Treaty of Versailles and its impact on Germany
End of World War One
On 11 November 1918 the armisticeAn agreement by both sides in a war to stop fighting. agreed between the Allies and Germany brought an end to fighting in World War One.
But the war would not officially end until a peace treaty had been signed. This eventually took place in June 1919.
Expectations of the peace treaty
The people of Europe wanted lasting peace. However, many people felt that Germany should be made to pay for the damage done.
American President Woodrow Wilson put forward a plan based on Fourteen Points. The six key principles of the Fourteen Points were:
- Setting up a League of Nations
- Disarmament
- Self-determination for the people of Europe - the right to rule themselves
- Freedom for colonies
- Freedom of the seas
- Free trade
The Germans had expected that the peace treaty would be based on Wilson's plan. However, neither Britain nor France was willing to base a peace settlement on the fourteen points after November 1918. As both controlled large Empires, they realised that Wilson鈥檚 view of colonies would cause them problems as well. Instead the treaty was to be much harsher than the Germans had hoped.
The Treaty was negotiated between the AlliesDuring World War One, from 1917, the Allies were Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan and the USA. In World War Two the Allies initially included France, Poland and the UK but they were joined by USSR and USA. France was defeated in 1940 and further nations joined the group. However, Italy and Japan were enemies. in Paris, between January and June 1919. Germany had very little say in the negotiations or the terms of the Treaty.