Those who had fought against the Allies suffered heavy casualties as well:

Germany : 2,000,000 soldiers killed
Austria-Hungary : 1,200,000 soldiers killed
Turkey : 325,000 soldiers killed
Bulgaria : 100,000 soldiers killed

The total deaths of all nations who fought in the war is thought to have been 8.5 million with 21 million being wounded. 

In terms of loss, the following was decided: 
Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)

Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)

Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)

Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)

West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)

In addition Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks. Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.

Although US President Woodrow Wilson was opposed to such harsh terms, he was outmanoeuvred by French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau. France was the only Allied power to share a border with Germany, and therefore suffered the bulk of the devastation and casualties from the German war machine. The French aimed to weaken Germany to the greatest extent possible. 

 

The idea of this cartoon came from the cartoon “Peace and Future Cannon Folder” created by Will Dyson. In this cartoon, I wanted to clearly demonstrate how victimized Germany had felt after the Treaty of Versailles. I feel that this cartoon is very much straightforward as the image is simply of a child that has been stripped away from its needs. This represents Germany being stripped away from being such a powerful nation due to all the peace terms set during the Treaty. The intention of this cartoon is very clear as it shows that from Germany’s perspective, they feel victimized due terms set. This cartoon is valuable in the sense that it allows readers to sympathize with Germany and understand Germany’s view of the Treaty at the time. The bias of this cartoon is more towards Germany’s side as it demonstrates that the terms during the Treaty were harsh. There is also bias in the quote at the bottom of the cartoon because it further shows how brutal the Winning Powers (Allied) were with the terms. This source can be used to make the claim that Germany felt not only humiliated but victimized after the Treaty and this can be seen by the fact that the baby is bare and is also facing its back towards the wall, through embarrassment. 

 

The idea of this cartoon came from the cartoon “At the Peace Table” created by Christina. The purpose of this cartoon is to inform the audience that the Big Four felt that the terms they had set upon Germany were simple. The intention of this cartoon is to demonstrate the way in which the Winning Powers had viewed the terms they had set upon Germany. In the cartoon, the food on the table is seen to be all the things Germany had to give up such as land, and colonial empires. It also shows that Germany had to pay Reparations for the damage and demonstrates that Germany also had to demilitarize. Lastly, on the table, guilt is seen which is the War Guilt Germany had faced. The value of this cartoon is very informative as it bluntly shows what Germany had given up, felt or had to do after losing the Great War. This is biased in the sense that it is seen from the perspective of the Big Four, whereby the feel that agreeing to their terms should be easy for Germany. The source can be trusted and used to demonstrate that Allied Powers expected such terms put on the German Empire to be easy. 

 

The idea for this cartoon came from the cartoon “Der Tag” by Bitter Pill. I recreated this cartoon with the intention of demonstrating the Peace Terms and Treaty of Versailles through the perspective of a power that remained neutral throughout the First World War. I chose to represent the cartoon through the eyes of the Mexican delegates because I was found it interesting that even though Mexico had been given the chance to enter war and defend the Central Powers, it chose to remain neutral. The intention was to depict the views of the Mexican delegates and this is valuable because this perspective shows that Mexico seems to feel sympathy towards Germany and feels that the Big Fours peace terms were harsh upon Germany. This can be seen by the fact that the Big Four is seen to be forcefully giving Germany the “food” while the Mexican delegate states that the German is full. This is biased as the perspective is defending Germany in the sense that it feels the humiliation of losing the war and feeling War Guilt is enough. This cartoon does have limitations however, as it can only be used to and extent to understand the perspective. Due to research not stating the exact views of all neutral powers, not all neutral powers view this perspective in the same way. The source can be trusted in the sense that this perspective demonstrates what many historians think today. 

“The Big Four (World War I).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Nov. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Four_(World_War_I).

 

“Daniela G's Blog.” Daniela Gs Blog, www.asfmtech.org/16guerra4200/2013/04/07/us-treaty-of-versailles-cartoon-interpretation-title-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow/.

 

History.com Staff. “Treaty of Versailles.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles.

 

“How Do I Interpret a Cartoon?” How to Interpret Cartoons, www.johndclare.net/how_to_interpret_cartoons.htm.

http://www.johndclare.net/how_to_interpret_cartoons.html

 

The Peace Treaty of Versailles, net.lib.byu.edu/%7Erdh7/wwi/versailles.html.

 

“The Treaty of Versailles.” History Learning Site, www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-treaty-of-versailles/.
 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-treaty-of-versailles/

 

“The Treaty of Versailles.” Khan Academy , 8 Oct. 2017, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-7/apush-us-in-wwi/a/the-treaty-of-versailles .
 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-7/apush-us-in-wwi/a/the-treaty-of-versailles 

 

U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/paris-peace.