Download History Brevet Blanc Pick out the elements in both documents which

Amal Bahloul 3e8
History Brevet Blanc
1. Pick out the elements in both documents which show the
dangers of peace terms forced upon the loser.
Both documents share the idea of an unfair treaty. The
American vision of a just peace is to avoid harshly
punishing Germany in hope that it wouldn’t feel
powerless, humiliated, and destroyed. Germany was
furious that it wasn’t allowed to negotiate; it wasn’t a
member of the League of Nations either- making it
impossible to have a say in its outcome. In the first
document, Wilson predicted that Germany would “be
accepted in humiliation, under duress, as an intolerable
sacrifice, and would leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter
memory…” this implies that it would leave Germany in
great want of revenge. The second document reinforces
that idea by implying that Germany was being bullied (
by the big three) into signing a treaty that it didn’t agree
on .It felt that it was very unfair for the other countries to
put the blame on Germany when it feels it did not start
the war, only participated in it. Germany felt stripped of
previous power and glory, and would in future want
revenge.
2. Quote four reasons why Clemenceau feels that Germany
should be punished.
Firstly, Clemenceau believes Germany is the cause of the
“dead and wounded and of those who have been orphaned”.
He blames it for killing citizens during a war period.
Secondly, Clemenceau blames Germany for war debts;
more than $30,000,000,000. This is an unfair charge, for
Germany did not force France to spend all this money on war,
it chose to. It seems that Clemenceau wants to put the blame
on anyone but himself, so he chose Germany (the enemy) to
hold responsible for all the misfortunes of the country. It is a
political technique often used in speeches.
Thirdly, Clemenceau decided that Germany has to pay
for “the millions of homes, land, ships” that it destroyed.
Again, this is a technique used during political speeches to
reach to the public at a personal level, since it is the public’s
home and land that have been destroyed.
Fourthly, Clemenceau accuses Germany for “aggression
and for those acts of barbarism and inhumanity”. He blames it
for violence and beastly behavior, probably indicating the
consequences of war: death.
3. Explain how these documents demonstrate the inability of
the Germans and French to understand each other.
The French and the Germans have been rivals long
before the first world war. For example, Alsace-Lorraine
was fought over for many years. They seem to be unable
to see eye to eye and understand each other’s point of
view. This may be caused by nationalism and maybe
racism between the two nations. Each country blames
the other for its adversity; Clemenceau feels that
Germany is responsible for causing the war, and must
pay by “submitting for a few years to certain special
disabilities and arrangements”. Germany, according to
the second document, feels helpless and wrongly
accused. It feels like it didn’t start the first world war,
and so shouldn’t be the only one to pay. It feels it was too
harshly punished, and shouldn’t have been stripped of
its army, land or money because it has suffered enough
post-war damage. Germany was not even allowed to join
in the League of Nations to defend itself.
**********************************ESSAY**********************************
Using the information in the documents, as well as your own
knowledge, write an essay showing how the treaty of Versailles
satisfied none of those who signed it.
The treaty of Versailles was based on President Wilson’s
fourteen points to ensure world peace. Its goals were to control the
heated tensions across Europe after the disastrous First World War.
The treaty was signed in Versailles, France, on the 28th of January
1919 by the Big Three: the representatives of France, the U.S.A,
and England. Unfortunately, the treaty of Versailles satisfied none
of those who signed it.
President Woodrow Wilson is the ‘inventor’ if the treaty, but
was soon overpowered and had to change some of his principals
under the duress of the cantankerous members of the treaty. In all
of his 14 points, he didn’t mention punishing Germany, and all of
his aims were un-violent. In the end, he was very displeased of the
aggressive outcome and predicted (as stated in the first document)
that “peace would rest, not permanently” if Germany was to be
castigated. This displeased many members, such as Georges
Clemenceau, who felt the only way to ensure peace is by
demolishing Germany.
George Clemenceau was a bigoted man, and holds grudges
against Germany for invading his country in 1870 and again in
1914. To him, Germany is a great threat to his country and
deserves to not only be stripped of all its goods, but needs to repay
France for all the damage and sufferings of the war. His main aim is
revenge, and all of Wilson’s fourteen points do not appeal to him.
He preferred more severe punishments, and he was not fully
satisfied with the outcome. He was forced to accept the treaty after
he bent some of the rules to his liking; Alsace-Lorraine was
returned to France, colonies were taken away from Germany as well
as a lot of German land. In addition, Germany was stripped off
power, forced to accept complete blame for the war, and was made
to pay reparations. Without these ‘minimal conditions’ Clemenceau
wouldn’t have signed the treaty.
Britain’s representative, Lloyd George, was not fully satisfied
with the treaty either. He disagreed with one of Wilson’s fourteen
points: that the seas should be free to all countries at all times. He
thought that Britain’s safety depended on controlling the seas.
Moreover, he foresaw the grave danger of harshly punishing
Germany, but he only won the elections by promising the British
people that he would crush Germany. Therefore, even though he
was secretly against castigating Germany, he didn’t defend it either
for his own political benefits.
At Versailles, two German representatives were brought in and
forced to sign the treaty. Germany did not feel responsible for
starting the war, nor did it believe the treaty was a peace treaty, to
Germany it felt like a death treaty. It felt humiliated, bullied,
powerless, helpless and that all its efforts and loss were for nothing.
The guilt clause not only made them accept responsibility, but also
caused them dearly. The consequences of the detested treaty is that
Germany suffered poverty and depression for many years to follow,
and feels revenge will bring Germany back to its former glory.
Seeing as none of the treaty signers were satisfied with the
peace treaty, it comes to no shock that the peace was not
sustained. Each country had a different point of view and they
could not come to consensus about how to satisfy everyone’s widely
varied needs. Unfortunately, this is the very event that most
historians call the cause of the Second World War. The peace plan
backfired and ironically, a war broke out.