Quick questions on Treaty of Versailles and the peace settlement: HSC Modern History Core Study

Article 231 (the war guilt clause). Germany accepted sole responsibility for causing the war. This was the legal basis for reparations and the political basis for the "stab in the back" myth.

The Weimar government, which signed under threat of renewed war, was branded with the label "November Criminals." The Dolchstosslegende (stab in the back myth) blamed defeat on Jews, socialists, and the Weimar politicians rather than on military collapse. The treaty became the unifying grievance of the nationalist right. Hitler's first political programme, the 25 Points (February 1920), demanded its abolition.

Margaret MacMillan (Peacemakers, 2001) argues the treaty was severe but not uniquely punitive. Germany was not dismembered. Reparations, when adjusted, were within Germany's capacity. The treaty failed not because of its terms but because none of the great powers were willing to enforce them after 1933.

Germany accepted sole responsibility for causing the war. This was the legal basis for reparations and the political basis for the "stab in the back" myth.

Initially undefined; set at 132 billion gold marks by the London Schedule (May 1921). The Ruhr occupation by France and Belgium (January 1923) followed a German default and triggered hyperinflation. The Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929) restructured payments.

Germany lost 13 per cent of its territory and around 6.5 million inhabitants. Alsace and Lorraine returned to France. The Polish Corridor and Danzig (a free city under League supervision) divided East Prussia from the rest of Germany.

The army was capped at 100,000 volunteers. Conscription was banned. No air force, no tanks, no submarines, and only six battleships were permitted.

Created by Part I of the Treaty (the Covenant). Germany was excluded until 1926.

Define the German view (a dictated peace) and the legal reality (Germany did sign).

The 132 billion gold marks figure is the London Schedule (1921), not the Treaty itself, which did not set a final sum.

Markers penalise monocausal arguments. Pair Versailles with the Depression, the failure of collective security, and Hitler's agency.

The Paris Peace Settlement included Saint-Germain (Austria), Trianon (Hungary), Neuilly (Bulgaria), and Sevres (Ottoman Empire). At least name them.