Treaty of Versailles Simulation
This simulation is based on a simulation created by Mr. McDonald, which was found on the site www.schoolhistory.co.uk. The original lesson has been modified to meet the needs of this unit.
Options for Negotiation Point of
Negotiation Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
War Guilt: Who is to blame for WWI?
Germany Germany and
Austria-Hungary No one France wants
reparations for loss of life and property, how much should France receive?
12 Billion 33 Billion 100 Billion
How powerful should the German military be? Should the military be destroyed, kept intact, or somewhere in between? The army should be reduced to 100,000 men and the navy should only have 36 ships. It should not have submarines, tanks, or aircrafts. The army should be reduced to 250,000 men and its navy should only have 50 ships. It should be allowed to keep some tanks, submarines, and aircrafts. It should keep its army and navy in tact and should keep its war materials. Germany owned many colonies in Africa. Who should get to keep them? Germany should
keep them France and England should split up the colonies.
France should get all the colonies
The Rhineland is Germany’s industrial center and there is fear that they could use it to build up their armies, it also borders France. What should happen to the The French should take it over as part of their war reparations. An international force should take over the region.
Germany can keep control of the region but with Allied supervision.
Rhineland? Alsace Lorraine was taken from France by Germany in 1870. What should happen to it? It should be returned to France. Germany should be allowed to keep it. It should be made an independent country. The League of Nations is an international peacekeeping body that will handle international disputes and conflicts. Should it be implemented? There should be no League of Nations. There should be a League of Nations but it should not have any power to enforce decisions. The League of Nations should exist and it should have power.
Treaty of Versailles-Negotiation Work Sheet
Point of Negotiation Option Which Countries Voted Yea or Nay War Guilt: Who is to
blame for WWI? France wants
reparations for loss of life and property, how much should France receive?
How powerful should the German military be? Should the military be destroyed, kept intact, or somewhere in
between?
Germany owned many colonies in Africa. Who should get to keep them?
The Rhineland is Germany’s industrial center and there is fear that they could use it to build up their armies, it also borders France. What should happen to the Rhineland?
Alsace Lorraine was taken from France by Germany in 1870. What should
The League of Nations is an international
peacekeeping body that will handle international disputes and conflicts. Should it be
implemented?
The United States and Woodrow Wilson
Wilson was born in 1856. He entered politics in 1910 and by 1912 was
President. In 1916 he was re-elected under a pledge to remain out of the war but in 1917 he declared war on Germany. He was an idealist and reformer who saw the war as a means to end wars forever by creating a ‘League of Nations’ that binds all nations together in a mutual alliance. Wilson hoped to create a lasting peace in Europe and thought that his 14 points and the League of Nations would do just that. Wilson wanted a Europe that was saved from war but also available to trade with the United States. The U.S. had done well economically out of the war and saw trade as a key part of any peace deal. Wilson had no national interests or claims to colonies - he
wanted the league to look after them or for them to be self-governed. However, Wilson was prepared to compromise issues and points to get the League of Nations agreed to.
Major issues to take to the treaty
He had 14 points, which he saw as a way of bringing peace
1. There should be no secret treaties; all international agreements should be open.
2. The seas were to be free to all countries at all times. 3. Customs barriers between countries should be removed. 4. Armaments should be reduced.
5. The wishes of the peoples in colonies should be taken into account when settling colonial claims.
6. German forces should leave Russia. 7. Belgium should be independent.
8. Alsace-Lorraine should be returned to France.
9. Italy’s frontier with Austria should be adjusted to avoid confrontation with Austria.
This allows different nationalities the right to govern themselves as independent nations.
11.Serbia should be given a coastline.
12.There should be self-determination for the people of the Turkish Empire. 13.Poland should be independent and given a coastline.
14.An International organization should be set up to deal with international incidents and disputes (therefore avoiding war) - League of Nations.
France and Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau was born in 1841 and he was 77 when the talks began in 1919. Clemenceau had seen his nation be invaded by the Germans in 1870 and again in 1914. Most of the fighting in WWI had been done on
French soil. France suffered greatly because of this and suffered tremendous losses. Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay for all that it had done to
France. Clemenceau wanted to permanently weaken the German army to ensure that it would never attack France again. He also wanted to take away Germanys colonies and wanted to take back the land that Germany had taken from France. Clemenceau was uncompromising when it came to
dealing with Germany. He wanted Germany to take on sole responsibility for the war and wanted Germany to pay for all that it had done during the war.
Main issues to take to the Treaty
-Clemenceau wanted French troops on the Rhineland guarding against any future German attack.
-Clemenceau wanted Alsace-Lorraine back from Germany - they captured it in the war of 1870.
Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay for everything that the war cost -this would cripple Germany and make France more powerful in Europe.
-Clemenceau wanted to permanently weaken the German army and wanted to impose naval blockades so that it could control what Germany imported and exported
Britain and Lloyd George
Lloyd George was born in 1863. He entered politics in 1890. He became Prime Minister in 1916 - during the war. Lloyd George had just won an election and had promised to punish Germany for causing the war. In this regard, Lloyd George wanted the same thing as France, to make Germany take on the sole responsibility of causing the war. However, Lloyd George understood that punishing Germany too harshly might cause problems. He understood that if Germany was to take on the sole responsibility of causing the war, Germany might grow hateful of its situation and lasting peace could not be achieved. Lloyd George believed in the balance of powers. He
believed that no country should have too much power and believed that keeping a balance of powers would ensure that war could be avoided.
Main issues to take to the treaty
He disagreed with point two of Wilson’s fourteen points as Britain who had always had a strong navy felt Britain and her Empire needed to have some control of the seas.
Lloyd George felt that the British should be given Germany’s colonies and the Turkish territories it had captured
Lloyd George did want to see Germany weakened in some way through its forces
Lloyd George did not want to anger Germany through this treaty, he wanted to create a balance of power in Europe
