoonist is holding Germany’s old foe France primarily responsible for the terms of the Treaty. The representation of Germany as victim in the image and title implies the Allies will be responsible for the imminent destruction of the German nation.

Useful / reliable: Extremely useful indication of the strength of negative German attitudes towards the Treaty.

The main terms of the Treaty were: 

1. Germany had to accept blame for starting WW1. 

2. Germany had to pay huge reparations (compensation) to France, Belgium and Britain. 

3. Germany’s armed forces were limited to 100,000 men. 

4. Germany lost territory and all its overseas colonies (empire). 

5. League of Nations was set up and Germany was not allowed to join.

When and where?

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on the 28^th June 1919 at the Palace of Versailles near Paris after twelve months of intense negotiations.  The Treaty was registered at the League of Nations on 21^st October 1919.

Who was involved?

Twenty – one countries were involved in the negotiations (including Australia) but the four major players were Prime Ministers David Lloyd George of Britain and George Clemenceau of France, President Woodrow Wilson of the USA and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando of Italy.  The defeated countries including Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey were not consulted about the Treaty

Why did it occur? 

The Allies wanted to punish and pacify Germany. The French who suffered the most wanted revenge and compensation and an opportunity to cripple Germany so it could not attack again. The British also wanted to punish Germany but without causing Germany to seek revenge in the future. The Americans who had suffered least wanted lasting peace and President Wilson developed a fourteen point plan to help the world achieve peace.

Without this event ...

Hitler may not have come to power in 1933 and the Second World War as we know it may not have occurred.  Nazi nationalist ideology exploited German bitterness and humiliation regarding the treaty. The economic impact of the separation payments and lost territory heightened economic and political instability and increased suffering during the Great Depression.

Author/publisher: Edward N. Jackson, U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Date and place of publication: 27 May 1919.  Likely to be published in major European and American newspapers at the time.

Format:   Black and white photograph

Interesting features: The Council of Four (or Big Four) are photographed on the steps outside a doorway at the Palace of Versailles. Wilson and Clemenceau are standing apart and may be listening to an intense conversation between Orlando and Lloyd George. All men are formally dressed and the photograph conveys a sense of their political power, and the importance of their task.

Point of view: Likely to be an Allied (victors) point of view. The four men appear dignified and powerful although this image still may have appeared in German papers

Useful/reliable?:  The photograph does not appear staged and it reliable represents the four major powers who determined the terms of the Treaty. It does not however inform us regarding the duration and complexity of the negotiations – for example the Big Four met informally 145 times.

The four main powers involved in drawing up the Treaty of Versailles were Prime Ministers David Lloyd George of Britain and George Clemenceau of France, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America and Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando of Italy. The defeated countries including Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey were not consulted about the Treaty.

Opinions were different about how harshly Germany should be treated by the terms of the Treaty.

Date and place of publication: Daily Herald 17^th May 1919 (British newspaper)

Format: Political cartoon

Interesting features: The Big Four appear to be leaving the Palace of Versailles looking powerful and smug. They are surprised to hear an infant weeping over a document representing the peace negotiations.  The title Peace and cannon fodder suggests that peace will be lost and the next generation represented by the naked and vulnerable child will be sent to war in 1940 because of the punitive terms of the Treaty. Considering the Second World War started in 1939 this cartoon has an almost prophetic quality.

Point of view: The cartoonist takes a very cynical view of the negotiations and the fact it was published in a British newspaper suggests that some ordinary Britons also felt the Treaty would be a failure and would not bring peace to Europe. The cartoon was published in May 1919, and this indicates that people already had doubts about its effectiveness even before the signing in July.

Useful/ reliable?: The source is very useful because it represents the cynical attitude toward the Treaty held by many people at the time. The use of the term ‘cannon fodder’ is interesting and the cartoon may also represent a pacifist position i.e. those people opposed to all war and violence.  It does not however represent other attitudes such as the desire to punish the Germans or alternatively the humiliation and anger felt by the Germans.

1. War guilt. Germany had to accept blame for starting the war.

2. Reparations. Germany had to pay reparations (compensation) to France, Belgium and Britain. The final figure was decided in 1921 and set at 660 million pounds (equivalent to $15 Billion Australian today)

3. Germany’s armed forces. The army was limited to 100,000 men. Conscription (compulsory joining of the army was banned – soldiers had to be volunteers. They were not allowed armoured vehicles, submarines or military aircraft.

4. German territory and colonies. Germany lost all its overseas colonies (mostly to Britain and France). It also lost most of its territories in Europe and large numbers of German speaking people in Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia. Germany was also forbidden from joining with its former ally Austria.

5. League of Nations. A League of Nations was set up. Germany was not allowed to join until it proved it was a peaceful country.

All in all, the Treaty of Versailles meant that Germany:

• Lost 10% of its land

• Lost all of its overseas colonies

• Lost 12.5% of its population.

• Lost 16% of its coalfields and almost half of its iron and steel industry.

• Had to reduce its army to 100,000 men, had no air force and only a tiny navy.

• Had to accept blame for World War I and pay huge amounts of reparation.

Although they had been on opposite sides during World War I, two powerful nations – Germany and Japan – felt unfairly treated by, and bitter about, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had been forced to take total responsibility for the war and Japan an Allied nation, was not rewarded with German territory in Asia and under the Treaty was not accepted as a racial equal.

Historians traditionally considered that the treaty was excessively vindictive and short-sighted, although many have now come to acknowledge that, whilst it was harsh, it may have been the fairest settlement that could have been concluded under the circumstances.

Include new terms in your glossary.

Redo Sources 2 (Giving him rope) and 4 (Perhaps it would gee-up better if welet it touch earth).