THE VERSAILLES TREATY SIMULATION GAME
COUNTRY / AIMS AND MOTIVES – WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPENFRANCE
/ Revanche! The French had been invaded and occupied by the Germans. They wanted reparations for all the damage the Germans had caused and the loss of revenues from dynamited and flooded coalmines and factories. The Germans had also destroyed symbols of French culture like chateaux. They wanted to ensure that never again would Germany invade France or start another war. They wanted to put the Kaiser on trial and humiliate the Germans.= Wanted a Very Harsh Treaty!
BELGIUM / Ditto to the above!
= Wanted a Very Harsh Treaty!
G.B. / The British had more complicated attitudes towards the Germans. Many British people wanted to see the Kaiser hang. The politicians and diplomats, however, though they wanted to punish and weaken Germany did not want to go as far as the French and Belgians. They wanted a more moderate peace, because they were afraid that if Germany was penalised too much it might cause a revolution and Germany might then become communist. Also the British were worried about their own economy. The Germans were their biggest trading partners. They needed a prosperous Germany. Not a bankrupt one. Finally, the British also wanted a Germany that would act to help the balance of power in Europe, especially now that Russia was a communist country.
= Wanted a tough treaty, but not too harsh
ITALY
/ The Italians had entered the war in 1915 after signing the secret Treaty of London in which they had been promised lands from the Austrians. They especially wanted territories in the Balkans and all Italian-speaking areas. They also wanted reparations for the huge costs of the war.= Wanted a Harsh Treaty!
USA / The USA had suffered least from the war. Its idealistic president wanted a peace that would be ‘just and lasting’ and based on the 14 Points. However, the USA still wished to punish Germany, especially because she had rejected a peace based on the 14 points during the height of the war.
= Wanted a treaty that would punish Germany, but not too harshly
GERMANY / Germany claimed that she had not lost the war on the battlefield, but had been ‘stabbed in the back’ at home. She expected a treaty based on the 14 Points and to have a say in what went on at Versailles.
= Wanted a very fair and lenient Treaty
DECISIONS TO BE MADE AT PARIS–WHAT WOULD YOU DECIDE?
1. Alsace-Lorraine. This territory was taken from France by Germany in 1871.
q Germany to keep
q Returned to France
q Plebiscite
2. Saar coalfields. Germany’s rich coalfield. On border with France.
q Germany to keep
q Given to France for ever, as compensation
q Given to France for 15 years, then a plebiscite held
3. Eupen – Malmedy & Moresnet. German; on border with Belgium.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Belgium for ever, as compensation
q Given to Belgium for 15 years, then a plebiscite held
4. Northern Schleswig. German area taken from Denmark in 1866.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Denmark
q Plebiscite
5. Central Schleswig. German area taken from Denmark in 1866.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Denmark
q Plebiscite
6. West Prussia. German area.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Poland
q Plebiscite
7. Posen. German area.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Poland
q Plebiscite
8. Southeastern Prussia and Marienwerder. German areas.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Poland
q Plebiscite
9. Upper Silesia. Rich German coalfields.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Poland & Czechoslovakia
q Plebiscite
10. Memel. German port.
q Germany to keep
q Controlled by League then given to Lithuania
q Plebiscite
11. Danzig. German port.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Poland
q Free city under League of Nations control
12. Hultschin. German speaking town.
q Germany to keep
q Given to Czechoslovakia
q Plebiscite
13. The Rhineland. Rich German area borders with France & Belgium
q No change
q Demilitarised and controlled by the allies
q Demilitarised and controlled by the League of Nations
14. German colonies in Africa and Asia and the Pacific.
q Germany to keep its overseas empire
q Germany to be allowed to keep some of its colonies
q Germany to lose all its overseas empire
15. Austria. German speaking country-wished anschluss with Germany.
q Anschluss allowed
q Anschluss forbidden
q Plebiscite
THE TERMS OF VERSAILLES