Read the passage given and answer the following questions: The final act of the long-drawn-out negotiations took place at Versailles on Saturday afternoon, and to-day Germany and the Allies — always with the exception of America — are at peace. Peace is a blessed word, and both the word and the fact are welcome to-day. So far as Germany is concerned there is for the present an end of strife, and at least a formal return to the decent relations of civilised states. — Editorial: Peace in force (12 January 1920), The Guardian
Mention any four clauses of the Treaty which affected Germany.
Topic: Treaty of Versailles
Answer
(1) TERRITORIAL — Germany returned Alsace and Lorraine to France, gave the Polish Corridor and Danzig to Poland, and lost all her colonies, which were distributed among the Allies as mandates. She lost about one-eighth of her territory. (2) MILITARY — her army was limited to 100,000 men, conscription was abolished, she was forbidden submarines, military aircraft and tanks, her navy was cut to six battleships, and the Rhineland was demilitarised. (3) FINANCIAL — under the War Guilt Clause Germany was held responsible for the war and made to pay reparations, fixed in 1921 at 6,600 million pounds, and France was given the Saar coal mines for fifteen years. (4) POLITICAL — Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria, was refused membership of the League of Nations, and had to accept the humiliation of the War Guilt Clause, which the German people called a dictated peace (Diktat).
Four marks, and the neatest way to earn them is to group the clauses under four HEADINGS — territorial, military, financial, political. That structure makes it impossible to repeat yourself and shows the scope of the Treaty at a glance. The figures are what distinguish a strong answer: 100,000 men, six battleships, 6,600 million pounds. Close with the consequence: the humiliation of Versailles bred the resentment that Hitler exploited, so the Treaty that ended one war helped cause the next.