U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and French Premier Georges Clémenceau.
Credit: From the EDSITEment resource Great War Primary Documents Archive.
Although at the postwar peace talks President Woodrow Wilson wished above all to prevent future wars, the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended World War I, is widely considered to have contributed to the rise to power of the Nazi party in Germany. Was the Treaty of Versailles a legitimate and justified attempt by the victorious powers to ensure that Germany would never again pose a military threat? Or did the Treaty, as the Nazis and many other politicians in Germany claimed, place an unfair and unnecessarily punitive burden on Germany? Was the supposed unfairness of the Treaty a significant contributor to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany—or was it merely a convenient rhetorical tool for German politicians to exploit? If the unfairness of the Treaty were indeed a cause of fascism in Germany, how do we explain the rise of fascism in Italy (which fought on the side of the allies in World War I) or the existence of fascist movements in Britain, the Netherlands, and other Western democracies in the 1930s?
By studying a variety of primary sources, maps, and supporting documents concerning the post-war peace process, students will develop a context for evaluating whether the treaty was a viable, fair one, and for considering some of the complex questions this issue raises about the historical causality and responsibility. The lesson fits within a larger unit on World War I, and some prior knowledge of the causes and events of the war is assumed.
Begin by sharing with your students the enormous and unprecedented human costs of the Great War. This will give them a context for considering the motivations of the allied powers in imposing the Treaty of Versailles, and for judging whether or not the terms of the Treaty were justified. By comparing the numbers of casualties and total troops mobilized, students will also have a basis for understanding the differing positions taken by the countries that drew up the Treaty.
Begin by examining death and casualty tolls from France and the United States, respectively. For a brief look, students may use the Diagram: Deaths by Countries in Thousands at the Great War Primary Documents Archive. For a more in-depth look, with information not only on deaths, but on total casualties and total mobilized men, have students look at the diagram Casualties: First World War, produced by the Spartacus Educational Network in Great Britain, a link from Center for the Liberal Arts. Have students note not only the total deaths and casualties, but also particularly the percentage of casualties relative to total mobilized. Also have students examine photographs of destruction along the western front in France. The three sets of Before and After photographs from the Great War Primary Documents Archive will probably suffice, although you may also wish to have students include some or all of the following: Ruins of Vaux, Ruins of Arras Cathedral, and Ruins of the Arras Hotel de Ville. What level of destruction do these pictures indicate? What are some emotions evoked when viewing these images? What happened to the originally charming and vibrant Village of Esnes? Why is it significant that major civic buildings such as the Courthouse (Palace of Justice), cathedral, and City Hall (Hotel de Ville) were destroyed? Can you envision what these buildings and towns may have looked like before the war? How long do you think it would take to rebuild these buildings and communities? How much do you think it would cost? Can a community ever really recover from such destruction? Ask students to speculate, based on this information, how France's goals for the postwar settlement might differ from U.S. goals. What might France fear? What would France probably want with respect to Germany? Why? Would those desires be reasonable? Why or why not? Why might the U.S. be able to take a more idealistic perspective?
Next have students read excerpts from President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points speech to Congress from the Great War Primary Documents Archive. Specifically, first have students read the last two paragraphs of Wilson's speech (the part before the actual enumeration of the points). What does Wilson say are the goals of the United States? What is his hope for the world and for the postwar talks? Then have students read the first paragraph right after the enumeration of the Fourteen Points. What is Wilson's stated attitude toward Germany? How would this attitude differ from France's? Again, in the context of the information from activity #1 above, why might the U.S. be more inclined than France to take an idealistic perspective?
Have students write out a list, based on their knowledge, of what they believe would be the most important respective postwar goals for France, Germany, and the United States. Each country should have at least 5 items, ranked from most important to least important. (You may wish to start students out with one or two items, such as have Germany pay for the war or establish a peace-keeping body.) Break students into groups of three, each of whom represents one of these countries, and have students spend approximately 20-30 minutes attempting to negotiate an agreement centered around these goals. When time is up, discuss the process and share the various results. Were there any common goals? Were compromises made? Which country was most pleased with how the negotiations turned out? Most displeased? On balance, did each country feel it had achieved its most important goal? Were there any particular impasses or impediments to agreements?
Be sure to inform students that in reality, Germany was not represented at the settlement talks. Later in the lesson, after considering the real treaty, ask how Germany's presence might have altered the peace process. (An alternative activity would be to do the above activity with only France and the United States represented; this has the advantage of being closer to the historical reality.)
Once students have had a chance to consider their positions on this question, discuss with your class some of the larger issues of causality and responsibility that are raised by this exercise. Some questions are: What are our sources for gauging the German response? Can we trust them? Might German politicians in the 1930s have had something to gain by exploiting the bitterness of defeat? If we believe that the terms of the treaty were unfair, does this mean that the allies bear responsibility in some fashion for subsequent developments in Germany? That the German response was justified?
You may also want to discuss questions raised in the Introduction about other explanations for the appeal of fascism in Germany. Antisemitism was sometimes framed in terms of the supposed "unfair" advantages that Jewish bankers and merchants had taken of hardworking Germans (you can read more about antisemitism and the rise of fascism in Germany at the Holocaust Learning Center, a resource from the U.S. Holocaust Museum).
2-3 class periods