The 20th Century
Explain why Clemenceau (PM of France) and Lloyd George (PM of Britain) disagreed at the Paris Peace Conference about how to treat Germany. [6] (PEE - Point, Evidence, Explain)
Lloyd George and Clemenceau disagreed over what to do about Germany because Clemenceau saw Germany as a bigger threat than Lloyd George did. During the war France suffered massive damage to its industries, towns and agriculture. Over two-thirds of French troops were killed or injured in the war. Germany's population was still much greater than France's (75 million compared to 40 million) and Germany had invaded France in 1870 and 1914. Lloyd George did not see Germany as a threat in the same way. In fact he wanted to rebuild Germany so that British industries could start trading with Germany. Lloyd George and Clemenceau also disagreed about what measures would work. Clemenceau thought the best way to get future peace was to cripple Germany by breaking it up into separate states, reducing its army and forcing it to pay huge fines. Lloyd George believed this would not work. It would simply make Germany want revenge in the future. So although he favoured fines and some limits on German arms he did not think Germany should be treated as harshly as Clemenceau did.
Describe Saddam Hussein's rise to power in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein rose to power as a result of his position in the Baath Party. In 1972 the Iraqi Government nationalised Iraq's oil industry, taking control back from the British. This was a daring and popular move. Saddam was in charge of the nationalisation and this made him popular. Saddam then went on to use the oil money to build services like health and education for the Iraqi people, which made him more powerful still.
Why was the Truman Doctrine important? [6]
The Truman Doctrine was important because it marked an increase in tension between the USA and USSR and could even be seen as the start of the Cold War. The US President Harry Truman was angry and concerned at the way that Stalin had established communist regimes in many eastern European states in the period 1946-47. Although the Soviet leader Stalin saw this as a defensive policy against possible future invasions, Truman regarded it as Stalin trying to build an empire. His response was the Truman Doctrine, designed to stop any further spread of communism. Under the Truman Doctrine the USA said it would send money. equipment and advice to any country which was, in American eyes, threatened by a communist take-over. He did not offer troops. Most of the communist take-overs had been carried out by communist sympathisers inside each country who had been helped by Stalin. Truman therefore chose to help opponents of communism in a similar way. This way he could oppose the spread of communism without triggering a war.
'The Treaty of Versaílles was a fair settlement'. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10] Explain reasons to agree with the statement Explain reasons to disagree Express your judgement as to how far you agree
There are many arguments to support the view that the Treaty of Versaílles was a fair settlement. To begin with, it was strongly believed that Germany had started the war and was therefore responsible for it. It was certainly true that Germany invaded neutral Belgium in 1914, which broke international treaties. Another argument was that most of the fighting on the western front took place in Belgium and France. France lost around 1.6 million troops and civilians as well as suffering huge damage to industry, towns and agriculture. There was no fighting on German soil and so there was a strong case that Germany should pay compensation. A third argument was that the Treaty was not as harsh as its critics claimed. Germany certainly lost territory in the Versaílles settlement - 10 per cent of its land, all colonies, 12.5 per cent of its population. However, it could have been a lot harsher. Clemenceau wanted Germany to be broken up into small states. And when we look at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which Germany forced Russia to sign in 1918, we can see that Germany was much harsher in its terms with Russia than the Allies were with Germany at Versaílles. Of course, there were terms that were seen as unfair. Germans regarded the Treaty as a diktat because they were not consulted about it. They also believed that the Allies operated double standards. For example, the German army was limited to 100,000 men but France and Britain and most other countries did not reduce their armed forces to the same levels. Another term that could be seen as unfair was the fact that many Germans were left outside Germany as a result of the Treaty. Overall, I agree with the statement. Obviously no treaty will be seen as fair by all sides but the Treaty of Versaílles was as fair as it possibly could have been, and was a lot fairer on Germany than it might have been. The arguments against the Treaty were mainly complaints from the German point of view at the time. But most historians, such as Margaret Macmillan, with the benefit of hindsight, believe that the Treaty could have been a lot harsher. I put more faith in the historians and therefore this convinces me that the Treaty was not unfair.
(DESCRIBE) What were Germany's main territorial losses under the Treaty of Versaílles? [4]
Under the Treaty of Versaílles Germany lost 10 per cent of its land, so many Germans ended up living in other countries. Some German land was given to its European neighbours. Alsace-Lorraine was given to France and West Prussia was given to Poland to ensure that Poland had a sea port. Germany also lost all its overseas colonies including Togoland and Cameroon and German East Africa which were given to Britain and France https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBa4YIUBRf0 https://www.sutori.com/item/loss-of-territory-germany-lost-land-germany-returns-alsace-lorraine-to-france
